Better late than never for this post? Here are some of the interesting things I saw on the vendor floor at TCEA.
>Make sure your schools have Ebsco and Britannica up and running. These are the state purchased databases. They are free to Texas schools. Britannica also has a enewsletter called Inside Britannica that has much good information.
> Gaggle.net now has a built in translation feature. A variety of language, including Spanish, are included and you can go from English to another language or the reverse. Gaggle also has blogs, message boards, and email all in a school friendly environment.
>Tech4Learning has wonderful products for the teachers or students to use, all fairly easy to learn. One of my favorites is Pixie, a drawing/ creativity tool.
> Adobe Acrobat — it’s more than just Reader. Did you know you can create interactive worksheets using Acrobat Professional? Check TIPS, SHI, and the like for school pricing.
> Interactive Whiteboard have the potential to jazz up a lesson. I looked at Smart Boards and Mimeo in particular.
> ePals bills itself as “where learners connect” and is a site I want to investigate more. You can connect to classrooms in other states or even other countries for collaborative projects.
This is just a sampling of the many great products I saw on the vendor floor.
One more note: handouts are now online for TCEA presentations.
For connecting to classrooms for collaborative projects, don’t forget the power of Twitter! http://www.twitter.com