A Cleaner Youtube

I just found a new extension for Chrome browser called "A Cleaner Youtube." This extension removes all suggested videos which may display images that you don't want to appear in you lesson (however, you must be using Google Chrome browser, will not work on Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer, though there may be similar extensions.

Take a look at the difference below:

APP Insanity-Puppet Pals

Puppet Pals HD

By Polished Play, LLC

Description

Create your own unique shows with animation and audio in real time!



Simply pick out your actors and backdrops, drag them on to the stage, and tap record. Your movements and audio will be recorded in real time for playback later.

This app is as fun as your own creativity. Act out a story of Pirates on the high seas, fight as scary monsters, or play the part of a Wild West bandit on the loose. You can even combine any characters however you want!

Your creations are only limited by your imagination (and voice acting skills in my case).

FEATURES
- Create an actor from a photo
- Use a photo as a backdrop for your storytelling
- zoom and rotate your characters using two fingers
- flip them around with a double tap
- a wide variety of creative characters to download (including famous talk show hosts and politicians)





- limitless possibilities of story creations
- buy the director's pass and receive ALL current and FUTURE content!

...More

Export video of your new shows!
Create your own characters!
Use your own photos as backdrops!

iPad Screenshots

Customer Reviews

Such Outrageous Fun Made Possible

by SJP-iPad

Ahhh! Now that's what I'm talking about! An app that will make you laugh your head off as you create slapstick, silly cartoon animations that can now be shared with friends. I loved the app but with the ability to share videos, it just became even more lovable.

Wow

by Kaleegray

I love this app. I always wished you could make yourselves characters and wala ! Thanks!

"Canned Responses" in Gmail

What is that? QR Codes in the Library...

Source: http://goo.gl/iEO6J

I have been working on this project for a few months now. There have been a few technical and logistical challenges to overcome but it is finally ready for the Grand Opening. Working with the high school librarian we have been able to add student-written reviews to in house library books and make them accessible to students on the web and (probably more importantly) on their cellphones. We have done this using QR codes. (Follow the link to learn more about QR codes).  

A couple of months back our library adopted a new cataloging system from Follett Software Company; Destiny Library Management. The most exciting thing I heard about the new cataloging system was the ability for students to write their own reviews of books in the library. I instantly saw this as a great opportunity to make the library a more collaborative and connected space. 

After one quick discussion, the high school librarian was completely on-board and excited for this new challenge and opportunity. It took a little experimentation and prodding to get the first students to write reviews, but we are off and running with a handful of reviews written which are linked to QR codes that have been pasted to the inside covers of the books.  

This the official "debut" to the district as a whole, but I have been talking with other staff members to brainstorm some ideas to promote this among the students. 

• Chocolate - The librarian will be offering a small treat to students who write a review for a book. Can’t go wrong there... 
• Advertisement - We’ve already hung a poster about QR codes in the library but we’ll be making additional efforts to let students know what is happening and get them involved. 
• Integration - I’ve got multiple english and reading teachers who are making plans to integrate book reviews into their curriculum and more specifically integrate their classes with the library on new and different ways. 
• Education - All of my students know what QR codes are and how they work, but that is about it in the school population. Part of this process will be sharing this tool with other students and teachers. 

Hopefully this is the beginning of a new implementation of new technology in the larger school community. If you have more ideas of how we could expand or improve this please leave a comment! 


For more info on QR Codes you can also look here: http://goo.gl/aFR5s

Using Groups in Gmail to Make Your Life Better!

Gmail provides a number of tools to make your life easier. One of these tools is Groups. With groups you can assign different contacts to a group and when sending an email you can enter the group name rather than typing in each individual or sending an email to a large number of "extra individuals."

The process of creating and populating a group is fairly simple and explained well here (http://goo.gl/Qu9dj) so I won't repeat it. Or if you would prefer a video tutorial watch here (http://goo.gl/lr90g).

Here are a few ways that I use my contacts groups:

• I have a group set up for each of my classes. That way I can send an email to my students very quickly to give them assignments, information, updates or anything else. 
• I have a group set up for the teachers that have the freshman class for study tables. This allows me to request students to visit me without overloading other teachers' emails. 
• I also have groups set up for students that I work with in extracurricular activities for Lights-On activities, Key Club, Robotics, etc. Again it is a great time saver. 

If you have any questions or other ideas for Gmail tips you might be interested in just leave a comment below! 

Book Lending on Kindle

In case you hadn't heard you can now lend and borrow books on your Kindle. For information on how to do this look here.

Multiple sites have quickly sprung up to connect people who want to lend and borrow Kindle books.


Here are three:

booklending.com

lendink.com

lendle.me

 
Each of these services works basically the same; you submit a request to borrow a book and if someone else on the service has it available for lending you can receive notification. Some of these require that you register (free) as a member in order to lend books, some also require that you put up your books for lending as well.

This should be a great tool for classroom, teachers, and students to have access to more books on the digital devices without having to fork out as much cash!

Happy Reading!

SnagFilms! Thousands of Free-to-Watch Documentaries.

I've heard of this site multiple times and heard that it was great, but I had never spent the time to take a look at it. They have an amazing number of documentary films, past to current on nearly every topic imaginable. I was able to find what looks like every National Geographic movie and all for free! It looks like they currently have over 2000 documentaries and they are adding more all of the time (at least weekly - I get an update about once a week of new SnagFilms being uploaded). There is even a SnagFilms iPad app where you can watch all of the movies. The videos can be found at www.snagfilms.com

Education Buzz Carnival

Education Buzz--Life's a Carnival New Year's Edition

Using Google Forms for Student Surveys and Quizzes/Tests

Google Docs includes an item known as a form. This is basically an online survey builder that

allows for all types of questions; multiple choice, select from a list, free response short, free response long, etc. The responses are collected in an automatically generated and populated spreadsheet as students complete their surveys. They can be easily emailed or shared with students or even posted as a url. There are even ways to give the questions on the iPod touches!

You can learn how to make these simple forms by looking here You can also look here and here for more ideas!