Another school year is coming to a close.  And so ends this blog.  I have enjoyed writing and sharing over this past year and hope all my readers have found something they could use along the way.  As some of you may know, school districts across the state of Kentucky are finding themselves facing huge budget cuts and as would be expected, that brings change.  Next year I will be moving back to the high school to teach.  I'm thrilled about going back to the students and I enjoy working with the high school staff, so it will be a good move for me.  I've had all sorts of experiences in my educational career as I have worked as a classified staff member, earned my teaching credentials and taught at two schools, then worked in a central office position and now will probably end my career teaching at the high school level.  I plan to continue blogging but in a more personal sense.  I may try to write each week, but will mainly be focusing on my students and courses at the high school, so it may be a little more sporadic when I post.  My new blog address is http://earnestlyblogging.blogspot.com/.  It is a personal blog, so it won't be quite as education-focused, but I do plan to share any educational technology tips I learn about and also will share my experiences as a doctorate student.  I hope I will have some readers follow me in my new blog!   Enjoy your week . . . 

Continuing with last week's post, I have gathered lots of helpful sites over the years and I know how important staying safe online is to everyone, not just students.  With e-rate funding affecting many of our school districts, it is imperative we teach online safety to our students and staff members so we are in compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act, or CIPA.  With that in mind, this week I want to share some of the resources I have found which are excellent . . .

This first link is to a video the Pulaski County Schools put together.  Even though this video is not just about online safety, I thought it was very well done and maybe since it was developed by students, other students will pay more attention to the message it brings:  Pulaski County Schools Safety Grades 6-12.  (about 10 minutes)

Another cute video about digital citizenship comes from the Connecticut Association of School Librarians.  It uses a Wizard of Oz theme and also features students:  Wizard of Apps.  (about 50 minutes)

For Kentuckians, one of the first places to stop and research Cybersafety is the Office of the Attorney General.  This site has a Cybersafety Video to watch (about 9 minutes).  Even though the video was done in 2009 and uses those statistics, it still has an applicable message.  The AG's office also has a presentation they can bring to your school and community.

GetNetWise is a public service brought by Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations to help insure users have a safe, constructive, and educational or entertaining online experience.  They have four main sections - Kids' Safety, Spam, Security and Privacy.  Another good part of this site is the Glossary - it provides a detailed guide to Internet terms.   

Bullying is not limited to cyberspace, but in some cases the bullying starts in person and moves online or it starts online and moves to a live level.  Bullying.org tries to help prevent bullying through education and awareness.  They offer presentations about bullying, cyberbullying, cyberparenting, workplace harassment and related issues, but there are links to outside content about these same topics as well.

A workshop was prepared by EdTech Leaders Online (ETLO) on the issue of being safe online.  On this site, there are six sessions on topics like Teaching Students about Cyber Safety and Privacy and Information Literacy and Cyber Ethics.  There is also information about networks and school acceptable use policies available.  At the very bottom of the list is a link to Did You Know, which will take you to one of the blog pages for The Fischbowl.  There are so many interesting links to sites and videos I could not do them all justice on this blog post.  Karl Fisch has had a lot to say about educational technology over the years and even though some of his videos are now out-dated, they are still filled with good points to consider.

On the Cyberbullying Research Center site, they keep current with what's trending, including information about the  nature, extent, causes, and consequences of cyberbullying.  They have a Summary Fact Sheet available and according to them, "If you only have time to read one of our publications to get up-to-speed about the problem and what you can do, read this one!"

CyberSmart! Curriculum materials are available until July 2012.  This curriculum is becoming part of Common Sense Media which has tools just for educators.  Registering is free.  This site might be of particular interest due to their toolkits for administrators and teachers with regard to e-rate requirements for teaching digital citizenship.

One of my favorite online safety sites is NetSmartz.  They have different pieces for Parents, Educators, Law Enforcement, Teens, Tweens and Kids.  The part which has the greatest impact for students, though, is the Real-Life Stories section.  As of this writing, there were 8 videos available, including one which shows you how easy it is to obtain information on someone who "thinks" they are safe online with what little they've posted.

Stop Cyberbullying is a site dedicated to stopping all types of Cyberbullying.   The colorful icons at the bottom lead you to the separate pages for ages 7-10, 11-13 and 14-17 and also for parents, for educators, and for law enforcement.  On the home page, there is a link to download the free Alex Wonder Kids Cyberdetective Agency Game.  This is probably more suitable for elementary and middle school students, but high school students might find it interesting just for the graphics and interaction.

For more than ten years, Web Wise Kids has been providing resources to equip young people to safely use and enjoy the latest technologies.  Among other offerings, this site includes 'The Modern Parent's Guide to Kids and Video Games' which is available as a free download.  It is a complete guide to PC, console, online, free, social and mobile games, including using game ratings.  They also have an interesting program on cell phone safety for middle school children.

These are just a few of the sites I have found to be helpful when faced with teaching online safety, digital citizenship, cybersafety, or whatever term you are using.  Hopefully these will help you as well!

As the school year winds down, I often turn to thoughts of the spring and the newness it brings to the world.  It is good to reflect on the past, but it is more important to embrace the future.  As I have been going back through all the bookmarked Websites I have used here and there this year, I find I don't remember exactly what I've shared and what I haven't.  I don't know if that's because I'm getting older or if it's because I just have so many.  I think it's important to find what works with you and your students and then utilize those sites.  So, with that said, I'm going to give you another quick list of sites I have gathered and used over the years and some that I hope to utilize with students in the future.  Forgive me if I have listed these before . . .

A to Z Teacher Stuff
BibMe
ChessKid
Dare to Compare
Discovery Kids
Disney Planet Challenge
Ebsco Host
Education Place
Fun Brain
Google for Educators
Harvard Collaborative Curriculum Design Tool
Izzit
Kentucky Center for School Safety
KET Encyclomedia
KET Teachers' Domain
Ky EPSB
Ky Virtual Library
Lesson Planet
Lesson Plans Page (HotChalk)
Localendar 
Money Instructor
Museum Box
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
National Museum of the American Indian
Pete's PowerPoint Station
Quiz Hub
Quizinator
Qwiki
Scholastic
SchoolWaxTV
Scratch
Shmoop
Shutterfly
SimpleK12
SparkNotes
Starfall
Storybird
Study Island
SweatMonkey
Teachers Count
Teacher Created Resources
TeachersFirst
Thinkfinity
ThinkQuest
Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning
United States Department of Justice
United Streaming
Yahoo! Kids
ZimmerTwins
ZooBurst

I also have some technology sites which might be of use . . .

12 Tips for Safe Social Networking
A Fair(y) Use Tale
Alice
American Museum of Natural History Extreme 3D Mammals
An Educators Guide to Twitter
Animations for Mobiles
Animoto
Artpad
ArtRage
Audacity
Awesome Highlighter
Bitly
Board800
Bookboon
Cacoo
CTE (Career and Technical Education)
Cell Phone Etiquette
Cell Phones in the Classroom
Center for Implementing Technology in Education
Children's Internet Protection Act
Classroom 2.0 
ClassTools
Clay Yourself
Collaborize Classroom
Cool Text
CoSketch
CNET
Delicious
Did You Know?
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship (ISTE)
Digital Citizenship 101 (for Teachers)
Diigo
Don't Copy That 
Drew Hunt Interactive Media
Drop It To Me
Edmodo
File Dropper
Flixtime
Formsite
Free Digital Photos
Free Technology for Teachers
Gamestar Mechanic
GetGameSmart
Gimp
Glogster
Google SketchUp
Handheld Devices in the Classroom
The History of Computing Project
How Stuff Works
Integrating Technology in the Classroom
Integrating Technology into the Curriculum
Jing
KeepVid
Kentucky Ed Tech
Kentucky Society for Technology Education
Kideos
Kris Marshall's Portal
Log On To Learn (Microsoft)
Message Hop
Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft Office Clip Art
Microsoft Office Templates
Mimio
Next Vista for Learning
NimbleFingers
PB Works
PDF Online
PDF Pen
PDF to Word
Podcast Maker (for Mac)
Poll Everywhere
Posterous
Project Tomorrow
Quietube
Rushton Hurley
Save Videos
Scholastic Create Video Games
Scott County Schools Instructional Technology
Screencast-O-Matic
SiteSucker (for Mac OS X; iOS)
Soundzabound
Stacey Blanton's Tech Site
Stixy
Stupeflix
Super Hyper Spider Typer
SurveyMonkey
Teachbook
TeachersFirst
Tech & Learning
TICK (Ky Academy for Technology Education)
TrackStar 
TubeChop
TypingWeb
UK ListServ Home
UK ListServs
USDLA
Useless Creations
ViewPure
Vocaroo
Voki
Wallwisher
WatchKnowLearn
Weebly
Wordle
Wufoo
xtimeline
Xtranormal
Yodio

And last, but not least, the office U.S. time site - Time - now you'll always be on time!


And just so I don't lose my Shutterfly site I started - here's a link to what I began in the fall of 2011 (and haven't quite kept it going, but maybe that will change next year!).

Just received an e-mail from Patti Oakley of KATE (Kentucky Academy of Technology Education) with a PowerPoint about the Kentucky Derby . . . It is well done and since the Derby is just a few days away, I thought I would share it here.  I made it into a .mov file which you can preview above, but if you want the actual PowerPoint, download it here from the KATE site.  (At the time of this writing, it was the second link on the page.)

Time for another speedy list of Websites to preview, and hopefully use!  I've given you the name of the site or tool, along with a link to the site and a short description. 

21Classes - http://www.21classes.com/

21Classes lets teachers set up and manage a multi-user blog solution with independent blogs for students instantly and easily.  A class can have its own portal, where all students have their own blog.  It gives students a platform to discuss topics covered in class outside of school.  It is a free service for classrooms of up to 10 students providing 1 MB of Web space for each of the 10 accounts.

(Price for premium - $79.00 per year)

AwesomeHighlighter - http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/

Awesome Highlighter makes it easy to highlight text on a Web page and once you are done, it gives you a link to the highlighted page so you can share it.  It’s easy to do – simply insert a Web page address in the provided box and click Highlight Page.  It then takes you to your desired page and allows you to highlight any text on the page.  When you are finished, click Done at the top of the page.  You will then be presented with a page that includes the highlighted portions plus the link that will take you to the highlighted page.  If you just want the highlighted portions, you can email it, copy it to your clipboard, or share it to twitter, delicious, facebook, or wordpress.  You can register for free in order to save your highlighted pages to review later. 

Board800 – http://board800.com/

Board800 is an interactive whiteboard application that allows the user to draw, include text, work with an image, etc. online and then save the work to use later as a .png or .jpg file.  It’s quick and easy if you want to draw something quickly and save/share it with someone. 

Cacoo – http://cacoo.com/

Cacoo is a site where you can create diagrams online and then save them and share them as desired.  A free account is available with limited features, but you can create and save a diagram that includes text, pre-drawn images, etc.

(Price for Plus plan - $49 per year; $4.95 per month)

CoSketch - http://www.cosketch.com/

CoSketch is a multi-user online whiteboard designed to give you the ability to quickly visualize and share your ideas as images.  It uses simple sharing – anything you paint will show up for all other users in the room in real time.  One click will save the sketch as an image to use later.  It is free and does not require registration, plus it runs in all common Web browsers without extra plug-ins or installations. 

Creately - http://creately.com/

Creately is a visual document manager with a central repository and built-in collaboration.  Create diagrams of all kinds and access the data from anywhere.  An extensive library of ready-made templates is available.  No registration is required to try Creately. 

Dabbleboard - http://www.dabbleboard.com/

Dabbleboard claims to be the “whiteboard reinvented”  Dabbleboard is an online collaboration application that’s centered around the whiteboard.  With a new type of drawing interface that’s actually easy and fun to use, Dabbleboard gets out of your way and just lets you draw.  Both free and paid versions are available.

Drag on Tape - http://www.dragontape.com/#/home

Drag your favorites onto a timeline and share your mixes with friends.   You can also quickly look at the featured, new, hot and popular mixes shared by others.  If you want to make your own, simply get an account, find your favorite clips on YouTube and insert them.  Share or not – you decide. 

EditGrid - http://www.editgrid.com/

EditGrid is an online spreadsheet service.  It uses the majority of features that Excel® has, but also allows sharing, collaboration and publishing, is live data and delivers on demand.  You can check out spreadsheets created by other users, too.  They include a Quick Tour you can scroll through at your own pace.  The most popular feature is the real-time collaboration.  Personal accounts are free, and a business side is offered for $5 per user per month (with a 30-day free trial). 

FlockDraw - http://flockdraw.com/

FlockDraw free online whiteboard based painting and drawing tool which allows you to draw in real time with others.  You can have unlimited people in a room and the drawing updates in real time.  Use different colors, shapes, and text.  There are public lobby rooms where you can try it out, but be careful, since anyone can draw in these rooms, some of the content may not be appropriate.  You must have Flash installed for it to work. 

Googlios - http://sites.google.com/site/googlioproject/

This site is intended to be a collection of resources for those interested in using ePortfolios in education.  There is a short intro video to watch.  There are also examples to see and other videos to watch about ePortfolios.  There’s a piece for instructors as well. 

Grou.ps - http://grou.ps/home

Grou.ps is a do-it-yourself social networking platform that allows people to come together and form interactive communities around a shared interest.  It is easy to use and takes five minutes or less to be up and running.  There are 70+ templates to choose from to customize your group.  You can make your group public or private.  There is a tour available so you can learn how to create a group, customize the look, post content, invite friends, and much more.  It is free to try, but paid versions cost from $2.95 to $29.95 a month, depending on the membership using the group.

GroupTweet - http://www.grouptweet.com/

GroupTweet allows 2 to 100,000+ contributors to tweet from the same account.  Contributor names can be displayed or hidden and multiple contributors can be controlled through message moderation.  There are both free and premium accounts.  The premium costs $4.99 per month, but is what’s needed for message moderation and a few other features. 

Kidblog - http://kidblog.org/home.php

A safe and simple blog for students, designed for elementary and middle school teachers to use.  It’s fast and free and allows students to publish posts and participate in discussion within a secure classroom blogging community.  Teachers maintain complete control over the student blogs. 

Kizoa - http://www.kizoa.com/ 

            Kizoa is a slideshow maker, a collage creator and a photo editor

which is fun and easy-to-use, online, and free to join.  You can create slideshows with effects, text and music; make collages from templates; edit photos with filters, effects, and frames; and even share your work online (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Websites, YouTube) or burn to a DVD.

Knowcase - http://knowcase.com/

Knowcase is a fast, easy and free tool for capturing and organizing information.  For individuals and groups.  You can quickly save ideas, notes, to do lists, etc. and then organize everything using drag-n-drop features.  When you’re done, you can share your lists with a team, co-workers, students, parents, etc.

LucidChart - http://www.lucidchart.com/

Create professional charts and diagrams with Lucidchart.  Drag and drop shapes quickly help you start your design.  An overview video is available and educators can request a free account. 

MeBeam - http://www.mebeam.net/

Using MeBeam, you can instantly video conference.  There is no need to download anything or signup or login.  MeBeam is 100% free.  Simply type in the name of any video room and then tell people to meet you in the room.  You can chat while you utilize the video.

Middlespot - http://middlespot.com/index-m.php

Create a personal dashboard across all your devices.  Middlespot is the simplest way to view, read, and watch your documents, photos, links, and videos on all your devices.  Take 30 seconds and create your own dashboard to suit you with simple drag’n’drop, resize and rotate features.  Each dashboard has a personal Web address.  Share it on Facebook, Twitter, e-mail or embed in your blog or Website.  Basic accounts are free, but Plus accounts are available with more features.

Mindmeister - http://www.mindmeister.com/

Mindmeister claims to be the leading online mind-mapping tool.  You can sign up for a 30-day free trial.  Personal accounts are $4.99 per month, but they also offer Pro and Business accounts. 

Mixbook - http://www.mixbook.com/

Mixbook allows you the creativity to create your own custom photo book by choosing a design, adding photos, and making adjustments.  You can add photos from many different sources and select thousands of pre-designed themes.  (You can also make cards and calendars.)  Check the Gallery for some ideas.  If you sign up for their e-mail list, you get a 20% coupon code.  If you are wanting to use Mixbook with students, you can sign up for the Mixbook Education Program. 

Muvee Cloud - http://cloud.muvee.com/

This site allows you to bring together photos and video.  Albums are by shared by invitation only.  Invited guests don’t need to sign up for the service to view your albums.  You can also create fun home movies by choosing the content, the style, and the music.  With the click of a button, a muvee is made!  Muvee Cloud is a paid service, but they do offer a free unlimited 15-day trial membership.  The premium membership plan is $19.95 per year. 

PrimaryPad - http://primarypad.com/

PrimaryPad is a Web-based word processor designed for schools that allows students and teachers to work together in real-time.  This site offers a video guide on its use and you can start creating a new pad without signing up for anything.  You can sign up for an education account, though, for free for three months.  (It also looks like a school can have a Pro account for free for twelve months.)  There is a Teachers link on the menu bar that includes links to Lesson Ideas.  (The other two sections are not available as yet – Lesson Plans and User Guide.) 

Protagonize - http://www.protagonize.com/

Protagonize lets you explore your hidden writing talent.  You can create and develop your own stories, discuss and refine your writing style and technique, follow your favorite stories and authors and discover the works of talented authors.  Accounts can be created for free. 

Splashup - http://www.splashup.com/

Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager.  It’s easy to use, with the features professionals use, and works in real-time.  You can edit many images at once.  Splashup runs in all browsers, integrates seamlessly with top photo sharing sites, and even has its own file format so you can save your work in progress. 

Stinto - http://www.stinto.net/

With Stino you can create your own chats in seconds and invite people to join by simply sending a short link.  All you need is a modern browser – no download, no installation, no registration required.  Stinto can be used for business conferences or just to chat about things you care about – and new features allow you to share photos, sketches and other images. 

Story Jumper – http://www.storyjumpger.com

Publish your own children’s book with StoryJumper.  StoryStarter helps you write a story in just seven steps.  You can use their art or your own drawings and photos to illustrate your story.  You can share stories online for free, but they also offer hardback versions for a price.  You can view several examples right off the homepage.

SweetSearch - http://www.sweetsearch.com/

This is a search engine for students.  Every Web site in SweetSearch has been evaluated by research experts.  It is free and a student (or adult) can simply type something they are searching for and click Go for a list of results.  (Be aware, it is not as comprehensive as Google or Yahoo – for example, searching for Caldwell County Schools + Kentucky does not find the actual CCS Website, but finds other sites that mention CCS like yp.com and city-data.com. 

Tgethr - http://tgethr.com/

Tgethr is an easy collaboration tool for groups.  You can join for free and groups are private.  The free plan includes 1 group and up to 5 users with 250MB of storage.  Be aware, though, it will include some small ads.  They also have three plans – Plus, Basic and Starter.  Starter is the most popular and costs $6 per month.  It includes up to 3 groups with unlimited users and 2GB of storage.  To start a group, simply develop a group e-mail (i.e. earnestgroup@tgethrcom), name the group, and then include the e-mails of the people you want to be in the group. 

Thinklinkr - http://thinklinkr.com/

Thinklinkr is an easy way to create and share outlines.  Leave Thinklinkr open for a day and use it to organize your thoughts – you won’t ever want to turn it off!  They have three plans – basic (which is free), pro (which is $5 per month) and business (which is $5 per month per user).  When you register for the basic account, you will see a message about the 5-minute tutorial and the fact that it automatically saves. 

Twiducate - http://www.twiducate.com/

Twiducate is social networking for schools.  You can have your students connect to a private social network.  You can also have other teachers and students connect to your network across the globe.  If you are a teacher, you can sign up for Twiducate for free.  It is the perfect solution for elementary and secondary students.  Rather than having your students sign up and enter an e-mail address, you sign up and create a class code.  Using this code, the students login to your class network.  Students can answer questions, collaborate on problems, and even embed pictures and videos.  A teacher has full control over the network.  This is very simple to use.

Voxopop - http://www.voxopop.com/

Voxopop, formerly Chinswing, is a voice-based e-learning tool.  Talkgroups are a fun, engaging and easy-to-use way to help students develop speaking skills.  They’re a bit like message boards, but use voice rather than text.  Talkgroups can be public, restricted, or entirely private. 

Wallwisher - http://www.wallwisher.com/

Wallwisher is a new way to communicate.  It is an online notice board maker, ideal for making announcements, keeping notes, etc.  It’s easy.  It’s effective because you can say more with images, music, and video and it’s intuitive because it works like a real notice board – simply drag and drop to re-arrange.  You can view a demo wall and a screenshot to get some ideas.  You start by building a wall – simply enter your name and e-mail address; choose a wall URL; decide who can view and/or post (you can even mark it so that you approve every post before it shows up on the wall – good for teachers!); select a theme; and give it a title and a sub-title.  And start posting!

WebCanvas - http://webcanvas.com/#0,0,1

            WebCanvas is the world’s largest collaborative painting. 

WebNotes- http://www.webnotes.net/

WebNotes is a tool you can use right from your Web browser to highlight and add notes to Web pages.  You can stay organized and search your notes and even share your notes via e-mail, Twitter, etc.  Look at the features to try it out for yourself.  The Lite version is free.  The Pro version is $35 a year and the Platinum version is $300 a year.  (Be aware this does not seem to work on Macs, nor does it work for certain browsers, like Firefox 11.0)  It did work for my Dell’s Internet Explorer, though, and I could see many uses for it – both as a classroom tool with students or in a training session with other professionals.

Wiggio - http://wiggio.com/

Wiggio is the easiest free way to work in groups.  You can host conference calls, create lists and tasks, send messages, manage events with a shared calendar, poll the group in real-time, and upload and manage files in a shared folder.  Students and teachers can use Wiggio to collaborate on projects, case studies, labs, study groups and class initiatives.  This one may be a little more complicated than others, but it has lots more features. 

WikiDot - http://www.wikidot.com/learnmore:education

WikiDot for education offers an unlimited number of members, 5 GB for file uploads, and much more.  It is free for educational/research purposes.  After registering for an account, you will be directed to design your homepage.  You can then share this page with others. 

Woices - http://woices.com/

Woices is a site where you can find multitudes of “tours” by people just like you!  Signing up for an account is free and you can prepare and upload your own tours, plus listen to others.  You can record an “echo” which is a short vocal account of the place you are describing or a “walk” which is a collection of echoes, which may be more appropriate for a walking tour style of presentation.  You can search for different “tours” – for example, there is one (obviously done by a student) about the Kentucky Derby in Louisville.  This could be a good alternative to the normal stand and deliver type of presentation by students in a classroom. 

Wordia - http://www.wordia.com/

This is a free resource, which enables teachers to build a game to help students with vocabulary.  Games can be played by students and can be used as challenges to other students but to other schools as well.  It is completed in three easy steps – add the vocabulary, build the game, and engage your students.  Teachers can create a free account, but students can have accounts, too.  Teachers can have control over who accesses their games.  This would be a good idea for keyboarding classes since one of the games is to type the words. 

Wridea - http://wridea.com/

Wridea is a Web service is a way of gathering ideas, sharing with friends and organizing the content.  Create new idea entries in seconds, update details, discuss in depth and categorize under different pages.  If used with a projection system in a classroom, this could be a neat way to share ideas with students.  As they have an idea during a brainstorming session, simply type the entry in Wridea for all to see. 

Writeboard - http://writeboard.com/

Writeboards are sharable, Web-based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any version, and easily compare changes.  Use Writeboard to write solo or to collaborate with others.  Three simple steps get you started – simply name your Writeboard, give it a password (only those with the password can access it), and enter your e-mail address.  (You have to agree to the terms of service, but they are the usual.)  You can then type away!  You have the ability to invite others to collaborate if you wish simply by entering their e-mail address.  They are then sent the URL for the Writeboard, along with the password.  This could be used with students, but it would also be a great way for teachers to collaborate with each other, especially between schools. 

Zooburst - http://www.zooburst.com/

This is a digital storytelling tool, which lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D popup books.  Using ZooBurst, storytellers of any age can create their own rich worlds in which their stories can come to life.  Start with the Gallery to see some examples.