What it is:   Share Tabs is a simple, but very neat, website that allows you to share several links with one web address.  Teachers can enter a list of websites they want students to visit into Share Tabs.   After entering the links, you create one Share Tabs URL that will open all of the links as separate tabs in a web browser.   So cool!

How to integrate Share Tabs into the classroom:  Share Tabs is an awesome way to save time in the classroom when using multiple websites.  Instead of waiting for kids to type in several URL’s to get to the days activities, they type in one URL and share tabs does all the work.  I know in my classroom, I don’t want to spend 15 min typing in web addresses.  I would rather that students have that time to spend on the web activities.  Share Tabs is perfect in the computer lab setting or any time that you want students to visit multiple websites for a lesson.  Use Share Tabs for virtual field trips through cyber space without spending time creating a webquest.  Share Tabs also makes sharing sites with colleauges a snap.  As you are finding resources for a lesson, put them into Share Tabs and send one link.  Your colleagues will thank you!

Tips:  Use Share Tabs on Twitter instead of updating 5 times with each separate URL you are exploring, update once with a Share Tabs link!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Share Tabs in your classroom.

Happy 2009!   Just wanted to jot a quick note to you my readers.  Thank you for your continued support and encouraging words, they truly keep me going!  When I started teaching technology, I had a hard time finding a comprehensive website for free technology resources in the classroom.  I knew there were great free resources  out there because I stumbled upon them all the time.  What I really hoped for was a place that didn’t just give me a list of links to great websites for the classroom, but a place that gave me a snapshot of the site, and some useful tips for using that site with students.   I started collecting all of the sites that I was finding in my Google notebook.  One day my husband suggested that I start a blog so that other teachers could have access to the sites I was finding and notes I was taking on them.  That was the beginning of iLearn Technology.  Now, two years later, I have readers on almost every continent and I hear encouraging stories from you about how you integrate technology into your classrooms.  You are an inspiration to me, I hope that iLearn Technology continues to be a valuable resource for you!  Keep sharing your success stories and ideas, I love to hear them! 

This year I have a few new resources in the works.  I am currently developing curriculum, specifically for Mac schools (woot!) but it could be adapted for any computer classroom.  I will be selling the curriculum bundled or as individual lessons.  Even if you aren’t a computer teacher, some of the lessons will be perfect for technology integration in the classroom.  I also hope to come out with my second issue of the iLearn ezine focused on Macs in education sometime in January.  In this issue I focus on using iPods in education and project based learning.  As always I will be posting new ideas for free technology integration daily right here. :) 

I wish you all a blessed New Year!

What it is:   Kido’z is a web browser specifically designed just for kids.  The Kido’z browser is a completely protected environment where kids can surf web sites, watch kid appropriate videos and play games.  Kido’z has an incredibly simple interface that is even appropriate for non readers and writers.  The browser blocks links, scripts and other opportunities for kids to be lead to websites that have not been approved.  Kido’z allows kids to safely explore “an endless amount of games, videos and other content and can enter with one click to the best kids’ sites that can be found.”  Kido’z is a great addition to any pre-k through second grade classroom.  

How to integrate Kido’z into the classroom:   Kido’z is a great way to bring the Internet to the classroom computers in the pre-k through second grade classroom.  Students can access the Internet in a completely safe, controlled environment.  The interface of Kido’z is so user friendly that even your non-reader students can use the browser sucessfuly without help.  Many of the video clips, games, and websites that students have access to through Kido’z are educational and offer great learning opportunities.  Kido’z has provided several ways to follow developments through Twitter, their blog, or RSS feed.  You are sure to be introduced to great kids learning sites that you may not have seen before.  

Tips:  Before you can download the Kido’z browser, you will have to download Adobe Air.  Be sure to share Kido’z with parents.  The web browser is a great way to keep your students learning at home in a safe environment.  

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Kido’z  in your classroom.

What it is:  The International Childrens Digital Library (also known as ICDL) is an online digital library for children of all ages.  The mission of ICDL is to “ excite and inspire the world’s children to become members of the global community – children who understand the value of tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas — by making the best in children’s literature available online.”  When students visit the ICDL website they are brought to a simple search area where they can choose different options for finding a book.  They can narrow down results by age (3-13), fiction or non-fiction, book length, award winners, language, picture or chapter books, subject matter, and even what colors that cover has in it.  When students choose a book they can read the book in its entirety online.  I learned about this site in the iTunes store, they have a free iPod Touch and iPhone application for downloading books from the ICDL in addition to their online content.  So neat!

How to integrate ICDL into the classroom:   The ICDL website reminds me a lot of LookyBook.  The search options are extremely user friendly and allow even the youngest readers to find a book they are sure to love.  Students can register for the library (free) and then leave an online review of the book.  I like the idea of digital libraries for students because it opens up a number of books to them that they may not otherwise have access to.  If a story is started during school, students can finish the story when they get home from any Internet connected computer.  The ICDL is nice for reading groups.  All students can be reading the same book from school and from home without setting aside a large budget for group sets.  The search is a wonderful way for students to discover what types of literature they enjoy.  Many of the books featured are from different cultures and languages, these would be perfect to bring into a foreign language classroom.  ICDL books provide a fun way for students to gain global awareness.  Books in other languages could also be used as a starting point for student created stories.  Students can do picture walks through the online books and then compose their own story to accompany the pictures.  ICDL is a great way to read with the whole class.  Connect your computer with a projector and students can read the story along with you, everyone will be able to see the pictures as you discuss the story!  

Tips:  One thing that I really appreciate about ICDL is the ability to view the books full screen and zoom in and out of the pages.  The site is easy to navigate and this feature makes it even more user friendly.  

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using ICDL  in your classroom.

What it is:  Aviary is a website on a mission to make creativity more accessible.  They do this by making powerful image software available online (no download required) and with free versions of the online software.  Aviary has four different offerings: Peacock, Phoenix, Toucan, and Raven.  Because each tool does something different, I am going to break it down into four posts.

Raven is the final application in the Aviary suite.  Raven is a vector editor.  Those familiar with graphic design will appreciate this tool because vector art is fully scalable (it doesn’t pixelate or distort when size is changed).  Vector art is most commonly used in logo creation.  Raven allows students to learn about and work with paths, lines, curves, and objects.  Students will have control over stroke, fill color, and gradient. Just like in Aviary Phoenix, students can work with layers, groups, and layer masks.  Raven also allows for import of other vector graphic files (SVG).  

How to integrate Raven into the classroom:   Aviary Raven is an amazing application and the fact that it is web based makes it infinitely more impressive.  Use Raven to teach students about graphic design, vector art, pixels, and digital art.  Allow students to experiment with different fills and gradients to create shadow and light on objects that they create.  

Tips:  Aviary Raven is the only application in the suite that is currently in alpha version and costs money, $9.99/month gives you pro access to the complete Aviary suite.   Be sure to check out the many tutorials to learn how to use Raven and all of the Aviary applications.  Encourage students to do the same…it is a great way to learn!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Aviary Raven  in your classroom.

What it is:  Aviary is a website on a mission to make creativity more accessible.  They do this by making powerful image software available online (no download required) and with free versions of the online software.  Aviary has four different offerings: Peacock, Phoenix, Toucan, and Raven.  Because each tool does something different, I am going to break it down into four posts.

Toucan is the third application in the Aviary suite.  Toucan is a color palette chooser. It is a simple tool but combined with the other Aviary applications is pretty powerful for the creativity process.  Choose colors for your palette and then adjust hue, saturation, hue, light, CMYK, and RGB.  The color palette helps students learn about relationships between colors on the color wheel.  As students manipulate and choose colors from the color wheel, they can save to the clip board.  When color palettes are in the clipboard, students can filter out colors in their palette or expand colors.  There is also an image chooser where students can choose an image and then pick colors directly from the image.  The last cool tool in Toucan is a color deficiency tool where you can see what people who are color blind might see when they are viewing your color palette (especially helpful for website creation!).  After you create a color palette, it can be imported into Pheonix or Peacock.  In the color chooser in Pheonix, you can click a special button to import your swatches from Toucan.  Neat!

How to integrate Toucan into the classroom:   Aviary Toucan is a wonderful addition to any art or science class studying color.  The color wheel and adjustment options make it easy to see and understand color relationships as well as concepts like hue, tint, and saturation.  This would be a great tool for students to explore individually, recording observations about hue, tint, saturation, etc. as they discover how each affects color.  Toucan would also be useful for whole class instruction on color with a projector.  The ability to create color palettes is a great tie in for the other Aviary applications as well as for website design.  I love the color deficiency tool that allows you to see what the colors in your color palette look like to someone with color blindness.  This is a nice way to teach students about color blindness and useful when creating websites, advertisements, etc.  

Tips:  Aviary Phoenix, Peacock, and Toucan are both in beta right now.  Be sure to check out the Toucan overview video to learn more about how Toucan works.  The video breaks down the application nicely.  

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Aviary Toucan  in your classroom.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas!  What I learned this year is that even though I take a break from posting, spammers do NOT break for holidays and other bloggers tend to blog MORE when they have a break to do so.  This means that #1 I have a lot of spam to sort through and #2 it has taken me a long time to get through my Google Reader!  I am finally getting around to a post that I intended to do several days ago (actually 3 posts) all on the Aviary creative suite of tools.  So, without further ado- here it is…

What it is:  Aviary is a website on a mission to make creativity more accessible.  They do this by making powerful image software available online (no download required) and with free versions of the online software.  Aviary has four different offerings: Peacock, Phoenix, Toucan, and Raven.  Because each tool does something different, I am going to break it down into four posts.

Peacock is a “visual laboratory”that lets students experiment with pixel based images in fun ways.  Students can create pixel images applying filters (this will feel similar to other image editors such as Adobe).  Students can also blend several pixel based images together to create images.  These pixel images would make great backgrounds for other documents, web pages, or other Aviary tools.  Students can also upload “resources” or pictures from their computers or other sources to manipulate in Peacock.   Peacock easily integrates with the other Aviary tools switching images quickly between the applications.  This makes the possibilities for creativity endless.  

How to integrate Peacock into the classroom:   Aviary Peacock is a neat way for students to explore and experiment with visual arts.  The application really does feel like a laboratory.  Students start out with one image of their choosing and can manipulate the image with different filters, blenders, etc. to come up with completely new images.  It is interesting to experiment with the different ‘ingredients’ to see how an image can be transformed.  Peacock can be used to create backgrounds for web pages, documents, or other Aviary creations.  Peacock can also be used to help students understand cause and effect as they manipulate images.  

Tips:  Aviary Phoenix and Peacock are both in beta right now.  Be sure to check out the Peacock overview video to get an idea of how Peacock works.  

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Aviary Peacock  in your classroom.

What it is:  Aviary is a website on a mission to make creativity more accessible.  They do this by making powerful image software available online (no download required) and with free versions of the online software.  Aviary has four different offerings: Peacock, Phoenix, Toucan, and Raven.  Because each tool does something different, I am going to break it down into four posts.  Phoenix is an image editor and the first Aviary tool I will review.  Phoenix is an image editor that allows for basic image editing or complex effects, it has many of the same features as that expensive software suite (Adobe) but has the benefit of being based online and free! :)  There is a rich tool set with features familiar to graphics and image programs like brushes, and blend modes.  Just like the more expensive software, Aviary allows students to work on projects in layers with an intuative, easy-to-use, drag and drop interface.  Images can be imported from other popular sites like Flickr, Facebooks, and Picasa.  Any creation in Phoenix can be imported and used in other Aviary tools.

How to integrate Aviary into the classroom:  Aviary Phoenix is an awesome tool for classroom image editing.  This is a great alternative to expensive image editors, but looks and works enough like the ‘big dogs’ that students who learn how to use Aviary will be able to easily transfer the knowledge if and when they need to.  Aviary currently has 62 Phoenix tutorials.  Students can work through the tutorials and teach themselves the program.  I like this method of self discovery and teaching,  it is an important skill for students to learn that we don’t teach enough in the classroom.  Ask students to create brochures, advertisements, or other graphic media to illustrate concepts in the classroom using digital art.  Aviary is a nice introduction into graphic arts and digital media.

Tips:  It is fun to look through creations that others have made and try to figure out how they used Aviary Phoenix to create.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Aviary Phoenix  in your classroom.

What it is:  The iPod Touch has opened up a whole world of portable education to schools.  Several of the Applications in the iTunes Application store are free!  App Shopper is a website that makes it simple to find free education applications for the iPod Touch (or iPhone).  Select your category, free, and enjoy browsing through great, free applications for your students!  

How to integrate App Shopper into the classroom:  Use App shopper to easily find free applications for your classroom iPod Touch(es).  I like the way that App Shopper shows an icon of the program and gives a description of the application.  Applications can be downloaded right from App Shopper or from iTunes…these are free to use, who doesn’t appreciate free classroom tools?!

Tips:  The second edition of the iLearn Ezine is coming soon with a great section on iPods in education and a review of the best free education apps.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using App Shopper in your classroom.