Tight budget virtual field trips is the way to go!

With the budgets getting tighter and tighter these days I have 3 great virtual field trips to take your class or your family on.

• The first stop on our tour is using Google Earth to locate Cathedrals around the world.  This would be a great exercise if you are exploring religions in a History class or perhaps you are learning about architecture for an art class.  It opens up in Google Earth which you can download very easy here.  You also have the options to open the 3D models in Google's 3D Warehouse by clicking here.  

• The second stop we blast out of this world to view.  We are going to the Moon!  At Arounder Moon you can take a trip around the gray surface of the Moon.  There is a blog you can follow, games to play, communication to check out, you can even download the app for your touch screen phone and keep the world at your finger tips.  Check it out and have a safe trip!

• The last stop on our journey takes us not on land but under the sea.  Ever wonder what a life sized whale looks like?  Well at the Whale and Dolphin Conservatory you can.  Take a detailed view of what this marvelous creature looks like.  Students can zoom in to see all the details as if it is in your classroom.  This may seem like a silly tour but in fact, if commercial whale fishing isn't banned this might be your last time to ever see it.  Click here to begin viewing this large tour!

How's Your Mood?

Don't you hate it when your in a terrible mood and can't get out of it?  Well I might have a solution for you.  This site is called Mood Turn and it really works! 

Once you click on the site you get to choose the mood you want to experience.  There are about 4 of them to choose from.  You can also choose what picture to start on.  Once you do that turn your speakers up and start enjoying the mood change.  It's very relaxing and enjoyable!

Click here to start changing your mood!

On a scale of 1-10 how do you feel about...

Ever want to see what the newest of the new is out there?  Well I have a site for you.  This site is called Ranker, and it does just what it's name says, it ranks things on a scale of 1 to 10.

It has EVERYTHING you can imageine.  Food, tech, games, music, tv, year end lists, etc. etc. etc.  It's a great site to find out information about some new gadgets that are out there and what is new in the political scene.  Check it out and tell me what you think.  Some of the content isn't 100% appropriate for ALL users, so make sure you are filtering some of the things they see prior to viewing it. 

Click here to check out Ranker.

Won't you take me to Certificate Street?

Are you tired of the same publications for certificates on MS Publisher?  Well I have the solution for you.  The site is called Certificate Street and does it have a lot to offer.  This site lets you browse the already created templates without having to sign up for an account or anything.

All you do is browse to find you certificate you want, download it, and it will open up as a PDF file where you can type in your students names and presto your certificate is done.  This can be used for awards not just for the classroom.  There are tons of different types to use.   Sections include Sports Look below for a preview of one that I made.  Click here to start making awards now!

Home Row Home Row... sit up straight!

Are you having a tough time keeping up with everyone who's typing so much faster than you?  Well I have a solution for you.  This is a web 2.0 free site that will teach you how to type at home!  The site is called Typingweb.com

All you have to do is register for a free account and begin learning the home row, asdf jkl;.  Check it out and happy typing!

Oh say can you spell?

Dictionaries are a person's best friend.  It's even more so that they are online now.  Here's the part were you will like this new one.  With EasyDefine you can type in a list of several words to look.  So instead of having to hit the back button over and over to look for words, you can type them all in at once!

Check out EasyDefine and begin enjoying online dictionaries!

Are you ready for a splosion?

No I did not type that wrong.  This site is called sploder.com and here your students can create their own games and play them!  Many students play online flash games all the time and until they are old enough to use Adobe Flash or another type of scripting game they are stuck just playing.  This site gives them all the tools needed to create their own live action games.

You have two different types of games to choose from, shooter creator or platform creator.  The shooter creator gives you the options to make your game as a robot or as a ship (like you are flying through space).  The platform creator gives you the option to make your game as a ninja. 

There is an option to log into an account, but it you don't have to.  The only down fall of not loggin in is that you can't publish your game to be played at a later time by others.  That's another great point about this site.  If your students publish their games, others can play it!  How cool is that????

Happy gaming!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hello there all you lucky Irish people!  I have some great links for you today.  If you are looking for some online St. Patrick's Day games for you kids to try take a look at these, and may the luck o' the Irish be with you!

A Kids Heart St. Patricks Day Games Check this site out for some neat St. Patrick's Day Games!
Fun School Want to see how much you know about St. Patrick's day? Check out the quiz at this link!
St. Patrick's Day Streamer Game Think you can make it to the end of the rainbow and get the pot of gold? Try your luck o' the Irish!
Wallop the Snakes Help St. Patrick keep the snakes away from his pots of gold.
St. Patrick's Day Primary Games WOW! We have a ton o'game here for you to try your luck at. May the luck of the Irish be with you!

Want to go to Zui?

Well I tried to use Youtube today and when I searched something the results came up with some very inappropriate content for my 3rd graders.  It wasn't until I opened my e-mail that I found this wonderful site that filters the Youtube content just for younger users.

The site is called Zuitube.  You can find great videos here that help reinforce classroom instruction or just regular "fun" videos.  All of the content comes from Youtube, but it is filtered prior to students viewing it.  They have movie trailers from new and upcoming age appropriate movies to lessons taught be teachers. 

Students can also rate the videos they watch by kid friendly tags.  Some include; rockin', angelic, lovely, gross, LOL, and fun.  There is no signing up required, just search and begin viewing! 

Check it out and let me know how it works for you in your classroom!

Welcome

Sorry for the lack of posts, it was a busy week last week.  As you can see we have two new additions to the blog.  The first is a new sign.  It's pretty snazzy.  The second is the addition of the new Giga Bite mascot, Giga.  He likes to munch on various computer parts.  Keep looking back for changes to him.

When Can You Meet?

I find it very difficult to try and meet with people especially when it's a large group.  You can try to send e-mails and phone calls, etc, but someone always get left out.  Well Meetifyr is your online tool to solve all those problems. 

This site lets you set up a calendar of days when you want to meet.  The best part is that you don't have to sign up for an account.  Once you click try it out, Meetifyr sets up a web address for your specific calendar.  You create your title, date range for your meeting, and add people.  Copy your URL and e-mail it to your group members.  They choose what day they can or cannot meet and BINGO you have your meeting time set up!  Try it out! If you want to see an example click here.

GO GO Gadget Formatter

One of my good friends showed me this amazing site.  Have you ever typed up a whole section of text and forget to take the caps lock off?  Maybe you need to replace a word with something else.  Well I have the best website for you!

Goformat.com lets you change from a variety of different formats.  You can change all your text to caps, or chage them all to lowercase.  Maybe you want to replace a word with another word.  You can also remove spaces, different symbols, capitalize sentences, and a list of other great items.

Check it out, I'm positive you will use it all the time!

Firefox add on

 Did you download Firefox yet?  Well I have an add on that you won't want to live without.  It is called X-marks.  It is an online bookmark and password sync program that will backup your bookmarks and passwords.  It runs in the background of your Firefox browser and will update without you having to do anything.

To download it for your browser you can go to Tools on your Firefox menu and click on add ons.  Once there you can search for X-marks. 

You can also go to Mozilla.com and search for the add on there.  Once you download it create an account and follow the instructions.  Once you have it you will be so happy!  I lost my hard drive recently and I thought I lost everything for my bookmarks, but since I had x-marks I was able to download Firefox, download the add on, and bingo all my bookmarks and passwords are put back to normal.


Once you get this you will never regret it!  Happy surfing!

Popups got ya down?

Do pop ups annoy you?  Are you tired of not seeing web pages correctly?  Well Mozilla Firefox is your tool!  It is a web browser that, in my opinion, is WAYYYYYY better than Internet Explorer.

I know many of your prefer Internet Explorer, but for some reason Mozilla is just a better tool.  Along with not having as many pop-ups there are TONS of add ons you can use with it.  Check back and I will post some more.

Click on the fox or below to begin a new web browsing experience!

Free Music???

Are you tired of bringing in CD's to your classroom to listen to music? Well I have an answer for you! Pandora is a free site that allows you to stream music.

It's not like your regular radio station.  Once you create an account you can stream music similar to an artist or genera of your choice.  So for instance if you type in classical music, it will find all sorts of different artists that have created classical music.  Check it out and enjoy your tunes!

Wanna Go for a Picnik?

Ever wish you had the options of editing your photos at home without having to buy a pricey subscription to Adobe? Picnik is your answer! This is a newly purchased Google based web editor that will let you do basic edits to your photos online for free, and the best thing yet is that you don't have to have an account with them to edit your photos!!!!

There is also subscriptions you can purchase (1 month for $4.95, 6 months for $19.95, and 1 year for $24.95). It may see a little expensive but after seeing what you can do with a premium account I am thinking about getting an account myself!

You can also upload your photos directly Facebook, Flickr, Picasa,Photobucket, etc.

Click here to visit Picnik!

Flashcards

Ever wanted to get rid of that silly deck of index cards you use to study or review on?  Well I have the tool for you.  Flashcards is a Microsoft web based program where you can create virtual flashcards and view ones that others have created.

You do have to have a Windows Live! account to create a new deck.  (That account is a standard hotmail account).  Create an account and begin making your technologically advanced study guides!

Click here to be redirected to Flashcards.