Free Halloween Themed Writing Pack - A Horrifically Useful Resource

Horror, suspense and mystery has produced some of the greatest literature and film of all time, and what better time of year to capitalize on this genre of writing than Halloween.

This Halloween writing pack will provide plenty of incentives and visuals to help your students produce their scariest work yet.

These themed writing packs look great and will inspire kids to write and step up their presentation skills as opposed to simply writing on standard paper.

Download the Halloween writing pack for free here.

The Pack looks great, and has 8 different themed pages that include.

• A Visual map for planning the characters, setting, problem & plot.

• A planning tool for constructing a narrative.

• Half Page Dotted thirds with a space for a picture

• Full page themed dotted thirds with images.

• Bordered Themed lined writing paper.

We have a number of themed writing packs and other printable paper for teachers and students that can be downloaded for free.

10 Creative uses for Dropbox

I love dropbox.  And anyone who reads Edgalaxy regularly will be aware of the fact it is awesome.  I found this great article from lifehacker

Dropbox is an awesome service. You can back your files up to the cloud, sync them between computers, and share them with your friends. That's not all it can do, though. Here are our top 10 favorite clever uses for our favorite file syncing program.

Note: If you don't use Dropbox, don't fret—you can do most of these things with any file syncer you want, whether it's SkyDrive, Google Drive, Cubby, or something else.

10. Monitor Your Computer for Running Tasks or Unauthorized Access

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If you're at work and want to keep an eye on your home machine—whether it's keeping track of a download or making sure someone else isn't trying to use it—you can do that with Dropbox. All you need is a screenshot tool (like one of our favorites) and some way to automate it (like this AutoHotkey script). Then, just periodically check your Dropbox folder, and you'll have a chronological timeline of everything happening on your screen at home. You can also use Dropbox to check your home computer's IP from afar, and even locate your laptop if its been stolen.

9. Securely Share Files, from Saucy Pics to Paperwork

We all know Dropbox is great for sharing files, but it's particularly good for sensitive information, like tax returns, passwords, or saucy photos (note: saucy photos not recommended). Dropbox encrypts everything you upload, and downloads it over a secure HTTPS connection, meaning that file is secure from start to finish. Of course, you can also encrypt it in a ZIP file first for extra protection, too. Just don't be reckless!

8. Manage Your BitTorrent Downloads

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Most BitTorrent clients have handy web interfaces that let you add, monitor, and remove torrents from afar, but a simple alternative is to just use Dropbox. Just tell your BitTorrent client to watch a specific folder in your Dropbox for new torrents. Then, when you're away and find a cool torrent you want, just copy that torrent to your designated Dropbox folder. It'll sync back to your house, get recognized by your client, and start downloading for you.

7. Quickly Install Android Apps and ROMs

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The Google Play store is great, but sometimes you find an app that you need to install yourself using an APK file. Or, maybe you're flashing a new ROM to your phone and trying something completely different. Either way, you don't need to plug your phone in via USB—you can just drag that APK or ZIP file to your Dropbox, then download it using the Dropbox app on your phone (or install it right then and there). In the case of smaller files, it's much faster than finding your USB cable.

6. Print Documents to Your Home Printer from Any Computer

If you have a document you want printed back at home, Dropbox can make it happen. All you need is a script running at home that monitors a Dropbox folder for incoming documents and prints them. Then, you can add a document to that folder from any remote computer or smartphone, and a hard copy will be waiting for you when you get back. You can check out the cross-platform script here, though we've also written a simpler Mac-specific tutorial here as well.

Click here for the complete Article.

Great Educational Games for Students

Thanks to Ryan for this great contribution about creativitygames.net.  It's a website where he's putting weekly word games and other resources to develop creative thinking.  There is also a random word generator which is good for recreating the games in class.  It works nicely on a projector or smart board. http://codebreaker.creativitygames.net

It's a Mastermind like game that is designed it to work well on Smart Boards.  Ryan tells me he has been having success getting the class to solve the code as a group and use it to develop problem solving skills.

Both of these resources have come about as a result of his teaching both at school and uni and  he would now like to share them with as many people as possible.

Thanks Ryan for your efforts and check out his site here.

150 amazing images to help students write and think more creatively

I have compiled these amazing images over a number of years and use them quite frequently with my own students and thought I would upload them to www.edgalaxy.com for all to share.  These images are great to use with students for creative writing as they contain humorous and action packed scenes from around the globe.  I hope you enjoy them and would love you email me any great pictures you have to add to it.

150 amazing images to help students write and think more creatively

I have compiled these amazing images over a number of years and use them quite frequently with my own students and thought I would upload them to www.edgalaxy.com for all to share.  These images are great to use with students for creative writing as they contain humorous and action packed scenes from around the globe.  I hope you enjoy them and would love you email me any great pictures you have to add to it.

150 Amazing Writing prompts Pictures from Kevin Cummins

Let your Students get Creative online with ABC Make it

Are you into making your own videos? What about digital art? Perhaps music is your thing or animation is your passion. If this sounds like you, then you’ve come to the right place! Make It is all about YOU getting creative online - so get into it! Check out the links below to cool creative things on offer now and remember to check back regularly for new stuff.  Check out Make it here.

Pic-Lits - Interactive Image and word Bank for creative Writing

What is it?  Pic-Lits is a very simple site that has a bank of images for teachers to use to stimulate different styles of writing as well as a drag and drop bank of words you can select with with your students to describe what is happening in the pictur,e or just associate basic text related to the image.

How can I use this in the Classroom?  Pic-Lits would be great for snapshot writing sessions when you want your students to extend their vocabulary by using nuns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Simply show them a picture then as a group select words you would like to see included with a related writing task and let them go to it.  Students could work through this process about 4 times in an hour depending upon their enthusiasm and ability.  Access it here.