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"When working with K-2nd grades, it's often the case that students are able to verbally communicate their ideas, but typing those out is another matter.  Using Present.me, we solved this issue for a second grade class that was creating slideshow presentations.Present.me is a web service that lets you create effective presentations through your PowerPoint files.  What makes this site unique, is it lets you add a narrative to the presentation. Once you upload your PowerPoint, you can record a narrative through your webcam and microphone as if you were presenting the slideshow. The final presentation then appears with your webcam recording on the right and slides on the left. A filmstrip view of the slides is also given on the bottom of the presentation. The elementary school I was working with used Google Docs, then converted the presentation to a .PPT file, which Present.Me only accepts.  After the presentation is uploaded, it is queued for the students to record their own words to describe each slide, and time when they want each slide to advance. Once they are finished recording, they have the option to record the presentation again if not satisfied with what they did.  Otherwise, you can then publish the presentation, giving it a unique URL that can be shared with anyone. The free plan of Present.me only lets you publish up to 10 recordings per month; each of these presentations can be 15 minutes long. Having the students work in groups allowed the class to stay under the ten recordings limit. " Richard Byrne

A new way to podcast. Simple and easy to use, Vocaroo provides you with a link to your recording that you can embed into blogs and sites. Your recording can be as long as you like. The recording will be deleted after a few months, so if you want to keep it, you will need to download it to your computer.

A wonderful new way to research topics. The students type in the subject, the site 'groks' and returns with a concept map that can be made more complex or simple by dragging the green dot (beside the scientist situated at the top of the screen). Finally, a site that differentiates content for students!  The concept map can be expanded by selecting any of the yellow concept dots, and facts, videos, websites, images, etc. can be found on the right side of the screen. A journal tab beside the graph tab allows student to do some writing to record their learning and can be copied into a Google Doc for later reference.   French Revolution, organelles, succession, polynomials, Jane Eyre, composition . . .  this site has much to offer.   The "Quizzes" tools gives you classroom-ready quiz questions on your search term.   Tip: You can use the little slider at the top of the search results screen to adjust how detailed your results are.  You can go from the ABC chalkboard to the Einstein-y looking fella.

"This is a great project for elementary and beyond. Report/bio/non-fiction writing in a Google Doc with an embedded QR code that links to the student reading excepts from their research. You may print out book style when complete, or create on online flip book using sites such as Issuu, Youblisher or Flipsnack."

A site where you upload a picture, record yourself and then make the mouth move to appear as if the picture was talking. Good for storytelling or making reports. Visual podcasting....

 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!

What it is: Mr. Thorne Does Phonics is a website and YouTube channel dedicated to teaching kids phonics through videos.  The site has a great tag line, "Where learning to read becomes reading to learn." The videos are divided up by categories which include: Introduction to PhonicsGeraldine the Giraffe VideosAlphabet Letters and SoundsMore Alphabet Letters and SoundsConsonant DigraphsLong Vowel SoundsConsonant BlendsAlternative SoundsAlternative Spellings200 High Frequency WordsGrammarChristopher Thorne hosts all of the phonics videos with occasional guest appearances from his friend Geraldine the Giraffe (who has her own book!).  The videos are engaging, help students listen for phoneme segmentation, and give them encouragement to replicate the phoneme sounds themselves.  This library of phonics videos is wonderfully comprehensive! How to integrate Mr. Thorne Does Phonics into the classroom: Mr. Thorne Does Phonics is a fantastic introduction to phonics, phonemes, and decoding words. Students can practice word recognition, pronunciation, and phonics rules with fun videos that can be played, paused, and rewound.  The Mr. Thorne Does Phonics site would be a wonderful site to have available for students on classroom computers as a reading center. Students can visit the reading center and pull up the video of the exact phonics skill that they need to practice.  Mr. Thorne Does Phonics would also be a wonderful way to introduce your whole class to a new phonics skill by playing the videos for them using a projector-connected computer or interactive whiteboard. If you have access to a built-in webcam or portable video camera, encourage students to create their own Mr. Thorne inspired phonics videos.  These can be shared with other students in the class, parents, and younger grade levels.  The videos also make a great record of progress throughout the school year. Tips: You can also find Mr. Thorne's phonics videos on YouTube. Can't access YouTube at school?

a nice site intended for younger students to use to create digital stories. Little Bird Tales walks users through each step of creating a multimedia story. Users can upload images, draw images, or record from their webcams. Stories can be written with text or narrated by students using microphones connected to their computers. (Richard Byrne)

How to integrate Cyberkidz into the classroom: Cyberkidz is a fun place for students to work on the knowledge level of Bloom's Taxonomy. The music game is the only creative game that I would truly place in the "create" category of Bloom's Taxonomy because it gives students free rein to explore music and create a recording. The majority of the games are designed to help students build skills and remember key concepts that are a necessary foundation for other learning. These are a nice alternative to worksheet skill practice. Students will enjoy the game quality of these practice activities. Each activity can be advanced through relatively quickly making them perfect as a center on classroom computers. Students can visit the game as a math, literacy, geography or science "practice" center before advancing to put those newly honed skills to work in a higher order thinking center. These practice activities could also be completed as a class using an interactive whiteboard or projector connected computer. Split students into teams and rotate them up to the whiteboard for a class practice session.

How to integrate Tiki-Toki into the classroom: Tiki-Toki is a fabulous new way for your students to create and share online.  Timelines are an obvious choice for history projects but can be used throughout the year for a variety of subjects and learning focuses.  Students can reflect on and share learning using a Tiki-Toki timeline.  Students can begin a timeline at the beginning of the year sharing videos, links, pictures and reflections each unit, week, month, or semester until the end of the school year.  This is a nice way to encourage students to reflect on learning while providing them with a record of what has been accomplished throughout the year.Students can create timelines based on books or literature they are reading.  Young students can create a timeline with information about beginning, middle and end while older students can add supporting details, action, climax and concluding thoughts.  A timeline book report is a welcome change for your logical/analytical thinkers- seriously, offer it as an option!Timelines can also be used as KWL charts (Know, Want to Know, Learned).  At the beginning of any learning, students can list the facts that they know about the topic. Next, they can brainstorm and write about what they want to know about a topic.  At the end of the unit or semester, students can detail what they have learned including any relevant videos or images.iLearn Technology

A great free tool for kids to write creative stories with a medieval theme. Intuitive interface allows users to add pictures from the gallery (with the option to upload your own), record audio, add sound effects, create chapters, and print and/or download the story.

From the BBC, Children of World War 2 is a great resource for kids who want to get a better understanding of what life was like for children during World War 2.  History lessons will usually focus on the major events of the war: The Nazis  invade Poland, the German Blitz, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Auschwitz, etc. The human side of the story is often missed and that's where Children of World War 2 comes in.The well-presented, easy to explore site has 10 sections to delve into that inform kids about the war and what it was all about. From evacuations, to what homes were like,  food and shopping, daily life, and other interesting areas. Each section comes with some amazing photos with captions, some sections have writings (actual letters and speeches written by the various leaders), and also videos, and audio recordings of war-time events (Note: the audio and videos are not available in all countries).Also, within each section, there are activities, challenges, and quizzes that add a bit of fun to an often sad topic.

Weigh it Up lets students measure, and record the mass of objects using non-standard units. To use Weigh it Up, click on the "+" to add a shape. Click on the "-" to remove a shape. Click on the "check" button to see if the scales balance. To clear the scales, click the 'Reset' button.