You Convert It

YouConvertIt is another option for converting your files.  But that is not all it does.  It can also Download Videos from the web and then convert them using the website.  It also provides an option for sending files (up to 300 MB if you sign up for Free Account, 120 MB without signing up.) via email from them web.  By signing up for the free account you get 1 GB of space and 6 GB of monthly bandwidth size, as well as a personal in-box.  There are more options if you decide to have a pay account.  There are several files that you can convert files from.  They are broken down by image, video, audio, document, and archive.

Einstein at a Chalkboard

So an interesting way to introduce topics and information to students to start class.  Most of us have seen the image of Albert Einstein at the Chalkboard and turning around facing the camera teaching a lesson.  Well, now Einstein can introduce your lesson to your students.  It does take some playing around with to get the words and sentences organized in the picture, but still an interesting find.

There are also several other options

Uncle Sam

Dictionary Entry - Cool way to tell personality traits of students

I would only suggest you use this as a teacher.  Don't let students use it for an assignment or project though.

Diigo Education Account

Just discovered that Diigo offers premium education accounts to educators to use with students.  I did not know that these existed, but seems like a great way for students to share and organize resources that they find for work in your class.  Really good if students are conducting research for a project.  You provide a school email and the site says they will get back with you within 48 hours.

I could really see this as a helpful tool for students to learn how to annotate web resources and save the information they are reviewing.  The Post-it capabilities also offer ways for students to communicate as well as discuss what they are reading.  You can create a class group as well as group classes together.  Be a great way for students to collaborate from other schools, states, and countries.  Below as some of the features:

- You can create student accounts for an entire class with just a few clicks (and student email addresses are optional for account creation)

- Students of the same class are automatically set up as a Diigo group so they can start using all the benefits that a Diigo group provides, such as group bookmarks and annotations, and group forums.

- Privacy settings of student accounts are pre-set so that only teachers and classmates can communicate with them.

- Ads presented to student account users are limited to education-related sponsors.

You can learn more about Diigo Education HERE

Insects...An Informational Website

Been a while since I posted to my blog.  I really try to step away from work in the summer and enjoy time with family, friends, and on the golf course.  To my readers, sorry I have not posted much lately, but I will be back in the swing of things soon.  But in my return, I bring a great resource to share with students, especially boys.

Personally, I am not a fan of bugs.  I know that most people are not.  Most kids, especially boys are fascinated with bugs.  Insects.org is a site that offers pictures and information about ALL TYPES of insects.  What is also great about this site is that it explains the role that insects have in human culture.  As the site says, they "aim to help you really see insects for the miniature marvels they represent and to understand how intertwined our cultures have become with these alien creatures."  If your students are going to be studying insects this might be a good starting point for them to start some research.

MeeGenius - Great Tool for Elementary Teachers

I came across MeeGenius while surfing (is that still a proper term?) the Internet.  It is a collection of books meant for younger students, many of the books with titles we are all familiar with.  First thing I noticed is that you can personalize the books, meaning you can input other names for the main characters.  So like in the book "Jack and the Beanstalk" I was able to put my son's name in place of Jack and other members of my family in the place of other characters.

Right now there are 27 books available for your reading pleasure.  If you don't make any personalizations, the software will highlight each word and read the book aloud to the students in your classroom.  Could be a great way for reading comprehension.  I found the digital voice to be very easy to listen to...not the usual digitized computer voice we are used to hearing.

MeeGenius is also available as an iPhone and iPad app.  I could see me using this in the future with my children.  My son will probably have a laptop by the time he is 5 anyway!

Give MeeGenius a look.  I could see it being used in several Kindergarten and 1st Grade classrooms.  You could use it as a reward to have a certain students' names personalized in the books.