Classroom+Tools

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toc =Wired: Gadget Lab (How the iPhone Could Reboot Education)=

Official Site:
Visit: []

About:
Gadget Lab is published weekly by Wired Magazine. It serves as a product review newsletter for new gadgets that the guru's at Gadget Lab evaluate. When the guru's are through playing with and evaluating the new gadgets they publish their evaluations noting which gadgets they like and which ones they do not like.

Benefits:
We cannot all afford to purchase every new gadget/toy that is introduced. Gadget Lab does it for us and provides their opionions on the product and its applications. The opinion is followed by a comment board where people like you and I can put our 2cents worth in.

Evaluation:
Gadget Lab is an excellent site for discovering information on new gear. It is broken down into 21 categories ranging from Accessories and Peripherals to Wireless Tech. And beyond that it utilizies Popular Tabs for further ease of use.

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Open Office

Official Site:
Visit: [|http://www.openoffice.org]

About:
Open Office is an open source (free) program that does essentially the same thing as Microsoft Office. Users are able to open Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint files and edit them with ease. It was initially created in 2000, with Open Office 1.0 officially being released in 2002. The Open Office projected is primarily sponsored by Sun Microsystems, which is also the developer of Java for the web.

Benefits:
Open Office is great for schools or families that cannot afford the hefty price tag of Microsoft Office. The program also solves the issue of the many different versions of Word, Excel, etc. that may not be able to be opened in a different version. Open Office accepts all versions of any MS Office program.

Evaluation:
Open Office does not have nearly all of the bells and whistles that Microsoft Office does. With that said, it is just as functional. Users can easily create office documents with many similarities of MS Office. The only issue that Open Office seems to have, is when users import a PowerPoint created in MS Office, some of the text and graphics are off-set. This can easily be fixed by moving items around. A bit of a pain, yes. Should this prevent you from using the software? Not at all.

Rating:


=Teachers Love SMART Boards:=

Official Site:
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About:
Teachers Love SMART Boards is an excellent blog that provides resources for using your SMART Board beyond a glorified projector or white board. The blog is maintained by an anonymous author whom received his bachelors in Computer Science/Mathematics and has a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. The site also allows teachers to purchase online training for their SMART Boards.

**Evaluation:**
This is an excellent site for SMART Board resources. The site is arranged by subjects as well as types of resources (games, video, flash, etc). There are also additional links to outside resources on the net.

**Rating:**



 * Engaging Learners the SMARTboard Way: **
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Eduscapes provides teachers with SMART Board activities and starter lessons for use on a SMART Board. The site is geared more towards the early grades but provides fun and interactive activities for students to complete using the white board. Subjects included are Applied and Fine Arts, Communication Arts, Math, Physical Education and Health, Science and Social Studies.
 * About: **

This is a great resource for teachers looking for new ideas. It also provides downloads of notebook files for use with the SMART Board.
 * Benefits: **

This site is geared towards elementary and middle level learners. Each subject is given a link showing the resources it provides for that particular subject.
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