Someone told me of a site where you could share skills but I can't find it. Any ideas?
Have a look at the "school of everything". It's a beautifully simple idea using the web to connect those who have something to teach with those who want to learn. It could be knitting, writing sailing etc. In some ways it could be a home educator's dream ticket as it grows. You can teach or learn anything through the site - as long as it's legal! Clever use of web tools makes it easy for people who want to learn and people who want to teach find each other. The key question is: can it reach critical mass? I suppose it could if we all pitched in as teachers or learners. (schoolofeverything.com)
Are there any new environmental sites that will give students a fresh perspective - beyond the plastic bag debate?
The best one I've come across to get students thinking is The Story of Stuff - a political and thought-provoking site which also contains a cleverly executed animation of the whole manufacturing process. It provides a different look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. (storyofstuff.com)
How can I use the projector to help build writing skills?
Try talking and typing in tandem. Project a Word document with the basic structure of the genre you wish to explore. Then talk about how you would develop each section as you type in content. Get students to offer suggestions and include them as you type. It really seems to help crystalise learning for some students when they can hear the rationale as they watch the structure emerge.
How do you do the random name generator at your conferences?
I used to use a scrolling list in Word with a wheel mouse but a much neater way was on display at the Bett TeachMeet. Go to classtools.net and simply paste the list of names into the template and they are randomly selected when you pull the fruit machine handle! Great fun especially if you set a difficult question for the "winner" to answer. Have a look at the other templates, too - there are some great visual planning tools and they are all free.
Are there any new sites for words and their origins?
Have a look at the Wordie site - it's a treasure trove of words and their meanings, a sort of social network where people share and discuss words. As it says of itself: like Flickr, but without the pictures. (wordie.org)
Are there any new alternatives to Google - some people say they keep too many records of searches?
There will always be concerns that, if one search engine becomes so dominant, all others will be excluded. In the long term that might not be a good thing.
Scroogle works by using a proxy to prevent the searcher's date being stored by Google. It's also ad-free and funded by donations. (scroogle.org)
Where can I find project ideas and guidance for children needing an extra challenge?
Visit the instructables website (instructables.com) which bills itself as the "world's biggest show and tell". Members post step-by-step guides with photo illustrations on how to do things. The guidance runs from cookery to craftwork by way of photography. So you can learn how to make an electric guitar, turn a digital camera into a spectroscope and make a fresh Indian paneer cheese.