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K12 Online Conference Sarah Sutter presented a great story of her classroom blogging experience. In the presentation Sarah covers everything from her first steps toward getting students blogging two years ago through today. If you're looking for ideas about using blogs in education, Sarah's presentation is well worth eighteen minutes of your time. You can find supporting materials for Sarah Sutter's K12 Online Conference presentation here.

 a free service that allows you to create and share the digital equivalent of online mix tapes.To make a mix you simply pick any 8 songs (about 30 minutes of music) using the site's drag and drop functionality.  8tracks allows you to search their network of previously uploaded tracks by song, artist or genre. You can also upload music from your own library.  When you're done you can add artwork and short descriptor to your masterpiece. Publishing a mix tape allows you to share it with the 8 Tracks community and with your friends (or, if you want, just one special friend), via Twitter and Facebook You can also listen to any of the 65,000 mixes already on the site (we found some great ones and discovered a ton of new music along the way).

from Free Technology for Teachers eClips videos are arranged by grade level; K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. There is also a section labeled for the general public. The videos are short clips designed to show students the work NASA is doing and how that work impacts space science as well as its potential impact on everyday life. All of the videos can be viewed online or downloaded for use on your local computer.

 a tough piece of software that allows you (and law enforcement) to both track your computer and remotely delete sensitive data before a thief can use it.Once downloaded, the software maintains daily contact with a monitoring center in Vancouver whenever your computer is online. If the computer is reported lost or stolen, contact increases to every 15 minutes. This allows the company's investigators to determine where the computer is and any activity that has occurred post-theft, at which point law enforcement is called.Regardless of recovery status, you can remotely delete applications, photos, bookmarks, browser cookies, financial information and stored passwords. The software is embedded in such a way that it continues to work even if the hard drive is reformatted.  And, in some cases, the company is willing to pay up to $1000 if the computer isn't found as part of their service agreement.Lojack for Laptops costs $39.99 a year (or $94.99 for a three year subscription).  But compared to losing your computer (and all the data therein), it's a small price to pay.

 the one stop online shop for all your locally sourced artisanal grocery needs. They offer everything from BBQ Pulled Pork (from Phoenix) to Zesty Peach Marmalade (made in Erwin, NC).Unlike other web-based grocery services, Foodzie doesn't hawk mass-market consumer goods. Rather, it provides access to small-scale gourmet producers and growers across the country, shipping goods directly from producers rather than some large-scale grocer's freezer. At present, Foodzie features products from 228 producers across the country. Each producer profile includes a "story," giving buyers a sense of who they are and how much passion they put into their wares. Have a favorite producer you don't see on the site? Suggest it. (The Foodzie folks encourage user feedback). 

"online mad-libs"

a verbal mash-up of the words "group" and "coupon"-is one that's legit, and full of stuff you'll enjoy.  Their offer is simple: one deal every day for each of the 30 U.S. cities they support. These are typically deeply discounted rates for services offered by local businesses (meals, custom-made shirts, museum tickets, Pilates classes, etc.).Once you enter the specific city you're registered in, you'll see that day's deal, the retail value, the discount, and your savings.  You click on the deal to buy it and then they email you the "groupon," which you redeem when you receive your service.There is a small catch:  If not enough people sign up for a given deal, it doesn't happen.  This encourages each user to invite friends into the mix (these are group discounts, after all). Near as we can tell most of the deals go through, and there's no cost if one doesn't, so the downside is minimal.  

a service that organizes your flights, car rentals and hotel bookings, storing them all in one easy-to-access place (i.e. your phone).Just sign up for a free account and begin adding your upcoming trips. You can either input information manually or simply forward travel confirmation emails to the site and they'll do it for you. (We like the latter route since we're a tad lazy).   While the site is useful, what really makes this service sing is the iPhone app, which features a host of additional features, including maps to get you to the airport and seat plans of the plane you'll be flying. In other good news, TripIt recently teamed up with Yapta (as covered in Netted, Yapta helps assure you get low-priced airfares). Now when you forward flight confirmation emails to TripIt,Yapta can track your for lower ticket prices or refunds with a single click. If your airfare dips they'll help you get a refund for the difference. You can also share travel plans with friends (when you register it searches your address book and Facebook account for other TripIt users). That way, if somebody you know is also going to be in, say, Maui, you'll be able to connect with them, and you'll know their itinerary (and vice versa).

 PassPack, a free, secure password-management tool that allows you to organize your passwords and access all your password-protected sites with one click.Once you create an account (using a secure code that not even the site has access to) you add your various passwords and PIN numbers under the Passwords tab. (You can enter up to 100 for free).  The site will also help you generate secure passwords and offers encryption tools.After you create a PassPack bookmark for a specific page (your Amazon account, say), the site will automatically log you in when you visit.You can also use Passpack to record and maintain data on your frequent-flier miles, warranties, and other PINs.And, for those times when you're not using your own computer they offer the ability to create disposable passwords.