Wordle

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

Pixlr Tips & Tricks…

Pixlr is an open-source3 online photo editor, which is able to perform much of the same functions as Photoshop free of charge. Best of all? No downloads – it works on the web!  Here are some great Pixlr resources:

Pixlr Blog - great tutorials, info and more.

Squidoo’s Pixlr Page - great stuff!

Setting up your wireless network…

Setting up and securing your home wireless network is frustrating if you haven’t a clue what steps to take. I have compiled a list of my favorite links to help you handle this daunting task with ease. Do your homework first! I spent quite a bit of time finding the best sites and reading through the steps several times before trying to tackle my wireless network.

Share your tips, tricks or links in the comments below.

eHOW – Super Easy Check List (for Linksys)

eHOW – Security Settings for Belkin Wireless Router

Making Your Wireless Network Invisible

CNET’s Guide – With Video!

Microsoft at Home

Geek Squad’s Guide

PCMag’s Guide

YouTube Video Results (focus on the 4+ star videos)

Database Tips & Tricks

As we work through databases, we’ll be adding helpful links for both MSAccess and OpenOffice Base:

InPics – Covers OpenOffice Base, MSAccess 2003 and MSAccess 2007

Access Tips: Query & Filter Criteria

OpenOffice Base: How to add a combo box – video tutorial

OpenOffice Base: Tons of Free Video Tutorials

If you find a great database tutorial site, send it to me so I can add it!

Google ROCKS!

I’ll continue to post great links, tips & tricks for everything Google here…

Gmail:

Ten Reasons to use Gmail

Google Calendar:

All About Google Calendar (printable!)

Google Docs:

Excellent Tour of Google Docs

OpenOffice Tips & Tricks

I’ll continue to add to this all the time – we are currently working on OpenOffice Calc, Excel and Google Spreadsheets in my summer classes, so I’ll be adding new links as we find them.

OpenOffice Calc Chart Tutorial - printable!

OpenOffice Calc Guide – this is printable, but it’s over 400 pages – I’d use it online for reference.

Math Magic!

I will continue to update this post, so check back often. Here are some of my favorite math websites:

Math-Play (tons of great games!)

Cool Math (games, lessons – all levels)

National Library of Virtual Math Manipulatives

Word Essentials

Here are some of my favorite tips, tricks & trainings for Word:

Microsoft Office Online – Word 2003 Tutorials

Microsoft Office Online – Word 2007 Tutorials

Differences between Word 2003 and Word 2007

For Visual Learners (not just Word!) – InPics

OpenOffice – all the power of Microsoft Office FOR FREE!

Great FAQ’s answered here