Open Source Software Review – Dance Mat Typing

Online Typing Review – Dance Mat Typing

BBC Schools

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

If you are searching for a great typing program to use with children and yes even adults, then check out Dance Mat Typing from the BBC Schools.  I like to use this web based software for typing with my students in Kindergarten and First Grade and to warm up my second grades in the beginning of the school year.  Grade one student’s transition to a lab based typing program halfway through the year. 

Dance Mat Typing begins with step by step in typing beginning with the home row keys.  I do not expect my Kindergarten children to use both hand and fingers on the home row, but I do expect them to type using both pointer fingers.  This is a great way for students to learn the keyboard at a very young age along with working on letter recognition.  One adaptation I do use with my Kindergarten students is to use masking tape to cover up the rows of the letters that we will not be using.

Overall I would give Dance Mat Typing 5 out of 5 Stars!

Photos Cited:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Open Source Software Review - Tux of Math Command

Tux of Math Command:

http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxmath/index.php

Download from: http://sourceforge.net/projects/tuxmath/

Tux of Math command is an Open Source programs that can be downloaded for free for a multitude of operating systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Ubuntu and Linux, RMP-based Linux with directions for install). This is a wonderful resource to use in the classroom to help any student to fine tune their math facts. The software package comes complete with lessons for each mathematical operation and varies on levels in each operation. This is a wonderful FREE resource to have!

Reviews of Software:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/tuxmath/reviews/

http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/mac/Tux-of-Math-Command-Review-109400.shtml

Photos Cited From:

http://www.descargargratis.com/tux-of-math-command-tuxmath/imagenes

http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20090517103859732/TuxMath.html

Open Source Software Review - Audacity

Audacity:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

This open source software is a great way for your students to create mp3 files on their own. This program has a multitude of uses. Audacity can be used for students to practice reading fluency, reading expression, story retells and for sharing stories with others. This is a great way for student to reflect on their own reading. Students are able to hear how they read and what possible errors they are making.

Pros:

· Immediate response

· Ability to keep a running record of reading fluency, comprehension and story feedback

· Library of Story Telling

· Digital Artifacts for student portfolios

Cons:

· Time involved in learning the program

Overall, this is a great FREE program that can be used to create digital files for playback on your computer.

User Reviews:

http://www.snapfiles.com/opinions/audacity/audacity.html

http://fileforum.betanews.com/review/1023856334/1/view

http://podcasting.about.com/od/recordingequipment/fr/deepaud.htm

Centre School's Weekly Podcast Announcements

Mr. Dutton's Weekly Podcast

Open Source in the Primary Grades

So the search is on for quality Open Source applications to use in the Primary Grades.

The first application I would like to report on is Tux Paint. This is a wonderful Art program that allows the students to create unique works of art as well as add some visual stamps. This programs allows the user to use a multitude of tools to create their work.

Pro's: Quality of work is amazing, tools are sophistated, yet easy to use, takes very little time to learn.


Con's: Stamps can be an issue. When installing stamps, I would leave out the military stamps as the guns do not have a place in schools. The typing tool is very limited and makes it very difficult to do editting. Printing output is on 3/4 sheet of paper.


Overall, this is a great free application to use for Kindergarten students and with some First Grade students. Switching to an alternative program for the older grades would be recommended.

Tux Paint - http://www.tuxpaint.org/

*Tux Pic of Tools, Retrieved on March 8, 2011 from http://www.freetrialdownloads.com/

*Pic of Tux, Retrieved on March 8, 2011 from http://www.software.wikia.com/

Reviews:

http://tuxpaint.org/reviews/

Task 065 - LJ Dutton's Movie - Life Cycle of a Plant

This is an example of the task 065 posting of my Photo Story - Life Cycle of a Plant (task 064a). Please enjoy while you watch!

Yodio - Sound Script Overlay - Story Time - Task 36 - LJD

Task 052 LJ's Jing Tutorial Video on Study Island

This video tutorial shows you how to login to Study Island and choose an activity. Please click on the link below to view the tutorial video.

http://www.screencast.com/users/Dutton/folders/Jing/media/3c34be65-3764-4afc-b812-c5ca1b400a3f

Thanks for viewing!
LJ

Task 0210 - Editorial Post

During this task we were to take one photo and crop the photo to create a different perspective.

Here is my original photo:


















Here is my edited photo:












By editing the photo, the audience is able to come up with different stories or possibilities as to what is happening to the boy (my son) in the picture.

Task 018 LJ's Illustrated Poster

This is an example of my Task 16/17 illustrated poster. It is a famous educational quote from an unknow author. Very classic and very true! I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with.