Animoto

Animoto is an incredible way to change your flip videos and still pictures from boring to amazing in minutes! How does it work? Select your pictures or video, choose your own music or music from their site and voila! Animoto automatically puts the entire video together for you, including fun animations. Students can quickly and easily create videos relating to vocabulary words and much more! See an example at http://animoto.com/

Halloween Hollow

Halloween is just around the corner and Halloween Hollow contains a collection of many activities to get you in the spirit! There are word searches, crossword puzzles and tic-tac-toe. Students can even carve a virtual pumpkin to practice those computer skills! Need more ideas? Check out the links for lesson plan ideas! http://www.vickiblackwell.com/halloween.html

Also, check out the Mystery Cube through Thinkfinity! http://www.thinkfinity.org/halloweenFeature.aspx

Tar Heel Reader

Tar Heel Reader contains a collection of books for beginning readers of all ages. Books can be read-aloud to students and they can even create their own books with text and pictures. Check it out at http://tarheelreader.org/

Scribble Maps

Do you teach map skills? Scribble Maps allows you to draw on Google Maps and operates just like Google Earth! What makes Scribble Maps better? Students can use the pen tools to draw on the map and even add images. Imagine teaching the Explorers unit and having students illustrate the routes and add pictures of the Explorers!

KidRex

KidRex is a free alternative to Nettrekker! Students can use KidRex to perform safe Internet searches. This site was even designed by kids! Sites are filtered through Google SafeSearch and maintained by KidRex to keep students safe. Give it a try at http://www.kidrex.org/