tech+tips+6


 * For students with reading difficulties, you can download a free plug-in to read word documents to them. The program is called WordTalk and can be accessed at http://www.wordtalk.org.uk/. You can make WordTalk available every time you start Microsoft Word or set it to be opened manually when you open a document that needs to be read aloud. It’s a REALLY COOL program and FREE! You can set the speed and volume of speech, change the background color for the highlighted text being read, and use the “talking spell check.” Hope this can be useful to some of you!


 * I LOVE to use moviemaker for a yearly scrapbook for my Kindergarten kiddos to remember the year. I recently learned how to add yourself speaking to it using the FREE program AUDACITY. You can download it and then save the clip, for example as an into to the whole slide or to certain sections, and then add them in as audio just like music.

This year I am going to record my own voice reading stories and bring a CD of it for my class's Christmas present as well as listening center. Think about what you could do with this in a foreign language class! You can also use this for powerpoints and other programs. AWESOME!


 * My tech tip is the boasting of http://www.epals.com. ePals is a wonderful, free website that is primarily used to collaborate with other classrooms of students worldwide. I have used ePals to introduce my students to a classroom in Costa Rica, so that they may learn Spanish. Teachers can also use ePals to chat and collaborate with other educators from all over the world. The accounts are monitored and protected by ePals leadership team. This website is a great source of making learning more memorable while embracing the growth of Web 2.0.


 * The tech tip that I have is to encourage everyone to try using united streaming. It is a video stream on countless topics from Discovery. All you have to do is get a pass code from your media specialist, and you do need a scan converter to get it from your computer to the tv. What I really like about it is that you can choose just short video segments, a full video, pictures and you can even get lesson plans. This is a very good way to show students what you are studying.