Skitch

I know it's been awhile since my last post. Hopefully a good find will make up for that! :-)

Skitch is a fabulous new programs from Plasq the makers of Comic Life. It allows you to quickly and easily share images and ideas.

Let it snow!

SnowCrystals.com is a fun online guide to snowflakes, snow crystals, and all things snow related. You can learn how snowflakes can be made in a lab, view galleries of snowflake images, and learn about snowflake history. Seems like a great site for winter explorations.

New Wild Cam!

National Geographic as done it again. Their latest Wild Cam is the Seal Cam. This cam provides live streaming video of elephant seals from Ano Nuevo Island in California. What a great chance to learn about these animals.

New Photoshop Elements Podcast!

I was really excited to discover a new video podcast focusing on Photoshop Elements Killer Tips. The folks at Photoshop Elements Users newsletter have put together some great resources. This is one you'll want to check out for sure!

Go Monkey Around!

Wow! It's been a long time since my last post. I've been searching for more online activities for my Kindergarten students to use. I found the Curious George site and they are loving it. It's a part of PBSKids. They especially enjoy figuring out how to Feed Gnocchi the cat along with many of the other activities.

Online Calendar Templates

I found a great resource for making editable MS Word calendars online. Printable Calendars is a free service which allows you to choose your calendar style and dates. Then just download, open in Word, and edit. I added text and clip art and was very happy with the printed results.

Great Web Cam

I've recently really gotten into exploring Google Earth. It has been fun to see how excited my students get when they first see it. While I was exploring the National Geographic Featured Content I came across the Wildcam Africa. This site is a must see! Right now I'm viewing Botswana, Africa and seeing some type of Antelope at the pond around 7:00 pm Africa time! The site also features highlight videos, animal information, and background information on the project.

Internet for Young Students

It's been a while since my last post. I've been very busy with the start of the school year. In preparing several Internet review and safety lessons I came across Internet4Kids. This site provides simple, easy to read definitions of Internet terms and concepts.

Brain Pop Jr. Launches

I was delighted to receive an e-mail today annoucing the official launch of the new Brain Pop, Jr. site. Currently there is open access to the movies, games, and other learning activities on the site. I am assuming that like Brain Pop the site will eventually be partially free and partially accessed by subscription. Don't wait to check this one out!

Fire Safety

As fall approaches I know many classrooms will be talking about safety. The Sparky fire safety web site is full of great activities for kids. They even have some activities specifically for non-readers. There are printables and even info on dalmatians!

Sign Language Site

With school starting I haven't had a chance to update this blog much. The American Sign Language Browser is a great site full of videos demonstrating sign language. Definitely worth a look.

Photoshop Elements Freebies

I just added several links on The Digital Scoop Photoshop Elements Freebies page. Enjoy!

Free Photoshop Brushes

I just found Jason Gaylor's blog which is full of free photoshop brushes! I downloaded several and they work great in Elements 3. I love finding great free stuff...especially high quality items like these.

New from Inspiration!

Inspiration software unveiled InspireData at NECC this week. I got a firsthand look at this powerful software. It is well worth a look. Students and teachers can enter data and create graphs and charts. If their project is changes over time they can create an animation of the data movement. They have a free 30 day trial that I will be using soon. Check it out!

More Flickr Fun

Flickr Toys is a fun site for creating with digital photos. You can create calendars, collages, trading cards and much more. Some of the toys require a Flickr account but others allow you to upload images. I know I'll be visiting this site again. Have fun!

Fun with Flickr!

Was doing a little blog surfin' this morning and stumbled on Spell wtih Flickr. I had fun playing with all the different letter combinations. Just a little fun for the start of summer! :-)

To Summer Blog or Not

As the end of the school year approaches summer is on my mind. If you have a second please let me know if you will use this blog over the summer. The Digital Scoop will stay up all summer as will this blog...I just don't know how much I'll update it.

Art Resource

The Harcourt School Art Glossary is a nice reference site. Students can have the definitions read to them and on many see an animated example.

Finding the Real Nemo!

Over the past several classes my 4th grade students have enjoyed learning about coral reefs. They visited several sites, researched an animal of their choice, and made simple PowerPoint slide shows to demonstrate what they learned. Here are the sites they explored:
Enchanted Learning: Coral Reefs
What does a fish look like?
Aquatic Safari
Finding Nemo Underwater Classroom

Have fun exploring!

Online CSI Adventure

The HHMI Virtual Bacterial ID Lab is your interactive window into dna testing and more. I had fun going through the bacterial identification process. This site would be best for upper grades.