Weekly reader connect: username minchau password books

Comparison of Netvibes and Symbaloo

While not completely up to date with the latest version of Google SketchUp, this site has a few resources and tutorials that may be of use in the classroom.  Perhaps you might start with the collection of basic/intermediate/advanced tutorials

Google Earth Cool Places is a site that catalogs links and files for cool, interesting things found in Google Earth. You can search the database or just browse using the categories featured on the site's homepage. Take a look at the Statues and Monuments category to find the Arch in St. Louis or the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota.

At Lego City you can create a comic strip that feature Lego elements. To create a comic just select a strip format (one box or multiple boxes in various layouts) and start dragging elements into your comic strip. Elements in your comic strip can be resized to fit the frame and maintain proportions among multiple elements. Your comic strip can have multiple pages. When you're done creating your comic strip you can save it online or download it to your computer.

Thought Boxes is a task management service with a hint of mind mapping in its user interface. At its most basic Thought Boxes is a place to create to-do lists. You can organize your to-do lists into groups that Thought Boxes refers to as "trains." Your lists can include basic text notes as well as links to other sites. The "trains" you create in Thought Boxes are basically categories for your to-do lists. 

A site with links for many literacy sites for kids 

How to integrate MinyanLand into the classroom: MinyanLand is such a fun way to work toward financial literacy in the classroom.  It offers students a virtual economy where they can practice real-world skills of buying, earning, investing, and giving.  I love the way that MinyanLand ties the real world to the virtual by allowing students to earn virtual MinyanMoney for real chores and jobs.Registering is free and easy enough for young students to register themselves.  A parent or teacher email address is optional for registration.  If students include a parent or teacher email address, they can earn MinyanMoney for chores or jobs that you assign.MinyanLand is one of those sites that would be great as a year-long project.  Students can visit MinyanLand throughout the year in the classroom (and at home) to learn about money, investing, spending, earning, and the economy.  It is a natural fit in the math classroom where students are already working with money and numbers.  MinyanLand would be best in a lab setting where each student has access to a computer.  If you don't have a lab for students, use classroom computers as a learning center.  Students can visit the center throughout the week to interact in MinyanLand.

iRead is a group of teachers in Escondido Union School District dedicated to the idea that digital audio can be a powerful learning tool for all students. iRead will give you a chance to create meaningful, curriculum-centered audio projects with your students. Teachers are using digital audio tools (iPods, mics, Garageband, iTunes,  Keynote, etc. and various accessories) to improve reading processes. Teachers meet on a monthly basis to exchange ideas and strategies. We started in 2006-07 by collecting data about fluency rates - this has been very promising. Click on Visitors to get an overview of the iRead program.

Vocab Genii is a new site offering challenging vocabulary games. The basic purpose of Vocab Genii is to offer games that require players to unscramble letters to create a word that matches the definition provided. Players can select the level of difficulty for each game that they play. I tried it out this morning and found that even some of the "easy" words were quite challenging. Vocab Genii can be played by registering directly on the site

An outline of lessons for 6th grade to design tutorials to teach others. 

Instapaper can be downloaded on your desktop as well as your mobile devices. Save a site to read later! 

Interesting slide show about getting kids to think while they read...

KinderKid's blog: great blog about a kindergarten that uses Web 2.0 tools and technology...

When you're trying to figure out how to use a new piece of software or a new web application, searching YouTube for how-to videos often returns some useful stuff. But for teachers there is a better place to turn to and that place is Russell Stannard's Teacher Training Videos. Russell Stannard's videos are screencasts in which he walks viewers through the process of using software and web applications from beginning to end. The videos are categorized by the purpose of the application  such as blogging, podcasting resources, online quizzes, file sharing, IWB, etc. There are also categories for EFL and MFL.

The Literature Network is a repository of all things literary - author bios, articles, quotations and book texts. 

Good site for parents about cyberbullying, gaming and social networking.