Follow the link above to find out more about this digital photo/video editor that is free and very easy to use.
3/04/2010
Windows Live Moviemaker
3/01/2010
Photo Story 3
Photo Story 3 has been around for a while but it is still a great FREE resource for creating digital stories and slide shows for presentations or for use with students to create digital projects. It is very user friendly and has a small learning curve. This free software lets you create slideshows which can include music and voice narration. Click on the link above to visit the site and get the free download. If you have not used it before you will be happy with it's ease of use.
One note, however. Microsoft has not issued a version that will currently run on Windows 7, so you will need to use an XP machine to run the software.
Microsoft Security Essentials
One of the first things I want to share with you from the training class is a FREE Antivirus software to which our trainers gave high praise. According to our trainers, "Microsoft finally got it right!" They said they have it loaded on all their home machines.
It is called Microsoft Security Essentials.
By clicking on the link above you can download this free software to you PC. It will update automatically and does not require an annual renewal fee. So if you have a computer at home
that may be at risk, this might be a no expense viable option for you. The link above will take you to the website where you can get more information about this anti virus software from Microsoft.
Check it out!
The Astronauts Memorial Foundation
I had the opportunity to attend a technology specialist class through the Astronaut's Memorial Foundation which is set up through a grant to create affordable technology training classes for educators. I discovered many new resources during this three day course and I will be sharing some of these ideas here in the blog. Clicking on the link above will take you to the AMF website where you can gain information about the foundation and sign up for classes that may be of interest to you!
2/23/2010
2/08/2010
Wordle
Wordle Site
This site is great for teaching a Poetry lesson with kids.
You can change the font, layout, colors, etc... There are
a lot of creative uses for this "word cloud" site.
Sketchcast
The Sketchcast above shows the order of operations.
You can create your own sketchcast or let students
create their own during your lessons and use
them in the lesson or have them available for
students to review a concept.
There are all kinds of uses for this app. Some
other examples I saw were photosynthesis,the
area of a triangle, and exponents and square
roots.You will see more examples if you
visit the site!
Red Laser App for iPhone
At FETC I attended a short workshop all about iPhone Apps by Leslie Fisher. She showed all kinds of cool new apps for the iPhone. One that caught my attention was this Barcode scanner app called Red Laser App Here are some possible uses according to the site:
Scan a book and check for reviews
Scan the milk and add it to your grocery list
Scan movies and beam them to your TiVo
Check online prices for a DVD player.
Check out her site at lesliefisher.com (takes a minute to load) for more exciting apps such as:
VIPER Smart Start: Use your iPhone to start your car
Audioboo.fm: Will post audio files to your webpage
Ocarina: iPhone music creator: flutes/drums/keyboards/guitars
Star Walk: Stargazing in real time
This day in history: lists events of that day in history
iTranslate: translates different languages
RTM (remember the milk) iPhone app To Do lists
Evernote: uploads text and pics
Duck You: a Spelling App
Drop Box: for file syncing
iVideo Camera: can upload to FaceBook
Motion GPX: voice guidance/walking directions
Saisuki: calendar; sinks with Google calendar
NotePad: allows you to group your notes
...and many, many, more.
2/07/2010
Accelerated Reader Widget
Also at FETC I learned about the Accelerated Reader Widget available from the Enterprise addition.
What a cool way to communicate on your web page to parents and students in real time. You can
set it up monthly or for the whole year. Cool!
What a cool way to communicate on your web page to parents and students in real time. You can
set it up monthly or for the whole year. Cool!
Math Facts In A Flash with Responders!
Math Facts using RespondersTeachers,
While I was attending FETC I stopped in at the Renaissance Learning booth to see what was new. We already have the Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, STAR Reader, and Math Facts in a Flash Software, as well as Accel Test, and 2Know! Software. The good news that I discovered is that now Math Facts in a Flash can be used on the student responders. We already have a set of 24 repsonders and two receivers on campus. We already have the software we need to run the programs. We can purchase extra responders for $39 each and extra receivers for $99 each. Essentially, for about $1000 we could have a set of responders with a receiver for a classroom.
They can be shared between classrooms becuase the software
can be used for ten or fifteen minutes a day. The amount of time you would normally give to practicing math facts. The cool thing about this is that because we have the software on the network, student data can be tracked automatically and you can see student progress immediately.
But math facts is not the only use for the responders. With the Accel Test software
which we already own, you can create tests that are scored automatically using the responders and run score reports immediately. The Accel Test is also used with scanners, which we already have six of that can be used to score with scan cards which we also already own. Follow the link above to find out more about using the RL responders in your classroom. Give me a shout if you have more questions about these products.
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