For anyone afraid of the dark, stop reading now! OK, just don’t play Neverending Light. This is a Flash based browser game which although it can be a cheesy at times, is also a little bit scary due to its good use of light and dark. You begin the game as part of a group on a tourist tour of a mine, then the lights go out…
It’s very linear, but an enjoyable few minutes (unfortunately there’s no pause). You’ll need Flash 10 installed, and be warned – it’s a bit grisly. This came from ON Software
Do you need to learn your times tables? You might want to try the ideas in this video!
In this video I show you how to drill multiplication tables effectively – not with random drill, but with a three-step approach that keeps the drilling in a context, in a structure. The three steps are: 1) Skip counting pattern using a number line; 2) the actual multiplication tables practice; and 3) practicing backwards.
Click on this link Poodwaddle World Clock to watch an interesting, interactive clock which has up to the minute data on Energy, Environment, Population, Illness etc.
I’ve just been cleaning out all my feeds from other blogs and have found some sites that you might find useful or interesting. Leave a comment if you do find something you like!
Free Rice This site now has a variety of subjects where you can donate rice for every answer you get right – Art, Chemistry, English, Geography, Math and Language Learning.
Cadbury Eyebrows
Eyebrows brings to life the story of a brother and sister’s moment of mischief when backs are turned and they are left to their own devices. Feeling the rhythm, the children crank out a range of eyebrow dance moves for 60 seconds to the sound of ‘Don’t Stop the Rock’ by electro-funk superstar, Freestyle.
Assembler is a new physics based wonder where you move some depository equipment to get your precious green crate in position. For what? No matter! Physics work perfect and the feel of grabbing and moving around things is just perfect. Don’t play too much or you’ll dream of dirty green crates flying around.
PHOTO OP (Shockwave, 7 MB)is a two-part interactive activity that introduces you to digital photography and digital photo editing. Use the virtual camera to create snapshots and explore lighting, focus, shutter speed, and compositional effects. After you have taken some photos, transform your pictures into something completely different.
This Art Zone interactive is suitable for all ages. You can take simple snapshots or create complex artistic compositions by layering, applying filters, and experimenting with various special effects, lighting, and blends. If your Internet connection is slow, allow the program to load fully, then come back to play. Scroll down for some hints about how to use PHOTO OP.
Think you know all about the dangers of chat rooms and mobile phones? Check out Cybernetrix for a total run down on the latest! A game to teach you internet safety.
Closureis a fantastic way to while away dark evenings. This browser-based black and white puzzle game cleverly utilizes the movement of light sources to help guide your silent character to the exit of each level. Control is from the keyboard, and the start of the game is a comprehensive tutorial, so you’ll have no problem picking it up. You can only stand on what you can see, so for example if the ground you are on loses its light source, you’ll fall to your doom (and begin the level again).
The hand drawn flickering graphics alongside the spooky sound effects make this a really atmospheric little game. It’s not scary, just spooky, with the light occasionally revealing strange messages scrawled on the background as your stooped protagonist travels silently onward. There are 30 levels to complete, and it’s a nice challenge worth completing. There are very few games with this ethereal and quiet atmosphere, and I highly recommend you waste some of your time getting to know Closure.
Bear in mind you need to have Flash 10 installed to run this, which is available here for Firefox
I have just read a message from a teacher in North Hollywood, California who wants some students to connect with his class and leave comments on his students blogs. If any of you read this post before school starts and would like to read their blogs and leave comments the go to
After all our frustrations with edublogs over the past year I might have found somewhere else to host a web space for us to use in 2009. I read about Weebly in a post from Graham Wegner so headed over ther to check it out. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that we had in the ‘old’ edublogs it may suit our purposes for this year. It may also be a useful place for students to set up their eportfolios which we are starting this year – yes, finally ditching the paper ones!
Lots of people have posted about this amazing fifth grader, Dalton Sherman. Take the time to watch this 9 minute video if you haven’t seen it yet. The speaker is a fifth grader who is talking to an auditorium full of teachers explaining to them why he needs them.
I have just found a link to some more information about Dalton. You can access it here.
This boy is nine years old and his fastball can go as fast at 40 mph. When he took the mound the other week, the opposing team forfeited and left the game. The league told the coach that this boy could not pitch any more. Imagine not allowing a child to play a game because he is too good? That is what is wrong with America right now. We are holding back children who are too good in whatever they are good at but other countries are pushing their children to be the best at extremely young ages. Look at the controversy over the age of the Chinese gymnasts. They push their children at a very young age to pursue excellence. Yet, we tell this boy he can’t play with children his own age because he is too good. Then of course he can’t play with children who are older than him because he doesn’t meet the age requirements. What will happen to this boy? Do we let his talent fall to the wayside?
