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Communication skills are critical for today's students. Reading, writing and the ability to tell a story set the stage for success. The Hub, a new TV destination dedicated to bringing kids and families together, is partnering with Discovery Education to support teachers in this important endeavor. Here you'll find inspiration to engage and inspire your budding writers. Meet the artists, editors and writers that bring good stories to life-and watch your students' communication skills soar!

OpenWith.org provides detailed information about most file extension and links to free programs that can open and create each type of file. All of us at OpenWith.org have found ourselves helping our parents and friends open obscure file types time and time again, and decided that this information was best shared with everybody. There are plenty of great programs out there that will cost you hundreds of dollars to do what you need. What you probably don't know is that there is usually free software that it just as good. You just don't know about it.

via http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/12/18/best-applications-for-annotating-websites/

Backboard automates the process of getting feedback and approval on all your projects-it can handle almost any type of file, but it's especially good with mixed graphical and text media. It only takes a minute to start a Backboard. Upload the file you would like feedback on, choose a security level, and select the email addresses of one or more reviewers. Each reviewer will receive a link to your file, where they can come and leave feedback on your document. Every kind of document can be annotated and marked up in the same way, so reviewers do not have to learn several commenting systems. Better yet, you can view all reviewers' feedback in the same place, so you'll never again find yourself merging several documents with different "tracked changes." via http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/12/18/best-applications-for-annotating-websites/

Here are five ideas that will help you begin building your own personal learning network. 1. Read blogs related to your passion. Search out topics of interest at http://blogsearch.google.com and see who shares those interests. 2. Participate. If you find bloggers out there who are writing interesting and relevant posts, share your reflections and experiences by commenting on their posts. 3. Use your real name. It's a requisite step to be Googled well. Be prudent, of course, about divulging any personal information that puts you at risk, and guide students in how they can do the same. 4. Start a Facebook page. Educators need to understand the potential of social networking for themselves. 5. Explore Twitter (http://twitter.com), a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables users to exchange short updates of 140 characters or fewer. It may not look like much at first glance, but with Twitter, the network can be at your fingertips.

Within this site you will find lesson ideas, examples, and downloads for mathematics that embrace active learning, constructivism, and project-based learning while remaining true to the standards. The initial focus will be for grades 5 and up, but teachers of younger students may be able to find some uses or inspiration from the site. Higher level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and creativity are encouraged as well as technology skills and social learning. The scope of this site is mathematics, but many lessons lend themselves to interdisciplinary activities also.

Virtual Apple ][ is a site which will take you back to the 1980's through its collection of more than 1250 game disks online. Play and enjoy old Apple ][ (Apple2) and Apple IIgs games and other disks through your Internet web browser. You will find games like Oregon Trail and Number Munchers which many of you played as kids, as well as games like Tetris, Battle Chess, Leisure Suit Larry, Choplifter, Archon II and Kings Quest.

The TechMatrix is a powerful tool for finding educational and assistive technology products for students with special needs. See the Find Product menu for other search options. Create a customized matrix by subject and/or learning support. Send your customized matrix to a friend or colleague. Learn what questions to ask and how to make informed decisions in the Consumer Guide.

"I Need My Teachers To Learn was Written and Performed by Kevin Honeycutt and produced by Charlie Mahoney (who also played percussion, bass, and Piano). This has gone through many incarnations, but after hooking up some good mics and recording equipment, I think we have a keeper. This recording includes background vocals from the Turning Point Learning Center Choir, which is composed of our virtual and face-2-face students. http://kevinhoneycutt.org http://artsnacks.org"

Capture windows and region Capture Region Simply capture part of the screen or a specific window with the same shortcut. Simple. Portable application Capture Region No need to install the application, you can run it directly after download. Screenshot history History Don't bother to save screenshots on your drive, Screenpresso does for you. Practical Attach screenshots to emails Drag & drop screenshot from History Drag and drop screenshots from history directly to your favorite email editor. Webmails like GMail are also taken into account! Swift. Built-in image editor Built-in editor Crop, spotlight an area or comment parts of captured image. Efficient. Capture scrolling part Capture scrolling part Can't fit it on the screen ? Make a unique image thanks to the stitching mechanism. Smart. Add effects Add image effect Look like a pro. Add drop shadow, round corners and reflection and more. Sleek. Resize bunch of images Screenpresso Resize and export Need to export images or create thumbnails at specific size, one click. Share screenshots on Twitter Screenpresso Twitter Easy share screenshots on Twitter thanks to Twitpic integration.

The Blio eReader software is the new touchstone for the presentation of electronic books, magazines, and digital content. Its feature-rich design is perfect for today's power readers, who increasingly rely on digital content for work, leisure, and learning. The extensive Blio Bookstore was created in partnership with Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of literary content and value-added services, and the world's largest publishers. Enjoy a vast selection of titles, with a superior, color reading experience on desktop PCs, netbooks, tablet PCs and mobile devices.

At fontcapture.com you can create a font from your very own handwriting. There's no software to download and install, all you need is a printer and a scanner. Simply fill in the font template, scan and upload it to our website, and download your completed font. The fonts you create using fontcapture.com can be used on both Windows and Mac computers.

Now if we could just start using Moodle...

Keep in mind the ideas and prototypes provided on this site are incubation projects and aren't actual products or features from the Microsoft Education Products Group. They may not work perfectly under all conditions. However, they are steps toward the future of education and we'd like you to be part of the innovation. Let's collaborate and see which ideas flourish. New ideas can pop up any time, so we hope you'll check back often and join us in the exploration.

In this workshop, participants will discuss what Google Documents are and then create a project. Google Applications is a tool which has many uses inside and outside the classroom. It can be used for collaborative writing, revising documents and presentations, and sharing and publishing student work online.

Keep students connected to your curriculum from home and back. Posting assignments and lessons online can help students catch up or review if they are absent from school. And giving students "all the time" and "at anytime" access to the learning helps with time budgeting and life long learning skills.

Automatically turn your photos into amazing 3D models with Autodesk 123D Catch. Capture the world around you in a whole new way!  ✓ Take photos with your camera-equipped iPad and submit them for processing on the Autodesk Cloud where they are automatically converted into a realistic 3D model that you can view, share, and download. ✓ Take up to 40 photos and upload them to the Autodesk Cloud for processing ✓ Connect with the 123D Catch Community Gallery to see the amazing captures other users have shared and to submit your own! ✓ Included example gallery to explore! ✓ Interactive startup guides you through the process! ✓ Use your device's gyro to control the 3D camera when viewing your finished captures or simply touch the screen to use Multi-Touch view controls

Expand your kids online experience with KidZui, the Internet for Kids. KidZui is a Firefox add-on that with one click turns Firefox into a kid-safe environment with over a million kid-friendly websites, games, pictures, and YouTube videos. Real parents and teachers review content for KidZui so your kids can surf independently. Kids build avatars to express themselves online. They earn points for exploration and discovery. They can tag content and share it with parent-approved friends. When locked down, KidZui prevents kids from closing the browser, downloading files, or opening other applications. This is a great way to let your kids independently explore on Firefox without worrying about them using the adult Internet, or accidentally deleting important files.

Connect with educators who share your interests | Share lesson plans | Compare notes on resources and products | Discuss topics of mutual interest | Write a blog | Share files, images, and videos | Message and chat for instant dialogue | Create groups to build community and collaborate.

ClassWish, a nonprofit, makes it easy for teachers and schools to create Wish Lists of the supplies they need for students to excel. Parents and others in the community see exactly what is needed and contribute online. Together, we can make a powerful difference in our children's lives

Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of "press-ready" output and new approaches to page layout. Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.

WPClipart is a collection of high-quality public domain images specifically tailored for use in word processors and optimized for printing on home/small office inkjet printers. There are thousands of color graphic clips as well as illustrations, photographs and black and white line art. Nearly all are in lossless, PNG format. As of Friday, 12/12/2008 there are 23,907 images.