Now’s your chance at values.com
This cutie web tool allows users to create and post
a billboard with a positive message.
Here’s mine:
Have an idea that should be on a billboard? Now’s your chance at values.com This cutie web tool allows users to create and post a billboard with a positive message. Here’s mine: Drop me a comment when yours is published.
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Have you heard? Super Blog Sunday is coming! Salemites.com is the fabulous link that connects bloggers throughout my dear, sweet home town: Multiple voices/multiple minds sharing in the digital world. This coming Sunday, every blog associated with Salemites.com will have a new post. It's a great opportunity to hear the latest buzz in the mid-Willamette Valley. This is THE event for those in-the-know in Salem, Oregon and I'll be posting my first give-away, which means some lucky reader will receive a free gift. See you Sunday! I love that Big Red Dog. I know Clifford is on PBS Kids, but I love that pup just as much as Emily Elizabeth. My adoration stems from two major experiences: 1) While my sons were in preschool, the 30 minutes of Clifford programming on OPB meant I could shower alone. No Clifford meant no privacy: I’d be rinsing shampoo through a chorus of little hands knocking on the glass door, asking for Cheerios, telling on their brother, and asking when I was going to come out and play. However, If I let Clifford and T-Bone entertain my little darlings for 25 minutes I could shampoo, condition AND shave my legs. Mommies know: That’s golden! 2) This Scholastic Clifford computer game is a nice treat for beginning readers. Simple - and deceivingly fun – my kid is practicing letter recognition and basic phonics without ever knowing it. His favorite game is the one that allows players to type in simple three or four letter words. If spelled correctly, a related picture of Clifford is painted across the screen. Can you spell zoo? Cat? Soup? My kid can. Granted, both these “how do I love thee” praises of Clifford involve screen time – which means they are a sometime activities not an always activities. But.... maybe that makes his Big Red allure all the more powerful. Don't let this fool you - our Christmas vacation has been great. I just couldn't resist using this web tool to have a bit of fun. :) I'm a bit behind in the blog department. We've been traveling, working, Thanksgivinging and even home improvementing. (It's a full life.) But -- I'm sneaking in a quick post here to tell you about my new favorite tag cloud generator. "Tag cloud generator" is the techie word for "really cool free thing on the web." In a nut shell -- Tagxedo takes all the words you want and creates a pretty picture based on the frequency of the individual words. Other sites (like Wordle.com) do this as well, but the great thing about Tagxedo is that you can choose from a variety of shapes for your picture & you can save it in a variety of formats. Example: When not chasing my kids this month, I've been writing the second chapter of my dissertation paper. If I drop all the text into Tagxedo this is what is created: Why did I choose to create a tag cloud in the shape of JOY?
Because I finally finished that chapter (insert dance of joy here)! I'm thinking of all the fun writers might have with this tool. Here at home we could use it to create a fun family Christmas card (in the shape of a Xmas tree), or Valentine's day cards (in a heart), or at school with animal reports (in the shape of the given animal). So many fun options to explore!! Craigslist.com is the online garage sale that helps keep life with kids affordable. This is old news to most… but to NOT mention it when talking about kids would be just plain wrong. I’ve bought and purchased a variety of items on Craigslist: baby jogger, bike trailer, double stroller. These are the items you need…really need…absolutely, positively need – until you don’t. These crazy kids keep on growing and so it’s OUT with the perfectly fine baby jogger and IN with the bikes, skateboards, and bunk beds. Yep. That’s the latest Craigslist purchase for us: bunk beds for my growing boys. I bought these beds for a steal-of-a-deal and will be posting them again on Craigslist again when my boys move on
to the next stage and are ready to pass on these beds to some other fabulous, growing, kids! My kids spent the past rainy Saturday afternoon playing Cash Cab. Yep... you read that right: Cash Cab. Cash Cab is a TV game show that takes place in a New York City cab. Passengers answer questions on their way to their destination. Get a question right – you earn cash. Get a question wrong – and that’s one strike. Three strikes and game over: you’re out of the cab - right on the spot. My boys and I have watched this show only a handful of times – but the concept has stuck. Occasionally in our own car (when the drive is long and the boys are restless), I pretend to be the driver on Cash Cab. This week’s spelling words and a few simple math problems serve as the questions. The boys work together to earn the “cash.” Once during a particularly long drive, the boys missed three questions and I asked them to get out of the car. My eight year-old erupted in giggles. My five year-old was on the verge of panic. (Note to self: Youngest son delights in my silly jokes only AFTER I fully explain them.)
So… back to Saturday: It’s raining. My hubby and I are working on to-do lists. The boys take the computer chair and start pushing each other throughout the house. And then I hear… “Who is the president of the United States?” This is soon followed by a red light challenge at the bathroom door. TV that educates, entertains, and inspires quiet, indoor play on a rainy day. Oh, how I love the Discovery Channel! No fancy software knowledge needed – just drag, drop, designate your music and let the Animoto magic make it happen. If you don’t like the results you can just hit ‘Remix’ and the service waves its magic wand and tries again. This web tool is free for 30 second blips of creativity. With the free account, you have to register and cannot save the videos to your computer (you have to view them via the website), but you can create unlimited videos and have the option of purchasing a single full-length video for the low cost of $3. Now if you do want something more….and are willing to pay for it… they (of course) offer that as well. For $30 you can create unlimited full-length videos that you can then download and save at any time. That’s a bargain…. if you like to create videos but don’t have the time to devote to the task. Here’s the official promo: And for you groovy cool teachers out there: Sign-up for a free account and start making slide shows to highlight your students’ work ASAP. Here’s another lovely webtool: Drop.io FREE and easy to use, this great website gives you an electronic ‘drop box’ that can be accessed anywhere in the world. Here's the full 411: I’ve used it on several occasions for sharing pictures. You can upload your snapshots and then send a link to other people so they can view your little darlings as well. You can control the settings so as to include a password, allow (or not allow) visitors to download the pictures and there’s even a function that lets folks email or call in their comments to the drop.
Image all those photos from the family reunion in one location or field trip photos for all the parents to enjoy gathered in one place. Best yet, all this ….. with no sign-up, no fee, and no ads. It’s a web-mommy’s dream tool. Here’s Really Cool Web Tool #486--- Wordle: The amazing word cloud generator. Creating one of these beauties gives you a snapshot analysis of any writing piece. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text You can enter your own text or use it with a blog or website. Interesting for sure, this FREE web tool can be used to impress those groovy middle school and high school teachers or just to get a new view of an old text for your own purposes. I entered text from NW Kid Chaser & here’s what appeared: Right away you can see the focus of my attention:
my amazing boys, books, Salem and fun (and apparently a weakness for the word "just"). Pretty much sums up the content here, don't you think? This picture really is worth a thousand words. |
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