Super Searches

Have you ever wanted your students to use something other than Google or Wikipedia for research (assuming they have already consulted our library databases)? Here are a few clever and fun specialty search engines to check out. As with all recommended resources, please look at these sites first to determine their appropriateness for your students.

 

QuinturaKids is a fun, visual, and intuitive search engine that allows kids to refine their search by clicking on words in a tag cloud. As a bonus, Quintura also has an iPad and iPhone app available.

Yippy is a simple search engine that categorizes the search results on the left of the search result window. The search can then be narrowed by clicking on any one of the topics.

Twurdy provides a readability rating for each of the web site results it returns for any search. This is especially helpful for students who often find themselves accessing information on web sites that is much too difficult for their age and/or reading ability.

Sort-Fix is a search engine that narrows the millions of results that might otherwise be returned. Students can drag and drop power words they want to add to or exclude from their search.

Tip of the Week

Get more from Google by taking advantage of its advanced search feature.  Do you want only sites with easy readability or only sites that contain images? You can even see your results categorized in a concept map. Click on Advanced Search at the end of the search field.  Enter the topic you are searching for. Next to "Reading Level", choose basic (easy), intermediate (a bit harder), or advanced (the most difficult). Now, click the Advanced Search button in the lower right hand corner.  You can easily modify the reading level on the search results page. The Wonder Wheel (concept map), Timeline, and more can be found under "All Results" on the left.

Web Resource - Picnik

Picnik is a great photo editing site.  It has many of the photo fixing tools that you might need - crop, rotate, resize, sharpen, exposure, red-eye fix, and more. PLUS, there are loads of text options, effects, and stickers to add to your pictures. 

Simple Video Tips

Want to use a YouTube video in your classroom but the website is blocked?  Copy the link of the video in the address box and paste it into http://www.zamzar.com/ . Follow the process and soon you will have the video downloaded.  Only want part of the YouTube video?  Use http://tubechop.com/  to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.  Want to convert videos to a different format? A free converter like Oxelon Media can be downloaded and then used by simply right-clicking on the video.

Tip of the Week:   Flip Cameras or Sony Bloggies work well for videos and are easy to use for both the student and the teacher.  

Web Resources:  Some of the video sites I use include Discovery Streaming, Brain Pop, The Futureschannel, WatchKnow , Khan Academy, and Animoto

Technology Time Savers

Have you ever wished for extra time? A 25th Hour? If so, these tips are for you!

1. Manage Files Online.

If you work on files at home and school sometimes it’s hard to keep up with which file is the most current. Solution? Use a site like Drop Box as an external drive online. No need to email yourself or keep up with a flash drive.

Dropbox

2. Organize bookmarks.

Using a social bookmarking site such as Delicious or Diigo, you can access your favorite internet sites anywhere you have access to the internet. You can even share your sites with friends and colleagues.

Delicious
Diigo

3. Give your mouse a rest… use keyboard shortcuts.
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+C Copy text
Ctrl+V Paste text
Ctrl+X Cut text
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+S Save
Ctrl+P Print
Ctrl+B Bold text
Ctrl+U Underline text
Ctrl+I For italic text
Ctrl+Shift+> Increases the font size by a half point
Ctrl+Shift+< Decreases the font size by a half point

Tip of the Week: 
Use Alt+TAB to cycle through open items.

Web Resource: Common Craft
Common Craft is one of my favorite sites. The creators of Common Craft explain technology concepts in plain English. No need to speak techie. Check out their site for short, simple explanations of technology concepts like Social Bookmarking, RSS Feeds, and Blogging.

Ways to Use Word Clouds in the Classroom

Check out various ways to use Word Clouds in the classroom.

Wordle Ideas

View more presentations from Jenuinetech.com.

Source: Jen Wagner

What Exactly is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 sites are mostly free internet tools that allow your students to create projects, collaborate, research, present, organize and more. Many can be setup and monitored by the teacher for classroom use.

Check out http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/ to see over 500 tools you can start using now.  Tools are organized by category in the left-hand menu.

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Tip of the Week: Send a webpage by email
Internet Explorer Users: Send a friend the web page you are viewing by clicking File, Send, and "Page by E-mail".
Firefox Users: Right-click on the page you wish to send to your friend and in the menu, click Send Link.

Web Resource: Storybird
Use Storybird to create digital stories online. Students can collaborate and teachers can set up class accounts.  Explain a math equation. Discuss symbolism in a novel. Recreate the story of the Alamo. Possibilities are endless.  Share via the web or print.  

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