Wednesday, September 30, 2009

ooVoo - web conferencing


new_logo.jpgAbout ooVoo: "All you need is broadband internet access and a computer with a webcam and microphone (a headset works great if you have one). Invite friends via email or video message right from ooVoo. If your friends are already on ooVoo, you will find them easily. You can also video chat with friends who haven’t installed ooVoo – they’ll join your video call on a Web browser! Video chat with up to six family members or friends at once. 2-way video chat is always free! Try all premium features free for 30-days, no credit card required!"

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Stupeflix - turn photos, videos, and text into video

About Stupeflix: "Stupeflix is a REST web service that turns your pictures, videos, and text into professional videos.Stupeflix video generation is extremely fast. It operates the rendering of your video faster than real time, so you can see the result of your creation right away, and try lots of different options in a few minutes."

Monday, September 28, 2009

NASA for Educators - educational resources

About NASA's Educational Resources: "NASA's Education Materials Finder will help teachers locate resources that can be used in the classroom. Users may search by keywords, grade level, product type and subject. With hundreds of publications and Web sites indexed, the finder is the best way to locate NASA educational resources."

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Flag Counter - count visits by country

About Flag Counter: "Add our free counter to any website, it's just a simple image. Every time someone from a new country visits your site, a new flag will be added to your counter. The total number of visitors from each country will be shown next to the flag, and clicking the counter image will reveal all sorts of useful information!"

Saturday, September 26, 2009

WhenIsGood - group event scheduler

logo.gifAbout WhenIsGood: "An easy way to find out when everyone is free for your next meeting or event. Click the grid for all the times that are good for you - you get a link to email to your invitees. They see your proposed times and click on when they are free. You visit your results page and see when everyone can do. No sign-up form. No password to choose. No fuss at all."

Friday, September 25, 2009

Mikogo - web conferencing

mikogo-logo.pngAbout Mikogo: "Using Mikogo’s web conferencing solution you can quickly and effortlessly organize future meetings to take place over the Web, which will instantly eliminate problems associated with travel time and distance. Thanks to desktop sharing technology, web conferencing allows you to share any application on your computer screen live over the Web. Now you have an easy solution to work together between colleagues, customers and business partners without traveling. With web conferencing not only will you save time on long journeys by meeting over the Web, you can save a considerable amount in travel expenses. By replacing a few face-to-face meetings with a web conferencing solution, you will instantly eradicate the associated travel costs for each meeting and each participant. Saving money on business travel costs could only get better if web conferencing was free – and luckily, it is free with Mikogo for both commercial and private use."

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Meetomatic - meeting scheduler

mom-logo-thumb-150x45-8596.gifAbout Meetomatic: "The basic, free, public Meetomatic service (for selecting dates or AM/PM slots) is always available at http://www.meetomatic.com. This service does not require any registration, and there is no charge. You can simply use it to set up and arrange meetings. There is no catch, i.e. it does exactly what it says; feel free to try it and to use it for arranging meetings. No registration is needed, because we have found that registration is an annoying distraction that prevents services from being simple. There is a premium version available with extra features: By signing up for the Advanced service you'll be able to take advantage of our fine-grained time planning feature. Subscription is available for less than $20 a year, either on a rolling yearly subscription or as a single one off payment for 2 years. Subscription payments are handled through PayPal - although PayPal membership is NOT required unless you choose the annual subscription method."

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Setster - appointment scheduler


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About Setster: "Setster is an internet technology platform targeting the professional services market. Doctors, Lawyers, Therapists, Stylists, groomers and everyone who depends on an appointment calendar to meet with his/her clients. Setster will bring innovative simple next generation web 2.0 ease of use to the process of appointment setting between service providers and their clients. The professional services market has been long ignored by the new advancements in internet based technologies and innovations. Setster is changing the landscape of software for professional service providers by bringing ease of use and simplicity combined with rich functional value to help professional service provides focus on their business and providing quality service to their clients. The company was founded on the premise that better solutions to common problems can always be found, and our core values focus on understanding our customers' needs so we can continue to solve problems from innovative angles."

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

BibMe - bibliography maker

bibme.jpgAbout BibMe: "Welcome to BibMe! The fully automatic bibliography maker that auto-fills. It's the easiest way to build a works cited page. And it's free. Search for a book, article, website, or film, or enter the information yourself. Add it to your bibliography. Download your bibliography in either the MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats and include it in your paper. It's that easy!"

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Diarised - group scheduler


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About Diarised: "Enter the details of your proposed meeting into Diarised, including the meeting invitees and the possible times and dates for the meeting. Diarised sends out emails to all invitees. The invitees choose the times that suit them best. Once the invitees have chosen their preferred meeting dates, Diarised will give you a summary of the best dates for you to choose from. All meeting invitees will be sent an email confirming the chosen date and time."

Saturday, September 19, 2009

MeetingWizard


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About MeetingWizard: "Use MeetingWizard to arrange and schedule meetings and other events. As a productivity tool it makes the planning process easier and more effective. MeetingWizard automatically does the following: * sends invitations to participants proposing alternate times * summarizes their responses * updates you on the results * sends confirmations * sends optional reminders prior to meetings. MeetingWizard requires only that you and your participants have access to e-mail and a browser. It uses the simplest technologies possible, ensuring that all of your guests will be able to use the system."

Friday, September 18, 2009

A-plus Math - interactive math games

About A-Plus Math: "This web site was developed to help students improve their math skills interactively. Visit our game room and play exciting games like Matho and Hidden Picture...Test your math skills with our Flashcards! Try out the Math Word Find puzzle. Create and print your own set of flashcards online using the Flashcard Creator! See the Worksheets section, where you can print worksheets to practice offline. Try the Homework Helper to check your homework solutions."

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Continents - geography quiz and exploration

About The Continents: "Can you name and locate all seven continents? Do you know what the weather is like on another continent? Do you know what kind of animal life or how many people there are in Africa? To get the answers to these and many more questions, click The Continents to get started. Good luck on your adventures around the world!"

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

KidsClick! - single page search from screened sites

About KidsClick!: "KidsClick! was created by a group of librarians at the Ramapo Catskill Library System, as a logical step in addressing concerns about the role of public libraries in guiding their young users to valuable and age appropriate web sites. RCLS's first effort to address this need was to compile a single page of search input boxes from the handful of existing databases of selected or screened sites. This page has undergone several revisions, and is still being maintained at http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm In the Summer of 1997, RCLS wrote an Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant application that proposed the idea of creating a search engine/web guide for children. We were dissatisfied with the quality, scope, functionality, size, and attention to maintenance of the handful of existing databases. The search engine that KidsClick! employs is SWISH-E. Roy Tennant at the Berkeley Digital Library SunSite assisted us with the database maintenance routines. Zelacom provided graphic design elements to make the KidsClick! site an engaging and attractive interface. Please note that KidsClick! is not an Internet filter. It does not prevent client web browsers from being used to surf any URL address that the user inputs. It is intended to guide users to good sites; not block them from "bad" sites. However, it could be used in conjunction with a filter product where law allows filters to be used."

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Educational Freeware - high-quality free learning software

About Educational Freeware: "Welcome to our educational freeware site! We have specialized in finding and reviewing high-quality free learning software and websites from the Internet - mostly for kids, but also for grown-ups. We have a large selection of web-based software (check the Online tab), as well as Windows software to download (under the Downloads tab)."

Monday, September 14, 2009

Twain Quotes - quotations of Mark Twain

About Twain Quotes: "Quotations in this online collection are not available in any other format. The best printed collection of Mark Twain quotations is THE QUOTABLE MARK TWAIN edited by R. Kent Rasmussen available in both hardcover and softcover editions.

"Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog." ~Mark Twain, speech 11/23/1900

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Printable Worksheets - fun printables for kids

About Print Activities for Kids: "Print Activities is full of fun printables for kids, including printable preschool, kindergarten and grade school worksheets, coloring sheets, math worksheets, kid puzzles and mazes, and more. Many of these kid printables have educational value in developing reading and writing skills, math skills, and logical reasoning. Print these worksheets and complete the kid friendly printables on paper with pencils or crayons. The types of printable worksheets and activities for kids on PrintActivities.com include coloring sheet printables, dot-to-dot printables, crossword puzzles for kids, mosaic color by numbers, math worksheets, number and letter tracing worksheets, word search puzzles, award certificates, word jumble puzzles, and mazes. The kid printables can be accessed directly by type of printable from the upper pencil menu, or grouped by theme set as shown on the left side pencil menu. These worksheets, word puzzles, mazes, and all the other printables for kids are completely without cost to you. They are great to keep on hand for kids to do in the car while travelling or for working on while waiting for a meal at a restaurant. They can even be included as loot bag stuffers for a birthday party. There are printable worksheets  for kids of all ages from preschool to grade school." 

Saturday, September 12, 2009

LoonaPix - free online photo editing and frames

About LoonaPix: "LoonaPix.com is a free photo editing online service. You can make it funny using LoonaPic effect or embed your face from the photo to the various templates, add photo frame or just trim it. In other words, we can help you to make your photo funny and unique. And, notice, it is easy and free!"

Photo Frames. Gift Flowers

Friday, September 11, 2009

9-11 Songs Created in Songwriting Workshops

About 9-11 Songs: "Bob Reid has presented thousands of workshops and performances for children and adults over the past twenty-five years. His songs are sung by numerous performers around the United States, including Pete Seeger, David Grover, Bill Harley, and Two of a Kind. ...Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, it's not surprising that the students in many of Bob's songwriting workshops chose to write songs about it."
Produced, recorded, mixed by Bob Reid, all rights reserved, copyright 2002
*Eagle's Wing created in conjunction with Young Audiences of San Jose/Silicon Valley

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sept. 17: Constitution Day (US) - free online lessons and resources

About the Constitutional Rights Foundation's Constitution Day lesson materials: "A 2005 act of Congress states that all educational institutions receiving federal funding must observe September 17 as Constitution Day, which celebrates the 1787 signing of our founding document. According to the guidelines put forth by the Department of Education, teachers and schools are free to design Constitution Day programming that best addresses the needs of their students. Constitutional Rights Foundation is pleased to present a series of free online lessons, resources from the CRF catalog, and Internet links to help educators design their own Constitution Day program."

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

PersonalBrain - stop searching, start seeing

About PersonalBrain: "Simply type in your ideas. Drag and drop files and web pages. Any idea can be linked to anything else. Using your digital Brain is like cruising through a Web of your thinking. See new relationships. Discover connections. Go from the big picture of everything to a specific detail in seconds. ...Digitize your mind with PersonalBrain. Download now and try all the features for 30 days. Register and upgrade to get the ultimate performance or keep using the free edition as long as you want. There is only one download for all editions. The Pro Edition features are available for 30 days. After 30 days if an upgrade to Pro or Core has not been activated, the program automatically changes to the Free Edition."

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

MindMeister Academic Edition - collaborative mind mapping

About MindMeister Academic Edition: "The Academic Edition of MindMeister is a complete collaborative mind mapping solution for educational institutions such as schools, universities and learning centers. It helps teachers and instructors to apply essential thought mapping elements in the classroom and ensure that learning is an effective and memorable experience. With their proven ability to help memory and note-taking during lectures as well as stimulating creative thought, mind maps have always been popular in education. Recent studies have shown them to help dyslexics improve their grades at school and university. In addition to its positive effect on learning, collaborative mind mapping in the classroom is also fun - for teachers and students!"

International Literacy Day, Sept. 8



Literacy | EDUCATION | UNESCO

Today one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women while 75 million children are out of school. Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keeping literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 776 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Printable Paper - free graph, lined, financial, music paper, and more

About Printable Paper: "Hundreds of papers you can download and print for free. We've got graph paper, lined paper, financial paper, music paper, and more. Printable Paper has been featured by LifeHacker, Kim Komando, Woman's World magazine, and elsewhere. These papers are easy to download and print. Each page is available for free. All pages are available in Acrobat (.PDF) format: just download one, open it in Acrobat (or another program that can display the .PDF file format,) and print. Also available: more free printables including Fax Cover Sheets, Business Cards, Stationery, and Cash Receipts."

Sunday, September 6, 2009

WordWeb - free desktop dictionary

About WordWeb: "WordWeb is a comprehensive one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows. It can be used to look up words from almost any program, showing definitions, synonyms and related words. It includes pronunciations and usage examples, and has helpful spelling and sounds-like links. WordWeb is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia."

I started using WordWeb (free) for Windows in 2002 and found it so handy, I immediately purchased the pro verision (~US$20). I was thrilled to learn that WordWeb now has iPhone/iPod Touch versions. Anoyone who reads and writes should have this little application.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Just Crosswords - yup, just crosswords

About Just Crosswords: "Just Crosswords is a site of 15x15 crossword puzzles that you solve right in your Web browser. Click on the clues or the spaces in the puzzle, and then simply type to fill in the blanks. Standard puzzles use symmetric grids with lots of standard crossword words and a few words that fit the theme. Crozzle puzzles use only words that fit the theme. Choose from one of the more than 300 puzzles..."

Friday, September 4, 2009

Printable Puzzles - crossword, word search, acrostic, sudoku, and more

About Printable Puzzles: "Puzzle Baron has been serving the online puzzle community since 2007 with our various puzzling web sites, but we know there's still a big demand for proper pencil-and-paper puzzling. That's where Printable-Puzzles.com comes in! We've made high-resolution, print-quality versions of all of our most popular online puzzles and collected them here in one place for you to download, print and enjoy. Dozens of new printable puzzles are added each day, so check back often! ...Our puzzles are excellent tools in teaching logic, pattern recognition, grammar and vocabulary. Plus, they're just plain fun! Feel free to use any of our printable puzzles in the classroom, and if you do, we'd love to hear about it!"

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Card.ly - an online business card

About Card.ly: "Card.ly is a site thats main purpose is to allow you to have your own mini business card profile, without needing to have any design or programming skill. We will host it for you also. Most parts of the site are free as well. So thats the about page and speaking for the entire team of card.ly (@olivierturbis, @giggsey and myself @harknesslabs) - We thank you for using our product."

card.ly

http://card.ly/akipta

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Communities of Practice - a brief introduction

About Communities of practice: "Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope."

Check out the Quick start-up guide and Etienne Wenger's (unpublished) doctoral dissertation, Toward a theory of cultural transparency: elements of a social discourse of the visible and the invisible, University of California, Irvine, 1990.