Workshop+on+Cool+Things+in+15+Minutes

toc Could switching to cool things on the web save you more than fifteen minutes?

=Purpose= To demonstrate some of the engaging things teachers and students can do in a short time, using technology. An e-portfolio item might be something you make with one of these tools. You may also want to consider how you might use some of these in the classroom. If you find other cool websites where something can be created without any kind of hassle, please add it to this page.

[Some new sites here at the top and embedded; old sites are still here!]

=Mr. Picasso Head= (potatoes meet art...) [] Just try it.

=Voice Draw= [] Use your voice to draw a picture. Very easy, very fun, and possibly a great tool for people who have little control over a mouse.

=Three-d art= [] You can create art that appears three dimensional with easy tools.

=Comic Master= [] You can do a comic book or graphic novel using this free site.

=Otomata= []

This is one of those great music sites where you can make music without worrying about "mistakes." If you randomly click on the grid and play that, you have music. You can also manipulate the sounds if you want, but random sounds good!

=Wordle= media type="custom" key="10488492" From []

Click on "Create." In the textbox, create or paste in text. Click on "Go" beneath the textbox.

Your browser may get a yellow bar at the top that asks if it is okay for Java to run. Hit yes and then wait. Your Wordle will appear.

media type="custom" key="10532140"

=Poster= Want to turn a picture into a poster for your wall? []

This app takes your picture and turns it into a file several pages long. If you print the file and then assemble the pictures together, you have a large version of your picture.

Click on the "Step One," upload your image. Put your image on your desktop where it is really easy to find. Then click on "Choose Image." A box will pop up so you can select the image; navigate to your desktop, find your image, click on it, click on "Open," and the computer takes care of the rest. Sometimes images will take up too much memory. If you know how to deal with this problem, great. If you don't, then just select a different image.

Click on "Continue" You may want, on your first time using Blockposter, just accept what is already given in relation to your picture. Or you can change how many pieces of paper you want your image to take.

Click on "Continue" Now you reach a place where you can "...download a pdf file." Click on this link. Your computer may ask if you want to run it or save it. Choose "save." Once it is on your computer, you can open up the pdf file using Adobe Reader (which is standard on just about every machine there is). After the file is open, you can print out your poster.

=Isle of Tune= [] http://isleoftune.com/?id=133744 This works like the early Sims games--draw in a road, and all the other things you might want (houses, trees, etc.). Each object represents a sound. Put a car on your road and hit "Go." As the car drives by each item, you hear that item's sound.

=Myoates (Kaleidoscope drawing)= The name of the website appears to have nothing to do with its function. []



This website is fun to use for people unfamiliar with web apps because you just drag your mouse over the box you see at the top of the page and you are drawing. If you run your mouse along the edge of the frame (upper left corner, bottom all across), you will find various ways of customizing your drawing choices. To save to your desktop, right-click on your picture and scroll to "Save image." Membership in this is free and it is also interesting to look at what others have done with this web app. Kids will certainly enjoy this one and it could be used as well for teaching radial symmetry (and other types, once you start playing with the customizing options).

=Voki= [] Create an animated character that talks. This website understands teachers and their needs and has great educational tips. media type="custom" key="10501960" Get a free account so you can save your creations.

To create, click on "Create." It will give you a character to start with, so the easy way to do this is to use that character. On the part that says "Give it a voice," click the keyboard key and type in the text you want the character to say. Click "done" when you are finished. Then click on "publish." Your voki can be accessed from your personal account.

To get a little fancier, you can customize your voki through using the wide choice of characters, accessories, background, etc. Your voki can speak about 25 different languages.

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=Play Guitar= [] You can play random notes and also you can use the computer keyboard to play tunes (your own or someone else's). Below the guitar are songs you can play using the keyboard.