Well another new year begins and as the the new year 8's are finding out school with laptops provides some interesting opportunities to show understanding and what you know.  Animation is always fun, although it is challenging and tests creativity.

 So simple tools to help with this process are always of interest to the folk at the Tech-know Blog!  During the recent laptop induction session I was going through the use of delicious as a search tool and came across Kerpoof!  So what is it?  Kerpoof is a simple animation and graphics tool that can also help with language development/.  There are some language building exercises on it which some of the younger students might find interesting but it is perhaps that animation part of the site that could really help students.  A simple time line and with the ability to make cartoon like call outs to characters from a library could be a useful and innovative way for students to show what they know in foreign Langauges, Humanties, Maths or science or tell a digital story for English.  SO give it a go and see where your creativity takes you! www.kerpoof.com

Anki: A flash card revision tool

Anki is a small but useful tool that can help you remember vocabulary words, facts, formulas, just about anything while you're revising! Format: Free downloadable program, Mobile app, Online Platform Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android, most Web-Equipped phones via online app General Rating: Website: http://ankisrs.net/

Main Features: Create digital flash cards (with front, back and tags) and decks Hundreds of pre-made decks on various subjects Rate words or facts by how well you know them Automatic scheduling of cards reappearing based on rating Supports Chinese, Japanese text, accents, images, formulas (LaTeX) Review anytime, anywhere Simple user interface Why or how could I use it? We all know how difficult it is to memorize vocabulary words for French or Chinese (or Spanish or Japanese). Or having to cram in seemingly pointless facts for Science that you're sure you'll never use in you life. But we all have to learn and memorize such things, whether it's for that small vocab test next Monday, or for the GCSEs in Year 11, or for the IB exams. So while you're revising, instead of making flash cards on paper (save the trees!), create cards in Anki, or find ones already made, and test yourself, sticking to a schedule. Find out more info on the website (above). Known Problems Functionality fairly limited by default. Can be extended with plugins, but may be rather complicated for many people. Some more advanced functions, e.g. custom card layouts, is not intuitive to use at first. Please report any other bugs to haihao.liu@online.island.edu.hk. By: Haihao Liu 10W