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August 2013
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Welcome to this edition of ICTmagic Show. Inside you will find an eclectic mix of the best free educational links, tools and resource for your class from across the web.
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Martin Burrett
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Hot Tip Keep IT under your nose. There are a number of easy ways to get to what you want on your computer or online. Using bookmarks on a browser is a good first step, but why not make them accessible everywhere with diigo.com, delicious.com or xmarks.com. Also, check out dropbox.com for a fab way to keep your files with you. Create desktop shortcuts to any programme or file you use often by right-clicking on the file, choose ‘send to’ and desktop (see above). You can also try to pin files to your taskbar to access them quickly (see left).
Invite ICTmagic to speak at your conference, TeachMeet or CPD event. Learn how to embed creative and collective tech into your school. Thrill your students with an action packed day of digital discovery. Contact ICTmagic using the details at
http://burrett.wix.com/contact ICTmagic Podcast http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/%2AICTmagic+Podcasts Listen to the ICTmagic podcast. Stream it online or download the archive of podcasts to your MP3 player.
ICTmagic Twitter Map http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PLN+Map Browse educational tweeps from the UK and Ireland to build your network. Over 380 educators are on the map. Anyone in education can add themselves by going to the link above.
Geoguessr http://www.geoguessr.com This is a fun geography game where you are transported to a random part of the world through Google Street Map and you must explore and guess where you are. It's a wonderful way to expand children's knowledge of the world.
Vsauce http://www.youtube.com/user/Vsauce This is a wonderful YouTube channel with videos that asks and answers the big questions about the world, science and the little quirks of life. Use the videos directly in class or watch them for inspiration.
Britain from Above http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk This is a superb history resource with over 25,000 aerial photos of Britain from 1919-1953. See a bird's eye view of how the landscape used to look. Look up your town and learn around how your community has been shaped.
LapseIt
http://www.lapseit.com
Making time lapse videos is a wonderfully educational experience and changing how we view the world gives us valuable insight. This Apple and Android app can make stunning time lapse videos with just a few clicks. Set how long between taking each image and leave the app to it. You can even use it for create stop frame animations. You can upload your video directly to YouTube and link to the usual social media sites. There is a 'paid for' version for extra features.
Picture Teller
http://tools.e2bn.org/pictureteller/ This is a superb site for making photo slideshows. It is designed for kids and it is really easy to use. just upload your images of choose photos from the gallery. Then add effects and record/upload audio. You can embed, link to or download your video. A free signup is required.
Mixlr
http://mixlr.com
This site allows users to stream realtime audio on the web and make your own radio station. The site links to SoundCloud so you can stream music legally. It's a great a resource for setting up a school radio station or streaming a CPD event.
Math Champ
http://www.inkids.com.au/math-champ/
A truly amazing Apple App for learning maths. Download the host or client app to your Apple device and set maths quizzes to complete in real time together in class. The apps communicate through a wireless network or Bluetooth and the host device tracks and it keeps all the data for each quiz so you can see where your class need to improve. To set questions you just turn the sections on or off and the app chooses questions from these at random.
Touchcast
http://www.touchcast.com
This is a useful news site which provides the same news story written at three different levels of English, making it a wonderful tool for ESL classes and differentiating for different age groups in reading comprehensions. All of the stories are suitable for children and most are ‘human interest’ stories. There is a sizable archive of past stories to browse and a new post is made every day.
Fraction Planet http://fractionplanet.com This is a wonderful set of fraction maths games. There are comparing and pairing games while others ask players where fractions sit along a number line. The games are fun and slowly increase in difficulty.
Enercities
http://enercities.eu
This is a superb environmental game which is reminiscent of the early SimCity games. Build a wonderful town, manage your fossil fuels wisely and keep the inhabitants happy. Teach suitability and environmental protection in a fun and engaging way. A free sign up is required.
Code
http://www.code.org A superb site for inspiring future coders with videos from famous people from tech companies and other celebrities and the resources and links to get new programmers started.
HopScotch
http://www.gethopscotch.com
This is a great iPad app which teaches programming skills to kids using blocks of commands in a similar way to MIT's Scratch. Slot the programming elements together to make fascinating and fun routines with a swish of your figure.
TouchDevelop
https://www.touchdevelop.com
This is a fab suite of programming tools and toys from Microsoft Research. The site using HTML 5 which means that it works across most devices from PCs, Apple, Android and more. It has a get tutorial section to get you started and you are able to pick apart coding from other public projects. You can share your finished scripts and programmes with a link to play on most devices and even export it to the Windows Store.
Evolution
http://www.larkinheather.com/evolution/ This is a great site which simulates evolution live on your screen. Each virtual creature is made using a string of digital DNA which sometimes makes errors is the next generation. Then the creatures battle to survive. You can even make island populations to see what happens.
Play My Code
http://www.playmycode.com
A great site where student programmers can work and experiment with html coding and see the results instantly. See how other uses' games are made and copy code for your own projects. The site is easy to use and will allow your pupils to create amazing things in no time.
Popcorn Maker https://popcorn.webmaker.org This is a great video creation tool, where you can mix online videos from YouTube and other video sites with images, text, Twitter feeds, Google Maps, Wikipedia and more. The feeds are live and stay up to date. You can then share your mashup online. It’s great to use for end of topic roundups.
Wideo
http://wideo.co
This is an easy to use animation tool. Choose your objects from the bank on the site or upload your own. Then drag your items into place and select a point on the timeline and move the object again to set how the animation moves. You can include photos, shapes and text. Your creations can be published and shared or embedded online.
Flash Maths
http://flashmaths.co.uk
This is a great maths site with a range of flash activities, games and starters for your lessons. Each activity is fun and beautifully made. Wonderful to use on an interactive whiteboard or for self study. Topics include geometry, number, statistics, algebra and more.
Webcam Toy
http://webcamtoy.com Children (and most adults) love looking at themselves on a webcam and this flash based site lets you add over 70 filters and effects. Use the snapshot button to grab an image. There are lots of ways to use this tool in class. Use the mirror functions in maths for symmetry or compile a music video by adding a screencast tool.
Featured Blog http://headguruteacher.com/ Tom Sherrington’s blog is a wonderful place to find a variety ideas and inspiration, especially for senior leaders. Tom is the headteacher at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, Essex and he has been the driving force behind TeachMeet Essex over the past year. Tom is a prolific blogger, a regular conference speaker and part of the Head’s Roundtable group. He is also organising the DigIT festival in Chelmsford on the 9th November 2013. http://twitter.com/ headguruteacher for a constant flow of great ideas.
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