Boom Writer

Are you looking for ways to get your kids excited about writing? What about creating a class book? BoomWriter seems like a great place to start!

BoomWriter is easy and free (two things teachers LOVE, right?) You can even get a free copy (an actual printed book!) of your first class book.

• The teacher selects or produces his or her own story start, and the students let their imagination and writing skills take over.
• One chapter at a time, the students write, read, and then vote on the submissions they like the most. The winning chapter is then added to the story and the process continues.
• The teacher determines the total number of chapters to be completed, and when the competition is over a new book is ready to be published.

Want to learn more? Check it out ...

If you create a class book, be sure to let us know by adding the link as a comment!

Election 2012 Resources for Students

Election Day Resources for Kids

Are you looking for resources for your students before the Presidential election? Check out some of these ...

BrainPop: Presidential Election (FREE movie, no login required)

PBS Kids

• Meet the Candidates
• How does Government Affect Me?
• Be President for a Day

Scholastic

• Scholastic Election 2012 (tons of resources!)
• Meet the Candidates
• Election Vocabulary
• Game: The Electoral Challenge
• Game: Electoral College Map
• Game: On the Road to the White House
• Game: Seven Hats Challenge Game

TeacherVision

• Popular Election Printables (Remember, you don't necessarily have to PRINT these - put them up on your data projector and discuss them together!)
• US President Resources

Pearson: 2012 Election Teacher Resource Center

Time for Kids: Election 2012

Free Parent-Teacher Conference Scheduler

Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner in our district, so this is the perfect opportunity to share VolunteerSpot!

Top 3 Ways VolunteerSpot Makes Parent-Teacher Conference Scheduling Easier

1. Schedule and sign up parents - fast, easy and FREE!
2. Save time planning and coordinating (up to 85% faster than clipboards, online groups, phone tag and email!)
3. Automated reminders increase parent turnout

VolunteerSpot was originally launched in 2009 as a way to easily organize volunteers for schools, clubs, churches, neighborhoods, and more. Now it can be used to easily schedule parent-teacher conferences! Check it out ...

Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling Online Free Easy from VolunteerSpot

You will need to register for a "Register Organizer Account" at VolunteerSpot, then set up your conferences (HINT: If you are setting up times on multiple days, get one of them set up and copy/paste it to other days!)

WOW! I think this could be a GREAT tool! Let me know what you think.

How Do I? "Email Signatures Edition"

After my recent post about email signatures, I received some really good questions. Maybe you had the same questions! If so, keep reading ...

• What's the difference between Outlook and the Outlook Web App? Which one should I use?
• How can I include a picture or graphic in my email signature?
• I don't want my signature to appear on email replies. How can I stop that?
• I set up my signature, but when I send an email from home, it doesn't show up. Why not?
• Can I use my cutesy fonts in my email signatures?
• PicMonkey (my favorite online image editor)
• Blank Signature File (Click the link, then right-click and save the white rectangle image to your computer. You can edit it in PicMonkey!)

Do you have more questions related to email signatures? Add them to the comments - I'll be happy to answer them!