EduBloggerCon - Speed Demos

EduBloggerCon Wiki

Speed Demos:
Here is a list of handy websites and tools that may help you use technology in your classroom.

• mashpedia.com - a multimedia encyclopedia - Find videos, images, Wikipedia articles, Twitter posts, new articles, blog posts, websites, books, etc. on topics you search.
  
• paper.li - Create a newspaper from a hashtag. - "paper.li organizes links shared on Twitter into an easy to read newspaper-style format. Newspapers can be created for any Twitter user, list or #tag. A great way to stay on top of all that is shared by the people you follow - even if you are not connected 24/7!"
• glogster - "Simply put, Glog is a kind of poster - fully designed by yourself! Glog is a fancy creation from text, images, music and video." - Here is an example of Glogster used by the Springfield library: springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com
• Sharaholic.com - Add a button for your browser to send links to any service. You can turn services on and off as desired. - "1-click posting to 100+ services from any webpage You'll have all your favorite social networking, bookmarking, blogging, and e-mail services at your fingertips. With Shareaholic you'll be able to share any page, anytime, with services you already love like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Mail, WordPress, and lots more!"
• exchange.smarttech.com - ideas for teachers using SMART boards/SMART software - "Find lesson plans for your SMART board and connect with teachers."
• express.smarttech.com - SMART Notebook Express - "View, save, and interact with SMART Notebook files online at no charge."
  
• Yolinkeducation.com - free downloadable plugin - "yolink finds and organizes your search results for you, then takes them directly to Google Docs or your favorite social networking site so you can create."
  
• SweetSearch.com - a Search Engine for Students that searches only 35,000 curated sites - Yolink is integrated into SweetSearch.
  
• SweetSearch4Me.com - the new K-8 version of SweetSearch
• letmegooglethatforyou.com
• tinyurl.com - Shorten long URLs to make them easier to share.
  
• longurl.org - Find out what a shortened URL points to.
• hugeURL.com - when you need a really long URL
• readitlaterlist.com - collects web pages, blogs, etc. in a list for you to read later
• jumpcut - "Jumpcut is an application that provides 'clipboard buffering' — that is, access to text that you've cut or copied, even if you've subsequently cut or copied something else. The goal of Jumpcut's interface is to provide quick, natural, intuitive access to your clipboard's history."
• textexpander - "TextExpander saves you countless keystrokes with customized abbreviations for your frequently-used text strings and images."
• edmodo.com - Create a private social network - a place to post things for your class, a place to discuss topics, etc. - Edmodo looks like Facebook, but it is specifically designed for your classroom.
• http://sverigesradio.se/p1/SRc/sing/ - "Let them sing it for you." - When you type in any text, this program takes excerpts from popular songs creating a collage of artists singing what you typed.
  
• techhead.org - Find the lowest prices on Microsoft and Adobe products for k12/higher ed.
  
• google.com/squared - Get the results of your Google search in a table format.
• When using wordle, put a ~ between each word instead of a space and it will keep your words in the order in which you type them.
• http://bingle.nu - Search Bing and Google at the same time and compare the results.

County, State, & Country Reports

Several teachers have asked me to suggest online resources to help their students research for county, state, and country reports. Following are some sites I found. Please comment and share your favorite county, state, and country information resources.

Counties of Utah:

• UEN's Counties of Utah
• Pioneer Library - Pioneer has a list of Utah resources. On the Pioneer site, click on "K-12 Schools", then check out the "Utah Collection" column.
• UEN's Core Curriculum Links - UEN provides a list of helpful links for every Core standard and objective. Go to the UEN Core Curriculum page, and select the subject area you want help with. For example: Geography of Utah (SS Standard 1), Utah History (SS Standard 2), Government of Utah (SS Standard 3)
• Utah - Life Elevated (utah.travel)
• Utah.com
• Try searching the name of your county in Google. Most counties have a homepage with cultural, historical, and current information about their county.
  

The United States:

• CultureGrams - States Edition - My favorite! You can access this site through Pioneer Library. It does require a license to access. When you go to the site while on the canyonair network, you will automatically be logged in. If you need the login name and password to login at home, they are listed on the Pioneer homepage.
• Pioneer Library - Pioneer has a list of research resources -- everything from encyclopedias, to search engines, to image collections, to sound clips. On the Pioneer site, click on "K-12 Schools", then check out the "General Reference Collection" and the "Additional Library Resources".
• UEN's Core Curriculum Links - UEN provides a list of helpful links for every Core standard and objective. Go to the UEN Core Curriculum page, and select the subject area you want help with. For example: North American Colonies (SS Standard 1), American Independence (SS Standard 2), US Constitution & Bill of Rights (SS Standard 3),US Expansion (SS Standard 4), US as a World Power (SS Standard 5)
• FactFinder Kids' Corner - Fun State Facts! - from the US Census Bureau
• netstate.com
• 5th Grade State Report Websites - a list of helpful websites
  
• States Timed Test
• Sheppard Software Us Geography - states & capitals tests as well as state information
• Encyclopedia.com
• US States and Regions at ppst.com
• Infoplease Origin of State Names
• Regions of the United States
  
• Try searching the name of your state in Google. Most states have a homepage with cultural, historical, and current information about their state.
  

Countries of the World:

• CultureGrams - World Edition - My favorite! You can access this site through Pioneer Library. It does require a license to access. When you go to the site while on the canyonair network, you will automatically be logged in. If you need the login name and password to login at home, they are listed on the Pioneer homepage.
• Pioneer Library - Pioneer has a list of research resources -- everything from encyclopedias, to search engines, to image collections, to sound clips. On the Pioneer site, click on "K-12 Schools", then check out the "General Reference Collection" and the "Additional Library Resources".
• UEN's Core Curriculum Links - UEN provides a list of helpful links for every Core standard and objective. Go to the UEN Core Curriculum page, and select the subject area you want help with. For example: Ancient Civilizations (SS Standard 1), Middle Ages/Renaissance (SS Standard 2), Revolutions (SS Standard 3), Current Global Issues (SS Standard 4)
• Embassy.org - Click on the "Embassies" link at the top to get addresses to send letters to embassies of countries around the world. Many embassies will send information, recipes, and even music, books, or posters.
• Lizardpoint Geography - geography tests for various countries and continents
• CIA World Factbook
• Lonely Planet
• countryreports.org
• infoplease Countries of the World
• Encyclopedia.com
• Scholastic's Global Trek
• Try searching the name of your country in Google. Most countries have a homepage with cultural, historical, and current information about their country.
  

Simple Teacher Websites

There are many options available to teachers who want to create a website for the class/classes. Here are a few options my colleagues and I have tried:

My UEN

• Free
• Utah teachers automatically have a my.uen account
• Pre-set template
• Fast, easy to use
• Simple design
• Content entered into boxes on the page
• Tabs to navigate to multiple pages
  
• Links to lessons on uen.org

Blog (I have always used Blogger, but there are many options for blogging.)

• Free
• Linked to your Google account
• Choice of templates, or create your own if you know html
• Can edit html
• Simple, one-page design
• Content entered in as posts or on side-bar
• Multi-media

Wiki (I have always used Wikispaces.)

• Free - educators can get a free account without advertisements
  
• Create as many wikis as you want with the same account
• Choice of templates, or create your own if you know html
• Can edit html
• Multiple-page design
• Content entered onto separate pages that can be linked
• Navigation bar on each page
• Multi-media
• Upload documents
• Formatting of text can be a little challenging at first
  

iWeb

• Pay through MobileMe account
• Limited amount of space
• Design your own layout
• Similar interface to other iLife applications
• Multiple-page design
• Content entered like a Pages document - your choice of design/layout
• Multi-media
• Quickly draws on items in iPhoto and other iLife applications
• Upload documents

Google Sites
Google Sites is fairly new, so I haven't actually tried it yet. I have seen it, though, and it looks simple and really great. If you have used Google Sites, please comment and let me know what you think.

Dropbox
I have had several colleagues recently tell me that Dropbox can make a nice, simple website too. Comment if you know more about it!

What have I missed? What are the pros and cons of each of these tools? Are there other ways you are creating quick and easy-to-manage teachers websites? Please comment.

I have decided that each of these tools are useful in their own way. If a teacher is looking for something that is quick and easy, I recomment my.uen. I have loved using a blog to have students contribute with their own posts, pictures, links, and movies. But, my favorite for classroom management has been a wiki. I like that I can have several pages, each for a specific purpose (information about me, parents, homework, students work, calendars, content areas, etc.), and I love that I can upload documents (worksheets, permission slips, donation lists, assignment outlines, class rules, etc.).

Here are examples of my teacher websites:
My UEN: http://my.uen.org/myuen/77889
Blog: http://bluntsixth.blogspot.com/
Wiki: http://bluntclassroom.wikispaces.com/

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Web 2.0 Smackdown!

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Creative Commons

MyWebspiration

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Google Tools

You have to have a google account to use these tools, but it's free and easy.

Google Forms
Create surveys

Google Maps
look at maps
get directions
street view

Google Earth

Picassa
Free online photo editor

Google SketchUp
Free
Pro Version is free in Utah because the state has purchased a license
3-D Warehouse

Google Talk
online chat

Google Voice
Get a free phone number
Control where all your calls are sent - home, cell, work, etc.

Google for Educators

Google Docs for Educators

Google Presentations

Google Spreadsheets