User friendly design tool

This site gives tools that rival Sketchup when it comes to designing spaces.I liked the ease of use, the amount of choice in terms of objects to add and the speed at which I could design and 'furnish' a whole room or space within a matter of minutes. This would be a great tool for students in Primary Grades. I even liked the fact that you could design 'garden' spaces.
...A real winner...!

Twurdy

Twurdy's goal is to provide web searchers with information that is most appropriate for them. This will mean that 10 year olds doing school assignments don't have to click through difficult material to find something they can use. It will also mean that phd students do not have to click through websites designed for kids in order to find what they are looking for.

An interesting tool to explore & look into further

ISSUU & Google- Tools and Strategies for Educational Innovation

This post is about two amazing finds:
ISSUU : Making digital publishing beautiful.

Issuu is the leading digital publishing platform delivering exceptional reading experiences of magazines, books, catalogs, reports, and more. In just a few seconds users can create beautiful digital editions simply by uploading their publications. It's our mission to empower individuals, companies, and institutions to publish their documents across all digital platforms. I discovered this excellent presentation on the many new and evolving applications for educators developed by Google. Ideas very much worth pursuing!

Open publication - Free publishing - More k12

The Freesound Project

The Freesound Project aims to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, bleeps, ... released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus License. The Freesound Project provides new and interesting ways of accessing these samples, allowing users to

• browse the sounds in new ways using keywords, a "sounds-like" type of browsing and more
• up and download sounds to and from the database, under the same creative commons license
• interact with fellow sound-artists!

What I found fascinating was this application of the sounds: Students could record sounds upload & tag on a google map! They can also browse the map & click on individual sounds- hearing what aspects of that location 'sound like'. The possibilities for classes are exciting! As those in the Freesound Project state:

"We are looking for institutions and schools who want to help us with this effort. Do you think your institution can help us fill the database? Do you have students who can help us by doing (field-)recordings as assignments? Recordings of instruments? Do you have a large batch of usable sounds? Anything goes as long as the sounds can be released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus License."

What a great way to explore the world & contribute;- focusing on an aspect (audio) that students don't often get to use in the presentation of their knowledge/learning.

Wikis...more & more useful

Wikis, Webs & Writing(s)

View more documents from Neil Winton.

This is a really good Slideshare that describes the usefulness of wikis..particularly for teaching writing. I sent members of our staff the link to the class examples. I also sent the link to this site:
There are lots of tips and hints for making your wikis even better!

What an interesting site...& what does it say about the power of images vs text??

This is amazing! The makers of this site (Information is Beautiful) have taken raw data about different global issues & transformed it into visual representations. The impact is incredible! I can truly SEE what the information is about. It really makes you consider the continuing growing importance of visual literacy skills in our students...both to be able to read images & make them to get their point across...

True Tube

This looks like an interesting site for older students:
True tube

"a free, website which uses real-life stories and issues to encourage teenagers to explore and debate the world of morality, ethics, politics and religion. TrueTube brings to life the subjects at the heart of Secondary Education using short-form web-based video and multimedia technology. The site encourages teenagers to find their voice as they explore their own value systems and those of their peers around the corner and across the world."

Some of the topics though might be useful for upper primary debates/ discussions.

I like the slogan:
THINK, TALK, ACT........

YABBA -Young Australian Best Book Awards

Here is a simple yet effective way to encourage students to critically read & review books.
Get them to critique review & vote online!!
The YABBA site has a wealth of information and activities for children that encourage an interest in Australian Books & their authors.
It is highly recommended!