Online Jigsaw Puzzles!

Jigsaw Planet is a site that allows you to upload pictures to create puzzles to complete online.  You can also use a variety of the existing puzzles that are already uploaded for public use.  I found a six piece Australia one (see screen shot, took me 30 seconds and I'm not good at puzzles!) all the way up to 100 + piece puzzles to complete.  I really like puzzles to help students view things differently and to look at different possible solutions to problems.  With non-virutal puzzles (or even with these) you can use them as team building activities to help students learn how to work together in a non-academic way.  In the library and classroom, I've even done puzzle relays.  I set up teams of 3-4 students to work together.  They then complete a puzzle and write down the time it took them to complete.  They do this with a series of 5-6 floor puzzles, but any type could work (adjust # of puzzles based on age and size of puzzle).  We then added up the total times for each team to find our puzzle champs!  Students loved this - especially working on the floor!

Getty Games -- Art

(hat tip to Richard Byrne for this one!)

I recently was reading the Free Technology for Teachers blog by Richard Byrne (subscribe here, his original post here) and forwarded this to the art teacher in my building.  She replied that she was addicted within minutes and spent time on this site instead of other things she had planned to do!  That sounds like a recipe for fun for me!

I like the game for the obvious links to art, but working in a library, I like to have a "stash" of online educational activities to have students use (as opposed to the latest car parking game).   

Getty Games

Educational Games

Sheppard Software is a site that I began using a few years ago.  I was happy when I revisited it recently to see that is has developed into quite the site.  It is very useful in geography and social studies classes.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/