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This site was so cool. I created my own comic story. I was able to play brain buster games I read stories and had stories read to me, and watched videos about how to create a comic.. This site was created by Jim Davis, creator of the comic strip Garfield, in conjunction with Ball State University and PAWS, Inc. It give kids the opportunity to explore, create and connect safely with kids around the world. Jim Davis created this site because he felt there was a need to provide a high-quality, free, and engaging web site that could motivate children to achieve their full potential. The approach is kid-centric and tries to close the achievement gap between what kids seek to do on the Internet and standards-based educational activities. The mission of Professor Garfield.org is encourage children to explore academically sound literacy activities and provide them with tools to express themselves through creative writing prorams. It's an Internet destination that is safe, free and fun! The Professor Garfield and Sparktop sites (both found on this link) provide all kids of ways for kids to shine and showcase their talents and abilities! Students can record their own "talent" for Sparkstage (our American Idol-like competition), arrange music with the awesome music mixer tool, create their own comic strip in the Comis Lab, learn to sculpt, or be taught to draw by professional artists in the Art-Bot section. On Sparktop.org kids safely connect with other kids who knwow what they are going through. They find information about how their brain works and get tips on how to succeed in school and life. And they get to showcase their creativity and be recognized for their strengths. Millions of children from around the world visit the web site every month.

"October 6 , 2014 In a post I shared a few days ago, I featured three web tools to use to create screencasts on Chromebook: These are Screencastify, Snagit for Chrome and Google Plus Hangout on Air. Following this post I received a couple of emails from some teachers inquiring about how to use the last option which is Hangout on Air. So I went ahead and created this visual step by step  guide to help you create a screencast via Hangout on Air. This method works in all devices including Chromebook. 1- First, make sure you are logged in your Google account then head over to YouTube home page and click on the "upload" button. 2- Next, click on "broadcast" in Google+ Hangout On Air 3- Type in a name for your Hangout and then click on "share". You don't need to invite anyone. 4- To start broadcasting and recording your Hangout click on "start". In the next window that shows up click on "start broadcast". Now your Hangout will be live on both Google+ and YouTube. . 5- Hover your mouse over the left side of the window until the task bar pops up then click on "Screenshare" 6- Choose the screen you want to share. Now, whatever you do on the selected screen will be recorded in the Hangout. Click on "stop hangout" to end your recording.  Your recorded screencast is now available On your YouTube  channel in your uploaded video section. You can share it with your students or even make it private."

In the Kids Interactive-Whales, students board the Discovery where they can explore 5 different rooms including the science lab, the research center, the office, the library, and the bridge. Each room has an "expert" that will help the students as they explore the room. As students explore each room, they can take notes by saving text to a clipboard. In the research center, students learn about whale migration, the effects of whale hunting, watch video footage of whales, take an up close view of whale pictures, learn about whale sounds, and even report a whale sighting. On the bridge, students will learn about the rules for viewing whales from land, listen to sounds that different whales make, learn about sonar, steer the boat, learn about the whales that live in Australian waters, learn the rules about watching whales from a boat, and learn the best time to go whale watching. In the underwater library, students will use the database to look up facts about whales (they can take notes on their clipboard), use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar terms, learn about the history of whaling, see how whale populations have suffered, and see pictures of whales that can be used in a research project. In the office, students can watch whales through a portal, read about Australian whale preservation, read a brochure, and view a timeline of how whaling activities have changed throughout the years. The science lab is the last room on the Discovery. Here, students can learn about what whales eat, take a closer look at the anatomy of whales, play a game to practice identifying whales, find out how whales are important to the ecosystem, learn about the difference between whales and dolphins, learn about the research that scientists do, and take a closer look at whale statistics.

Neat site about whales.

"n today's post, I am sharing with you some interesting tips I learned from Jonathan Wylie  to help you record your iPad screen and create instructional screencasts and tutorials. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of creating a screencast on iPad are those popular apps such as Explain Everything and Educreations but the thing with these apps is that they do not allow you to record what you do on other apps. For instance, you can not open Explain Everything and go to Evernote app to record your screen there, once Explain Everything window is closed , recording stops. To be able to navigate your iPad and record this navigation, you will need to mirror your iPad screen to a bigger screen that is your computer. Once you can access your iPad screen  from your computer, you can then use a screencasting tool to record your iPad screen. Here is how you can do it all:"

"Welcome to The Teacher Toolkit! Engaging techniques for effective teaching For every tool you'll find: An explanation of how and when to use it A template students can use to implement the tool A place to take notes about how you use each tool We're also adding videos that will show you the strategies in action."

Welcome to Historical Thinking Matters, a website focused on key topics in U.S. history, that is designed to teach students how to critically read primary sources and how to critique and construct historical narratives.

Looks like an interesting site. There are student investigations as well as teacher materials and strategies.

5 Incredible Tips on How to Write Blog Posts

Tips on how to write blog posts.

One of the wonders of the Internet is that it can bring the world to you instead of your needing to find the time and money to explore the traditional way. The following virtual tours bring opportunities to explore cities, famous landmarks and buildings, museums, college campuses, and even outer space. You can learn how things are made, explore the human body or that of a life-sized whale, and visit ball parks and theme parks. There is even a section of incredible virtual tours that Google Earth has compiled that shares the world in a whole new way.

Article about How to use Flip Cameras in the classromo.

Article about flip cameras in the classroom.

A slideshare about web 2.0. It includes the challenges teachers face and how to overcome them to continue to grow professionally.

video on using google draw to create mind maps

Lots of good ideas on how to use your flip cameras in the classroom.

Ideas for how to use a flip camera in the classroom.

A good break down of easy and free ways to ad images, video, and music to your classroom. It list free sites and software for teachers and students to use to create slideshows with music or videos with music. It also includes a site (Discovery Education streaming) that features videos of student adventures around the world. This article is also accompanied a link to another article that features students exploring story telling of a real life adventure.

Want to know your learning style? Take the quiz. There are 24 questions, and it will take less than five minutes to complete. Try not to think too hard -- just go with your first thought when describing your daily activities and interests. At the end, you'll find out more about how you learn.

Here is a quick learnign style survey. This would be a good one to share with upper level students and staff.

This site has 100 of the best YouTube videos for Teachers. They are categorized by history, science, language, arts, humor, inspiration, classroom management, how-tos and guides, and technology.

Here are 100 of the best YouTube videos for Teachers. They are organized by categories. See the descriptor for this site. It looks like it would be a good resource to check out.

I was interested to read this article because it dicusses the growing interest in course styles similiar to ours. More and more students are finding success and taking interest in "hybrid" classes, a combination of online and face to face classes. They are becoming so popular because it allows students to not have to be on campus all the time, the freedom to work from home, and also keeps them motivated to keep up with their studies as they meet with their classmates every other week. I found myself relating to this article because it is exactly how our class operates and I see the same positives as the many others opting for hybird classess

"Today's kids connect, create, and collaborate through media. But who helps them reflect on the implications of their actions? Who empowers them to make responsible, respectful, and safe choices about how they use the powerful digital tools at their command? Our Common Sense Parent Media Education Program and our Digital Citizenship Curriculum give educators, administrators, and parents the tools and curricula they need to guide a generation in becoming responsible digital citizens."

Free materials on Internet safety, cyberbulling, digital citizenship, parent materials also included.

"The objective of this site is to provide teachers with source materials, lesson plans and classroom activities for all grades K-12. This site is designed to help busy teachers use their time efficiently. The indexed websites are not organized by grades as each website listed may have several resources for different ages.guide."

Are you a tired teacher then here's the site for you.

Tammy Worcester Tung is full of google resources and how-tos

Don't skip the intro, how-to and what can be found here. Really KOOL!