Issue 36 | December 2011

Click here to download a PDF version

ART

Create a claymation version of yourself with Clay Yourself (http://www.clayyourself.com). This tool is easy to use and produces some great results. Just click start and follow the on-screen directions to change the features. Select Photo Reference to upload a photo of yourself to copy. When finished, download your new claymation avatar.

It may have a weird name but AloofDoof (http://www.aloofdoof.com) looks like an interesting drawing app. After registering, you can either upload an image, choose an image that someone has already uploaded, or start with a blank canvas - and draw away. You can then embed your creation.

Colorcube (http://www.colorcube.com) offers a combination of fun, art and science. The site has several different activities for learning about colours, from puzzles and optical illusions to downloadable screensavers and resources. Explore the colour systems of hue, saturation, and lightness, or mix colours to recreate the required result.

Dilbert Strips (http://www.dilbert.com/strips/) lets you add your own words to any Dilbert cartoon. There are three choices: create dialogue for the last box; all the boxes; or do it for one of the boxes. You can link to the resulting cartoon or embed on your website or blog.

AROUND THE WORLD

Map Games (http://www.maps.com/FunFacts.aspx?nav=FF) has a great selection of games that involve finding locations on maps. There are 16 to choose from. Try to click on the place required. If you're correct, you move on to the next question, if not try again (http://www.or there's an option to skip that question). Other activities include a USA jigsaw puzzle and crossword map game.

Find out about the cultural groups that make up Canada with Multicultural Canada (http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca). This site provides access to a collection of books, newspaper articles, interviews, photos and other material that tell the stories of the cultures making up the country. There's also access to the Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples.

Kids Web Japan (http://www.web-jpn.org/kidsweb/) provides a range of resources for learning about Japan. From its geography and history to language, food and government, there's plenty to explore. It contains maps, calendars, games and quizzes. Or find out about Japanese schools and education.

SCIENCE

If you're looking for information on current science issues then try Science Daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com). There are news, articles and videos on a range of topics, including: Health & Medicine, Plants & Animals, Space & Time, Matter & Energy, Computers & Math, and more. Use it as a research tool or just to practice reading.

The Mission (http://www.nfbkids.ca/lamission/home_e.php) is a fun game that involves many scientific concepts. Hover over devices in 'The Lab' to see movement or to enter a section. Read the instruction to learn how to complete each mission. View related links and other materials in 'The Desk'. Or learn about scientists and scientific facts in 'The Library'. Being a Canadian site it can also be played in French.

WORDS

Clockwords (http://www.clockwords.us) is a word game set in Victorian London. You're a genius inventor who discovers plans for a mysterious machine that runs on the power of language ... but your lab is infiltrated by mechanical insects that have come to steal your secrets! You have to defend it using a mix of speed, strategy and vocabulary.

Not only does it provide a 'word of the day', including its definition, but Phrays (http://www.phrays.com) also challenges you to write a sentence best illustrating its meaning. Do this in your own class or enter it on the site. You can vote for your favourites and check out submissions for previous words.

WordSift (http://www.wordsift.com) is a fun tool for exploring the use of words. It lets you 'sift' through stories by simply cutting and pasting any text into the site. It will analyse the text and create a word cloud of the 50 most frequently used words. The most used will be displayed as a word web in a visual thesaurus. Google image and video search results are also shown.

Landforms

Earth As Art (http://www.eros.usgs.gov/imagegallery/) is an amazing series of satellite images taken from Landsat 7. Selected for aesthetic rather than scientific value, they are actual pictures of the Earth, created by printing visible and infrared data in colours visible to the human eye. They're well worth a look.

Learn about land erosion with Shape It Up (http://www.kineticcity.com/mindgames/warper/). You choose the forces of nature needed to change a flat piece of land into the eroded landform pictured - wind, water, volcano or glacier - and the time it'll take. If you're right, the process is shown. If not, a red X appears.

MUSIC

Sound Sleeping (http://www.soundsleeping.com) is a simple soundboard tool for creating 'relaxing' music. You can compose your music using soundtracks of drums or flutes and several sounds of nature - including birdsong, running water and crackling fire. This sound-mixer helps you generate and share background music that's great for meditation, writing, or quiet reflection.

Maths meets music with Musical Fraction Bars (http://www.philtulga.com/fractionbars.html). This activity links your knowledge of fractions and length to musical pitch. All you have to do is choose your fractions, press play and they will transform into a musical composition you can see and hear. You can also build a homemade musical instrument based on these fractions on the Fraction Tubes activity page.

Create great sounds and music with iNudge (http://www.inudge.net). Choose from eight instrument sounds and draw the sound with your mouse in the ToneMatrix. You can add more sounds, adjust the volume, and change the tempo, until you're happy with the result. Then share by URL or using the embed code.