Google Docs Rocks

Do you have 2 minutes and 50 seconds?

As I sat thinking today how I could explain Google Docs in a brief tech tidbit I thought this might be easier. The video is called IN PLAIN ENGLISH-very well done.

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=77c5560d4cd9c3ffb6cd

(Be patient. Give adequate load time.)

Things to think about if you watch:
1. If a grade level or department wanted to collaborate on something to send to parents, colleagues or students-wouldn’t this be easier?
2. Several English teachers are having their students submit papers for editing-either to them or peer review.
3. Not only are there Google docs, but Google spreadsheets and Google Presentations-you could have students collaborating on Power Points and then presenting them from Google…no more wondering-how will I get their presentation to my computer.
4. Google docs also allows you to access your documents from ANYWHERE!
If you would like more information just let me know…

BeFunky...

What a great tool to make pictures a little more interesting. This website called BEFUNKY lets you take an image and cartoonize it or sketch it. The site is free and not only lets you sketch/comic a picture-it then lets you add borders and other graphics and accessories such as glasses, hats etc. What a great way to add an artistic element to a project or a newsletter home. What about adding it to a presentation in class? Think outside of the box and there are a lot of ways you could 'befunky'!

SMILEBOX

Smilebox is a website that uses your pictures to allow you to make create slide shows, ecards and scrapbooks. It requires an install that is very simple and once you complete that you can produce some pretty amazing things. Of course like all good websites, they give you the basics and you can increase your ability to produce with a fee...however the $4.99 a month seemed pretty reasonable if you really made use of what this site can offer. Regardless, there was enough free stuff to keep me pretty entertained for quite a while. Anyone who has digital pictures of anything will enjoy this site.

Make a free ecard!

TEACHER EXPRESS

This site is nothing fancy to look at but WOW does it have a lot of information. Someone took the time to categorize and pull all of these resources into one place. I found it quite interesting and make sure to scroll all the way down. It looks like it stops but it seems to just keep on going.

http://www.teacherxpress.com/

LOONY FOR LULU

Do you have an author some where inside of you? Do your students? Have you ever wanted to publish your own book? LULU is a great website that allows you to write and publish a book. I won't bore you will all the details here so go and check it out. BUT WAIT!...maybe you don't want to write a book...what about making a photo book of pictures? You can do that as well-what a great present. You can add captions and they have different layouts per page. I have priced many photobooks...lulu comes in pretty low. You can order from them OR you can print to a PDF-which means you can print them anywhere....
Think about it...how neat for :

• students to have a book published from works they have written
• students make a book based on a topic they are studying
• a photo journal of your year in the classroom
• students collection of short stories, poems etc...

Oh, they also have a nifty customizable calendar feature (like everyone else) starting at $11.30...very reasonable.

I am loony for LULU!

Video On Demand

Learner.org offers a slew of staff/professional development videos on demand for all grade levels. Here you can gather some great ideas for many of the concepts that are taught in your classroom . They pursue this mission by funding and broadly distributing multimedia resources for teachers to help them improve their own teaching practice and understanding of their subject. Take some time to check it out...keep in mind...all the video you watch is streaming- SO if you are over a wireless...see if you have the option to hard wire.

GOOGLE STUFF

Well Google has done it again...although only in the Beta stages they have developed a new feature in their searching. It is called timeline. You can type in any topic and then type view:timeline. You will get a great list of events contributing to your event. By no means is it perfect nor is it guaranteed to be extensive, but it sure is a great start!

Snoop with Snopes

Ever get one of those emails that you are just unsure of? All of those spammers out there love to send sob stories, miracle stories and other types of emails that make us want to believe in something. Look no further...you can debunk that junk with SNOPES. Snopes is a website that specializes in collecting what are called URBAN LEGENDS...and lets you know if there is any validity to many of those emails sent. The best part about it is that it picks apart pieces of the email and tracks its origin and determines if any part of that email is true. The next time someone wants you to take part in that science project or boycott Starbucks because they don't support the war go to Snopes first.

MIXCAST

Wow-an amazing multimedia tool for slideshows. Allows you to bring in video from a webcam and pictures to make a great multimedia element for any webpage. There are some really neat templates that allow you to theme your show. Of course-because this is a free service-there may be some less appropriate types of mixcasts in the Library. If you keep your kids focused on theirs and not what others did-that should not be a problem.
http://www.mixcast.com

NEWSLETTERS ARE US!

Who would have thought it would ever be so easy to produce a professional looking newsletter in a manner of minutes. Oh the amazing uses this could have for you and your classroom. Think of the possibilities. http://www.letterpop.com/ allows you to save and publish up to 10 newsletters at a time. You can pick from over 250 templates, then write a title and text and import pictures from your own computer to share. Once you do so you can save it to view online, print, or email to anyone. All for FREE! ENJOY...