MLDayKids Sites of Interest

Not only do you physically need to train your body but one needs to train and exercise your brain.  Lumosity.com has brain games specifically designed to help exercise your brain.

From their site…

New scientific research shows that we can improve the health and function of our brains with the right mental workouts.

Lumosity is designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford and UCSF.

Lumosity was shown to improve basic cognitive functions in randomized, controlled clinical trials.

The games are good for the young and the young at heart.  So check it out.

If you have ever had a document in hand that you wished you could edit and update then Free OCR is just for you.

You do not need an account or provide an email address to access their service.

Just upload your image files. Free OCR takes either a JPG, GIF, TIFF BMP or PDF (only first page).

The only restriction is that the images must not be larger than 2MB, no wider or higher than 5000 pixels and there is a limit of 10 image uploads per hour.

BrainPop and it’s companion BrainPopJr is a video education system that creates animated, curriculum-based content that supports educators and engages students.  BrainPopJr is a K-2 experience while BrainPop is a grade 3 and up environment.  Each video feature Moby and either Annie or Tim.  The videos are short but compact a lot of information to them.  We’ve been using them to introduce topics for further discussion in the computer lab.

This is a subscription based service but you can sign up for a free 2 week trial.

Google Earth is a product from whom else but Google.  Google Earth incorporates so much into a package.  Not only can one view places on the earth’s surface but also the ocean floor, the galaxy, the Moon, and Mars. Google Earth also becomes an interactive experience with tours and 3D images of famous building.

Have you ever wondering how those digital pictures you have could be given a new life?  If so, check out Big Huge Labs!  Your digital photo could be turned into a motivational poster, magazine cover, collage, or a trading card with just a couple of clicks.  The site is really easy to use and your work can be downloaded or stored on a digital image collection site like Flickr.

Check it out, it is definitely worth the time.

If you have ever done work at one computer but needed it on another one then you should look at Dropbox.  Dropbox does a lot of things shared folders on computers, file backup, web access to documents, and more.  A free account gives you 2GB of storage space and if you refer customers to Dropbox you can bump that up 3GB (250 MB at a time).

Dropbox has been very useful for me and I hope you find a use for it. If nothing else you don’t have to carry a flash drive with you.

If you struggle with spelling then SpellingCity is place to check out.  Once you arrive you can build spelling lists based on the words you are using, play games to help learn the spelling of the words like hangman, as well as take practice tests.

The great part of SpellingCity is that you can save your lists and not recreate them from scratch every time.  I maintain a page for the school on SpellingCity where classroom teachers provide me the lists for you to use.

It is definitely a must use resource.

Tux Paint is a free drawing program for children ages 3 to 12 (for example, preschool and K-6). It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program.

We use Tux Paint in the computer lab as our primary drawing program. Kids love the stamps and special effects one can achieve very easily.

Did I mention it was free?

Students can use it for basic drawing all the way up to building slideshows.  The program also could be a computerized coloring book.  The limits of the program are based on the limits of one’s imagination.

According to their site…

Game Classroom is a one-stop web destination for accessing high-quality educational games, and homework help for K-6 students:

• We scoured the web for the best and most trustworthy games, and conveniently sorted them according to skill, topic and grade level.
• We spent thousands of hours creating an abundance of interactive content for parents to better understand the building blocks behind their child’s development.
• We created a comprehensive, free homework help section for parents/teachers to provide to children including learning tips, online resources and sample problems.

All of Game Classroom’s educational content has been created by professional educators with over 200 years of teaching experience, and has been outlined using state educational standards. We hope you (and your kids) enjoy Game Classroom and find it a fun place to learn and play games!

I like the search feature about the site which makes it easier to navigate to what you specifically need.

When you select a game based on the grade level and/or subject matter you are given a brief tie in and then a link to the game.  There is a banner at the top of the page that can take you back to Game Classroom if necessary.

The site allows people to receive newsletters based on grade clusters.  On the right hand side of the screen users can see links to homework help based on Grade Level, Subject, and Skill.

Another week is completed in the computer lab and here is another site to help your children who are new to computers navigate their way with the mouse and keyboard, UpToTen.

UpToTen is a site developed to teach basic operational skills with the mouse and keyboard.  UpToTen is designed for the younger crowd with the interactions with the characters and types of activities.  The site is offers a few different options, a free side where there is a banner ad on the left side of the screen, a premium side (same as the free without the ad), and a school side (which we use).

UpToTen does have an older audience for those who are studying French in school.  The same activities that are in English are also translated in French.  So if you’re learning French UpToTen is worth a look.