timelines

Let’s stick with the time theme this week. There is a neat website called xtimeline. It allows you to view and make visual times about anything.
Here’s the basics.
There are two sides to this site…

1. Look at timelines people have already created. I emphasize people. This does not make them 100% accurate…but it does give you a lot to look at and think about-and most of them give sources for their info. You may or may not find what you are looking for…
(there are many great historical, biographical, art and scientific ones.)
Some of it is not educational….
(As much as I enjoyed the timeline of Brad Pitts life I would be hard pressed to find classroom use.)

2. You can create your own. Have kids do research, find pictures and facts and create timelines based on your content area.


Free log in is required to make your own, but it is open to view without an account . Students will never look at timelines the same again!
If you would like more information just let me know…

Time is on your side...

This is just a quick tool for fun. Ever need a timer? Activ-Studio has one-but what the heck…this one is just more fun!
http://www.fieryideas.com/flash/timer.swf
It is pretty simple-just hit the play button-and you can put up to 20 minutes of time to count down, pick some music and let the fun begin.
As I viewed this site-I started to wonder what else it had available…WOW. If you have time-you must check this out.
http://www.fieryideas.com/freebies.php
They make software but they have freebies. EVES and RAMS-check out the math daily tasks and the writing tools. The super dice seems like it would work at all grade levels. There are all kinds of neat little games/activities that would be TERRIFIC for the whiteboard.
You can log in for more access-it’s free.
ENJOY!

wizard of voz...

Here is a neat little tool…this website takes text of any kind and converts it to an audio file. You can listen to it immediately online or download it to your hard drive. The website it simple and there is no sign up or login. Just type or paste some text (English, Spanish, or Italian) and click the “Create MP3” button. A new window will open and will provide two options: To listen, click the green play button. To download the file, click the “Download mp3” link.
The possibilities of this are endless…can you imagine turning text into audio files for our students who have trouble reading-or for review for a test to play over and over again in their mp3 players?

(If you get an error trying to download it-you need quicktime.)
Check it out at http://vozme.com

The computer voice is kind of scratchy but it is clear enough to understand. I also found another site called www.bluegrind.com
This site follows the same concept but is a little more involved as you need a log in/account. It is still free and still allows you to download or listen but the process is also a little longer. Either way the possibilities are out there…you just have to find them.

Ugly Betty

(Ok…so now I have your attention.)
I found a great website that has all kinds of free stuff…but I could never remember the name of it-until Ugly Betty came along!
The website is Brainy Betty.
What kind of free stuff you might ask?
Free Power Point backgrounds (very cute)
Free Word templates
Free Excel templates
Free graphics
And much much more….
As I always say-why recreate the wheel!
Check it out-there is something for everyone.
Like always…if you would like more information just let me know.

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'!

Flashcards!

Who doesn't love a good flashcard. This site is great. It allows you to create, find and share flashcards from K-12. Work smarter-not harder!!!

http://www.flashcardexchange.com/

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!