First Steps in Troubleshooting: A Flowchart

This flowchart will walk you through the initial steps you should take to try resolving a computer issue before you contact the IT department or or your "geek" friend.

Catch of the Day - VerbaLearn - 4 Nov 09

VerbaLearn is the fresh catch of today

VerbaLearn attempts to blend traditional flashcards and the newest methods used to gather information online; video, audio, RSS feeds, games, and so forth. VerbaLearn allows users to study with a variety of tools with which they are comfortable. Consequently, learners may enjoy the learning process and can accomplish more in less time.

VerbaLearn Home Page Screenshot

VerbaLearn has a number of features to help students study Vocabulary more efficiently, track progress, score higher, and simply save time:

• Quiz your vocabulary word knowledge online for free for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and more
• Review vocabulary online for free for the SAT and GRE
• Listen to vocabulary for free for the SAT, GRE, and moree
• Watch vocabulary flashcards for free for the SAT, GRE, and more
• Play vocabulary crossword puzzles for free for the SAT, GRE, and more
• Study vocabulary flashcards for free for the SAT, GRE, and more
• Print customized VerbaLearn flashcards
• Review vocabulary online for free for the SAT, GRE, and more

In an effort to ensure high-quality, accurate content, VerbaLearn hires college faculty and professional voice over artists to create and review all of the words, synonyms, examples, and audio recordings.

How It Works Screenshot

How VerbaLearn Works:

• Discover the words you don't know by taking short quizzes on VerbaLearn to build your list. Each word answered incorrectly during the quiz will appear on your next Studylist.
• Use VerbaLearn's review tools to learn the words in your Studylist. Review your personalized Studylist and commit some of the words to memory.

VerbaLearn started as a side project in May of 2008 and has grown into a comprehensive vocabulary building service that offers audio, video, flashcards, games, and much more.

VerbaLearn Free Vocabulary Builder Video Demo

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Open Office for Kids

Previously, I have posted about Open Office, the free, open-source office suite. Now comes a kid-specific version of this software.

The OpenOffice.org Education Project's goals are to establish a bridge between OpenOffice.org and the world of education. From this was born the project OOo4Kids (OpenOffice for Kids).

OOo4Kids is a lighter version of OpenOffice.org:

• Dedicated to 7-12 year-olds
• Specific adaptations to the world of education
• Works everywhere (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows)
• International / Multilingual

Catch of the Day - VoiceThread - 3 Nov 09

Today's fresh catch is VoiceThread

A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that may contain images, videos, and documents and allows people to comment on that content.

A VoiceThread can be shared with friends, students, and colleagues so they can add comments, too.

VoiceThread Home Page Screenshot

Key features of VoiceThread:

• VoiceThread enables collaboration and commenting using five methods. Make voice comments by computer microphone or telephone, type in text, upload an MP3/WAV audio file, or use a webcam for video comments. Voice and video commenting is done in your web browser with no software to install.
• VoiceThread makes embedding easy, allowing you to add interactive group discussions to any website, wiki, or blog.
• Export a VoiceThread to a widescreen movie, including all media, comments, and Doodles. The movie can be played offline, stored on your computer, burned to DVD, or download to an MP3 player/iPod or mobile phone to play on-the-go. Exports are priced at $2.99 each.
• VoiceThread's Comment Moderation allows VoiceThread creators and editors to determine which comments are shown to everyone else.
• VoiceThread supports many common file formats including PDF, MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, images, and videos.

Sample VoiceThread Screenshot

View the VoiceThread Getting Started in the Classroom guide (PDF)

Video - An Introduction to VoiceThread


In addition to the free Educator account, VoiceThread offers a Pro account for a one-time fee of $10, Class subscriptions for $60/year, and School subscriptions for $1/user/year.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Catch of the Day - MapsETC - 2 Nov 09

Today's fresh catch is MapsETC, a companion to ClipartETC, which I posted about earlier.

MapsETC is a collection of over 5,000 historic maps representing many different time periods. Teachers and students may use up to 25 maps in non-commercial school projects without further permission. All maps are available as GIF or JPEG files for screen display as well as in PDF format for printing.

MapsETC Home Page Screenshot

Locate MapsETC maps using the searchable database or browse the galleries categorized by continent and region.

Maps of South Africa Gallery Screenshot

World Maps includes separate galleries of maps for intercontinental regions; Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Hemispheres; Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Also included are multi-continental maps, such as maps that contain both North and South America, Eurasia, and more.

Sample Relief Map of Australia

MapsETC is a part of the Florida Educational Technology Clearinghouse. Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0