Search Results for: kidpix

14 Holiday Websites and 5+ Projects

Need a few websites to fill in free minutes? Here are Holiday websites that will keep students busy while teaching them:

  1. 12 Days of Christmas
  2. Christmas Celebrations Across the World (video)
  3. Christmas puzzles and games
  4. christmas houseChristmas—history—fun video
  5. Christmas Traditions Around the World (video)
  6. Gift Hunt–updated version of 12 Days of Christmas–just as much fun
  7. Holiday Crossword
  8. Holiday Elf Games
  9. Holiday Hangman II
  10. Holiday music II–sing along with the music–the site provides the words
  11. Holiday—Math Facts
  12. Holiday—North Pole Academy
  13. Phone call from Santa
  14. Santa Tracker

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16 Coloring Book Websites and Apps

Here is a great list of coloring book websites for kids and adults to share for the holidays. Many are color-by-number, some even auto-fill the right color with a long-click. Beware though: Many have in-app purchases and advertising so preview them before sharing:

  1. ABC Color–color letters with fill or paint brush
  2. ABCYa Paint
  3. Art Coloring
  4. Canva Templates to color
  5. Coloring book pages–downloadable
  6. Coloring Book–color by number
  7. Color Planet–app
  8. Colorscapes
  9. Free coloring pages
  10. Happy Color
  11. KidPix–visit coloring book backgrounds
  12. No-pix–color by number
  13. Paint by Number–app
  14. Paint Sparkles Draw–free; lots of coloring pages, but maybe too many ads
  15. Pixel Art
  16. Tap Color Pro

Click here for a great summary of several of these sites.

–image credit Deposit Photos

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holiday gifts

14 Holiday Websites and 9+ Projects

Need a few websites to fill in free minutes? Here are Holiday websites that will keep students busy while teaching them:

  1. 12 Days of Christmas
  2. Christmas Celebrations Across the World (video)
  3. Christmas puzzles and games
  4. christmas houseChristmas—history—fun video
  5. Christmas Traditions Around the World (video)
  6. Gift Hunt–updated version of 12 Days of Christmas–just as much fun
  7. Holiday Crossword
  8. Holiday Elf Games
  9. Holiday Hangman II
  10. Holiday music II–sing along with the music–the site provides the words
  11. Holiday—Math Facts
  12. Holiday—North Pole Academy
  13. Phone call from Santa
  14. Santa Tracker

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What are the popular file extensions kids should learn about?

There is so much tech kids need to learn these days, it’s easy to forget the basics. Like file extensions. These help kids categorize websites, prioritize credibility, and streamline their browsing. Here are the most essential of these:

What are the popular file extensions kids should learn about?

As kids work their way through the education system, they will use different types of documents for their projects. Therefore, it is important that children learn about the popular types of file extensions early on.

A file extension is the suffix used at the end of a file name to show what type of computer file is being used. The suffix also implies what program can be used to read the content of the file. Here are the most popular file extensions that kids should learn about.

DOC and DOCX

There is no actual difference between DOC and DOCX. Both are native formats of Microsoft Word, which is one of the most commonly used file types used for school projects and beyond. Whether DOC or DOCX is used is simply dependent on the version of Microsoft Office being used. DOC and DOCX files can contain text, images, tables, and other elements. The file type is perfect for writing essays and presenting graphics. Once a DOC or DOCX file has been saved, users can easily edit it in a Word program.

PDF

The PDF file extension is used for documents created in the PDF file format. PDFs are so popular because they maintain the formatting used to create the document. A PDF can contain text, images, tables, graphs, 3D drawings, and other elements. Due to the formatting being maintained, the elements of a PDF document appear richer and more presentable, making them ideal for school projects. PDFs have many benefits, but users can often not edit them directly unless they have a specific Adobe program. However, you can convert PDFs into other file types, such as DOC or JPG, by using an online tool. For instance, with PDF Simpli, you can convert a PDF into an editable JPG picture file in an instant.

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keyboarding

Keyboarding 101

When students — and adults — think of learning to keyboard, it usually generates images of rote drills where you sweat over a keyboard as you’re graded on speed and accuracy.

keyboarding

Trying to change that image is what has driven many teachers to online sites but these too often teach in an automated, undifferentiated way — logon, do exercises, repeat — that bores some and doesn’t work for others.

keyboarding

The feedback I often get on these sorts of sites is that students do improve speed and accuracy but only on the site. When they apply the knowledge to authentic situations (like typing a book report or an essay), students return to hunt-and-peck, watching their hands, and hating what they’re doing.

There’s a better way to learn keyboarding: Blended Learning. When I teach keyboarding, I use a variety of approaches, none too long and never too much, so each remains fresh and challenging rather than boring and repetitive. Here are some of the methods I mix up in my classes:

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STEAM lessons

12 Projects for your STEAM program

Office MixSTEAM–Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math–is education’s new STEM. By adding the creativity and problem-solving skills that are part and parcel to Anything Art, students have permission to use colors, images, and outside-the-lines thinking to address Big Ideas and Essential Questions.

I’ve written before on ways to use STEM every day in classwork. Here are twelve of my favorite STEAM projects where artistic thinking becomes the engine for unpacking solutions. I think you’ll like them.

Classroom Architect

1st-2nd grade; free

Use Classroom Architect as the canvas to redesign the classroom layout by dragging-and-dropping chairs, shelves, tables, computers, and more within a virtual classroom. A text tool allows students to label parts, add their name, and append notes that explain what they created. When done, students can take a screenshot and save/share/print.

With this project, students learn spatial layout, rudimentary engineering, and the importance of a proper room arrangement in their learning and class experiences.

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Coloring Book

Updated 6-4-26

Good websites, some for kids, some for adults. Beware: Many have in-app purchases and advertising

  1. ABC Color–color letters with fill or paint brush
  2. ABCYa Paint
  3. Art Coloring
  4. Canva Templates to color
  5. Coloring book pages–downloadable
  6. Coloring Book–color by number
  7. Color Planet–app
  8. Colorscapes
  9. Free coloring pages
  10. Happy Color
  11. KidPix–visit coloring book backgrounds
  12. No-pix–color by number
  13. Pixel Art
  14. Tap Color Pro
  15. Vehicles–lots of coloring pages

Great summary of several of these sites

google drawings in education

How to Use Google Drawings

google appsGoogle Drawings is a free, web-based drawing tool that allows users to collaborate and work together in real time to create flowcharts, organizational charts, website wireframes, mind maps, concept maps, drawings, and more. It is included in GAFE, Google Classroom, G Suite, and Google Drive (this may vary in managed domains, depending upon whether the administrator turns on access to this tool).

To use Google Drawing, here’s what you do:

  • Open your Google Drive account; go to New and select Google Drawings. 
  • Insert shapes, lines, an image, or text with the editing tools.
  • When finished, add this drawing to another Google Doc, slideshow, or spreadsheet, save it as a stand-alone file, and/or share it with others in a wide variety of methods. 

There are a lot of drawing programs available — SumoPaint, KidPix, and TuxPaint to name a few. All wonderful in their own right. So why use Google Drawings instead of a tool you are already familiar with? Here are seven reasons:

  • it’s collaborative
  • projects are easily shared with teacher 
  • it can be used at home and school — and synced between the two locations
  • it is minimalist — the project is easy to find in the student’s Google Drive (if they attend a Google school). No tracking it down and wondering, “What tool did I use to create this project?”
  • changes or edits are easy to add — just open the project in Google Drive and edit
  • project can be embedded into student digital portfolio or class gallery
  • project can be downloaded as an image file, a vector graphic, or a PDF

Be aware: Each drawing program mentioned above may have some of these, but few have all. Except, of course, Google Drawings.

Here are eight projects that are perfect for Google Drawings:

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