Edmodo is a social learning network for teachers, students, and parents. It provides a safe and secure place to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices. Users can store and share all forms of digital content – blogs, links, pictures, video, documents, presentations, and more. It easy to use and understand – it’s very similar to Facebook, so won’t be hard to get to grips with. Safety and security are paramount, and schools and classes. have special codes to help prevent outside access.

This is an educational website with 25 different learning activities including spelling tests, vocabulary flashcards, HangMouse (like Hangman), Unscramble, and crossword puzzles. It boasts more than 42,000 spelling words with customisable sentences and definitions. Teachers can set up their own homepages, where they can enter and save customised word lists that their students can access. The site includes training videos, printable handwriting worksheets, and teaching resources with lists and lesson plans.

‘Spam’ is an acronym derived from the words ‘spiced’ and ‘ham’. Originally, it was a war-time tinned food product derived from these products and was largely viewed as unappetising. The term began to be associated with unwanted and obtrusive information, a fact immortalised in a 1970 comedy sketch by Monty Python’s Flying Circus. (As the waiter recited the SPAM-filled menu, a chorus of Viking patrons drowned out all other conversation with a song repeating: "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam ... lovely Spam, wonderful Spam", hence ‘Spamming’ the dialogue, an action that suppresses or saturates all around it. In 1993 the term ‘spam’ was first introduced with reference to unsolicited or undesired bulk electronic messages. An administrator of Usenet wrote a program which mistakenly caused the release of dozens of recursive messages onto the news.admin.policy newsgroup. The recipients immediately dubbed these messages ‘spam’. US law firm Canter & Siegel are credited with sending the first commercial spam email on April 12 1994. As much as 90 per cent of emails are now regarded as spam.

To give you a feel for what these parodies are all about, check out: We're NASA and We Know It (www.fizurl.com/nasarover) – a video paying homage to the NASA Curiosity rover team; and Just Google (www.fizurl.com/justgoogle) – a video devoted to search engine Google, to the tune of Beat It, by Michael Jackson.

You can use this tool to download videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and other similar sites. It can also extract audio, and convert any online video to AVI, MKV, MP3, iPhone, iPod, PSP, Android.

For a fast and convenient way to download and convert online videos try VDownloader. Use it in your browser or download the free app. Stick with the free versions. Simply enter the URL and choose the format. The app version will also download multiple videos at the same time.

Stephen Harris, Principal of Northern Beaches Christian School, gives a short tour of the SCIL Building, an open-plan, multi-modal learning space for student-directed learning. The SCIL Building features spaces and furniture than foster a range of learning modes and styles.

Remember Myspace? The once-extremely-popular social networking site that seemed to lose its way. Well, it’s undergoing a major overhaul. The new service is inviting you to register to join – and there’s a demo video of what it’ll be like. new.myspace.com

Ready for an undersea adventure? Google Maps Goes Diving is a new collection of maps that let you explore the Great Barrier Reef and popular underwater spots around Hawaii and the Philippines. The imagery is available through the Street View feature of Google Maps maps.google.com/ocean

HP's Bob Rosenberry, Manager, Visual Solutions, provides an overview of HP Digital Signage Players.