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A useful site where you can type a message and it is read out using a voice synthesiser. There doesn't seem to be a limit to the length of the message. You can share the link to share the message. You can change the pitch, speed and more. It's a great way of giving instructions or homework over the net. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

There is a new type of wiki called the "federated wiki" that is the new brainchild of wiki inventor, Ward Cunningham. INfluenced by GitHub, this invention lets you "fork" a wiki page and make your own version with the original author having the choice to integrate your changes or keep it separate. This may be a great type of collaborative writing tool for researchers and academicians who often are concerned about adding to a common repository in that the page could evolve to no longer represent their views but their name is still affixed to the page. On the other hand, those who may not understand it, might incorrectly attribute something that has been forked and edited but not approved by the original author. I like the potential, however. For those of you who do collaborative work, this is an excellent read.

Increasingly activists are becoming filmmakers because video is the modern essay - traveling further than pamphlets by Patrick Henry, showing people in action fighting for freedom - or, in this case, free education in Chile, tends to cause change. Fascinating read and case study. "Roberto's son Pablo, born and raised in the UK, has worked on several documentaries on Latin America. He produced the documentary 'Inside the Revolution: A Journey Into the Heart of Venezuela', released in August 2009 by Alborada Films, and 'The Colombia Connection', released in November 2012. He has covered Latin America for various media outlets, including Al Jazeera English, the Guardian and the BBC. I spoke to Pablo about their forthcoming documentary on Chile's student movement and their crowdfunding campaign."

"While I did enjoy David Burgess' Teach Like a Pirate, and the hangout that she shared with us, I'll admit… it made me kind of sad.  Not because of the content itself!  But because of the hard memories it brought up.  I used to teach creatively and encourage innovation in my classroom like that.  When I graduated college, I was chock full of ideas and adored hands-on learning.  But my communication skills was parents was very weak and my administrator was a frustrated man who decided his best way of control was micromanaging.  It's a bit of a long story, but the end result is I was knocked down to stop being creative; to just follow the curriculum and to push worksheets. " Wow. As I read this teacher from Dr. Lee Graham's class (they are in gamifi-ed with my students) I'm so touched by how the teacher helps us feel what is happening to TOO MANY TEACHERS. Too many teachers are being pushed down to teach the wrong way. Worksheet wonders and we wonder why no one loves to learn. This is sad and must change. I hope you'll comment.

Phillip's hue is a lighting automation system. I was perusing ifttt.com and noticed some cool things like using hue to match instagram images (not sure why I'd want to do that.) I would, however, be interested in changing lighting in my room depending upon what we're doing. I do think color has a lot of impact as does smell and other environmental factors. What impact would it have -I don't know - but it is something that is now possible.

This is a great simple Apple device app to help you reach an appropriate level of volume in your classroom. Watch the gauge rise and the background change as the volume increases. You can adjust the sensitivity for the situation/activity. The app is supported by ads, but these only appear as you start the app. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/too-noisy/id499844023 http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Management+%26+Rewards

College admissions is changing.

If you're dealing with leadership transitions in your district, Miguel Guhlin has penned a pretty epic post. In it, he is blunt about the ups and downs of working with great leaders, and "hatchet men." IN the post, he also includes steps to making staff development actually work and his frustration to be asked to read books that no one else read or implemented. This is a great post and one that leaders should read (so they can be visionary) and staff and teachers should read (so they can find wisdom for making it through tough transitions.) Every transition is tough - I've been through several myself during my 12 years and even when the leader is a very good one, it is hard to do and endure because so many people take their "eye off the ball" and the ball is learning in the classroom. Drama in the front office should be kept at a minimum so classroom learning can be kept at a maximum.

Nice assignment from teachers Helen Chang and Susan Oxnevad. I like how they use graphics to make the assignment easier to follow. It is to write an article review of a current event relating to drugs.

How can you improve motivation in Math? Here are some great ideas to share with the math teachers who just say kids "aren't interested" and "don't want to learn." Change something, do something.

As a mother of a daughter who is applying to Georgia Tech in Computer Science, this is important. My daughter's life was changed when I had her use Kodu in class, write a program and win an NCWIT award. She was on a panel with Sylvia Martinez at ISTE about encouraging more girls into STEM and really realized that she liked Computer Science and would at least try it as a major. She said until she saw people talk about it and realized she could code, she had no idea that it was something she could do and like. Girls who code is a group that works to encourage girls to enter computing fields.

Hi Vicki. It's been my experience that students (boys and girls) who are exposed to programming in elementary school and then have it as part of the school IT curriculum are far more likely to stay the course through to high school and beyond. Some of my best programmers at Middle School have been Gr. 6 girls, a few of whom continued on to complete AP level programming, undergrad and graduate work in Comp Sci. Papert's work with LOGO pointed the way, ALICE and Scratch are there to play. Just need to keep programming in the curriculum so that students (boys and girls) know that it's a valued academic skill and not just a preserve for hobbiests and tinkerers.

"are we teaching students what to think or are we teaching them how to think?"

This looks like a great contest. (Plus you can win the kind of computer I have on my desk and it is awesome.) Here's information from the sponsor of this essay contest. I also suggest you get photos and take videos and you can share on your own school website or blog. "The Legacy Project's 14th annual essay contest changes lives and communities as it connects generations and gives students a powerful purpose for writing - listening to and learning from a life . Students learn about real life from real people, and often end up making unexpected friendships along the way. Here's one amazing example of a past winning essay: http://www.legacyproject.org/contests/winners12.html#tulsa Here's a closer look at the educational value of the contest and 21st Century learning skills, with quotes from students and teachers across the country: http://www.legacyproject.org/contests/ltalhowenter.html To enter the Listen to a Life Contest, students 8-18 years interview a grandparent or grandfriend 50 years or older about the older person's hopes and goals through their life, how they achieved their goals and overcame obstacles, or key life experiences. The young person then writes a 300-word essay based on the interview. The Grand Prize is a Lenovo ThinkCentre computer, along with 10 Legacy Awards of a keepsake timepiece from Expressions of Time. The contest runs to March 28, 2014. Students and teachers can find out more about the Listen to a Life Essay Contest, including complete contest rules, at www.legacyproject.org. This national contest is run by the Legacy Project, a big-picture learning project, and the nonprofit Generations United in Washington, DC.

Making time lapse videos is a wonderfully educational experience and changing how we view the world gives us valuable insight. This Apple and Android app can make stunning time lapse videos with just a few clicks. Set how long between taking each image and leave the app to it. You can even use it for create stop frame animations. You can upload your video directly to YouTube and link to the usual social media sites. There is a 'paid for' version for extra features. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Video%2C+animation%2C+film+%26+Webcams

Peggy Sheehy is the matron of gamification and she's one upped her own groundbreaking work in Second Life. She's gamified the Common Core Learning Standards. Wow. One more reason you can't use standards as an excuse to do nothing. "They are also learning to be mighty gamers because Sheehy is gamifying the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS). With the command "Go forth and be epic," students pack away drafts and log on to 3D Game Lab where A Hero's Journey awaits. WoWinSchool: A Hero's Journey is a curriculum based in World of Warcraft (WoW), a massively multiplayer online role-playing game in which players assume characters and interact within an ever-changing, virtual world.  Sheehy helped to frame the curriculum developed by Lucas Gillespie and Craig Lawson with whom she collaborates on the award-winning WoWInSchool project.  "

Here comes Windows 8 with a lot of new settings. These are talking about the Windows phone updates but other updates are on the way. "While Windows 8.1 adds a lot of features and improvements across the OS, the built-in apps include some of the biggest changes. Microsoft is detailing a few of the more creative ones ahead of the Windows 8.1 release tomorrow. The photos app in Windows 8 included Facebook and Flickr integration, but the Windows 8.1 version drops that in lieu of some improvements to editing. You can now select auto fix for a selection of different corrections, and there's also manual cropping, red-eye removal, retouch, and other basic contrast and brightness settings. One of the more interesting features is color enhance that lets you pick an area of a photo to brighten up or darken areas of photos."

A simple multiplication practise site where learners can choose from 6 difficulty levels and answer all the questions as quickly as they can. Players answer the questions using changing buttons, which means no typing is needed, making it idea to use on interactive whiteboards. Because it is designed using html the site also works on most tablets and smart phones. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

"Children of anxious parents are more at risk of developing an anxiety disorder. But there's welcome news for those anxious parents: that trajectory toward anxiety isn't set in stone. Therapy and a change in parenting styles might be able to prevent kids from developing anxiety disorders, according to research published in The American Journal of Psychiatry Friday."