Monday, May 31, 2010

Www.hanesgiveaway.com - Prince of Persia Sweepstakes

Www.hanesgiveaway.com is the exclusive website for Prince of Persia Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 27, 2010 to June 4, 2010, go to the website www.hanesgiveaway.com and follow the links to the online entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Hundred (100) movie voucher winners will each receive two vouchers for free entry to see the Disney Prince of Persia Read More..

Www.7upsmartcar.com - 2010 7UP Publix smart fortwo Sweepstakes

Www.7upsmartcar.com is the exclusive website for 2010 7UP Publix smart fortwo Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 10, 2010 to June 7, 2010, go to the website www.7upsmartcar.com.   Sweepstakes Prizes:4 GRAND PRIZES: One 2010 smart fortwo passion coupe with standard equipment: 1.0L, 70 HP, 3 cylinder engine, 5 speed automated manual transmission, panorama roof, Read More..

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Www.Densodaretodream.com - Denso Dare to Dream Sweeps

Www.Densodaretodream.com is the exclusive place to enter Denso Dare to Dream Sweeps. You can have a chance to win $25,000 cash from the sweepstakes.

HOW TO ENTER:

To enter online, visit http://www.densodaretodream.com/ and complete and submit all required registration information. All entry information must be complete to qualify.

Prizes:

A total of one (1) Grand Prize will be awarded. The Read More..

Www.hooterssouthafricasweeps.com - Hooters South Africa Sweepstakes

Www.hooterssouthafricasweeps.com is the exclusive website for Hooters South Africa Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From 4/26/2010 to 6/13/2010, go to the website www.hooterssouthafricasweeps.com.   Sweepstakes Prizes: The grand prize winner will receive a trip for two (2) (finalist and one (1) guest) to Johannesburg, South Africa during the designated travel dates ( Read More..

Www.foryourdisney.com - ForYourDisney Wonderland Sweepstakes

Www.foryourdisney.com is the exclusive website for ForYourDisney Wonderland Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From 5/18/2010 to 6/02/2010, visit www.foryourdisney.com and follow the steps completing all required information accurately on the registration form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize winner will receive an f.y.e. gift card valued at $250, a Snow White Read More..

Image Based Speaking Activity for IWB

This is a quick image based speaking activity that any teacher with an IWB or just a data projector in their classroom can do.

It's based around a photographic portfolio site by photographer Scott Stulberg. Scott's site opens directly to a slide show of some of his fantastic images.
The slides change at the rate of about 1 every 4 seconds and the sequence seems to be pretty much the same each time you go to the site. Here you can see Scott's images

So what's the activity?
  • It's very simple tell your students to watch the image slide show. After about 10 - 15 images, close the site and put your students in pairs and try to get them to brainstorm as many of the images as they can remember. This should get them talking and describing the images to each other.
  • Once they have had some time to talk and remind each other, get some feedback from the class and try to get them to describe as many of the images as they can remember to you. Help them with any vocabulary they may be struggling with.
  • Next, ask them if they can remember the order of the images. Which one was first etc? Put them in pairs once again to discuss again and try to remember the order.
  • Next, play the slide show again and get the students to check the order. When the slide show is finished. Get the students to once again tell you the order of the slides.
  • In the next lesson, ask the students again to try to recall and describe in pairs as many of the images as they can remember from the previous lesson. You could use some vocabulary words, especially the new words that came out of the lesson as prompts.
If you want to follow this up by getting some more static images to get students to describe in more detail, then be sure to check the index, as there are lots more images there.

I've always found images to be a very powerful tool for helping students to remember vocabulary and descriptive words. I hope you find this activity useful.

Find more: image based activities for EFL / ESL students

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Nik Peachey Read More..

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Www.cbs.com/ultimate_fan - As the World Turns Ultimate Fan Contest

Www.cbs.com/ultimate_fan is the exclusvie website for As the World Turns Ultimate Fan Contest. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 13, 2010 to June 3, 2010,  Go to the website www.cbs.com/ultimate_fan during the Entry Period and follow the instructions to complete the Contest entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize Winner will get a two night trip to Brooklyn, NY Read More..

Www.srslabs.com/anniversary - SRS Sweepstakes

Www.srslabs.com/anniversary is the exclusive website for SRS Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 13, 2010 to June 14, 2010, go to the website www.srslabs.com/anniversary and follow the instructions.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Ten Dell Inspiron Mini Netbooks customized with SRS HD Audio Lab technology. The estimated retailed values of the prize is approximately Read More..

Www.tonys.com - TONY’S Smart and Savvy Mom Contest and Sweepstakes

Www.tonys.com/tonys-pizza-tips.aspx is the exclusive website for TONY'S Smart and Savvy Mom Contest and Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!

How To Enter:From May 18, 2010 to September 20, 2010, go to the website www.tonys.com/tonys-pizza-tips.aspx.

Sweepstakes Prizes:ONE GRAND PRIZE: "Ultimate Family Fun Kit", including a year's worth of TONY'S® pizza (awarded in the form of twenty Read More..

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Www.cokezero.com/longhorn - Coke Zero’s Live at LongHorn Track & Tunes Sweepstakes

Www.cokezero.com/longhorn is the exclusive website for Coke Zero's Live at LongHorn Track & Tunes Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 17, 2010 to June 6, 2010, go to the website www.cokezero.com/longhorn.   Sweepstakes Prizes: TWO GRAND PRIZES: A trip package for 2 to Daytona Beach, FL for the 2010 "Coke Zero 400" NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race scheduled to Read More..

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Www.howdy-neighbor.com - Howdy Neighbor Sweepstakes

Www.howdy-neighbor.com is the exclusive website for Howdy Neighbor Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From 5/14/2010 to 6/13/2010, go to the website www.howdy-neighbor.com and submit the information requested on the registration page.   Sweepstakes Prizes: ONE GRAND PRIZE: The Winner will receive as the Grand Prize (referred to alternately as the "Prize" or the "Trip") Read More..

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Www.leapfrog.com/discoverthefuture - LeapFrog Discover the Future Sweepstakes

Www.leapfrog.com/discoverthefuture is the exclusive website for LeapFrog Discover the Future Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 1, 2010 to June 6, 2010, go to the website www.leapfrog.com/discoverthefuture, follow the instructions to complete and submit the registration form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Hundred (100) FIRST PRIZES : Approximate Retail Value: US Read More..

Create Books for the IPad

ePub Bud is a free tool for creating books for the iPad. It does this in a number of ways. Either you can send a book to the company and they say they will digitize it for free, you can upload an existing digital copy and it will be converted on the site, or you can use the WYSIWYG interface to write straight into the site.

I tried uploading my Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers manual from the PDF format and this is what it came out like. You can download it from here if you are lucky enough to have an iPad Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers iPad edition

The process of uploading it was pretty simple. Once you are registered you just click on 'Upload', locate the file in the usual way and click again to upload it. Once the file is uploaded, it takes a short while to convert it to the format for iPad.

When it has been converted the status will change from 'unprocessed' to 'Converted to ePub'. You can then share the link with anyone who wants to read your materials or book on their iPad. You can set privacy status on the file and add tabs and index it. You can even edit the file once it's uploaded using the on site WYSIWYG.

This is a great way to convert content for use on the iPad. It doesn't have to be books of course, you could also use it for worksheets, or notes for your students or books or stories they have created themselves.

It's also worth checking out the books that are already there too as there is quite a collection. The focus seems to be mainly on children's books at the moment. Have a look in the 'browse' section and see if anything takes your fancy.

Now all you need is an iPad!

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Nik Peachey Read More..

Monday, May 24, 2010

Www.macys.com/makeoveramerica - Macy's and Clinton Kelly Make Over America Contest

Www.macys.com/makeoveramerica is the exclusive website for Macy's and Clinton Kelly Make Over America Contest. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From January 23, 2010 to June 30, 2010, go to the website www.macys.com/makeoveramerica, follow instructions to complete and submit entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: National Prize: A wardrobe worth up to $5,000 plus a trip for two to Read More..

Www.dancewithcaress.com - Caress Girlfriends Getaway Sweepstakes

Www.dancewithcaress.com is the exclusive website for Caress Girlfriends Getaway Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 10, 2010 to October 04, 2010, go to the website www.dancewithcaress.com and complete and submit the online entry form. Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize: Trip for winner and up-to two female guests to a city of winner's choice from one of the Read More..

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Www.PawSafeCleaners.com/promo - Pawsafe Maid Service Please Sweepstakes

Www.PawSafeCleaners.com/promo is the exclusive website for Pawsafe Maid Service Please Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From March 01, 2010 to August 22, 2010, go to the website www.PawSafeCleaners.com/promo.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize will be awarded. Grand Prize is maid service in your home, once each week for one year and a year's supply of PawSafe Read More..

Www.Hyundaisummeroffunsweepstakes.com - Hyundai Summer of Fun Sweepstakes

Www.Hyundaisummeroffunsweepstakes.com is the exclusive website for Hyundai Summer of Fun Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 3, 2010 to  May 31, 2010, go to www.Hyundaisummeroffunsweepstakes.com and complete the official entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize: One winner will receive a check in the amount of $2,500 made payable to the winner. Total Read More..

Www.macys.com/fashiondirector - May Summer Fashion Challenge Contest

Www.macys.com/fashiondirector is the exclusive website for May Summer Fashion Challenge Contest. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 4, 2010 to May 31, 2010, go to the website www.macys.com/fashiondirector and follow the instructions. Sweepstakes Prizes: One winner will receive a $1,000 Macy's Gift Card. Value: $1,000.   Learn more from www.macys.com/fashiondirector Read More..

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Www.dannylipford.com - Deere & Company “Win Danny Lipford and his Crew for the Day” Sweepstakes

Www.dannylipford.com is the exclusive website for Deere & Company "Win Danny Lipford and his Crew for the Day" Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!
How To Enter:From April 26, 2010 to June 06, 2010, go to the website http://www.dannylipford.com/, and follow the entry instructions for the online Sweepstakes registration form.
Sweepstakes Prizes:One GRAND PRIZE winner will be selected Read More..

Friday, May 21, 2010

Www.jager.com - Jägermeister KTM Motorcycle Sweepstakes

Www.jager.com is the exclusive website for Jägermeister KTM Motorcycle Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From April 19, 2010 to July 19, 2010, go to the website www.jager.com to reach the official entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize will be awarded consisting of a Jägermeister branded KTM Motorcycle (250 CC).  The Approximate Retail Value of the Grand Read More..

Www.thermacellpromotion.com - ThermaCELL May Lantern A Day Giveaway

Www.thermacellpromotion.com is the exclusive website for ThermaCELL May Lantern A Day Giveaway. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 1, 2010 to May 31, 2010, go to the website www.thermacellpromotion.com.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Grand Prize: 10 ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent Products and 200 hours of refills. The "ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent Products" are defined below. Read More..

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Www.discoverytsx.com - Discovery TSX King Tut May Sweepstakes

Www.discoverytsx.com is the exclusive website for Discovery TSX King Tut May Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 7, 2010 to May 31, 2010, go to the website www.discoverytsx.com.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize: a 10-day trip for two people to Egypt, including a 3-night Mirage I Nile Cruise.. Prize consists of round trip coach air travel for winner and one Read More..

Ask & Answer Video Questions

Much as I don't like appearing on video I do like web based video tools and Plank.ly is one that caught my eye recently. Plank.ly is an asynchronous Q&A site which allows users to ask and answer each other's questions either by text or video.

It's very easy to use, you just need a webcam and to set up your account. Once you have done that you can integrate it with Twitter or Facebook (though I would advise that you wait to see how useful it is first) and you can start inviting friends or students to follow you and invite them to leave questions for you. It's a good idea to get started by getting Plank.ly to ask you a few random questions, so that when visitors come there is something for them to see. This is very simple to do. Once you have created your account, go to the 'Inbox' and click on 'Ask yourself a random question'.

Once the questions appears, you can answer it either using text or video, just by clicking the icon on the right.
Clicking the video icon will launch the video recorder window. You'll need to click on 'Allow' so that the Flash plug in can access your camera and microphone.

Then you just click on 'Record' and start recording your answer to the question. You can try again if you don't get it right first time so don't worry too much. If you like your recording, just click on 'Use' .
All of your video answers are collected in your 'Activity stream'so you can go back and edit or delete them later.
The next thing to do is either start inviting friends through Twitter or Facebook, or if you prefer just send the URL of your stream to people who you want to ask you questions. The they can either submit a questions by text or record a video questions for you. You can see my stream and try it at: http://plank.ly/NikPeachey

The activity stream is a little like Twitter in that you can start to follow people or they can follow you, so you can start asking and answering each other's questions and see what questions other people have been asked.

How to use this with students
  • I think this is a great 'ice-breaker' especially for an online class where students don't really get to meet each other and are often working in different time zones.
  • It's also a great way for lower levels to get some online speaking practice for homework and the fact that they record their answers will be interesting when they come to look back on their progress. Also great for you to help assess their progress too.
  • It's also a nice way for new classes to get to know you as their teacher. This can be really difficult in bigger classes with lots of students, so this can add a nice element of 1 - 1 contact.
  • Questions and answers are the fundamental building blocks of language, so this is a great tool for checking out students' grammar and their ability to formulate questions and answers in any particular tense, so great online controlled speaking practice too.

Potential problems
  • This is an open site, so students can be 'found' by other people, so think about what age groups you use the site with. If you are following the students, however, you will be able to see who they are interacting with and as all accounts are registered you will be able to track back any bullying or abuse that may happen.
I hope you enjoy using this with students and by all means do leave me a question if you want to and I'll do my best to answer it. http://plank.ly/NikPeachey

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Nik Peachey Read More..

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Www.darkersideofgreen.com - Lexus Dark Ride Sweepstakes

Www.darkersideofgreen.com is the exclusive website for Lexus Dark Ride Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win a CT200h.   How to Enter: From March 30, 2010 to January 15, 2011, you may participate in the Lexus Dark Ride Sweepstakes by visiting www.darkersideofgreen.com and completing the online entry form as prompted.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Grand Prize: A 2011 Lexus CT 200h Hybrid (MSRP: Read More..

Www.uniquelysmooth.com - Paul Masson Uniquely Smooth Sweepstakes

Www.uniquelysmooth.com is the exclusive website for Paul Masson Uniquely Smooth Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010, go to the website www.uniquelysmooth.com, follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the registration.   Sweepstakes Prizes: ONE GRAND PRIZE: A 2010 Paul Masson Brandy vehicle customized by Will Castro from Read More..

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Www.ryanseacrest.com - 2010 Ryan Seacrest - Shop With Ashlyne Huff Sweepstakes

Www.ryanseacrest.com is the exclusive website for 2010 Ryan Seacrest - Shop With Ashlyne Huff Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 10, 2010 to May 23, 2010, go to the website www.ryanseacrest.com and follow the Sweepstakes link to complete all required information in the online entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: ONE GRAND PRIZE; One five thousand dollar ( Read More..

Www.rootforcolor.com - Root For Your Color Sweepstakes

Www.rootforcolor.com is the exclusive website for Root For Your Color Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 5, 2010 to June 4, 2010,  Go to the website www.rootforcolor.com.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Three $200 Gift Cards will be awarded to three individual winners. Total ARV of all prizes: $600   Learn more from www.rootforcolor.com Read More..

Www.extracontest.com - Carrie’d Away Again Sweepstakes

Www.extracontest.com is the exclusive website for Carrie'd Away Again Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 17, 2010 to May 21 2010, go to the website www.extracontest.com Sweepstakes Prizes:  One National Grand Prize and five Local Grand Prizes will be awarded, each of which consists of (i) roundtrip transportation for two people via airline or ground Read More..

Www.entrepreneur.com/greenoffice - Staples Small Business Makeover Contest

Www.entrepreneur.com/greenoffice is the exclusive website for Staples Small Business Makeover Contest. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From 5/5/10 to 6/4/10, complete official entry form available online at www.entrepreneur.com/greenoffice, including an essay of 100 words or fewer describing how and why you would make your office more sustainable.   Sweepstakes Prizes:Grand Read More..

Www.cigarworld.com/cohibaperfection - Cigar World 2010 Cohiba Peak of Perfection Sweepstakes

Www.cigarworld.com/cohibaperfection is the exclusive website for Cigar World 2010 Cohiba Peak of Perfection Sweepstakes, Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From  May 03, 2010 to June 30, 2010, go to the website www.cigarworld.com/cohibaperfection.   Sweepstakes Prizes:Grand Prize: A Liebherr XS 200 humidor filled with 25 Cohiba Robusto cigars, 25 Cohiba Black Supremo cigars, 20 Read More..

Monday, May 17, 2010

Www.kmart.com/kingofspring - Kmart King of Spring Sweepstakes

Www.kmart.com/kingofspring is the exclusive website for Kmart King of Spring Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From 5/2/10 to 5/29/10, go to www.kmart.com/kingofspring and follow the onscreen instructions to register on the website to enter.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize: Grand Prize consists of the following Fisher-Price® products: one 3-in 1 Smart Sports, Read More..

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Www.thankyoumom.com - Thank You Mom Reunions Contest

Www.thankyoumom.com is the exclusive website for Thank You Mom Reunions Contest. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From 5/6/10 to 11/30/10, visit www.thankyoumom.com and follow the on-screen instructions to register and enter your essay into the contest.   Sweepstakes Prizes: 105 Prizes with a total approximate retail value of $126,000 will be awarded as follows: (105) Grand Read More..

Www.WEVolunteer.tv/WEDoGood - WE Do Good Contest

Www.WEVolunteer.tv/WEDoGood is the exclusive website for WE Do Good Contest. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From April 13, 2010 to August 31, 2010, go to www.WEVolunteer.tv/WEDoGood the website.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Three Grand Prizes - One per category. Each winner will receive a three day/two night trip prize package for the Winning Nominee and guest to New York City late Read More..

Friday, May 14, 2010

Www.biggestloserclub.com - Biggest Loser Club StreetStrider Giveaway Sweepstakes

Www.biggestloserclub.com is the exclusive website for Biggest Loser Club StreetStrider Giveaway Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From  May 05, 2010 to May 26, 2010, visit www.biggestloserclub.com the website and completely fill out all the required fields on the entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: The approximate retail value of the prize is $1,699.00 and consists of Read More..

Www.americanbaby.com/maui - Win a Trip to Maui Sweepstakes

Www.americanbaby.com/maui is the exclusive website for Win a Trip to Maui Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From April 26, 2010 to June 15, 2010, go to www.americanbaby.com/maui by submitting a completed online entry form.  Sweepstakes Prizes:Grand Prize: A 5-night trip for 2 adults and 2 children to Maui, Hawaii. Trip includes airfare and a hotel stay in a Deluxe Read More..

Www.ultimateridegiveaway.com - Progressive Ultimate Ride Giveaway Sweepstakes

Www.ultimateridegiveaway.com is the exclusive website for Progressive Ultimate Ride Giveaway Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From  April 27, 2010 to September 21, 2010, visit www.ultimateridegiveaway.com and follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the registration.   Sweepstakes Prizes: ONE GRAND PRIZE: A Trip for two people and winner's bikes to Read More..

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Www.cartoonnetwork.com/win - Hasbro Nerf Super Soaker Sweepstakes

Www.cartoonnetwork.com/win is the exclusive website for Hasbro Nerf Super Soaker Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 10, 2010 to May 23, 2010, go to www.cartoonnetwork.com/win and follow the directions to enter and submit participant's email address.   Sweepstakes Prizes:One Grand Prize: an underwater camcorder (ARV $150.00); a waterproof watch (ARV $125.00); a Read More..

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Www.realsimple.com/travelsweeps - Real Simple Organized Traveler Sweepstakes

Www.realsimple.com/travelsweeps is the exclusive website for Real Simple Organized Traveler Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 04, 2010 to June 18, 2010, visit www.realsimple.com/travelsweeps and follow all entry instructions to complete and submit the online entry form.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Grand Prize: There will be One "Organized Traveler" Grand Prize Read More..

Www.belmontstakes.com - 2010 New York Racing Association Belmont Stakes Sweepstakes

Www.belmontstakes.com is the exclusive website for 2010 New York Racing Association Belmont Stakes Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: Before May 22, 2010, go to www.belmontstakes.com the website.   Sweepstakes Prizes: First Prize: Two tickets to the 2010 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday, June 5 (Value $200), two airline tickets (Approximate Value $1,100), and Read More..

Collaborative Text Editing Tool

If you have ever seen PrimaryPad or EtherPad, then Sync.in will probably look quite familiar. It's an online collaborative text editing tool, that allows multiple users to work on the same text synchronously.

It's very simple to use, you just click on the 'Create a New Public Note' button and it launches the text editor and gives your text a unique URL. You then just click on 'Share this Note' to send your URL to any of a number of different social networks or by email.


Once visitors click the link they can start editing the text. The edits of each visitor are colour coded and they can even communicate with each other while they edit by using the text chat window that opens by the side of the document.

It isn't clear exactly how many visitors can work on the same text (PrimaryPad supports groups of six) but having too many people working on the same text can often lead to chaos. Sync.in has very hand desktop launcher though, so you can create multiple pads and then get different groups of people using them, just by clicking on the 'New Note' button.

One of the other interesting features is that you can use the 'Time Slider' feature to 'replay' the development of the text. This shows you how and who has developed the text, added and edited parts. This is a great way to track how much work each of your students did on the text.


This is a really useful tool for a connected classroom or computer lab where you can get students developing texts and peer editing together. It's also great if you are running online courses and you want students to work together on a text. I've also written about how it can be used within presentations to make them more interactive here: 3 Tools for Exploiting the Wifi During Presentations

I've added a pad below so you can click the link and try adding ideas on how to use Sync.in and editing other people's ideas. I'm not sure how long this will stay live though.
I hope you find this useful and manage to add some ideas or leave some comments.

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Nik Peachey Read More..

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Www.ETonline.com - The ET Stars of Summer Sweepstakes

Www.ETonline.com is the exclusive website for The ET Stars of Summer Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 10, 2010 to May 22, 2010, visit www.ETonline.com to find your local air time and listing information for the Show.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Grand Prize: One winner of the Main Drawing, subject to verification, will receive a seven-day/six-night trip for the Read More..

Www.jrstacksofautographs.com - Johnny Rockets $4000 Stacks of Autographs Sweepstakes

Www.jrstacksofautographs.com is the exclusive website for Johnny Rockets $4000 Stacks of Autographs Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From  April 19, 2010 to October 31, 2010, go to the Johnny Rockets website at www.jrstacksofautographs.com, and enter the requested information.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize Winner receives $4,000 worth of autographed rock 'n Read More..

Www.SportBeans.com - Sport Beans Focus Bike Sweepstakes

Www.SportBeans.com is the exclusive website for Sport Beans Focus Bike Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2010, go to www.SportBeans.com the website. Sweepstakes Prizes:Grand Prize: A 2010 Focus Cayo Expert road bicycle. (ARV: $2,700) 1st Prize: A Compex Sport Elite Muscle Stimulator. (ARV: $999) Learn more rules from Read More..

Monday, May 10, 2010

www.Wireless.att.com/discounts - AT&T Premier Discount Program

www.Wireless.att.com/discounts is the official website of AT&T Sponsorship Premier Discount Program, which offers special benefits to customsers in the organization have the business agreement with AT&T.

If you want check your eligibility of the program, just go to this website and enter your work, school, or organization email address to see if you are affiliated with an organization that Read More..

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Www.rocklineradio.com - Rockline Radio Fringe Radio Sweepstakes

Www.rocklineradio.com is the exclusive website for Rockline Radio Fringe Radio Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From April 26, 2010 to May 21, 2010, visit www.rocklineradio.com website link to the registration page and register.   Sweepstakes Prizes: One Grand Prize of a "Fringe Ultimate Viewing Party" including: (1) Panasonic 42" Class Veira U1 Series Plasma TV, (2) Read More..

Www.thrillist.com/nikefreerunsweeps - Nike Free Run+ Sweepstakes

Www.thrillist.com/nikefreerunsweeps is the exclusive webiste for Nike Free Run+ Sweepstakes. Enter now for your chance to win!   How To Enter: From April 30th, 2010 to May 31st, 2010, go to www.thrillist.com/nikefreerunsweeps the website.   Sweepstakes Prizes: Ten Grand prize winners will receive one pair of Nike Free Run+ sneakers.   Learn more rules from www.thrillist.com/nikefreerunsweeps     Read More..

Create Quick Interactive Activities

I've just been looking at this really useful tool for creating interactive close text activities (300 words limit).

The tool is produced by Nottingham University and can work with quite a range of languages, not only English.

The first step is to grab a text you want to use with your students. I just grabbed the first couple of paragraphs of a BBC News Report. Paste the text into the field and select which type of words you want to remove. Then select the type of activity you want it to be. At present there are 3 choices:
  • Drag and drop
  • Fill in the blank
  • Multiple choice
Just click the one you want and then click on 'Submit' and wait for your text to appear.

The drag and drop activity works pretty well. The students see the words beneath the gapped text and drag them onto the gaps. If the words are correct, they turn blue and become part of the text, but if the are wrong, they turn red and return to their place.

With the fill in the blanks activity the students see the gapped text and click on the gaps to type in the missing words. Again, correct word go blue and wrong words go red. The students can right click on the gap to get a first letter hint, or the solution.


The multiple choice exercise is slightly more complicated, it generates a gapped text and then you have to right click on the gap to get the alternative choices to appear to the right of the screen. It's quite impressive that it generates its own credible alternative words for each gap, but when I tried to create an exercise that gapped multiple word types, it couldn't create the activity, so if you use this option just select one word type.



This is a really useful tool for quickly creating activities for students. The down side is these activities can't be saved, so you either have to use the activities in class with an interactive whiteboard or data projector, or get students to work autonomously to create and complete their own activities. My advice would be to do a few in class to show the students how they work, then get them to create their own on their own computers.

This is a great way to revise a text or to discover examples of particular structures in context. I like tat you can select to remove all numerals as this can be great for getting students to predict answers before reading for specific information.

I hope you enjoy using this tool and find it useful.

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Nik Peachey Read More..

Thursday, May 6, 2010

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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

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Future of Educational Technology 2: The Web Cam

In the first of these articles on the future of educational technology I had a quick look at the Digital Divide and how continually falling prices and improving standards could help to bridge the divide. In this second article I'd like to look at the developing role of the web cam.

Video Conferencing
So how about the role of the humble web cam? Web cams have been around for a while now, though they don’t tend to get used so much, though there is a lot of talk about telepresence. Telepresence is supposed to be video conferencing but with such good quality it seems like the person is in the same room with you. Here’s what it looks like.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/av-1/3521310150/

Looks pretty expensive doesn’t it? I can’t say I’m impressed by this. Having used very similar equipment (probably equally expensive) and tried to have discussions between two groups of people in different rooms, I have to say that even if the quality was great it would be far from ideal.

Personally I feel that we can work just as well on our laptops with the built in web cam and a free tools like Tokbox.com. The quality that these services can offer is likely to improve over the coming years as they become more popular and attract more investment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mortenjust/2209302906/

Iris and Facial Recognition
But how about this idea? Have you been through immigration at an airport recently. If you have you may have had your iris scanned as a means of identification. Suppose the technology that this system uses develops to the point where you can authenticate your identity on your computer through your web cam. So no more logging in and trying to remember user names and passwords to the sites you register on. Just sit in front of your computer and it knows who you are and unlocks all your sites and web based services for you. Possible? Useful?


http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/169836309/

Face recognition is also becoming more common place and you can now download free software for Windows ( http://www.luxand.com/blink/)that will recognise your face and log you into your computer, so no more forgotten passwords!


Motion Recognition
Motion recognition through web cams is also making its way into games and there are already quite a few free games that you can try out using your web cam as the controller.
There are a lot more web cam controlled games available at:
http://webcamgames.sky.com/ if you feel like investigating more.

Well and what about your interactive whiteboard? What’s the connection between IWBs and web cams? Well your web cam could make the need for a specialised board and controller obsolete pretty soon if the guys at Camspace http://camspace.com/ have anything to do with it. They have been developing this system which turns any coloured object into a computer controller.


If we start applying this kind of technology to IWB software it could mean that any students in your class could hold up a pen or any coloured object and take control of the computer and write on the board from where ever they are sitting. Giving this control to students could make that interactive whiteboard a lot more interactive and better still save a lot of money.

So our web cam is not only the doorway to video conferencing and communication, it could soon also become a way of logging onto our computers and conforming our identity, a way of interacting with our computer and a way of giving students control of the board and making their interaction with the computer as a class a lot more interactive.

So that’s just a quick look at the part the humble web cam could play in the future of learning technology. I hope you enjoyed it and that it gives you some food for thought about the way technology can change the way we learn.

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Nik Peachey Read More..

Monday, May 3, 2010

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