njb_Reviews

Reviews of web-based tools

This is an amazing tool for learning various languages! It gives a pre-test of sorts and then teaches you different phrases from different categories so you can pick and choose what you would like to learn. I could use this for an assignment in Spanish class to find 3 useful phrases for a specific topic.
 * Learning languages online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/index.shtml.**

This site allows you to download pictures and add songs, designs, themes and effects. You can download a number of pictures to make a slideshow, add transitions between the pictures, add captions, and backgrounds. Once you are finished, you can upload the images to different sites like myspace, facebook, bebo or flickr. It is a fun tool and doesn't take too long to do.
 * Slide: http://www.slide.com/.**

I thought this site would be more interesting or have more features, but it really was just your basic site to type up a newspaper article. I do think it is a great idea, especially for people who are interested in writing or editing in the future. It is something fun they can play around with, but there isn't really that much to do with it other than type the information up and the site makes it look like a newspaper article. You have to save the images separately, so it isn't like you're creating a couple pages in a newspaper.
 * Newspaper Article Generator: http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp.**

Gliffy allows users to create diagrams. I could see this as being an immensely helpful tool in classes like interior design where students can create floor plans, or English where they can create character maps from stories. It is laid out very nicely and provides a nice organized way for students to show their work.
 * Gliffy: http://www.gliffy.com.**

Slide Rocket is a hip way to do presentations on the computer. I was VERY impressed with the transitions and the options you have to make the slides look professional. There is a 30 day trial, but anything more than that you have to pay for. I'm not sure if you can keep downloading the trial. The ones you have to pay for include video conferencing and fancy things that you may not need for a classroom.
 * Slide Rocket: http://www.sliderocket.com/.**

This site could really help me in my Spanish classroom. Students can use it to plan a trip abroad. There are all sorts of features on the site to explain where there are great places to see in various cities. There are lots of different opinions and pictures given, so students could pick and choose where they think they would want to go and why.
 * Virtual Tourist: http://www.virtualtourist.com.**

This site not only shows pictures of what people wore in the 18th century, but it gives a lot of the history behind it. They have so many great features on the site, including podcasts, slideshows and interactive presentations for students. There are also great articles and references on the site to use for history projects.
 * History of 18th Century Clothing: http://www.history.org/history/clothing/intro/index.cfm.**

This site has some interactive games that students can play. The one I played was traveling around the world on a boat. Along the way, you receive emails and weather alerts to help you along the way. It had great music and good graphics. It is more for older students in middle school or high school, but it was very educational and fun.
 * Cable in the Classroom: http://www.ciconline.org/windward.**

Teachers can create their own interactive game by typing in the questions and answers. Once these are chosen, students can take the quiz. They choose how they want their pirate to look and scroll over each pirate for the answers. By getting the questions correct, the person walks the plank. A fun way to have students take a quiz on something.
 * Walk the Plank games: http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/walk/.**

This site needs to be on everyones list. It is a great site that has links to many online tools that teachers and students could use in the classroom. Some of the fun ones are creating flashcards, timelines and how to make citations. Very useful!!
 * Online tools link: http://kathyschrock.net/cooking/.**