OpenDyslexic

Today I learned about a new font from Krystal, one of our district LSSP's. OpenDyslexic was created by computer technician/programmer/designer named Abbie who wanted to help students who are dyslexic to increase their readability. This font is open source and free.To sum it up, OpenDyslexic has unique letter shapes, bottom heavy letters, wide kerning and bold punctuation. Click This to learn more and download the font to see if this will work for you or your students. 

Suggested Reading: http://dyslexic.com/fonts

Learning+Fun with Mr. Nussbaum

Years ago, when I was in the classroom, I used Mr. Nussbaum, a site created by Greg Nussbaum, an elementary teacher up north who creates educational technology games for his students and students around the world. Today when I looked back at his site (and I haven't in a little while now, a eye-catchy site greeted me with tons of nice upgrades. For one, teachers and parents can now purchase a premium subscription, there is a video section and my favorite - a section devoted to the iPad and iPod. Check out Mr. Nussbaum's educational site and take a peek at his apps in the app store.
 

Best of Web 2012

Check out Best of the Web 2012 in this awesome resource from Richard Byrne from Free Technology for Teachers. It includes many of my favorites, MeeGenius, VocabHead, and tons more. Check out the presentation below.

 

United Classrooms

Image your students connecting with other students not only in their classroom, in their school, in their city, in their state BUT connecting with students around the globe? Image the wealth of knowledge that this connection will provide for your students and the experience they would obtain. United Classrooms, a FREE resource, connects classrooms around the world. Teachers simply sign their class up and students are connected to a secure classroom profile page which enables them to share content with their teacher, classmates, parents and collaborate with classrooms around the world. Go above and beyond the classroom walls and enter in to a world of connectivity. Need inspiration on what United Classrooms can do? View this video and be "wowed"!

United Classrooms from United Classrooms on Vimeo.
The official United Classrooms video. Connect your classroom to the world at UClass.org.

Here's more of what United Classrooms has to offer (taken from uclass.org):

From the classroom profile page, students…

• Dialogue with their classmates, their teachers and students around the world in a continuous feed of thoughts, questions, comments and reflections on current events, homework and other educational topics.
• Message their classmates, teachers and students in other classes to build pen pal relationships, extend learning opportunities, discuss assignments and turn in homework.
• Upload text, images and videos to show where they are from and what they are working on in class.
• Explore other classroom profile pages in their grade level and build relationships with students with diverse backgrounds and learning experiences.
• View and download homework assignments and/or teacher announcements.

From the classroom profile page, teachers…

• Engage students by creating projects, posting homework/announcements, uploading assignments, messaging students and prompting dialogue on the classroom feed.
• Collaborate with other teachers in their community and the world.
• Communicate with parents by posting classroom announcements and information.
• Manage all student content by deleting communication and suspending accounts.
• Use content generated on United Classrooms to springboard lessons and discussions.

From the classroom profile page, parents…

• View announcements, homework and assignments posted by teachers.
• View student projects and posts on their child’s classroom profile page.

Study Like a Champ!

With Study Champs, tutorials make learning easy with animated flipbooks and presentations. Math, English, Science and Social Studies tutorials are readily available via the website but that's just a portion of what this site has available. There are worksheets, interactive activities, fun activities and more.

Snag-gy!

snaggy allows you to paste images straight to the web!

Simply copy an image to your clipboard, then press Ctrl + V. Click the "remix this image" button and you can crop, write, draw and add text. Add several web safe font texts and sizes. Now that's cool.

Internet Essentials

Internet Essentials wants to bring the power of the internet to the homes of students across the country for a very low price. For under 10 bucks a month, students can have access to the world wide web for research and learning.

About Internet Essentials:

Four ways Internet Essentials gets you connected — for less.

While participating in Internet Essentials:

• You get fast home Internet service for only $9.95 a month, plus tax
• You never have any price increases or pay any activation or equipment rental fees
• You can buy a computer at initial enrollment for the low price of just $149.99 + tax
• You can get free Internet training — online, in print and in person

How it works:

How to qualify

To qualify for $9.95 a month Internet service and a low-cost computer, your household must meet all these criteria:

• Be located where Comcast offers Internet service
• Have at least one child receiving free or reduced price school lunches through the National School Lunch Program
• Have not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days
• Not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment

How to apply

• Call 1-855-8-INTERNET (1-855-846-8376) to request an application
• We will mail you an application. Complete and return it, along with lunch program documents from your child's school
• We will notify you by mail about the status of your application. Allow 7-10 days for a response

Get SMART!

Check out this easy steps to being SMART when using the SMARTboard. Tech Talk for Teachers has a blog post on Starting Your Day the SMART Way which gives you 21 fabulous ways to Get SMART! Click This to head on over and Get SMART today. Also check out their SMART Resource button in the navigation bar.

Side Note: It made me smile to see they have the same quote on their blog as I do: "If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow." -John Dewey

Teq has an awesome site that links to SMART resource downloads all categorized for you.

Mrs. Meacham's has a really neat site with SMART board resources. Click This to head on over to her page and explore the many resources she has collected.

http://www.jmeacham.com/smart.board.htm

PDFs...Meet Good Notes

For those educators who have embraced Pinterest like I have, if you haven't heard of Good Notes, then hold on to your seat because this little jewel of an app is pretty awesome. As I browsed the education category of Pinterest this weekend, I ran across a pin from a blog of a mother of a four year little girl with special needs. She blogged about how to use Good Notes with PDF files on your iPad. Her Blog entitled "Transferring Worksheets to Your iPad" gives you step by step directions and if you'd like to view the original post, click this. In a nutshell, if you have an iPad, pdf files, a file storage/file sharing app such as Dropbox or Box and the GoodNotes App, you'll need to do following:

1. Gather your pdf files and have them readily available for step number 3

2. Have Dropbox or Box downloaded to your computer

3. Copy and paste your pdf files in Dropbox

4. Open up GoodNotes on your iPad (it's a $3.99 app in the app store but well worth it - try out the FREE veriosion to make sure it's what you want/need)

5. Click the + sign at the top of the screen

6. Open up Dropbox and navigate to PDF file and Open it

7. Enjoy the pdf file by using your finger or a stylus pen to "mark it up"

8. Now say, "that is awesome" :). GoodNotes brings the Love of PDF files to your iPad...sweet!

ClassDojo...Yep, They Have An App!

ClassDojo launched their new mobile app today so now you can use it on you iPod, iPhone or iPad.

What's new with the app?

• The fastest, smoothest ClassDojo experience
• Award multiple students
• Randomly select a student with a shake of your device

Cool, eh? Click This to get the app now. Android version coming soon.

Never Forget 9/11

Today is Tuesday, September 11, 2012. Eleven years ago, America experienced one of the most horrific attacks remembered.

The month was September. The date was the eleventh. The year was 2001. The day was a Tuesday. 

Snippet from Wikipedia: On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally piloted two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. The hijackers also intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and intended to pilot the fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, into the United States Capitol Building^[2] in Washington, D.C.; however, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to take control of the jet from the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 246 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes.

The official 9/11 Memorial app has been created thanks to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The app is a guide to understanding 9/11 and is based on those who witnessed the events. Due to the nature of the material from in this app, viewer discretion  is strongly advised.

Get the FREE app now, click this.

Pixlr!

Can you say that name fast? It's the most popular online editor in the world according to their website. You get three ways to edit: Advanced, Efficient and Playful. And yep, there's an app for that! And even better than that, you can get the app for Apple and Android. Sweet!

Pixlr not only has online editing tools but a screen grabber as well. In Firefox, you can grab the screen as a webpage and it will load in Pixlr for you to edit and in Chrome, you can grab web parts or the whole page and edit in Pixlr. Click This to go check them out now.

Free Logo Maker

Logos take time and creativity and if you've got both of those, then you're in luck with a free service from Graphic Springs. All you do is choose a logo element, font and color and boom...new logo. Now that is awesome if you are in the market for a fresh school look and you're on a tight budget which most schools are the days. Check it out now and get started o n creating something fabulous!

Elementary School Rules

This morning on my way to the office, I heard a unique song from a little elementary school girl entitled "Elementary School Rules". Her mother, a former educator with Sheldon Independent School District located in Houston, Texas, wrote the song for her daughter, Amaya Hernandez, to sing. Amaya spoke on Houston 97 The Box this morning and stated she has dreams of one day becoming a singer.

Check out this catchy song which details the daily schedule of an elementary kid:

Flocabulary

According to Flocabulary website, it is an online learning platform that delivers educational hip-hop songs and videos to students in grades K-12. Founded in 2004, Flocabulary is now used in over 15,000 schools and reaches a weekly audience of 5 million students. Our mission is to motivate kids and help them reach their full academic potential, not only by raising test scores but by fostering a love of learning in every child

I learned about Flocabulary a while back but my assistant superintendent brought it back to my attention today. Parents and teachers can get a free 14 trial to try it out first to see what all the hype is about.

Spelling City...

now playing on an iPad near you! Yep, you read correctly. Now Spelling City has "an app" so pull out your iPad or iPhone or iPod and enjoy what I've been enjoying for years, a super fun tool that's all educational. Two words that ring music to my ears.  For those of you who have and use Spelling City, you will need to launch the app and click the "Find More Lists" button to search your list by entering your username. For Parents and Students, use the same "Find More Lists" button and search your Teachers's Name or Your Schools Zip-code. Click This to download the app now. Enjoy!

Remind Them!

We know that today's kids more than likely have digital devices that keep them "in the know". With so many tasks to do, sometimes they may need to be reminded of  "things they need to do". So two tech savvy geeks came up with a FREE tool for educators to communicate with their students AND their parents. With Remind101, teachers can...

• Message the entire class in a fast, safe, and easy manner

• Maintain privacy by never sharing phone numbers with students/parents

• Send unlimited texts

and what's even better, Remind101 is now apart of Schoology, an ultimate way to manage lessons, engage students, share content, and connect with other educators.

About.Me

About a year ago, I learned about a neat little site called about.me. If you want to build a simple but effective page that points your visitors to your content around the web, then about (dot) me is one site you've got to check out. Sign up is totally free and now there's an app for that!

In addition to loving this neat little site, I was completely surprised when I received a notification email that my about (dot) me was added to the sites Inspirational Section on their feature page. Woohoo, I'm excited.

Stop what you're doing, go to about.me and create your beautiful one-stop content page.

It's That Time

Welcome Back, Welcome Back, welcome back...to a new school year. It's been a relaxing summer and although I haven't updated the blog, I still kept in touch with the educational world through my educational twitter account (@arikajITF). I hope that you have had a great break and are ready to step back in and enjoy all the great resources I find on the web.

19Pencils...Oh Yea!

 With 19Pencils, teachers can search from 1,000s of Topics, save favorite web resources, easily add their own web site links, create a unique class page, create custom quizzes for their class and track student progress and access. And if you already have your own class blog, you can easily place a widget onto your existing website or class page to point your students, parents and colleagues to your 19Pencils link page.

Holy Snap! It's Been Too Long!

I haven't had a breather-moment to write on my poor old deserted blog and I feel totally bad about it. Over the past 2 weeks I've worked my tail off on several things both professionally and personally. In particularly, I've picked up the "twitter-thing" which I totally was fighting tooth and nails at first. I must admit, I'm "kinda" getting the hang of it and starting to like it so please come follow me @arikajITF. I twit tech things that I don't necessarily blog about so check it out. And I've been in correspondence with the good folks over at WatchKnowLearn.org, an awesome online tool for teachers with over 33,000+ educational videos and a directory of over 3,000 categories. WKL are on a nation-wide tour trying to get their name out there and their FREE resources in the hands of teachers and children around the country. And did I mention FREE! Yep, just log on to WatchKnowLearn and see what all the buzz is about!

Personal Cartton Avatars

In my quest to find a personalized, cartoon avatar, I ran across this post about someone who uses FaceTime on the iPad to do a 10 minute sketch of you and then convert it into a digital copy that he'll email right to your inbox.

In the mist of that post, I ran across a site that offers task for 5 bucks called Fiverr. It has a similar artistic guy that will do basically the same thing for a little less. Whichever the preference, both are uniquely artistic and produce awesome results.
http://fiverr.com/relaxabe/cartoonify-your-picture?new_registration=i-vMpnDKwpIVQ

Hope to share my cartoon image soon.

Another Great Giveaway...

from Ron over at Smart Apps for Kids. Through this giveaway, you could be one of ten winners to receive the:

SatDef  (protect the Earth using multiplication!) App

Hurry up and Click This so you can read all about the giveaway and enter to win...and tell him I sent ya!

OpenDNS - CLoud Internet Security

OpenDNS is the leading provider of Internet security and DNS services. If you're looking for a faster and more reliable internet, OpenDNS might be just what you're looking for. According the site, they provide the following:

• Industry leading malware and botnet protection
• Award winning Web filtering
• Faster, reliable, more secure DNS
• Ultra-reliable, globally distributed cloud network
• Simple, Smart, Easy

OpenDNS has three home plans with two of them being free. OpenDNS Home is their FREE classic service with customizable filtering and security.  OpenDNS Home VIP costs right under 20 bucks annuanlly and comes with more bells and whistles. And their last service is the OpenDNS Family Shiels that's  pre-configured to block adult content so you can set it and forget it and it's all for FREE.

Google Celebrates Nelson Mandela

Yesterday I twitted (via my technology account) about Google's new virtual museum on the life of Nelson Mandela. Today I had the opportunity to browse the online museum. You'll find family images, loads of videos, notes and letters and other important pieces of info, such as the years he spent behind bars, on this extraordinary man that was the First Black President of Africa. And Google has gathered this info and placed it in one place for the world to experience online. I have to say it's a must see so please take the time to Click This and experience Nelson Mandela as you have never experienced before!

Take a Walk Back in Time...

with an app. Video Time Machine isn't free but I think it's well worth the 3 bucks. Most reviews were 4 to 5 stars. A couple of people gave it one because it's just YouTube videos but what makes it unique is it's all organized, no searching on your part. It has been done for you.

I learned about it via SmartAppsforKids. If you can shell out a couple of bucks, I promise you won't be disappointed. Read a review on Video Time Machine by Smart Apps for Kids here and while you're at it, go and enter a chance to win an iPad from Smart Apps for Kids. It's a site created by a Dad who is on a quest to find the best educational apps for the iPad and iPhone. You can enter the giveaway in many ways and you still have 10 days to do so. Enter daily for more chances to win.

Best of Luck on the giveaway and enjoy his cool site!

5 iPhone Apps for the Classroom

When my boss, the assistant sup for my district sent me an email entitled -

5 Free iPhone Apps for the Classroom

which included this info:

1. WordPress for Iphone - Teachers can use this app to send
out assignments to their students and stay connected in
general

2. iFlashCards - flashcards that can be carried around in a
convenient digital format!

3. Fluent News Reader - Help your students stay aware of
what's going on in the world

4. Dropbox 1.2.5 - Store, View and Share files from anywhere!

5. Dragon Dictation 2.0.0 - dictate a long series of notes and
then e-mail or text them

I immediately noticed that I already knew/had them already except for the last one which was Dragon Dictation. So I looked DD up and it's a pretty neat tool. You can dictate a long series of notes and share them easily with a tap on a button to Facebook, Twitter or email. You simply Tap to Record and Tap to Stop. It then puts your dictation in a word like document which can be edited as you wish or shared. Dictations are stored in the Notes section in DD. Simple app that speaks volume.

If you want the PC version, it comes with a hefty price of 150 bucks which does include more features but since I can use this neat app on my iPad at full screen for free, that's what I'll use for now.

Playful Minds App

Heard of Playful Minds? It's a cool little app that focuses on teaching Math to kiddos ages 5-8 or in grades K-2. It has a Multiplayer option to play with other kiddos online or in the neighborhood. Options include easy, normal or hard and you even have an option of switching grade levels during the game. Before you begin the adventure, you will have to set up the profiles for your kids. You have up to 5 accounts that can be created so if you plan to use this in the classroom, you'll need at least 5 iPads which I know some schools/districts have in place.

Parents will have to subscribe and verify their subscription. With that subscription, you can manage your profile and follow your kid's result (which must be unlocked by completing levels or purchasing coins which range in price of 2 bucks all ht way to 100 bucks). I learned about this app via Smart Apps for Kids blog/facebook page which also states that after a year of using the app, the creators want you to pay for a subscription which costs 7 bucks a year. If you're not interested in the yearly paid subscription, you can always enjoy it for a year and then press that delete button afterwards. I think it will be well worth your kiddos using it for at least the free year! :-)

Please support my friend Ron over at Smart Apps for Kids by using this link to access the app. And while you're at it, check out his spot on the web and participate in some of the giveaways to win some paid apps.

Scholastic Gets Appy!

With just 3 easy screens, you'll be ready to go digital with Scholastic new "app" - Storia. Storia is what Scholastic calls "the fun, interactive, and educational eReading App for children". With this new app from Scholastic, you'll receive 5 FREE eBooks when you download it either to your Windows PC or to your Apple iPad. The Windows version is available today and the iPad version will be released in a matter of days which will allow you to take your eBooks with you wherever you go.

Storia's features include leveled books, reading progress tracker, an eDictionary and interactive activities that build vocabulary in a fun way. Their shop includes a Pre-K Level, Grades K-1, Grades 2-3, Grades 4-6 and Grades 7 & Up.  All Storia eBooks automatically open to the last page read or bookmarked which makes syncing to all devices a much loved feature.

Downloading is easy. Once you click on the download link here, then you'll click "save file", "run" and "done". Super easy, huh! And once the iPad app goes live, it will be as easy as a "tap of a button", "entering your iTunes password" and "tapping the confirm button". Either way you look at it, it'll be just 3 easy steps that will open a whole new world of reading.

Please note that prices will vary for each eBook and that all books purchased through Scholastic Storia App may only be used within the app.

 

 

YouTube for Schools

Is YouTube blocked in your school/district? Want to show an awesome video to your students but can't because it's on YouTube. Wondering about what workarounds you can use? There's a service from YouTube that's caters just to the educational world. Bring the power to your classroom for free and access free high quality videos on YouTube in a controlled environment.

First learn about it here (get the FAQ's), then contact your administrator to set up your Google Account if you school/district does not already have it.

Happy Brthday Dr. Seuss!

Today is Read Across America Day and to top it off, the movie Lorax hits the movie theaters (Catch the trailer, here! ) today on Dr. Seuss Birthday. Theodor (“Ted”) Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Kids and Adults alike all over the country are celebrating the impact of this great author and promoting the love of reading. Be sure to view the video below to hear and see actor/singer Justin Bieber read the book The Cat in the Hat. Also, check out NEA's School Tube Channel. This is the 15th Year that National Education Association has promoted their signature program of building a nation of readers. Here a link to NEA's Classroom Activity Guide for use in the classroom. PBS Kids have their own spot dedicated to The Cat in the Hat. If you're an iPad user or a classroom with iPads, check out the Free Rover app that I previously mentioned here. Happy Friday and Happy Reading!

• National Education Association | NEA Resources

• PBS Kids: The Cat in the Hat

• Get free clipart and read more about Dr. Seuss here.

• Teaching: Dr. Seuss Pinterest Link

• Dr. Seuss Activities via the PediStaff on Pinterest

• Justin Bieber reads The Cat in the Hat - You Tube Video 

• Lorax - You Tube Video

• Green Eggs and Ham - You Tube Video 

• Dr. Seuss's  ABC - You Tube Video

Cat in the Hat - Justin Bieber Style

Pinterest PediStaff Boards

As I browsed for "fun things to do" in celebration of Dr. Suess Day which is always March 2 of every year and will be tomorrow, I ran across a very interesting group/pinner(s) on Pinterest - PediaStaff. With 10,000 plus followers and 124 Boards, these boards are dynamic. (School Psychology Boards)

Here's a list of some of the boards you can find via PediaStaff:
Sensory Activities & Messy Play
Rhyming Time
Find Motor Activities/Exercises/Crafts
Literacy & Reading Fluency
Reading Comprehension / Critical Thinking
Inferences / Drawing Conclusions
Idioms / Figurative Language
Storytelling / Conversation
Visual Supports
Sequencing / Following Directions
Social Stories
Social Skills / Pragmatics
Emotions / Feelings
Photos 4 Working on Emotions / Problem Solving
Self Awareness
ADL - Activities for Daily LIfe
Scissor Skills Activities
Counting, Sorting, Matching
Vocabulary, Sight Words, Alphabet
Writing but not Handwriting
Language, Grammar, Sentences
Elicit Action Verbs Photos
Elicit Adjectives Photos
Auditory Processing
Visual Perception / Vision
Attention, Yoga, Mindfulness
Adaptations, AT, AAC, Aids
Feeding, Eating, Oral Moror
Classroom Management, Behavior
Hippotherapy, Animal Asst
Early Intervention
Responsenses to Intervention
Bullying
Bilingualism / Multiculturalism
Sign Language
Neonatal Therapy / Preemies
Music Therapy
4 All Ped Therapist
Therapist Blogs to Read
Toys/Games/Products 4 Speech
Book Themed Lessons 4 Speech
Apps & Extras 4 Therapy
Professional Development
Holidays such as MLK, Chinese New Year, 1ooth Day, Dr. Suess and tons more


Just in case you haven't heard of Pinterest, it's an online pinning service for social bookmarking. I'm totally hooked and I would like to warn you in advance if you haven't stepped into that world...it's addictive!

Happy Pinning and Enjoy PediStaff - they are awesome!