Sumo Paint – Let Your Student’s Creativity Flourish

Sumo Paint is a free online paint and image editing program (you can register to get more features – like saving your creations online) that looks similar in feel to those higher end photo imaging programs such as Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. Fun and easy to use, sumo paint provides a palette of tools that should be well-known to users of software based paint programs.
Some of the features and tools that you are offered are creating lines, special blending and opacity effects, cross-hatching, numerous brush types and variations, adjusting shading, colour balance, saturation, tint, hue, texture, contrast, tone, rotation, and the choice in picking colour schemes seem endless, just to name a few.

From an educational perspective, what I find really cool about this program is that students who have used a computer have more than likely messed around with a paint program of some description in the past and because of that will find Sumo Paint intuitively easy to use, with little or no instruction before they are creating their masterpieces.

Recently I began using Sumo Paint with the year 2 and year 3 classes at the school where I work with great success. Prior to this they had only used Microsoft Paint or Tux Paint! The students seem to be really enthusiastic in using and creating artwork with the web 2 application and will often tell me the next day that they used it when they got home from school or showed it to their parents.

They are able to save their work in either png or jpg format, and since the program is free and online, they can access it at home, in the library, basically from anywhere there is a computer and an internet connection. Plus any artwork they create can be instantly put up on to the classroom/school website/blog or sent, via email to friends and family if they wish to do so.

Sumo Paint is a fantastic tool to use with your students, and because it’s online and did I mention free, you don’t have to purchase or download any other software. Why not give Sumo Paint a go in your classroom and watch your student’s creativity flourish.

To get to Sumo Paint or learn more about this cool online paint program either click here or on the Sumo Paint icon above.

See what is possible with Sumo Paint in this four minute video.

Stock.XCHNG – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Despite the name, this website has nothing to do with the trading of shares (not that such a premise would not be without its education merits!). Stock.XCHNG is a website that instead deals with the trading of digital photos. More often than not, the process is generally one-way (you, downloading the photos of your choice), but there is the option of uploading pictures of your own or even pictures that the students have taken. Source the easy-to-use search engine at SXC and you can have dozens of copyright-free pictures on any topic within seconds.
Some of you might be reading this overview, wondering at its relevance. Perhaps you, like many other teachers, simply tap into Google Images to quickly scour through thousands of websites to find a suitable picture or clip art for your presentation or newsletter. What many teachers don’t realise is that, without proper referencing, this can be illegal. And yet, because the quick search/paste method of digital photography is so painless, many teachers (and members of society at large) have become entirely too comfortable with infringing the creative rights of photographers and individuals the world over. Perhaps now you are starting to see the merits of a website entirely comprised of copyright-free, easy to download images.
Stock.XCHNG has a pleasing variety of images for you to search through, more so than some other “free” websites. It could and probably should therefore be one of the first places you start your search for digital images for integration in the classroom.
Teaching students the ethics associated with utilising technology, particularly web-based material, is one of the forefront issues in recent curriculum. It is therefore vital that as educators, we model the same expectations we have for the students.

Stock.XCHNG is teacher and student friendly and its use should be considered by time and copyright conscious classrooms everywhere.

If you would like to learn more about using Stock.XCHNG in your classroom click here for your free guide.

Google – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Have you ever Googled yourself? Anyone familiar with the world’s biggest search engine has probably succumbed to the temptation at some point. Google is renowned for finding information — a lot of information, and fast. I remember the first time I used Google to conduct research for a university assignment and the resulting aneurism when confronted with the millions of matches to my particular topic. Needless to say, it took me some time to sift through all those matches to my query. In time, I learnt how to search a bit more effectively.
Google is probably the most extensively used search engine that most teachers currently utilize in one way or another, but have you ever considered using it for the dozens of other applications and features it offers for educational and e-learning purposes?

A quick exploration of these features reveals a wealth of educational benefits.

Google Maps can quickly and easily chart a journey between two destinations, complete with ETA.
Google Alerts can tip you off when fresh news breaks by sending you an email with the details.
Google Images can provide you with literally millions of stimulus pictures to inspire class discussions.
Google Reader allows you to follow the latest up-to-date trends and information in education or on any topic you choose.
Google Docs allows you to create, share, edit and collaborate with other users of your choosing on word-processing, spreadsheets etc online.

In addition to these, there are plenty of other products for you to test out and consider for you and your classroom (there isn’t enough space in this post to list them all!)

Google is the “swiss army knife” for any educator working within the digital age. You could almost “live off Google alone”, given the sheer scope of options this website offers and the symbiotic relationship a lot of these applications share with learning.
Be sure to know your obligations as far as copyright is concerned, especially if you think it acceptable to start copying unreferenced images or text into your presentations (it’s actually illegal!). Use Google effectively, reference the websites you learn from and vast amounts of information, images, videos, articles and resources will be under your command. Use your power wisely.

If you would like to learn more about using google in your classroom click here for your free guide.

Here is a video by Common Craft that explains how to use a search engine like google more effectively.

If you already use google or any of it’s many applications in your day to day work as an educator, why not leave us a comment below and tell us how you use it?

Make Your Own Interactive Wiimote Whiteboard

wiimote3 One of the more techie things that I have been playing around with over the last 12 months has been the Wiimote Whiteboard. What precisely is a Wiimote Whiteboard I hear you say? Originally developed by Johnny Chung Lee from Carnegie Mellon University, it’s a way to turn a simple data projector into an inexpensive yet very effective Interactive Whiteboard (IWB). Basically you connect a Nintendo Wiimote via Bluetooth to your computer (that’s hooked up to your data projector), point the Wiimote at whatever your going to use as your screen (it could be a blank wall, floor or normal whiteboard), use some free Wiimote Whiteboard configuration software, and use an IR-pen (you can either create your own or buy ready made IR-pens online) to access the screen. The Infrared Sensor in the Wiimote detects where you have positioned your IR-pen relative to the screen and translates that to the computer, just like a mouse.
On a side note, the original wiimote whitboard software created by Johnny Lee has been further refined by Boon Jin. Visit BoonJin.com to download Wiimote Smoothboard 1.0. This application is first-rate and has some nice features like floating toolbars, offscreen toggles for onscreen keyboards etc. N.B. It does require Net Framework 3.5 to work.

The real beauty of this setup is the cost! It can all be done for $120-$140 AUD or less! The software is available free on the internet, a Wiimote costs $60-$70 AUD, a usb Bluetooth dongle for $40 AUD (if your computer or Laptop doesn’t have Bluetooth built-in), an IRpen $10 AUD (make yourself from parts bought at an electronics store) or buy online $8-$10 US (ready made), and a tripod $20 AUD.

There are a copious amount of sites devoted to providing advice and ideas on creating and using the Wiimote Whiteboard. Here are just a few to get you started.

http://www.wiimoteproject.com/

http://wiimoteproject.ning.com/

http://www.boonjin.com/wp/

http://www.smoothboard.net/

Johnny Lees Blog

Here are a few videos you might be interested in watching about Wiimote Whiteboards!

A video of me using a Wiimote Whiteboard

Johnny Chung Lee on TED

Wikipedia – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Wikipedia, the world’s free online encyclopedia, is a powerful resource to command in your classroom and after exploring its uses, you will wonder how you survived without it. That sounds like a rather illustrious claim, but it is one that is proven to be true by many teachers. Why? Consider the following “classic” classroom scenario.
You are leading a well-prepared session of learning. All is running smoothly, the students are participating and the topic is interesting, thus generating some good discussion. A student raises their hand and, upon having their request validated, innocently asks a question that is beyond your ability to answer. The normal response to this situation obviously varies with the teacher, but, sadly enough, some teachers would prefer to short-change their students with a hopelessly inaccurate, on-the-spot-I-hope-I’m-right cover up, than actually model a real, “professional” response to learning from an unfamiliar situation.
Enter Wikipedia. The same scenario, with Wikipedia nearby can show students your willingness to learn along side them. Wikipedia is quick and effortless to use. Type in your topic and the definition (along with references, pronunciation and related topics, in most instances) will be at your fingertips within seconds.
Wikipedia’s name is derived from the word “wiki”, which is website that anyone can edit or modify. Wikipedia has therefore been created through the collaborative efforts of the world-wide web community, a phenomenal concept in its own right and a tremendous example of learning together as a team. Definitions are often referenced, and relevant hyperlinks provide further connections for you to explore. A world of information is at your fingertips. You’ll wonder what you did without it.

If you would like to learn more about Wikipedia or it’s alternatives click here for your free guide.

Blogger – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Statistics indicate that 28% of Gen Y, in particular, uni students (digital natives) maintain their own blog and regularly read or review others. This figure will only balloon further in the years ahead.

It is therefore important for teachers to not only understand what blogging involves, but to tap in to its potential applications for the classroom.
What is blogging then? Simply put, it’s journal writing, online. The appeal of blogging is that anyone with an opinion can share their views about movies/books/politics/education/anything with the rest of the world. You are, undoubtedly, beginning to see why students find this premise very empowering. It is little wonder that some students find the “mundane” routines of school to be an irrelevant chore when at home, they can share their view of the world with whoever is listening.
Classroom blogging is a very powerful motivational force for writing, particularly with those students who moan and groan about putting pen to page. Using Blogger, a free-to-use website, you can create a blog for your class and use it publish your student’s views, stories, reports or news, thus making them celebrities, much akin to authors (in their minds!) because they suddenly have a massive audience—the world!
Blogger also contains suitable security measures that can lock out unauthorised viewers if you wish to use a class blog that updates class parents with news from the classroom. Along with those described above, there are dozens of other applications for blogging, limited only by your creativity and the conventions of genre writing. The world is your oyster!

If you would like to learn more about blogger or it’s alternatives click here for your free guide.

Common Craft have produced a quick video that explains blogging in simple terms.

Youtube – Why Use It In The Classroom?

YouTube’s name is often associated with teen-age pranks or notoriety, but in actuality YouTube is one of the most valuable assets a classroom teacher can wield in order to integrate technology into daily practice.

Like it or not, we teach a breed of technologically-savvy super students (digital natives), reared on a diet of DVDs, video games and music (and more often than not, a combination of all of the above). These children often eat YouTube for breakfast, so why shouldn’t we dish up some educational cuisines of our own? It’s interesting to note CNN recently found that “popular site YouTube led the growth charge, accounting for almost half the incremental gain in videos viewed.”

The power of YouTube is in the sheer scope and variety of its content. It is an epic dumping ground for videos all the world over; type in a search for any topic and you’ll often get dozens of matches, including quality educational programs prepared and uploaded by businesses, TV stations and educators. However, there is also a great deal of inappropriate material as well, and so to use YouTube effectively, teachers should carefully monitor every clip before sharing them with the class.

Used effectively when planning (along with careful monitoring of content), YouTube will serve you faithfully by acting as the catalyst for quality discussions, luring your students deep into the realm of engagement without them even realising it. You can even work towards the opposite end of the scale by having students create their own videos to upload for global viewing. And what could be more engaging to a student than becoming an internationally renown legend in their own right?

To learn more about Youtube and how you can set up an account for your classroom click here for you free guide.

Twitter – Why Use It In The Classroom?

Twitter’s premise (and logo) is likened to the constant “tweeting” of friendly birds, updating each other with their surroundings. This website allows the user to create a list of contacts and then update these people constantly throughout the day by answering the question, “What are you doing?”
Twitter can be used as a powerful learning tool, effortlessly connecting the classroom with the wider community. Parents can join in classroom discussions. Students can communicate their learning with peers from other schools. Distance no longer is an issue, Twitter allows you to instantly share bursts of on-the-spot news with any willing followers to your classroom.
Twitter is a fun, engaging technological tool that encourages controlled interaction with the outside world at any moment of any day. Parents get a real buzz out of hearing news from the classroom as it happens, since it allows them to discuss with clarity the events that unfolded during the day. You can even connect Twitter to mobile phones, allowing followers to receive updates from your classroom on the go!
Twitter is a must-use website for any teacher that wishes to activate effortless interaction with a wide network of specifically selected edu-buddies, who will eagerly partake in (whether they realise it or not) the collaborative learning that occurs naturally within your classroom.