Putting Skills into Action

I was so excited to see that Hadar over at Miss Kindergarten has already taken some of what I shared at the Teaching Blog Expo and put it to work on her blog. Check out her tutorial on Embedding a Document in Google Docs.
If you missed out on the Expo...don't worry...you can purchase a copy of the recording starting Sept 24th! You can view it ANYTIME it fits into your schedule!  I LOVE that concept....learning when it's convenient for YOU!
 There were a lot of really good ideas and tips shared! Whether you're new to blogging or an old pro...you're bound to learn some really great tips!

PS...check out my  EXPO Q & A post for additional TIPS.

How to make Pencil Grips

OK, I am back to share how to make the pencil grips. I apologize for the delay...I honestly thought I was reminding folks about these (I sometimes forget some oldies-but-goodies).
With a little help from my daughter, we were able to film the actual making of the grips. Here's what you'll need

•  beads (Hobby Lobby has some cute ones in the jewelry making section...animal shapes are really adoable)
• soft cord (in the ribbon section of your local Hobby Lobby or craft store)
• loops that are used to make potholders, sizes medium & small (medium is for the wrist band and small for the pencil)

Watch this easy to follow video. They really are THIS SIMPLE to make! ;-)

I hope this helps..please let me know if you need further clarification or have other questions. Happy gripping! ;-)

Renaming Files: A Quick Tutorial

Yesterday I shared how to use PowerPoint with pictures of your students to put in the pocketchart in your classroom. In the video, I mentioned "renaming the picture files". It came to my attention that there are a few folks who could use a little help with renaming the files. So this quick "Tech in a Sec" tutorial does just that:

Renaming Files from Cindy Blakely on Vimeo.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you need a little more help with something!

Pictures for PocketCharts 2

I got an email from a follower (Laura) who was looking for my tutorial on making pictures for the pocket chart. I am sad to say that the hosting site for my video has locked down the account because I exceeded my bandwith...whatever that really means. All I know is my videos can't be viewed at this time...So I decided to do a RE-POST using another service, we'll see how this one works.

OK...so in my original post I was saying that in my classroom I have a pocket chart with all the pictures of the students (myself as well). They use these photos to write messages to one another, play sorting games, etc. I am sure you have something similar in your classroom. But often teachers spend HOURS writing by hand all the names under the pictures. This tutorial shows you how you can literally do a hundred photos in a minute or two (at the most). You may want to re-name the photos ahead of time by removing that long numeral your digital camera places on the photo. Replace that with the name of the student in the photo. Then you are ready to follow these simple steps to create your Pocketchart pictures!
*Note: this is an OLD version of PowerPoint, the newer ones have the same features, but they are probably easier to find! ;-)

Photo chart Pictures from Cindy Blakley on Vimeo.

Embedding Video via ScreenCast

****Update to this post! Apparently, JING has a limit on the bandwidth a user can have for free each month. Guess who went OVER? So I have reposted using another source! 

I received an email from a follower asking how to embed a Jing video into her blog. This quick tutorial takes you through the steps. However, I am finding a "quirk" with Screencast when I have more than one video on the same page. Somehow it changes ALL the videos. Whichever video was the last loaded seems to cannibalize the others. If you're looking to do one video, this should be fine, but you may consider another program if you're trying to load several videos, I ran into this problem BIG time a few weeks ago on a post comparing Google Docs to Drop Box. Another option, if you're using a PC is PhotoStory3. You can use a series of screen shots to create your step-by-step video and a voiceover is simple to do. You can add music as well. It will end up looking much like this video (below) which was made in iMovie with screen shots, music and voiceover. I made this then uploaded my iMovie to ScreenCast.com. Trying to made a video screencast of a screencast was a bit like holding a mirror and looking at yourself in a mirror, so I used screenshots ....felt too much like a TwlightZone episode.(humming the theme song here) ;-)

 Both PhotoStory3 and iMovies can be uploaded to blogger, or other video hosting sites.
I hope this helps you Kitty! ;-)
If you need help creating screenshots on PC or Mac.....just give me a holla' and I'll help!

Font Overload?

If you're a font junkie, like I am, you often find yourself searching through literally HUNDREDS of fonts seeking the perfect one! Well I have something that may help you out. It's called WordMark It Take a look at how it works:

Hope this helps!
Oh and if you're looking for websites with fonts, check out my earlier post:
I Love Fonts

Awesome Tool

If you're looking for a quick resource for Environmental Print to use with your students, try Spell With Flickr. It's been around for a while, but is remains as a great tech tool. The name defines pretty much what it does. You type in a word and the program searches Flickr to find letters to match. Now that's...

Here's a quick tutorial for using Spell With Flickr:



Just think of the fun you can have creating games, name puzzles, numeral activities and more! Take a look at a few videos I made using images found using Spell with Flickr:







Please come back and share your ideas or links for using Spell with Flickr to create projects for your students!

Google Docs VS DropBox

After several emails back and forth I decided to take a closer look at both Google Docs and DropBox to see what the features are and maybe see which service I liked best.
Both services offer storage of files, photos and videos.
Both allow sharing of files with others. Great when collaborating on projects!
I can't find a limit for the number of files you can store on Google Docs. DropBox has a set limit with the option to purchase additional storage space.     (Or refer your friends and earn additional space)

Take a look at the following videos to see how both programs work to create folders to organize your documents (Google Docs calls them COLLECTIONS...although I will have to work hard to call them "collections" not folders) ;-)
After several (and I mean SEVERAL) unsuccessful attempts to load all 3 videos into one post, I have resigned to doing them with one video and two links to videos. 
This is a video on organizing files in Google Docs into "Collections"

This is the video on adding video and photos to Google Docs:

Click text not image;-(

Here's the video of Dropbox:

Click text not image! ;-(

Hopefully this will help. If you already use Blogger, then you're half way to Google Docs (it's part of your account as is Gmail). If you're looking to get Drop Box click here to join: DropBox!

No need to pick one or the other...take one of each, they're FREE!! ;-)

Screenshots for Mac or PC users

I was asked how to take a screenshot of an image on your computer and place it in your blog. The process is fairly easy, it differs slightly depending on which platform you are working on Mac:





 MAC




or a PC:

Comments in Blogger

Hi,
I'm back here in The Teacher's Lounge with another mini-tutorial. I was asked how to be sure your comments are showing in your blog. This quick video covers that, and a little bit more...

Thanks for watching!

Using Alphabet Sets

I was asked to share how I use the Alphabet Sets available from Lettering Delights. I made a quick video to show how I use the sets:

Again, I do not use the downloaded version of the Alphabet Sets. If someone out there does, by all means tell us! ;-)

Pictures for Pocket Charts

 In Kindergarten, the kids LOVE to see themselves in photos. They also love to write messages to each other. I have their photos in the pocket chart with the name of the child below his/her photo. The students go there and pick out a friend to write a message to.

 Back in the day..we use to write the names on by hand. Who has time for that these days? ;-)

I LOVE to use POWER POINT to create the pocket chart photos!

 This short video shows you how to QUICKLY add all your photos at once. You can have the pictures printed, laminated and in the pocket chart in the time it used to take to write names on a few pictures.

Take a look at this video and you too may find it helpful to use PowerPoint.


I apologize for the "grainy" sound on the video. This was done on my school computer. Oh... and we still use Office 2003! (ugh!!) You may have faster and better results if you have newer programs and equipment! ;-)
Good Luck. Let me know if you have any questions!
I also use the same method for making quick presentations, class books, field trip books, you name it! There really is POWER in PowerPoint! ;-)