ABCya! - Computer Skills for Elementary

ABCya.com provides computer games and activities that are designed to reinforce basic computer skills at the elementary school level. There are activities available from kindergarten to fifth grade.

Screenr

I just tried screenr.com. I usually use Jing for screencasts, but I think this is a viable alternative for someone who uses multiple computers. If you are at a computer that you typically don't use and need to create a screencast, you might not want to install Jing. Or, maybe you don't the administrative privileges necessary to install new software. If that is the case, you can use Screenr which uses Java. This means you can use it on any computer that has internet access and the latest version of Java. You can see the example I made below.

Latest Finds

• 16 Apps That Make Sharing Large Files A Snap

• 20 Simple Productivity Tools for Bloggers 20 tips to make you more productive when blogging.

• JourneyEd.com - Academic Software Discounts! Educator pricing on software and hardware

• twitcam Stream Live on Twitter

• TweekMyPC How to Remote Control your Windows PC with Email or SMS

• Add Multimedia to Your Website with One Click – Apture.com Enhance your blog posts and articles with interactive videos, images, Wikipedia, maps and more from 50+ sources without making readers leave the page.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Latest Finds

Here are some useful resources I found this week.

• Aviary Screen Capture : Talon - "Do screen capture INSTANTLY. Save it to your clipboard, desktop or even online."  They even have a Firefox Add-on.
  

• TreeSheets - Free Form Data Organization

• 10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports - TheApple.com

Posted from Diigo. 

Quick Note About Google Docs

As of two days ago, you are able to upload .docx (word '07) and .xlsx (excel '07) documents to Google Docs. Simply upload them the same way to do for other formats.

Bing - Microsoft's Improved Search Engine

Bing (www.bing.com) is Microsoft's search engine which was formerly Live Search. You are able to search by images, videos, maps, local, news, or travel. When you submit a search query, you will notice that there is a "panel" on the left that shows you related searches and a search history. Bing also has a translator that automatically detects the language that you input (bing.com/translator). Bing was officially launched on June 3rd. You will notice that if you go to the MSN page or the Windows Live page, the search bar is now a Bing search bar.

Online Flashcards!

I just stumbled upon FunnelBrain.com and I would recommend that every educator at least look at this site. According to their site, they are a "site that provides an environment for team based learning and multi-media flashcards".

On FunnelBrain, you can create online flashcards for students or they can create their own and share them with their friends. Flashcards are a good way to study, but I always find them laying in the hall. I like to think that they are laying in the hall AFTER the students have used them properly. Online flashcards cannot be lost in the hall and students don't have to remember to take them home. All they have to do is access a web address, which you can post on a wiki or convert to a tinyURL.

You can enter simple text questions or you can add video, audio, photos, or math formulas. The only additional thing I would like to see is a way to easily embed your flashcards into a blog or wiki.

You can see the sample deck I made here.
Or, you can watch the demo videos here.