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Free program to save files in the PDF format. I tried it and it seems to work fine.

Believe it or not, the name of this says it all. You create your own Mr. Picassohead using various "picasso-like" features for face, hair, eyes, nose, etc. It's really quite engaging and definitely a lot of fun.

A versatile teaching tool! You can teach lots of different number concepts using it. "I've hidden some numbers. Can you work out what they are by looking at the ones that are left? Do you think the numbers are going up in steps of 1, 2 or 5?" "I've made a number pattern. It goes like this ...0,3,6,9. How high can you get carrying this pattern on? Let's check your answers on the number square!"

By using its "Salary Wizard," you can find the salaries for many different occupations in different regions of the country. It's an excellent way for students to research the pay for various jobs. It's pretty accessible, though it might take a minute or two of teacher explanation to Intermediate English Language Learners.

a simple youtube video explains it all, too.

"This is the official home page of the award winning OpenEducationDisc. We used to have a separate blog, but we've integrated it into the main site and you can now see the latest news for it either directly at www.theopendisc.com or alternatively, browse using the OpenEducationDisc tag."

"Are you an educator looking for new ways to grab your students' attention and liven up your daily lessons? Visit the new Wolfram|Alpha for Educators site, where you'll find examples, lesson plans, and even videos on how you can incorporate the technology of Wolfram|Alpha into your classroom. Peruse the video gallery to get a quick introduction to Wolfram|Alpha, and hear from educators and students who are using it in lectures, activities, and research projects. From there take a peek at one of the many lesson plans, in subject areas such as science, mathematics, and social studies. Once you get the hang of it, you can even submit your own lesson plans to share with other educators. This site also points to many other Wolfram educational resources, including the Wolfram Demonstrations Project and MathWorld. We have even set up an Education group on the Wolfram|Alpha Community site so that you can connect with other educators. So the next time you want to do something new and different in your classroom, check out Wolfram|Alpha for Educators to spark your imagination."

"There's been a lot information -- and misinformation -- available about whether Skype is dangerous to corporate networks and individual users. How dangerous is it? In this article, I'll separate the truth from the myths when it comes to Skype vulnerabilities."

Welcome to the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign. You can learn all about bullying and what you can do to stop it. Take a look around and you'll find games and cartoon Webisodes that help you Take a Stand. Lend a Hand. Stop Bullying Now!

If you are looking for sites about bullying and cybersafety here is a new one for me. Passing it on in case you haven't seen it either.

ave you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down and talk to Albert Einstein, George Washington, or Susan B. Anthony?  Wonder no more, with Virsona, your students have the opportunity to do just that!   Virsona is an interesting tool that lets students create a virtual character of themselves (or a virtual literary character).  Students answer a variety of questions about themselves (or another character).  They can create automatically generated responses, greetings, and choose a personality for their virtual selves.  After they have created their virtual persona, they can share the link to their virtual self.  Anyone can ask their virtual self questions (via chat) and responses are automatically generated based on the answers that were given.  Virsona has some excellent built in historical, political, and literary characters that students can interact with..  Students can chat with a virtual George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Pocahontas, Babe Ruth, Susan B. Anthony, and more.  Students choose the persona to chat with, asking them questions about their stance on politics, entertainment, beliefs, and more.  It is very cool!  Try chatting with Abraham Lincoln here.

The projects profiled here are full-figured creations by teams of teachers at schools whose cultures and schedules support grand ideas. Take a deep breath -- it didn't happen in one big swoop. Article on how to plan the PBL process in a classroom/school/district. I think this article is useful for any educator hesitant about the project-based learning approach. It's a lot of time and work, and then a struggle with how it is assessed. In my personal experience, project-based learning makes for an amazing classroom, but there is a lot of work done on the front-end to get students to buy-in to this model, and then to work within this model.

"Abstract: This paper reports on the design, development, and application of a Checklist intended to assist educators in recognizing strengths and weaknesses in their technology-based programs at their institutions. The Checklist sampled public and private schools to validate the existence and impact of the Technology Facade. Initial findings indicate that schools have masked the effective use of computers labs and classroom computers behind the auspices of teacher activities, student participation, and parental involvement. The study and suggests possible courses of action to address deficiencies in the use of technology, the construction of the necessary infrastructure, and the design of a viable instructional strategy."

This resonates with me because I see it time after time. Even one-to-one districts aren't doing anything with the computers that they weren't already doing without them. The technology is a Facade. Interesting notion

The author of this book was my professor at Duquesne University during the time he was authoring it. He, at the time was the head of the Instructional Technology Deptartment. As an assignment, we helped to "proofread" and make suggestions...so excited to see it mentioned here. Larry has been ahead of his time in this field for years. Great read, and highly recommended as it offers a different, yet crucial perspective on things.

"The iPad is finding its way into more and more classrooms because of the growing number of educational apps that can be used with students. Some of the best ones are the new breed of iPad book apps. These apps make it great to use an iPad for reading books in class. Here are 10 of the best."

A great discussion starter article for your teachers.

"With Myfakewall.com you can easily create fake profile pages just for fun. This fake facebook wall generator allows you to create a funny profile to entertain your friends. Create it, and share it on Facebook !"

This soccer coaching game is a good one to use with young players when you would like to stop the parents interfering from the sidelines during a match. It uses role reversal ideas to show pushy parents how shouting instructions to their children can be distracting and unhelpful. Kids love it!

"It's a subject we've discussed before, but it's worth taking another look. With all of the great new StreetView imagery arriving the last week, many people don't realize how easy it is to view that imagery in Google Earth. If you find yourself in Google Earth using one of the many layers they've built in or exploring a KML file you recently downloaded, it can be handy to dive into StreetView mode without having to load your browser and use Google Maps."

Great how to on using street view in Google Earth.