Riding the Draft

Dictionaries that Rock!

2009-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

Wow! Dictionaries have come a long way since the days of Daniel Webster. No longer are we confined to looking up a word to get its part of speech, definition, etc... all in text. As a visual learner, the new online dictionaries offer up the ability to search for words and instantly find videos, images and links to words that are related to what I am searching for.

Save the Words is a site that is dedicated to "saving" words that have been eliminated from our current dictionaries. The site is dedicated to bringing them back. Use the site to expand your students knowledge of words. Ask them to find a word learn the definition and use it in their writing.

Visuwords is perhaps my favorite! It feels like a living testament to the power of words. Be sure and check that link out!

http://www.visuwords.com/
An online graphical dictionary/thesaurus that seems alive with connections to other words and meanings. Type in the word you are looking for and press enter. Double click on a node to expand the tree or zoom in and out. Hover over a word to get the definition.

http://www.lexipedia.com/-
A visual dictionary that shows the part of speech, synonyms, antonyms and more.

http://www.savethewords.org/
Click on a word as it jumps out at you and learn its definition. Make a promise to use it in your daily language. Use this site to get students thinking about vocabulary in a fun way! Powered by Oxford Dictionaries.

http://lingro.com/
An free online multilingual dictionary.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/
This free online dictionary and thesaurus includes a word of the day and word games.

http://www.wordia.com/
Find videos that help illustrate the meaning of the words. Great site for High School students.

http://blachan.com/shahi/
A visual dictionary that uses Flikr images on this wiki dictionary.

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/maths/dictionary.html

Hope these help!

Video Conversions

2009-02-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

How many times have you sat down at your computer to open a great You Tube video that you saw at home and wanted to share with your students? It seems that it is probably one of the most blocked site at schools! Often much of the content on this site is appropriate for school use. The problem is how do you get around your firewall in order to share the video with your students? The answer is the free web sites that offer file conversion!

The sites below not only convert video files, but many other file types as well. Use media converter to video, audio, music or office files. All you need is an email address. Zamzar gives you over sixty file options to convert to. These options range from video to documents. These resources are a great way to convert to a format that works with your needs!

http://www.pwnyoutube.com/watch?v=nOeLq01J6Uo&feature=related

Type pwn in front of any YouTube video to download the video in a format that can be viewed on your computer.

http://kickyoutube.com/

Type the word kick in front of a YouTube video that is blocked and this site will come up that allows you to download the video to view.

http://www.mediaconverter.org/

Use this site to convert You Tube videos from home to use in your classroom if You Tube is blocked in your school.

http://www.zamzar.com/

Concert your files for free! This site has converted files that others were unable to!

Hope these help!

Why drafting?

2009-02-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

Drafting is a word that comes from bicycling. It is the practice of a group of cyclists where the riders form a single line. The person at the front of the line breaks the wind for those behind and makes the going a little easier for them. Throughout the race, various riders take turns coming to the front to break through the resistance for the rest.

While this blog post is not about bicycling, it is about moving up front for a little while. I have had the good fortune to have many go before me in the field of technology in education. When we work together we accomplish more.

Today my focus is on spelling. Use these sites to help students practice!

http://www.kidsspell.com/

Choose a spelling list or create your own, then choose a game to play with those words.

http://www.spinandspell.com/

This program asks students to choose a picture and then spell the word.

http://www.spellingcity.com/

This site allows the user to enter spelling words to play games. It also offers the capability for students to type a word and hear it pronounced.

http://www.manythings.org/cts/

The games begin as words fall from the top of the screen, players have to "catch" the appropriate letters in the correct sequence to spell the word displayed at the top of the game. Players "catch" letters by moving a cursor at the bottom of the page.

http://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/spelling.htm

Type in your spelling words to play games and learn. Make a spelling scramble or a word search.

Hope this helps!