Group items tagged

Ghost is an Open Source application which allows you to write and publish your own blog, giving you the tools to make it easy and even (gasp) fun to do. It's simple, elegant, and designed so that you can spend less time messing with making your blog work - and more time blogging.

"Andrew Vanden Heuvel has a little too much fun looking at mirrors with his Google Glass."

"WolframAlpha, the computational search engine has added a fun bit of functionality - it can now delve into your Facebook account (only with your permission obviously) and it can give you a whole bunch of interesting facts"

"Google Hangouts on Air allow you to record your hangout.  Sometimes I hangout with myself just so I can use all the fun Google Hangout (GHO) tools including screen sharing and have a video archive. Once you conduct your Google Hangout on Air  you may want to embed that video in your Google website."

"ElectroCity is an online computer game that simulates, in a very simplified way, energy management in New Zealand. ElectroCity allows players to create their own city and explore different approaches to energy and the environment. It is educational and fun."

Make fun, custom pictures ... including ASCII art! (via @iteachyear1)

Established in late 2004, e-Learning for Kids is a global, nonprofit foundation dedicated to fun and free learning on the Internet for children ages 5 - 12. We offer free, best-in-class courseware in math, science, reading and keyboarding; and we're building a community for parents and educators to share innovations and insights in childhood education.

123D Sculpt is another 3D iPad app from the Autodesk 123D series (last time I showed you Catch, for making 3D models from photographs ). Sculpt is specifically made for the iPad - and is free for the time being. Sculpting is a natural fit for the iPad touch interface, and the app is an incredibly powerful way to realize your most horrific nightmarish creature designs, or simply as a fun creative exercise.

"Create your live podcast with Spreaker. It's fun, simple and free." "Spreaker provides you with a user-friendly console to manage voice, special effects, and your music library

I have managed to get the Windows powered assessment and reporting software Accelerus that our school uses running on my OSX laptop. Check out the screenshot below. Was a bit tricky but Google was my friend as I tried out a couple of different ideas. The best guide I found was perhaps this one. It does require a knowledge of partitions and terminal commands but it worked a treat fo me. Along the way, I learned heaps and enjoyed the tinkering. I might have some fun and try to get Ubuntu Linux running again on this computer.

StoryJumper is a site that gives parents, kids, and authors a fun set of intuitive tools for writing and illustrating kids stories. Our goal is to inspire anyone that's ever wanted to write a kids story to get started! If you wish you can publish a hard cover version of the book from $24.95.

Another PEW report, this time into gamification "Tech stakeholders and analysts generally believe the use of game mechanics, feedback loops, and rewards will become more embedded in daily life by 2020, but they are split about how widely the trend will extend. Some say the move to implement more game elements in networked communications will be mostly positive, aiding education, health, business, and training. Some warn it can take the form of invisible, insidious behavioral manipulation. "The development of 'Serious Games' applied productively to a wide scope of human activities will accelerate simply because playing is more fun than working," observed Mike Liebhold, senior researcher and distinguished fellow at The Institute for the Future."

FOMO, you're not alone with your FOMO. There are other people out there just like you, and they've gone public with their problem. The iPhone and Android app TimeRazor, which finds and suggests fun activities in your area, recently pulled research from studies and articles by JWTIntelligence, comScore and The Wall Street Journal to produce the infographic below. It gives a good snapshot of how much time people spend online and whether it makes them feel like they're missing out on great experiences. Check it out for the full rundown.

"How you use Twitter for business or for fun is up to you, but there are some things that are definite no-nos - things that you do that affect other Twitter users perception of you."

Love it

Tux Paint is a free, award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 to 12. It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program.

Livebrush is a drawing application. It employs an easy-to-use brush tool that reacts to your gesture. By combining simple motion controls with brush styles, Livebrush offers a fun and unique way to create graphics.

"Tablets have quickly emerged as a distinct third digital screen in consumers lives that fill the gap between desktops and smartphones. But there are still many open questions about exactly how consumers are using them. We explored tablet search trends earlier this year, but wanted to dig deeper and answer key questions such as: What are the contrasts between tablet use, laptop use, and smartphone use and how are consumers engaging across these devices? What are the most common activities (playing games, searching, reading, etc.) that tablets are used for? What ads are most relevant and useful based on how people are using the devices? "

I created a two-minute introduction to The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture using the new animation tool, Powtoon.  It's a bit gimmicky but much fun.