December 12th, 2014 - Holiday Links

Happy Snowy Friday everyone!!

This week, I have a couple holiday suggestions for you, which may be useful in your classroom or as links you can send home to parents to keep students learning over the holidays.

First, NORAD Tracks Santa (http://www.noradsanta.org - also available

as an app for iPhone and iPad).  The North American Aerospace Defense Command has set up Santa’s sleigh with a radar system so they are able to track him as he travels around the world making his deliveries.  This is great fun for students to watch as he travels all the countries of the world and there are even some videos of him visiting important landmarks.  Until he begins his journey, the website lets you watch the Big Countdown, play games and learn more about Santa. 

Christmas Around The World.  (http://www.whychristmas.com/)  This website lets students explore a variety of countries from around the world and view videos and descriptions of their holiday celebrations and traditions.  There are explanations of the customs and symbols of this time.

New Year’s Traditions Around the World (http://www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm). This website contains brief descriptions of New Year’s traditions from countries around the world as well as how to say ‘Happy New Year’ in many different languages.   What a great way to remember that the world is a much larger space that what we interact with on a day-to-day basis. 

Finally, a reminder that our very own UG2GO has a link to LEARN 360, which has a multitude of holiday videos for both educational and entertainment purposes. A simple search of holiday and the appropriate grade level returns various movies including ‘Holiday Facts And Fun’ for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Multicultural Christmas.  Other videos include The Polar Express, The Nutcracker and The Night Before Christmas.

Have a great weekend!

                                                       Cheers,

                                                       Stace

December 5th, 2014 - Google Presentation for the iPad

Hello Everyone and Happy Friday,

I understand that everyone is busy at this time of year, so this week I have a quick iPad and iPhone app from Google to make things easier for you.  Google Slides iPad app allows you to create and edit Google Slides presentations on your iPad.  It also allows you to create new presentations or edit Power Point ones you have created on the web or another device.  You can rearrange text, format slides and present right from your device.

Click here to access the new app and begin creating on your iPad.

Thank you to everyone who responded to last week’s contest.  I was impressed with the number of participants who registered for a chance to win the gift card.  I’m happy to announce that the winner is Laurie Orford. Thanks again and keep your eyes open for additional prizes coming in the New Year.

Cheers,

Stacey