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"What it is: IKT FOR LAGET out of Norway has created a fantastic ebook all about Energy.  This is more than just a book that happens to be online (I know we have all seen those!), this is an interactive book that is great for ALL of your learners.  In addition to the text and bold images in the book, there is an audio feature on every page that will read the text to students.  Click on the video icon to watch a related video.  Students can even download related images from some of the films for use in their own projects where they reflect or construct their own understanding. Additional resources and links are provided within the book for teachers, parents, and students.  All of the additional content "enlarges the book" into something really useful for learning and exploring.   This is a big step in the right direction for ebooks- no more trying to pass off a PDF as a digital ebook, this is the real deal. How to integrate the Digital Energy Book into the classroom: If you study energy in your science curriculum this ebook is a super resource and addition to your classroom library.  Set up the ebook on classroom computers during independent reading time for some non-fiction reading material.  The ebook is great for all levels of readers, confident readers can read the book independently while struggling readers may want to read along with the audio.  Use the ebook as a "big book" using an interactive whiteboard or projector connected computer to read about energy as a class." iLearn Technology

What it is:  Grammaropolis is a site I have long been a fan of.  I've written about it in the past in these posts.  Grammaropolis recently got a significant upgrade with TONS of new, great features.  The site now includes character descriptions for nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections.  In addition to the great descriptions, each character includes a song, videos, book, games and, soon, quizzes.  Not all of this content is free, but there is enough free content to be useful in every classroom no matter the budget.  All of the content associated with the Noun character is free.  Every other character includes the character description and book for free.  The music, videos, quizzes and games are "extras" that are available by subscription.  You can get your classroom a Grammaropolis passport to access all of the content including the ability to follow and track your students progress within Grammaropolis.

 If it Were My Home is a fascinating website that asks students to consider what their life would be like if they were born in a different country.  Would they be the same person?  If it Were My Home is a country comparison tool where students can compare living conditions in their own country to those of another.  When students select a country, there is a visual overlay comparison of maps.  Students can easily visualize relative size of another country based on their own state or country.  Students will also see a break down of death rates, HIV/AIDS, birth rate, electricity availability, oil consumption, economic comparison, health care, and class divide.  Students have the ability to compare the country they selected with another country of interest.  Students can learn additional information about the country and vote to show if they would rather live in the chosen country.  Additionally, most countries offer a recommended reading list with books about the selected country.  When students click on the mini-facts, they get a full description of the fact along with the original source.  K Tenkley

Math games: Multiplication, addition, subtraction and division

 Sweet Search is a search engine that searches only the sites that have been reviewed and approved by a team of librarians, teachers, and research experts. In all there are 35,000 websites that have been reviewed and approved by Sweet Search. In addition to the general search engine, Sweet Search offers five niche search engines. The niche search engines are for Social Studies, Biographies, SweetSites (organized by grade and subject area), School Librarians, and Sweet Search 4 Me (for elementary school students). (Richard Byrne) 

Student Math Movies is a Wiki dedicated to sharing movies about many different math topics, ALL created by students! There are 18 different subjects including Addition, Decimals, Division, Estimation, Exponents and more. You are also able to submit a video that your students create. 

This is a great site that is basically a giant FAQ database on everything tech. There are topics on the Internet, Hardware, Files and Sharing, Email, Images, Chat and Classroom Management. When you choose your topic there is a list of common questions that teachers or other tech users might ask. For example in the hardware section there are questions like what is a flash drive, or how do I burn a CD in Windows XP? The questions are basic for those of us who work in tech everyday but very common for those that don't. Each section also provide additional links to other resources that users can consult when they have questions.

 Story Nory is a collection of FREE audio books for kids.  There is a mixture of new stories, fairy tales, and specially adapted myths and histories.  A new audio story comes out each week (this has been true since November of 2005!).  Search stories by newest additions, original stories, fairy tales, classic authors, educational, or junior stories.  The stories can be subscribed to as a podcast in iTunes, through their iPhone/iPod touch app, via email, or RSS feed.  Story Nory offers the text to accompany the audio so that kids can read along.

 Quicklyst is a great addition to any student (or teacher) tool box. It makes note taking a breeze, quickly importing definitions and search information into the notes. In a one to one setting (where every student has access to a computer) Quicklyst could be used by students to take notes during discussion, lecture, or any type of whole class learning activity.  In the one or two computer classroom, Quicklyst could be assigned as a student job in your classroom. During the class, the student assigned can take notes that can later be downloaded and sent to students, or printed as a study guide.  The class job should be rotated so that each student has an opportunity to be class recorder. Quicklyst is also excellent for teachers taking notes in staff meetings, professional development, or conferences.  It is such a simple tool to use and has just the right amount of extras (instant definitions) to make it really useful!

"The Secret Annex lets students travel back in time to Anne Frank's hiding place.  Students can explore Anne's house in a super cool 3D interactive environment.  The Secret Annex gives students an authentic feel for the place where Anne wrote her diary while listening to stories of everyone who lived in the hiding place.  In addition to the 3D hiding place, students can review historical archive material about the war and view unique TV broadcasts where memories are shared." iLearn Technology

Google Scribe provides text completion service. Using information from what you have already typed in a document, Google Scribe provides related word or phrase completion suggestions. In addition to saving keystrokes, Google Scribe's suggestions indicate correct or popular phrases to use.

" eduify is an online tool that acts as a writing coach for students.  As students write they have immediate access to tutorials and writing examples, the built in ability to discover and cite sources automatically, the ability to verify citations and safeguard against plagiarism, the ability to store, share and edit documents online, and the ability to get help from friends and experts.  eduify takes all of the guess-work out of writing and puts the focus back on…well, writing.  Students can focus on getting their thoughts out and expressing learning, eduify helps take care of those little details that hang students up.  Students can even find quotes and additional sources for their writing directly within eduify." iLearnTechnology

"What it is: eduify is an online tool that acts as a writing coach for students.  As students write they have immediate access to tutorials and writing examples, the built in ability to discover and cite sources automatically, the ability to verify citations and safeguard against plagiarism, the ability to store, share and edit documents online, and the ability to get help from friends and experts.  eduify takes all of the guess-work out of writing and puts the focus back on…well, writing.  Students can focus on getting their thoughts out and expressing learning, eduify helps take care of those little details that hang students up.  Students can even find quotes and additional sources for their writing directly within eduify."

"What it is: Any time students can dig in and discover learning for themselves, I consider it a success.  Recently I ran across the BBC's DIY build a catapult.  The site lets students explore the history behind the catapult, learn how to build one step by step and then discover principles of velocity, acceleration, force, distance and math.  With the popularity of games like Angry Birds, I think a lesson in the science and math behind the catapult is in order.  I like the step-by-step nature of this site and the way that kids are guided through a series of directions. How to integrate BBC Build a Catapult into the classroom: Begin with a time of inquiry where students can inquire into how catapults work, what they can launch, what they have been used for in the past and the science and math behind the catapult.  This site will help answer a lot of their questions and even prompt some additional questions.  Students can follow the step-by-step directions for constructing their own catapult.  Give students the opportunity to test their catapults, using the science and math concepts behind the catapult to predict where object will land based on angles and mass.  The science section of the site does a fantastic job of illustrating vertical velocity, horizontal velocity, the circumference of a circle, acceleration, force and mass.  These can be hard to understand concepts on paper (or in textbooks) but when students can see the concept illustrated and apply it, they will begin to build a framework of understanding. After students understand the concepts of building a catapult, ask them to try building a catapult out of different types of supplies, do some energy sources work better than others?  Ask students to think about objects in our modern-day lives that use the principles or science used in a catapult. Students can access this site from classroom computers as a learning/building center or go through the steps as a class using a projector-connected compu

 Learning Box has a virtual version of base 10 blocks that builds in a fun practice game.  Students are given a target number and drag base 10 blocks onto the paper to represent that number.  As students add blocks, a counter at the bottom of the page shows how many blocks are currently on the paper.  This is a great way for students to digitally practice place value, counting by hundreds, tens and ones.  The Learning Box Base 10 blocks are a great example of a virtual manipulative.  They help students visually represent numbers and place value.  I like the way the slider and cups on the bottom of the page help track student progress as they drag blocks to the paper. When students get the target number, they don't start with a blank slate, instead a new target number is given and students have to figure out which blocks to add or subtract. You can adjust the level of difficulty and place values practiced by clicking on the 1, 10, and 100 circle to the left of the paper.Learning Box Base 10 would make a great center activity in the one or two computer classroom.  Students can use the digital manipulatives with the built in game or to help them represent real-world problems.Start a whole-class game with the Learning Box Base 10 blocks using a projector-connected computer or interactive whiteboard.  Students can take turns at the board solving the problem and "phone a friend" if they need some additional support. iLearnTechnology

"PowToon would be a great addition to the design thinking routine. Students can use PowToon to share their ideas or to "prototype" an idea. Students can create videos to show math processes, explanations of complex concepts, review new learning, teach others, explain processes, tell stories, or present research. The possibilities are really endless and students will come up with hundreds of other creative uses. Teachers can use PowToon to create animations for students. This is a great way to present new information or ideas for discussion. Tips: The PowToon Interactive Tour and How to Create series are very helpful to watch prior to creating your first animations."

This is a great site to learn about how to tag.