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.

Latest Finds

Here are the latest things that I have bookmarked.

• Create A Graph Easy online graphing tool. Create-a-Graph provides five different graphs and charts for you to choose from.

• Medical Animation Library View free animations about everything from cancer to allergies.

• 180 Technology Tips 15 hours of free computer training in 180 easy to follow 5 minute lessons.

• Wallwisher.com :: Words that stick Wallwisher is an Internet application that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily.

• PennTeacher high quality online professional development designed to increase teacher knowledge and skills to improve student performance.

• WorldWide Telescope WorldWide Telescope (WWT) enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world.

• YouCube It allows you to map YouTube videos onto an interactive 3D cube and then save it to a database so you can show your friends.

• 27 Twitter Tools To Help You Find And Manage Followers

• SendItHome Have you ever needed to work on a school project at home, but your e-mail is blocked? No thumb drive in sight? SendItHome is for you.

• Edmodo Edmodo provides free private microblogging for educators

• 9 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do (with Internet Explorer)

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

Read Websites Without Ads

If you have ever tried to read an article online, you know how annoying advertisements can be, especially when they are in between paragraphs. There are also widgets and other "unnecessary" objects on pages. Those of you that have Iphones and smartphones know exactly how big of a hindrance these objects can be. That is why they made TidyRead. TidyRead extracts text from just about any website and presents it in an easy to read format without ads and other objects. All you have to do is go to http://www.tidyread.com and drag the link to your browser's bookmarks toolbar. Or, if you have an Iphone, you can install their program directly on your phone.

If you have firefox, you can get the add-on here. This puts a nice little icon on your status bar. If you choose to use the Firefox add-on, make sure you disable smart mode or else it will automatically convert every page you visit. To do this: Click Tools - TinyRead - Settings - Disable Smart Mode.

If you like this tools, also check out http://www.quietube.com/

Make 3D Movies for Free

If you have ever wished you could make a 3D animation, check out Xtranormal.com. Xtranormal allows you to make a movie in minutes, share it with your friends, embed it on your website/blog/wiki, or upload it to YouTube. There are pre-made characters and backgrounds and the characters say whatever you type. There are also emotion and gesticulations you can add. Their tagline is "If you can type, you can make movies".

Visit http://www.xtranormal.com/

They also have a blog at http://www.xtranormal.com/blog

Woopid: Video Tutorials

Watch free video tutorials related to computers, software, and gadgets. There are videos for Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. And, the videos cover just about everything from Microsoft Word to Google to configuring a router. This site is definitely worth a look technology novices and gurus alike.

Visit http://www.woopid.com/

Woopid also has a blog at http://blog.woopid.com/