BeFunky June 24, 2009
Posted by anne marie in Web 2.0, art.add a comment
I feel alittle Befunked this morning!!! A friend of mine told me about this really fun site called BeFunky.com- a place where you can tranform any photo into some very fun, very incredible artwork and the best part is, it’s all free with no registration required! It’s as simple as uploading a photo and chosing the application you want and voila, you have created an amazing BeFunky original! When finished it will give you the option of saving it to your desktop or gallery (you will need to register for an account if you want to save it to your gallery) or sharing it to a friend (email). This is another great way to create a fun avatar for a class blog or wiki, add some fun artwork to a SMART Notebook lesson or for a fun art class project. ENJOY!
PhotoPeach June 12, 2009
Posted by anne marie in Web 2.0, Websites.Tags: slideshow
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I have been using PhotoPeach for some time now to create quick and easy slide shows to introduce or review/reinforce a concept. Today I received an email from the folks at PhotoPeach saying that they had added some new and improved features. As they explained:
1. New Peachy Editor to Help You Tell Better Stories Online!
- Choose where to show the caption on each photo (center or bottom)
- Explain your stories in more detail by inserting a blank slide with text only.
- One-Click Duplicate photos to make better explanations and transitions.
2. Fine-Grain Speed Control Options
3. Introducing the All-New Quiz Concept to the PhotoPeach service.
Adding a quiz to slide show- how coooooool is that. There are so many classroom applications! You simply type in the question and give a choice of 3 answers. Love it! The best thing is that all of the new features are very easy to use and as always the slideshows present great on the SMARTBoard and embed wonderfully in your blog or wiki.
Here’s a quick PhotoPeach I created of our gardens. ENJOY!
gardens on PhotoPeach
Downloading videos February 21, 2009
Posted by anne marie in Web 2.0, Websites.Tags: Video downloads
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Lately I have been asked by several teachers how they can download YouTube videos and embed them as a Flash file into a Notebook lesson so I thought I’d take a minute to share a couple of ways I have found to be quick and easy.
The first is to head over to Tube Leecher, which is a website that allows you to download videos. You simply paste the URL of the YouTube video into the text box, click download and it will download the video into a Flash file onto your desktop. Did I say easy!!
There is a YouTube Downloader that is a free download and very easy to use. Once you install this, it will create a short cut on your desktop. Simply bring up the interface when you are ready to download a video and copy and paste the URL, click download and it will download the video as Flash file. Here is a nice video that explains how to use the YouTube Downloader and also how to embed the video into a Notebook file.
Another option would be to use Kick YouTube. To use this option you find the YouTube video you wish to download and in the URL box add the word “kick” right after the www. and before the “Y” and select enter. The Kick You Tube converter will appear on your screen, select the format you want (for a Flash file you would select FLV) and click on Go. When it is converted the Download button will appear, click on that to save the file to your computer. Here is a link to a YouTube video explaining this process.
Firefox has a wonderful Add-on to make downloading videos quick and easy called Video DownloadHelper. You simply download and it will add a balloon-type icon to your address bar. When the balloons are moving it indicates that it is ready to download a video, click on the balloons to download. If there is more than one option make sure you click on the FLV file. Here is a link to a YouTube video that demonstrates how to download and use this option.
Since Teacher Tube is not blocked at many schools I thought I’d mention a quick way to download videos you may find on that site. First you will need to visit the TeacherTube Downloader site and download the interface- it’s quick and easy and free. The free version does have some limitations just as only allowing you to download 3 videos at a time, but there is a paid version that will give you extra options, including the ability to download from a variety of sites. Once downloaded it will create a shortcut to your desktop, click on the shortcut when you want to download a TeacherTube video, find a TeacherTube video you want to download, highlight it, select add on the download page and it should bring it directly into the download page, select where you want to save it and what format (for Notebook files select FLV) then select the green download arrow and the video will begin to download as indicated by the download progress bar.
Once you have your video downloaded as a FLASH (FLV) file using one of these options you can simply drag and drop the Flash video into your Notebook file or use the insert Flash Video Option. Either way it is quick and easy. And don’t forget, once you embed your Flash video into a Notebook file you can re-size it, write on it, move it and use the video tool bar to stop, pause, etc. the video during your lesson. I hope this has been helpful. ENJOY!
Update 2/22/09- I recieved an email from my friend Janet reminding me that I had forgtotten to mention KeepVid.com, which is another web based video download option, similiar to TubeLeecher.com. You would head over to YouTube, select the video you want to download, copy the URL and then paste it in KeepVid text box. Click download and once the process is complete the download options will appear below a green line under the text box. Select the format you want (for Notebook files select FLV), right click and save the video to a file on your computer.
Jeopardy Labs February 12, 2009
Posted by anne marie in General, Web 2.0.Tags: Jeopardy template
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There has been quite a bit of Twitter Talk about Jeopardy Labs over the last week or so. I finally had time to check it out and I have to say it is a “keeper”! Not only does it not require PPT, requires no registration, is absolutely free, is very user/easy friendly, but it also has several premade games ready and waiting for you to use. What more could you want!! The creation process is very quick and easy and it allows you to have up to 10 teams. Just realize that all templates you create do appear on their public domain. And you need to remember the URL to access your finished game. So a great big THANK YOU to Matt Johnson over at WSUV for developing this amazing tool! ENJOY!
Bomomo brings colors to life! February 12, 2009
Posted by anne marie in Web 2.0, art.Tags: art
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Bomomo is a wonderfully fun site that allows students to express their artistic side. An art teacher friend of mine calls it ” Abstract Mouse Art”. It reminds me of my days as a child when I would spend hours creating a design on my Etcher Sketch. To use Bomomo you simply chose (click) one of the tools from the toolbar (there are 18 and they all do very cool things), move your mouse around and left click and hold to “paint”. Just a word of caution, some of the tools will erase the paint so you may want to have students experiment with the tools so they understand their functions. This may help avoid a disaster! You can easily save and print your creation. This application is completely free, with no registration required and no ads- YEAH!
Here is a link to some Bomomo creations found on Flickr. The Bomomo that I created is below. ENJOY!
Using Photo Captions January 20, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Web 2.0, Websites.add a comment
I came across this really cool application over at BigHugeLabs.com that allows you to add captions to your photos. I told you it was cool! I had snapped this photo of our duck, Leo, enjoying a cold snowy swim following a recent snow storm, and thought this would be a perfect lesson to reinforce and encourage creative writing with the 4th grade students. The idea was inspired by a fabulous Google Docs activity I learned about over at Twitter called PLN Snow in Six Words. Using the laptops we will have each student create a thought bubble describing what they believe Leo is thinking as he embarks on his winter swim. To expand on this idea we will then have students take their own winter pictures and add captions.
The SMARTBoard will be used to demonstrate how to use the application- it’s perfect when instructing the students while they use the laptops. I will also create a Notebook lesson importing all of the pictures to reinforce writing skills and to allow students to share. ENJOY!
PicLits January 13, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Web 2.0, Websites.2 comments
Yesterday I partnered with a 3rd grade teacher to use the laptops and expose the students to the awesome PicLits website. Each and every time I work with a different classroom I continue to be amazed at both the computer skills and the enthusiasm to use the laptops that these elementary students exhibit. I go home each and every day with a smile on my face, and in my heart!
PicLits is very user/student friendly and our students quickly learned the functions and created some amazing, funny and even thought provoking PicLits. Last night I created a SMART Notebook lesson including all of the PicLits and today each student will be presenting their PicLit to their classmates.
If you would like to see their work here are some links: The Owl, The Lion, The Frog, Dog in the Sand and The Chicken. As you will see our students chose to use the freestyle option, which is a great feature for the younger students who might be a little intimidated by not only the “big words”, but also the “dragging and dropping” feature. ENJOY!
