GREAT WEB 2.0 TOOLS I’VE EXPLORED!
Over the course of the VicPLN, I’ve explored some amazing Web 2.0 tools. Some I will use over and over, while others will become the base of recommendations to others. As a handy reference, here is an annotated list of those tools I’ve explored. Feel free to comment or recommend others that you think are a must for me to explore!
Animaps: Create an animated map of your travels by adding photos, notes and a little you that travels across the map.
Animoto: Create videos from your own pictures. Easy to use. Explore Animoto for Educators as well.
Avatar: While not the name of a tool, this is the website at which I created my blog avatar. Ensuring that the avator was saved as a square was a key hint given to me in my quest to successfully upload this pic.
BibMe: An online bibliography maker which saves in a variety of standard formats
BrainPOP: A very appealing website which presents curriculum based animations, activity sheets, qizzes and more. A great way to engage students for either the introduction, teaching or revision of topic facts. While there are a number of free topics, this is predominantly a subscription based website.
Delicious: Collect and save bookmarks online and share your findings with others. This is the first online bookmarking tool explored.
Diigo: A tool to save, organize and share bookmarks.
Elluminate Live: Web conferencing with audio, video, and social networking solutions for 21st century education and training. Attend webinars with a difference.
Essay Map: A brilliant way to help students brainstorm ideas for writing an essay.
GoogleDocs: Need to work on a document from home, work or just about any place on earth? Look no further. This is the ultimate tool for getting organized. GoogleDocs incorporates word docs, spreadsheets, forms, surveys and more.
GoogleReader: < A great way to stay up to date with changes made on various blogs. Add bookmarks to this list and make a habit of checking the updates regularly.
GoogleWave: Collaborate and communicate with others. A powerful tool for virtual meetings which allows you to keep notes of the meeting which can become the basis for producing a document.
Learn Central: Sponsored by Elluminate this is a forum that allows educators to share and collaborate on topics of interest.
Lexipedia: An exciting tools which allows the user to play with words.
LibraryThing: An absolutely exciting way to save and organize reviews of books read. Along the way it’s possible to share with others and pick up recommendations of books that others have read.
Ning: Creating a Ning Network enables interest groups or groups of people connected professionally to share information and ideas together. A fantatstic resource.
PollDaddy: Using this tool to create surveys or polls gives a sleek and professional looking result. Up to 10 quesitons can be posed in a survey. Results are nicely displayed with graphic displays.
Prezi: An easy to use presentation tool which can be used either online or offline.
Quizinator: A great way to organize and store online worksheets, study guides, quizzes or tests. Send the document to students or print them out from this website.
Quizlet: A fun tool for the study of languages. As the teacher set learning goals. As the student be inspired by the interactive nature of this program which allows you to compete in the process of learning vocabulary.
Scootle: Short for Schools Online for Teaching and Learning Environment. Scootle provides access to a wide range of digital curriculum resources from The Lea@rning Federation. Find interactive leanring objects, imagees, audio files and movie clips via brose, search and filter technology. Create personal favourite lists of resources for quick access.
Shelfari: A nice way to display books read. It’s also possible to share reading list with others, get suggestions of books to read and view what others have read.
Slideshare: Power Point Presentations, Word Docs or PDFs can be uploaded and shared on this site.
Stixy: A fun way to share information and to even set assignment or homework tasks for a group of students.
TED: View video talks on an amazing range of topics. Languages other than English are incorporated at this site.
ToonDoo: A cartoon strip creator which is amazingly simple to use and is great fun!
TweetDeck: A way to organize and make sense of Tweets.
Twitter: A rich source of information enabling instant communication. The Twitter Handbook for Teachers is a well documented resource with lots of valuable information on how Twitter can be used.
Twtpoll: Ask Questions or get feedback by creating a poll or a survey using your Twitter account. Great visual display for those being polled to see results. Very nice.
Udutu: Online course development made easy
Visual Dictionary Online: Expand your vocabulary well beyond its limits with this well illustrated online resource.
Wallwisher: A great way to communicate with an online notice board that can be shared with others.
Wonder Wheel: Wonder wheel is amazing! A fantastic tool for helping to suss out resources for research or just general learning.
Wordle: Create attractive displays using words on a theme with this easy to use online tool.
YouTube: Think of a subject and there is bound to be a video on this amazing resource. Need something educational? Then you must check out TeacherTube.
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Still on the list to explore:
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AnswerGarden: Looks interesting. AnswerGarden is a new minimalistic feedback tool. To be used in many different ways including polling and online brainstorming. (Recommended by Celia)
AuthorSTREAM: Touted as the best way to share PowerPoint Presentations on the Web and retains animations, audio narrations and in-slide videos created in PowerPoint. Used in a blog post by Kathleen Morris. Looks well worth exploring!
Bitstrips: An online comic creator.
Boolify: Either learn or teach about Boolean logic with this cool online tool. Includes a variety of lessons.
Branflips: Online flashcards to assist learning.
Bubbl.us: A simple, free tool, that lets you brainstorm online.
Digital Flashcard using Google Docs: Use Google Docs Spreadsheets to create flash cards. Good for foreign language teaching or leanring concepts, definitions etc..
Discovery Box: Build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items such as text, image or video into a virtual box.
EclipseCrossword: Make crosswords in minutes which can either be embedded on a blog or printed off for use.
Edistorm: Sticky notes can be used to brainstorm online allowing anyone – anywhere to brainstorm with only a web browser.
Ed Tech Crew Podcast: A site designed for when I have absolutely nothing else to do! Seems like an interesting collection of podcasts from which much can be learned.
Feedly: Organizes your favourite sites into a fun, magazine like start page.
Flikr: A tool to organize and share photos online.
Flixter: Turning photos into videos. A quick and easy tool to use. Can make videos up to 60 secs for free.
Fotobabble: This has to be the ultimate tool! It creates talking photos! (Recommended by Celia
Gapminder: Explore world stats through this visual representation data presentation tool.
GCompris: A high quality educational software suite comprising numerous activities for children aged 2 to 10.
Glogster: A tool to create interactive posters.
Go Animate: If you thought ToonDoos was cool, here is another fantastic tool that looks like so much fun to play with! Free sign up for 2 mins worth of animation.
Google Bookmarks: Organize and save book marks here.
Google for Educators: Yet another Google site which beckons to be explored!
Google SketchUp: 3D modelling for everyone. Promoted as easy to use, this program will allow you to picture anything in 3D
Image Chef: A publishing tool that lets you create an enormous range of posters, pictures, cards … kind of you name it’s there!
Instapaper: When you find something you want to read, but don’t have time to read it, select ‘Read Later’. This is a way to bookmark pages to return to!
Issuu: Collect, share and publish in a format designed to make documents look their very best.
Jing: An online tool to capture screen and share with others.
Linoit: Online sticky notes….. too good to not explore!
Livebinders: An easy and fun way to organize and share bookmarked resources.
Mightybell: Connecting people passionate about mastering a topic or achieving a goal together, Mightybell breaks tasks/topics down into step-by-step, day-by-day actions so as to make accomplishing big things not only easier, but a heck of a lot more social and interesting.
Netvibes: Instantly create as many different dashboards as you like.
OneNote 2010: Take notes, make plans, get organized with this new tool from Microsoft. Inspiring article in SCAN August 2010 issue (pp. 44- 45) on how this is being used in schools. (Filed)
PBWorks: Check this out as an alternative to Wikispaces.
Photobucket: Upload, manage and share photos
PhotoPeach: Share or upload photos to make a slide show. An alterntive program to Animoto. Showcased on Cloud 9.
PictureTrail: An interesting photo flick slide show
Pindax: PinDax offers a fun real-time alternative to the traditional message board – and it’s free!
Readcloud: The world’s first social eBook reader. This free site offer out of copyright books to either read online or to download and read later. It also offers online reading groups. New and interesting. Well worth exploring.
Scrible maps: This site just begs to be explored in more depth! (Recommended by Celia)
Screencast: Make videos in minutes with this tool.
Slide: Create photo slideshows by uploading your favourite photos. Embed or share. Easy, unlimited and free.
Slideroll: A photo slideshow maker which allows the creation of slideshows with photos adding a music background if desired. Easy to use.
Snappy Words: An online interactive English dictionary and thesaurus that helps you find the meanings of words and drwa connectons to associated words.
Storybird: These are short, art inspired stories you can share, read or print. Read them like books, play them like games or send them like greeting cards.
Stupeflix Studio: Turn photos into videos. Looks cool (Recommended by Celia)
symbalooEDU: Organize and share the best of the web from the one place. Share with students/staff or use as a personal organizer.
Tagxedo: Cool presentation tool.
TimeGlider: Create, share and publishzooming/planning interactive timelines.
Visuwords: An online graphic dictionary/thesaurus. Allows you to look up words and visually see their association to other words and concepts. <!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE HE <![endif]–>
Vocabulary.Com: The quickest and most intelligent way to improve your vocabulary regardless of education level or age. Use this tool to help you master the words that are essential to academic and business success.
Voki: Create a personalized speaking avatar at this site.
WebList: A cool tool to organize and share websites with colleagues.
Wikispaces:Explore how to create a wiki with students/staff.
Xtranormal: Have fun making movies with the help of this site!
Zinepal: An eBook creator.
ZooBurst: A digital story telling tool that lets anyone create their own 3D pop up books.
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