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There are no instructions on the site and there are some good reasons for that: most people, even adults, do not read instructions, children who cannot read will ignore written text anyhow, but most importantly for us, there is no need and in fact, instructions get in the way of the experience : the navigation through the various sections of the site is purposefully simple and intuitive, the functionalities within games are carefully thought out to afford a maximum of possibilities while keeping that special relationship to the real World. When small children pick up objects, they invent new ways of holding and using them. Thus there is no right or wrong way of using anything on this site. It's up to the children to find what they want and to grow their naturally exploring mind. We found that what they don't discover straight away, they'll find later, what they don't know how to do at first, they'll learn when they are ready and, as many of you know and/or have found out, that is extremely powerful and confidence building. Having said that, we also found out that adults were quite confused by all that. What? No text? So we have finally decided to give parents who do not have the time to explore - and teachers who are preparing lesson plans - a quick guide to all the games, activities and animations on the site (for those who are wondering there are over 200 of them!). But remember, these pages are for adults only!

"KidTools and KidSkills are new kinds of software to help students take control of their learning, behavior, and problem solving to improve success in school. The tools are research-based and have undergone extensive testing with actual students in classroom settings. These software programs include a library of tools provided as easy-to-use templates for children to personalize and use independently in school and other settings. There are two levels of tools in each of these programs. eKidTools and eKidSkills are made for elementary students with some reading abilities, ages 7-10. Within eKidTools, there is a set of PictureTools made for preschool/primary children that do not require reading abilities. iKidTools and iKidSkills are made for intermediate/middle school students with reading abilities, ages 11-14. Because these tools are all related, children can move up and down the levels to use the tools that best fit their skills and needs. "

Anyone heard of this?

"Audio story books are a great means of improving learners reading and listening skills. There are several website resources now offer free audio materials but not all of them are free. To look for quality audio books that are free can take you a lot of time and energy. In this regard and in an attempt to make it easy for educators visiting Educational Technology and Mobile Learning to get a free access to the materials I have been reviewing here about the best websites you can browse for free audio books, I have compiled a list of links in a presentation that you can download and share with your students. I have reviewed all the links included and if you want to read the review just click on any title and you will be directed to the post."

"What they are Core vocabulary includes words that are used frequently and are useful in a variety of situations. They are often small, commonly used words (e.g., I, the, have, and, on, want, etc.). Fringe vocabulary is more situation specific. Their importance changes from context to context and from person to person (e.g., evaporation, museum, funny, etc.)."

"AR Flashcards are a new way to interact and make Flashcards more entertaining for toddlers and preschoolers. With AR Flashcards, learning the Alphabet will be fun! When you point your device at the printed flashcard a beautifully rendered 3D animal will pop up on the screen. Tap the animal to hear the letter and animal name."

"This way you can listen to the audio while you are running, working out at the gym or commuting to work. There are many desktop software and also online tools to convert text to speech (TTS). However it is not easy to find free and good ones. Most free online text to speech conversion tools are severely limited, allowing only few hundred characters or do not give any download option. In our search for free Text To Speech Online Tools, we found five best ones which we are listing here."

"Noticings are interesting things that you stumble across when out and about. For example: perplexing pavement markings, a discarded photo, and a ceramic space invader are all noticings. Players are awarded points for things like spotting the first thing in a neighbourhood, or noticing something every day for a week. How to play You play Noticings by uploading your photos to Flickr, tagged with 'noticings' and geotagged with where they were taken. We've got a page with the rules and some instructions to help you out. Each turn is a day, and at 3pm GMT every day photos from the previous day are imported from Flickr and the scores calculated."

For all you iPhone users, how fun is this?

"Welcome to Wikijunior The aim of this project is to produce age-appropriate non-fiction books for children from birth to age 12. These books are richly illustrated with photographs, diagrams, sketches, and original drawings. Wikijunior books are produced by a worldwide community of writers, teachers, students, and young people all working together. The books present factual information that is verifiable. You are invited to join in and write, edit, and rewrite each module and book to improve its content. Our books are distributed free of charge under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License."

PowerPoint Games and Game Templates There are Two Types of PowerPoint Game Templates Below 1) Whole Class Participation - Most of these games are designed for use in a classroom setting where the teacher has their computer hooked up to a projector or large screen TV so that everyone in the class can view them. 2) Games for Individual Student Use - Most of these games are designed to be used in a one computer to one student set up. Most are simple drill and practice games, but some can be modified to encourage problem solving skills.

This site is JUST books read aloud by normal (but enthusiastic) readers. There are no advertisements or other revenue generating opportunities on the site. Children can't navigate away from the site and follow other youtube leads. There are only children's books on the site. The videos only show the books versus seeing the reader, which I think distracts from the book. Animation on the site is limited to nice editing jobs that zoom to parts of the page. The books are frequently reordered to encourage listening to new books.

QR codes, also known as Quick Response codes, are starting to pop up everywhere, and now they are finding their way into classrooms.  Here are some QR code resources and links.

"Check out the eBooks my students created using iBooks Author and published in Apple's iBookstore. We are so excited about these eBooks. All books are only available on the iPad for now. We truly believe that students will learn more when they realize that people from the global community value their work. As of today, we have had a combined total of 7500 books downloaded in 40+ different countries! Please support our efforts by downloading today and by spreading the news to your friends! We are trying to reach 10,000 downloads total!"

"Mobile devices such iPads, iPods and iPhones have taken the world by storm and are increasingly used in teaching and learning, and/or in therapy, to support learners with additional support needs, as well as for personal use. We are aware that people are all at different levels of experience in their use of iPads. We hope this Guide will provide you with helpful information and resources to help you on your way. "

Pictures are commonly used to represent language. A variety of picture sets and systems are used within the field of AAC. Many AAC systems use Single Meaning Pictures (SMPs) to represent words, phrases, and sentences, tapping into language metaphors represented by that picture. When using a Minspeak device, these picture metaphors are used systematically to represent language. This systematic use of picture metaphors requires significantly fewer pictures to learn in order to communicate a large body of vocabulary. However, it requires teachers, parents, and therapists to rethink how they assess for and use pictures.

Mobile devices such iPads, iPods and iPhones have taken the world by storm and are increasingly used in teaching and learning, and/or in therapy, to support learners with additional support needs, as well as for personal use. We are aware that people are all at different levels of experience in their use of iPads. We hope this Guide will provide you with helpful information and resources to help you on your way.

"Lately, I have discovered many cool free apps that are incredible for creating digital stories, reading stories, and interacting with stories. These apps are incredibly engaging and meet the needs of our diverse learners. They allow learners to interact with the plot, characters, and even design of the story. They also support multiple learning styles because they are visual, have sound, and animation. Students can even begin to craft their own stories using their voices, drawings, images, videos, and so much more"

"This article is a list of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch). Some of them are specifically designed for AAC use; others are serendipitously useful. As new apps are released, this list will be updated."

"app developers are really starting to pull out all the stops to create apps which are equal to, or better than, those available on the web. We feature four of our favourites, which are available for iPad"

"Below is a list of Adapted Literature available through the Sherlock Center Resource Library. These resources are provided for teachers to help students with severe disabilities participate in the general curriculum. Please limit the use and distribution of these materials accordingly. Printed color notebook copies of adapted literature are available for loan through the Sherlock Center Resource Library. Some titles are available in electronic format and can be downloaded directly from this website. Stories adapted to PowerPoint include sounds/music and allow a student to "click" along using a computer and mouse/switch. "

"Ohio's Accessibility Manual is a comprehensive policy document providing information about the accessibility features of Ohio's State Tests for grades 3-8 and high school in English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. The manual helps to define the specific accessibility features available for all students, students with disabilities, students who are English language learners and students who are English language learners with disabilities. Ohio's Accessibility System features are made up of accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners as well as other features including administrative considerations, universal tools and designated supports."