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Often, finding good web resources are the hardest part of the job for an educator.  With all the demands on a teacher's time, who has time to spend searching?  If this is you, here are some resources you may found useful.  Please feel free to share with others! General- 10 Sources for Free Textbooks Online: http://blog.curriki.org/2010/08/31/10-sources-for-free-textbooks-online/ Just as it says… 10 sources for free online textbooks, lots of curriculum areas. ELA- Purdue Writing OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a free service of writing resources & instructional material Math- Mathtrain.TV: http://mathtrain.tv/ “Kids teaching kids” videos created at a middle school in California.  You can subscribe within iTunes, as well. Science - Animation Gallary: http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animation.html Animated tutorials for a variety of scientific disciplines.  Art - Art Cyclopedia: h...

Happy Monday, Moodle users! Some Moodle points to share: 1. Changing picture sizes : You uploaded your picture, but it is way too large when you view it on the page… what to do!  You can still use it, you just need to use the size area  of the Insert Image window to adjust the picture size when selecting it.  Don’t worry about having a calculator on hand to keep the picture proportional, just fill in EITHER the width or height, and leave the other box empty .  Moodle will re-size to your new value, but keep the image proportional for you! 2. Glossaries: Glossaries are another one of those Moodle activities that-once discovered by a teacher-gain popularity as a versatile activity used often, especially as students can create entries that include pictures, graphics and even videos.  Additionally, you can enable the settings so students can comment on each other’s entries, creating an interactive experience for them. Here are some ways that Glossaries m...

Often, finding good web resources are the hardest part of the job for an educator.  With all the demands on a teacher's time, who has time to spend searching?  If this is you, here are some resources you may found useful.  Please feel free to share with others! General- Download Tube: http://downloadtube.org/ Enter the URL of a YouTube video & select which conversion you want.  The site will retrieve & convert YouTube video, then allow you to download it.  Free service allows for 1 conversion & download every 90 minutes.    ELA- 10 Best Websites for Free Audiobooks: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easy-listening-pleasures-10-websites-free-audio-book-downloads/ A blog posting with links to some of the best locations to find free audiobooks.  Math & Science- Khan Academy: http://www.khanacademy.org/#browse “Browse 1800+ videos by topic” –there are other topics there, but a lot of mathematics (Developmental Math throug...

Happy Monday, Moodle users! Some Moodle points to share: 1. Graphics as Links : If you want to “jazz up” your page easily, you can assign links to your graphics or images.   These links can go to outside websites OR even to items within Moodle itself as every added item in Moodle gets assigned a unique URL for your course!   To add the link to a graphics you have already placed on the page: a.        edit the location with the graphic b.       highlight the graphic by clicking on it c.        click on the link icon in the HTML toolbar (the chain link icon) d.       type or paste in the URL   address (this could be an outside site or an activity in Moodle) OR click on Browse to select a file you have uploaded e.       click OK This is a great way to create shortcuts within your Moodle course. 2. Moodle help: If you have a questions a...

Often, finding good web resources are the hardest part of the job for an educator.  With all the demands on a teacher's time, who has time to spend searching?  If this is you, here are some resources you may found useful.  Please feel free to share with others! General- The Educator’s Reference Desk: http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/index.shtml Site with over 2000 unique lesson plans, written & submitted by teachers.  Lessons are categorized, and are searchable.  Assistive- Zamzar: http://zamzar.com/ In addition to providing online file conversion, Zamzar has added a text to speech conversion.  The user can upload files in TXT , DOC , DOCX , EPS , PDF , RTF , WPD , WPS and convert it to an mp3 audio file.  There is a 100MB limit on file size. ELA- 21 st Century Lit .org: http://21stcenturylit.org/ Detailed lesson modules for 7 th -12 th grade students that incorporate journalistic writing, project based learning and technology. S...

Happy Monday afternoon, Moodle Users! 1.        Have you sometimes got a group of files/resources you want on your Moodle site, but don’t want the long list showing up on the screen for students (or other users)?  Or do you have a group of files/resources that might change over time, and as you add or delete you don’t want to constantly change your Moodle links?  If so, then you want to look into using the Moodle Directory resource.  Using a Directory can save you lots of time, in addition to saving real estate as a group of related items can be represented by a single folder instead of a long list of files.  Here is how to set up a Directory: a.        Click on Files in the Administration Pane when in your course b.       Create a New Folder; you might want the name you assign it to be indicative of what is in the directory c.        Upload the files ...

App Title: The MathMaster Grade Level: 3rd-9th Purpose: A The MathMaster app is a math drill application that lets the user set the number, type and range of values used for the problems.  The app times the user on the length of time to complete the number of problems, providing stats on the average amount of time per problem.  The user can select from one or more of these problem types: multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, powers and/or roots.  By the way, this app was written by a couple of seventh grade students! Program Functionality: A The MathMaster does exactly what it is written for.  The user can drill a variety of basic math facts, in a program that is basic but runs very smoothly and does not have slowdowns or hangtime. Overall Educational Value: A As a support application for practicing and drilling basic math facts, the MathMaster is the best one I have come across.  There are no frills, but it is very easy to set up and prov...

Label Resource: The most used modules in Moodle by first year Moodlers are the “Adding a link to a file or website”  and “Label” resources.  While these are not collaborative pieces, they are vital for teachers in being able to move and organize their resources online.  The Label module is especially useful in personalizing the Moodle course.  Some ways teachers use the Label resource: ·          To add pictures and graphics, making the page more dynamic ·          To give some immediate instruction or directions for activities to follow ·          To add a welcome or opening message ·          To help organize the page.  (Because labels can contain links, they can even be used to point to other items within Moodle.) Here are some tidbits about using the Choice activity .  It is ones of the qu...