HotChalk is a collaborative tool for teachers, parents and students. Teachers can access a free learning management system and curriculum tools. Also available is the ability to interact with students and parents regarding assignments and grades. free resources include a learning management system, lesson plans, curriculum tools and forums to discuss topics with other teachers. Most resources on this website are free but some of the more advance and global setting are not (hotchalk.com)
With all the screencasting going on in the blogosphere lately, what with tutorials running rampant across all different video sharing websites…I thought I'd share a few screencasting tools for those of you looking for a free alternative to some of those h
Jimdo allows you to make a free webpage. The homepage includes an instructional video with a brief overview of website creation. Overall the website is very easy to navigate. Jimdo can be used to create a class or teacher webpage. Photos or videos of class activities can be uploaded onto the webpage as well. The table creation tool could allow the teacher to create a class schedule for parents to access online.
Come join fellow educators to share and learn about technology use in the classroom, early childhood through grade 12. This is an incredible professional development opportunity and it is FREE! Please check out the website to learn about the "unconference" model of EdCamp, http://edcampmaine.org
A kid oriented, free web browser, search engine, w/ extras. free, but w/ membership options. For parents worried about their kids safety on the internet this might be a nice option.
Picasa is a great way to organize photos into timelines and albums either on your computer or online. Picasa can be used to edit photos and add text. Movies, collages, slideshows can be made. Photos and items made from picasa can be used by parents, teachers, and children. Teachers can document the progress and activities throughout the school year. Children can use Picasa for showing off their projects or documenting their own personal progress.
This is free easy photo sharing and also works for Macs. Parents and children could conceivably use it at home to make illustrated books with captions since there is a caption writing feature.
Great site where anyone of all ages can upload pictures and create things like photo stories Picasa is free photo editing software from Google that makes your pictures look great.
Sharing your best photos with friends and family is as easy as pressing a button!
The ePals Global Learning Community is a network of interconnected classrooms around the world. It provides a safe environment for students and teachers for building and exchanging knowledge, using protected e-mail, blogs, translation tools, evidence-based curricula and authentic, collaborative learning experiences. ePals offers a range of services and features that are free for students in grades K through 12. One service is ePals SchoolMail. This is a multilingual electronic communications solution that offers schools and districts a protected, customized and collaborative environment. Another service is ePals SchoolBlog, an educational tool for creating unified Web-based platforms that administrators, teachers, parents and students use to achieve academic goals (hotchalk.com)
The ePals Global Learning community is a very useful networking, and collaborative tool. I found it very easy to use. It is easy to sign up and free to use. I have had no problems using this website.
Jooners is a free Web site focused on communication and collaboration between schools
and parents. Its e-mail and scheduling Web site allows parents to have immediate online
access to school-wide information, such as calendars, events, after-school programs and
field trip information. Parents and teachers can arrange sign-up lists for any event that
needs parental support, such as book fairs or PTA fundraisers, and coordinate classroom
volunteers.