Open Resource Centre

When Mozilla launched Firefox 2, they included a built in spell checker, which is kind of awesome if you spend a lot of time entering text in a web-based email, blogging, or word processing application. But for some reason, the Firefox spell checker only looks at large text areas, like the body of your email or blog post. The title fields aren't checked by default. And that's why your blog posts and email subject lines always look so awful. (We'll admit this has bitten us in the behind a few times as well)

But it turns out that enabling spell check for all text fields is pretty easy.

1. Open up the Firefox configuration window by typing about:config in your URL bar
2. Type layout.spellcheckDefault in the filter box
3. Change the value from 1 to 2

That's it. Now open up any window with a text box and misspell a word. Firefox should underline it in red, and when you right click on the word you should get spelling suggestions.

Here's a selection of edutainment sites - all free

Spelling City caught our eye because it's a nice departure from the typical shrill, flashy Web sites and doesn't rely on talking iguanas or silly voice-overs. It's got a bunch of different ways for kids to test their spelling chops, including interactive games, printables, and a tool that speaks any words kids are unsure how to pronounce. Spelling City has more than 25,000 words in its database but visitors can also create and save word lists of their own. C-O-O-L.

Timez Attack is one of the best free downloadable math games we've seen. A cross between Quake (without the violence) and Myst, players must solve multiplication equations to defeat monsters and get around the cave. Since most of us around here have already mastered our times tables, we tested the game on three kids, who declare it "awesome."

Starfall is a popular Web site for new or struggling readers. It uses Flash-based movies and interactive games to help kids learn phonics, vowel sounds, and other reading basics. In addition to word recognition, Starfall also teaches kids to read with tone, inflection, and expression.

Thnaks to Download Squad

 What a great tool for literacy - Visuwords

• It's a dictionary! It's a thesaurus!
• Great for writers, journalists, students, teachers, and artists.
• The online dictionary is available wherever there’s an internet connection.
• No membership required.

I sorts words easily into nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs and shows links and connections with word groups

This would be wonderful on a Smartboard or other IWB

 

thanks to IMYM 

 

Voicethread is a great companion to Bubbleshare for making online digital stories. Photos can be annotated with voice or text and made into a slideshow

It's simple to use and free to register 

Well where do I start with this one - it looks SO EXCITING for educators.

 

At the moment, it looks like iTunes is providing their space for educators to add their digital content to their site - not sure at this stage if it's free.  However, a quick browse found a whole list of audiobooks available free for download, for K-12 that others have uploaded

http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/  

It would appear that there are around 100 audio  in just  one section I checked out at

Lit2go: Audio files for K-12

When you have loaded this section, choose which tab/age group you want, click "subscribe" and then iTunes will load up you subscription link and get all the downloads ready for you to choose - (it does download the first as a matter of course) 

and I think there are loads more. And there are lots of other types of media.  So what's the point.

How about having your school IPod Nano available for students to access these stories during their breaks, or showing them where they are and suggesting they download them at home.

I think this is a great addition to our literacy resources  and looks free to all

Visit iTunes U store now - I used the "browse" button to see the areas available - you will need iTunes installed

 
Thanks to Continuing the Learning for the tip 

 

From a difference

Here's a cool tool: Answer Tips (see the badge at the bottom of the sidebar). As of right now if you double click on any word on this blog that isn't a link a bubble will appear to teach you something. ;-)

 

 

read more  Double Click to Learn

YackPack makes it easy for groups to communicate,
using your own voice and an ordinary Mac or PC. YackPack is simple: You just click and talk. No typing required – and no software to install.

 

YackPack is ideal for groups such as: - Work Teams
- Education Classes
- Family Groups

Your group can use YackPack in two ways: Live Voice & Voice Messaging. In both modes the richness of voice helps people communicate easily and clearly, avoiding the misunderstandings caused by email.

 

Take a look at the tutorials  including YackPack For Educators
Learn how YackPack can be used various ways in education. This, for me, was the key information to allow me to see how this can be used in schools

Following the previous post Inclusion at its best - using the tools where a classroom was extended using Skype to include Celeste, I thought it might be useful to look at the possible extensions of this and its uses

For a student with a long term illness,  being part of a school community is a very important part of the life of a young person, with the social and educational interaction and stimuli it offers.

This could also apply to those students who are disaffected, phobic or excluded.  The Notschool project, Notschool - an alternative for disaffected and out of school youngsters provides an alternative for full time alternative education using conferencing. 

However, within the mainstream environment, there are many opportunities and reasons to include young people in the school community, be it at a distance. 

Using some of the free tools, students could be re-engaged whilst remote from the distractions of the classroom.  Lessons could be shared into support programme rooms within schools, pupil referral units etc

 

Using the full spectrum of tools would enable a full interactive experience where appropriate

• Using Skype  - A Skype from the classroom - an update on video conferencing wiki
• Using screen conferencing - Using Skype and Vyew - collaborative working

• 

• Vyew is a one way collaboration with the initiator of the sharing always being in control - sometimes a good thing

• If requiring a two-way collaboration, then I'd suggest using Yugma - multi party conferencing - free software  
  

• 

• This still allows the initiator of the conference to control the collaboration, but can hand over the sharing to the student, who could then show what they have to contribute on their laptop or PC - this can be used with a number of students at a time, allowing a circus of sharing to take place.  All in the people logged in will see the same screen display at the same time.

• I think if this was used in conjunction with an interactive whiteboard, then the sharing and collaboration could be even more meaningful - with the lesson being received remotely.  I think this is a much better use of student time than being given a book or a worksheet to work from which is different to the content the classroom is receiving

• 

  
  

• Finally, to cement the communication - particularly with a student at home or ill, it is good to receive messages, but sometimes not wanting to talk or reply ie asynchronous, using Yack Pack- makes it easy for groups to communicate, free  would allow students to form a group that the teacher registers, and each can leave voice messages for each other - but with all messages being available for all in the group to listen to - including the teacher.  Some care may be needed to ensure only a few trusted students have access to this until protocol;s are established
  

 

And finally from the original entry, an update

Well, to say the least we’ve had quite the response to our Skype and video projects! Thanks to all that have commented and showed such great support of what we are trying to do. I was especially intrigued for another reason by this comment:

 more ...

So here's silent reading (SSR - "sustained silent reading") in my reading group this afternoon. Tried this out yesterday, and today the kids were much more comfortable, started getting into it, maybe a little novelty had worn off. What were they reading? Blogs!

 

more from Mark's edtechblog Is this SSR, 2.0? 

 Here's another of those sites that allows you to annotate videos from online sources like Youtube etc

 
Vidavee Graffiti allows you to add subtitles, speech bubbles, actual bubbles, balloons, aliens, and much more to existing YouTube, Myspace, or other online based video

 

More from download squad Vidavee Graffiti: Create your own version of online videos