The #ALA11 preconference held by AASL on Top 25 Web Sites for Teaching and Learning provided very interesting resources, looking at a range of different websites for teaching and learning. 
It was a great chance to hear from librarians and teachers about what was working in their schools. I came away excited to try some new sites this summer!
I was particularly interested in the Media Sharing sites presented by Linda Friel, of Simmons College. Tagxedo helps students arrange words in visual stimulating and interesting ways. It seems similar to Wordle, but more flexible. You can choose a shape to arrange your set of words within. I can see our 3rd graders getting excited creating culminating posters for their African Animal reports in the shape of their animal. I would also be able to embed some lessons on key words as part of this creative exercise.
If you’re interested in learning more, there are two great resources. The conference presenters have developed a wiki called ALAPrecon2011, where you can see Glog Posters for each of their themes. And the AASL site for the Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning describes each of the websites presented.
Mary Ann Scheuer