DimensionU

DimensionU is a wonderful place for educational online games in 3D virtual worlds.  This site is used throughout schools in the US and offer exciting tournaments for students to take place in.  They also offer an innovative educational allowance system which helps ignite learning.

I highly recommend checking out DimensionU by clicking here!!

DimensionU is a paid advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Screen Draw

Screen Draw is a Firefox plugin that allows a user to type or draw on any webpage viewed in FF.  This is ideal for those that want to annotate a web page and can be very handy when doing professional development or presenting to a class.  These "drawings" can also be saved.

I recommend checking out Screen Draw by clicking here!!

For a more detailed review check out Richard Byrne's award winning blog.

Worth Ave Group

Worth Ave Group is one of the most popular companies for insuring computer equipment for education.  This is ideal as 1 in 5 students will experience damage to their laptop.  Also, WAG is top of the line for tech support and customer service.

I highly recommend checking out Worth Ave. Group by clicking here!!

Powerpoint Palooza

PPT Palooza is a site I just found out about from David Andrade's excellent blog.  This is a great site for 100's of free Powerpoints on American and European history.  This is a great resource for History/SS teachers.

I recommend checking out Poweroint Palooza by clicking here!!!

Google Drive

Google Drive is the latest web application from Google that allows users to store 5 GB of files online for free.  Also, it allows users to share and collaborate w/ others on these files as well and integrates w/ Google Doc's as well.  For a price users can increase their Google Drive storage space too.

I recommend checking out Google Drive by clicking here!!

Sploder

Sploder is a new (beta) site that I learned about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a great site for making games in 4 different categories: platform, puzzle, algorithm, or shooter.  This is done through a user friendly drag-n-drop interface.

I recommend checking out Sploder by clicking here.

MentorMob just got Better

MentorMob one of my favorite Ed Tech sites of the year and is well known for creating innovative playlists.  However, they just got better w/ the ability to create a test anywhere in the playlist.  These tests can be multiple choice or T/F and can be inserted anywhere in a playlist to reinforce and evaluate learning.

For more information on how to create a test in MentorMob click here!!!

Websites Like

Websites Like is a fun search engine that finds similar sites to what you are looking for.  I would recommend this for a student/teacher/blogger who is looking for a topic but have seemed to hit a road block on where to go.

I recommend checking out Websites Like by clicking here!!!

What do you love?

What do you love, is a great way to search by Google that I just found out about from ADE specialist, Sue Gorman.  This is a great way to search by google that indexes terms by (are you ready for this?): maps, videos, events, blogs, books, languages (57 translations), images, emails, trends, and more (phew).

I recommend giving What do you love? a try by clicking here!!!

SparkFun Electronics

This is a great educational site to teach students 21st Century skills in electronics.  Not only does this site offer free resources such as handouts and videos, but it offers up events and upcoming classes.  Also, this site has nice tutorials for electronic projects and more.

I recommend checking out SparkFun Electronics by clicking here!!

Cookie

Cookie is a wonderful site that I'm just becoming aware about that is excellent for educational games and more.  This is a site dedicated to younger learners (Prek-1st grade) that focuses on a wide variety of skills: Math, Science, Phonics, Reading, etc.  Also, this site has lots of other activities/learning tools as well such as videos, worksheets, stories, and more.

I highly recommend checking out Cookie by clicking here!!!

For my top 10 sites for educational games click here.

Tutoring Hut

Tutoring Hut is a wonderful tutoring social community for educators and students.  This is an ideal place for students to find tutors on any number subjects.  Also, this is great for teachers as they can create a virtual classroom for $2.99 a month and host as many classes as they like to help engage their students and increase their learning.

I highly recommend checking out Tutoring Hut by clicking here!!!

For my top 10 sites for online tutoring click here!!

History Engine

History Engine is a site I just learned about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a great site for History teachers & students to learn about history by searching events either in "search engine mode" w/ text, tag cloud, or map/location results.  Also, a person can use the  History Engine Map to search US events by timeline/decades.

I highly recommend checking out History Engine by clicking here!!!

Moo-O

Moo-O is a site that has to be seen to be believed.  This is a great site for digital storytelling that helps students w/ reading and engage them by putting them right into the story.  What does this mean?  It means a student can select a story, and then w/ a web came/camera add their photo to the characters of that story.  Then a student can read the story and even record it to turn into a movie.  Also, students have the ability to resize, move, and animate the characters of each story.

I highly highly recommend checking out Moo-O by clicking here!!!

Airy Labs

Airy Labs is a company dedicated to making educational social learning games for kids.  These games can be web based as well as for mobile/tablet devices.  I recommend checking out there wide variety of games as well as there community and freebies as well.

Give Airy Labs a look by clicking here!!

Exalead

Exalead is a new search engine which does a really good job of indexing images.  Also, when searching for websites it brings up a nice summary as well as a thumbnail screen shot.  However, keep in mind this is not a filtered search engine and will not meat CIPA/COPPA compliance.  It should only be used in a filtered district w/ adult supervision.

Check out Exalead by clicking here!!

Click here for my top 10 safe search engines to use w/ education.

NetHound

NetHound is a wonderful site for the IT person managing a small network of 200 computers or less.  This is great for monitoring network behavior w/ detailed reports and more.  A person can see who's doing what, stop virus and spam, etc.

I recommend checking out NetHound for a free 30 Day trial by clicking here!!!

15 Sites for Finding Images and Clip Art for Education

A while back I did a top 10 sites for finding images and clip art for education.  However, a lot of things have changed since then and a few of those sites no longer exist.  That being said a handful of new and exciting sites have been developed for education for finding images which led me to creating a new list.

*Keep in mind when searching for images for students it is always a good idea to have adult supervision/filtering solution.

** The following list is in alphabetical order...

15 Sites for Finding Images and Clip Art for Education

1. 3D Toad - A innovative site w/ interactive 360 degree rotatable images.
2. Behold - A nice search engine to use w/ adult supervision for finding images on Flickr.
3. Find Icons - A great site for finding free icons to use in the classroom.
4. FreeFoto - A wonderful site for 1000's of free photos that can be used by students.
5. FreePhotoBank - A excellent site for free stock photos.
6. Google Images - A great way to search for images as long as the safe search filter is turned on.
7. humanline - A new site for teachers and students for free images for: art, history, science, etc.
8. ookaboo - A great way to search for free stock photos on a wide variety of subjects.
9. OpenClipArt - A nice site for free clip art.
10. Pics4Learning - One of the most popular image sites for finding images for education.
11. Picsearch - A excellent place for finding images as long as being used w/ adult supervision.
12. School Clip Art - Doesn't get much better then this for free clip art for students and teachers.
13. Sprixi - A great way to search for images w/ adult supervision.
14. Veezzle - A free stock photo search engine and community.
15. Visual Dictionary - not only is this a great place to find educational photos but descriptions and more.

To view my Images for Education board on Pinterest click here.

Edshelf

Edshelf is a new (beta) site that I found out about from a member of my PLN on Twitter.  Edshelf is a great site for finding and rating digital tools.  This could be a website, an app, a mobile app, etc.  Users can rate on any tool in 3 categories on a 5 star scale: learning curve, pedagogical effectiveness, and student engagement.  Also, a registered user can create their own shelf and save their favorite tools in there.

I highly recommend checking out Edshelf by clicking here!!!

ParentSquare

ParentSquare is a new online communication tool designed for schools/parents/administrators etc.  This is a wonderful online tool that allows parents to keep in touch w/ teachers via an online email/messaging system.  Also, users can collaborate on a calendar, share fundraising information, set volunteer schedules and more.

I highly recommend checking out ParentSquare by clicking here!!

Become a 21st Century Teacher in 2 Hours

Is a free ebook that I just found out about.  It is offered by the author of Edgalaxy, a wonderful blog.  This is a wonderful resource that offers 13 tools that will help educators become familiar w/ an integrate technology into their teaching.  Some of the content includes: lesson plans, web 2.0 tools, Google integration and more.

For more information and to download click here!!

SlideShark

SlideShark is a free iPad app designed to allow users to edit/view/share a Powerpoint slideshow.  This is a very useful app as w/out it the old school method was to convert to a PDF or video.  The controls are simple to use such as swiping right to progress forward or left to move back.

I highly recommend checking out SlideShark by clicking here!!!

3D Toad

3D Toad is a site I just found out about from the award winning blog, Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is a great site for free interactive images for educators and students.  A person can zoom in and rotate the image for a more engaging experience.  Also, these images cover a wide variety of subjects such as: History, Science, Music, and more.

I recommend checking out 3D Toad by clicking here!!!

iPiccy

iPiccy a wonderful site for adding effects/editing photos that I've covered before, has just released some new updates to make it even better.  Users can now batch upload photos to save time as well as access a few new tools such as: blender and collage creator.

Blender reminds me a bit of Photoshop as it allows a person to layer photos, add text, crop, adjust backgrounds, etc.

Collage Creator is a nice tool for creating nice looking collages from templates.

I recommend checking out iPiccy by clicking here!!!

Facebook - Groups for Schools

Today there has been lots of buzz on the internet regarding Facebook and their newly created group, Groups for Schools.  Ideally, this is designed for college students/faculty but can be accessed by anyone who has a university/school email account.  This is a great way for students/staff from inside a university to collaborate either by sending messages, lecture notes, posting assignments and more.  This appears to be a good first step between bridging the gap between Facebook and Education.

For more information on Facebook - Groups for Schools click here!!!

TeacherCast

TeacherCast is a Learning Community designed by teachers for teachers.  This is a nice place to find blogs, reviews, resources, lesson plans, and more.  This is also a nice site for those that use mobile technology w/ lots of educational app reviews too.

I recommend checking out TeacherCast by clicking here!!

Thanks to David Andrade's blog for the tip.

Teaching Appz

Teaching Appz is a wonderful site for finding educational apps for iOS devices and Android.  These apps can be browsed by subject, age range, or device.  Also, all apps have a nice review w/ possible classroom uses as well as a link to download.

I highly recommend checking out Teaching Appz by clicking here!!

For my top 10 sites for finding educational apps click here.

Lessonopoly

Lessonopoly is a site I just learned about from the great blog, Educational Technology Guy.  This is a new (beta) site for creating and sharing educational resources.  They also have a a nice classroom planner for a registered account.

I recommend checking out Lessonopoly by clicking here!!!

For my top 10 sites for educational resources click here.

Virtual Technology Teacher

Virtual Technology Teacher is a wonderful site created by a IT Coordinator dedicated to integrating technology into the classroom.  On this site you will find a number of free videos on a number of different subjects in technology.  These videos are in Quicktime format and can be downloaded.  However, VTT offers school districts a paid solution for teaching technology lessons.  This can be very useful for districts that are in a financial crunch and can't afford various technology staff or other paid technology video solutions such as Atomic Learning.

I recommend checking out Virtual Technology Teacher by clicking here!!

Pictotool

Pictotool is a new (beta) site for creating pictograms and stickers.  All a user has to do is select a image, add some text, and then choose what colors to use.  Once that is done a picture can be generated and downloaded to a computer, inserted into a blog, or shared via a social networking site.

I recommend giving Pictotool a try by clicking here!!

Walkme

Walkme is an interesting site that allows users to create walk-throughs of their site.  This is done by installing a plugin and then going through your site and adding text/content to where you want the user to "get help".  For the end user the walk-throughs are done via a speech bubble interface.  Also, there is a nice way to track walk-through data via analytics.

I recommend checking out Walkme by clicking here!!

For my top 10 sites for self help technology click here.

Fixoodle

Fixoodle is a new (beta) social network designed to help people learn a language.  This is done by collaborating w/ others and typing sentences you want translated.  Then a person who speaks that language can help translate and add corrections.  Also, a user has the ability to share videos and message to help stimulate the translation/learning process.

I recommend checking out Fixoodle by clicking here!!

VerticalSet

VerticalSet is a new (beta) search engine that offers some nice features.  It allows users to customize their browsing experience by installing extensions that are suggested upon searching.  Also, there are some nice features for privacy and the way VS indexes results for a more effective search.

I recommend checking out VerticalSet by clicking here!!

Codeacademy

Codeacademy is a free site I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This is an ideal site to learn how to do html or CSS code.  I've used Dreamweaver in the past and had to learn how to do code the hard way, this is an ideal tool to help teach that.  Anyone can learn the basics through these user friendly lessons even on up to more advanced stuff.

I recommend checking out Codeacademy by clicking here!!!

MentorMob: The Magic of the Learning Playlist

MentorMob is a new (alpha) site that has been causing quite a stir lately in the education world, and for good reason!  At first glance MM might seem just like a site for curating the web, but it is much much more.  What it does differently from other sites out there is it allows users (teachers) to curate the web and then turn them into a "learning playlist".

A "learning playlist" is a collection of sites organized by a user (teacher) to teach others any given: subject, topic, unit, etc.  Best of all these playlists are very easy to create, can be embedded into a site, and be shared w/ others.  Also, these playlists can be collaborated on by others to help stimulate and facilitate learning (if allowed by the creator).  Plus, MM houses lots of playlists to choose from especially for education.

Here are a list of features that makes Learning Playlists so attractive for educators:

• User Friendly - A teacher can create a playlist in minutes w/out any experience necessary.  There is a online walkthru that helps a user create a playlist step by step.
• Privacy Controls - A teacher can set their playlist to public/private to determine who can and can't view or edit their playlist.
• Sharing - Playlists can be embedded into a site (highly recommend for education) or shared w/ others via popular social networking sites.
• Outline - A playlist can be viewed in outline mode.
• Step by Step Learning - A student can learn a playlist going step by step through the playlist and checking off what they know.
• Annotating - Playlists can be annotated as well as commented on for instruction and guided learning.
• Visually Appealing - MM's playlists are very visually appealing w/ an innovative design that helps ignite learning.

The future looks bright for MentorMob as well as they look to soon launch MentorMob Pro w/ an Educator portal that allows educators to batch upload students w/ a lot more features such as: playlist usage/tracking, administrative controls, and more.

I highly recommend checking out MentorMob by clicking here!!!

IXL

IXL is a site I've known about for awhile but was reminded about it from a former coworker of mine.  This is a great site for math on a wide variety of subjects and from Pre-K to 8th.  It covers addition, multiplication, algebra, and more.  Best of all it covers state standards and has interactive examples that students can try out.  A membership allows for more features for teachers such as reporting and awards.

I recommend checking out IXL by clicking here!!

Meaki

Meaki is a new (beta) site for curating the web.  Meaki reminds me of other curation sites such as: Pinterest, MentorMob, Bag the Web, etc.  It is very good at curating websites via a bookmarklet.  This creates what is known as a "clipset"  These clipsets can then be viewed by thumbnails or via a slideshow and then shared w/ others.

I recommend checking out Meaki by clicking here!!

For my top 10 sites for curating the web click here.

Wordia

Wordia is a site I've known about for sometime, that has recently gone through a major over haul.  This new-look Wordia is a free site that reminds me a bit of Spelling City but focuses mainly on Vocabulary.  This version focuses on learning vocabulary through educational games.  However, these games can be built by you the teacher, and played in school tournaments.

I recommend checking out Wordia by clicking here!!

Magna High

Magna High is a wonderful site for educational math games that I found out about from a fellow IT specialist, Jill Minnich.  This is a site designed for K-12th grade students that allows students to improve their math skills through a variety of online games/competitions.  Best of all, there is an educational portal which allows a teacher to sign up their school and track their students.  Also, this site is free and aligned to state standards; plus it has the ability to adapt to students needs to get easier or harder depending on how they do.

I highly recommend checking out Magna High by clicking here!!!

For another excellent site for learning math through educational games check out, DimensionU.

myHomework

myHomework is a nice iOS/Android app for tracking homework.  This is designed students track classes, assignments, projects and more.  This is nicely done w/ a nice calendar and other features such as alerting, etc.

I recommend checking out myHomework by clicking here!!

Flixel

Flixel is a free iOS app that is fun for literally bringing photos to life.  For example, if a person takes a pic of somebody playing the guitar the still photo would have the guitar players hands strumming the guitar.  Also, this is a nice app for adding some nice effects and then sharing w/ favorite social networks.

I recommend checking out Flixel by clicking here!!!

The Code Player

The Code Player is a new (alpha) site for creating or learning how to program/code through video.  These videos cover HTML 5, CSS, Java, and more.  A programmer can either create a tutorial by entering code and having Code Player create the video, or a person wanting to learning to program can come and browse the videos.

I recommend checking out The Code Player by clicking here!!

Kikutext

Kikutext is a great way for teachers to communicate w/ parents through text messaging.  The way this works is by giving parents a code (which is assigned to a registered user) to which they send text messages to receive messages.

I highly recommend checking out Kikutext by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Richard Byrne for the tip!!

For my top 10 sites to use w/ mobile phones in education click here.