Cool+Technology

http://www.zamzar.com



Zamzar.com is a free video file conversion website that allows you to either upload your own video for file conversion, or to download clips from popular websites like Youtube via URL. The website is very simple to use. On the front page, there is a wizard that instructs you to start with Step 1 - Select a File. You can either upload your file, or select URL. If you select URL, just find a video you like from Youtube and paste it in to try it out. Then, select the file type you would like to convert to. (.MOV file types are very easily accessed by both Windows and Mac computers) After selecting your file conversion type, put in your email. Within a few hours, your video will be available for download through a link sent to your email address!

http://wordle.net



World.net is a free online service that allows teachers and students to select large bodies of text, then paste them into the "Create" box. The Wordle engine reads through the text, then picks out common themes. This Wordle features major themes from the "Tear Down this Wall" speech given by President Ronald Reagan on June 12, 1987. Other popular Wordles include parts of the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and other famous documents in American and World History. Digital History takes seconds with Wordle. The entire, historical text of a document can be pasted, and students can then look at the completed Wordle to pick out major themes. Fun stuff!

http://pixlr.com



Pixlr.com is a free online photo editing software program. Type in the address, and your students automatically have access to something very close to Photoshop, although maybe not as sophisticated. Kids can use Pixlr to create pictures for projects, or perhaps their own political cartoons. The possibilities are endless!

http://rediary.org



Working on an American Civil War unit? The reDiary.org project, spearheaded by Dr. Lee from NCSU's College of Education, features three diaries from 1864. Each diary is loaded to the website, then the entries are reposted on the same day they were written more than a hundred years ago. Not only can students read the user-friendly, blog based website with ease, they can pretend that they are reading something just written by someone living through the American Civil War.