Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Plaxo

Plaxo is a nice free site for maintaining one address book among any number of different media devices. This is done via nice web interface and updates address books automatically. This is very handy when trying to juggle multiple address books for either email or phone, etc.

I recommend checking out Plaxo by clicking here.

Below is a a demo video...


Monday, May 30, 2011

iPiccy

iPiccy is another great site for photo editing. This site is similar to ImageOid for adding effects and fixing up photos.

Click here to try out iPiccy.

Below is my example of the pencil drawing effect...


Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the tip.

Boom Writer

Boom Writer is a very interesting new website for collaborative writing for students. This is done by having students follow up writing on a story that is already started by an accomplished author. The other chapters get voted on online and the winners get put into a book. The winners then get unveiled. This is free for schools and a great way to explore 21st century technology w/ students.

I highly recommend checking out Boom Writer by clicking here.

Thanks to Richard Byrne and his amazing blog, Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip!!

Protagonize

Protagonize is a cool site I just found out about from the wonderful blog of Larry Ferlazzo. Not only can users create collaborative stories (ie, Folding Story), they can also create choose your own adventure style books. This is very innovative and sets Protagonize apart from other similar sites.

I highly recommend checking out Protagonize by clicking here!!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Slideshare drama

Well, it looks like slideshare has removed the inappropriate ads for 50 Sites in 60 Min ver 2 presentation. It should be good to go. However, for future use I'm not sure if I'll be using this site for education unless I switch to using the "paid" pro version.

Anyway, sorry for any inconvenience and thanks again for all your support!!!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Zondle

Zondle is a new (beta) site for educational games that supports learning. There are tons of games to choose from in every subject area and the games can even be embedded into a site/blog.

I highly recommend checking out Zondle by clicking here!!

For a much more detailed review check out the excellent, Free Technology 4 Teachers.

Slideshare may not be safe

Recently, I released a presentation 50 Sites in 60 Minutes ver 2 on slideshare. It seems that some "adult" ads have been placed at the end of the presentation and in the related content pane on slideshare itself.

I highly recommend not using it until further notice as I attempt to have slideshare resolve the issue. If this can not be fixed and is an auto-generated thing on their part, I will sadly have to look for other alternate sites as this is not appropriate for educational use.

Thanks again for your understanding and any inconvenience!!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Desmos

Desmos is a cool new site for creating interactive content/lessons for education. This is done all through a browser and is collaborative by nature which makes it ideal for education (web 2.0).

I highly recommend checking out Desmos by clicking here!!

Thanks to David Andrade and his excellent blog for the tip.

Flip Snack

Flip Snack is a new (beta) site that I just found out about from the amazing, iLearn Technology. Flip Snack is a very nice looking site that reminds me a lot of Bookrix or Mixbook. All a user has to do is upload a PDF and then choose options on how they want their flipbook created. Once the book is created it can then be shared on your favorite social network or embedded into a site. The book can also be downloaded. The only other feature I'd to see is the ability to order a hard copy of your book like you can do on Mixbook.

I highly recommend checking out Flip Snack a try by clicking here.

Click here to see my top 10 list on creating digital books.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

50 Sites in 60 Seconds ver. 2

After the success of the first presentation, 50 Sites in 60 Seconds, I've decided to turn this into a bi-annual project. Today I'm releasing version 2 which includes 20 different sites from the last. I'll be doing another slideshow in Dec that will have 50 new sites to view. Remember these slideshows are all free and can be used/modified anyway you see necessary. I use it as a professional development tool and help organize all of the sites I review.

Click here for the course wiki.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Go Pileus

Go Pileus is one of the easiest file sharing sites around. All a user has to do is drag-n-drop files from their desktop right in their browser window on the Pileus window and items are transferred. It also integrates w/ bit.ly for making URL's shorter.

I highly recommend checking out Go Pileus by clicking here!

Thanks to Richard Byrne's wonderful blog for the tip!!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Search Team

Search Team is a site I just found out about from, Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a search engine designed to work in teams as a real-time collaborative search engine. This works by a user saving their search and then sharing w/ others who can then refine the search. It is rather innovative and worth a look.

I recommend checking out Search Team by clicking here!!

Beat Lab

Beat Lab is a super fun site for creating and mixing audio. This is done by moving the cursor in different directions to draw a line and then listen to the music that is created by different instruments. Once the song is completed it can be saved and then shared either on Beat Lab or Facebook.

I recommend checking out Beat Lab by clicking here!!

Thanks to Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip!!

For my top 10 list on creating digital music click here.

Spider Scribe

Spider Scribe is a new (beta) site for online mind mapping and brainstorming. Like other similar sites users can link many items such as: files, calendars, notes, etc. These maps can then be shared w/ others or made private.

Thanks to Richard Byrne's excellent blog for the tip!!

For my top 10 sites on brain storming click here.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Smash Cards

Smash Cards is a innovative new site that I found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a new spin on using flash cards through augmented reality. How this works is by having a person hold up a "special" flash card to a web camera and the computer reads the card and projects an image on it (on the computer screen not the actual card).

I recommend checking out Smash Cards by clicking here.

Faceflow

Faceflow is a great site for creating a live video chat w/ up to 4 people. To start a chat just register and share the unique URL that is generated. As well as chatting a person has a screen for texting as well.

I recommend checking out Faceflow by clicking here!!

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's amazing blog for the tip.

Present.me

Present.me is new (beta) wonderful site for uploading powerpoint presentations then adding a narration. The finished product actually combines the two so you see the presentation and the narrator as well. When the presentation is done you can share it w/ others via a URL or embed into a site. If you upgrade your account you can then activate privacy options and others as well.

I highly recommend checking out Present.me by clicking here!!

Thanks to Richard Byrne's excellent blog for the tip.
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Zapaday

Zapaday is a new (alpha) site for getting news on the web. What makes Zapaday so special is it tries to bring you news of the future rather then current news. Here is a quote straight from their founder...

Stefan Hoevenaar, founder of Zapaday: "The internet makes most news old news, instantly. Journalism is now finding new roles, focusing on background stories, opinions and news previews. An open news agenda supports that change. We believe news agendas should be open and free."

The way this is done is by Zapaday bots that scan the internet for news on over 4000 sites. Then the content is created by "us" the users. Actual, this is kinda like a giant wiki that people can edit and share by way of creating calendars and other type of news events.

I highly recommend checking out Zapaday by clicking here!!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Top 10 Sites for Creating a Wiki

"A wiki (Listeni /ˈwɪki/ wik-ee) is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. (Wikipedia)" Wikis are used in a number of different areas for a number of different reasons, education being one of the most popular. The creation of a wiki not only allows users to engage in 21st Century Technology it also helps increase technology literacy.

Being a user of wikis for a number of years now I decided to create my top 10 favorite sites for creating a wiki.

Top 10 Sites for Creating a Wiki
  1. Wikispaces - One of the most popular wiki creators on the web that is free for education, that can also be made private (ie, password protected).
  2. PBworks - Very similar to Wikispaces and free for a basic account. However, there are paid accounts as well that offers nice features for educators such as more space and privacy controls.
  3. Wetpaint - Wikis in Education by Wetpaint is a great way to create a educational wiki and join a community of over 3000 members.
  4. Zoho Wiki - A very affordable site for creating not only wikis but a complete educational portal package!!
  5. FreedomShare - A very easy to use site that can create a simple wiki that can be shared w/ others or made private. Also, as w/ most wikis the ability to add comments can be turned on or off.
  6. Wikia - A fun site for creating a nice visual wiki.
  7. Wikispot - Not only can you create a free wiki here, Wikispot teaches you how to create a wiki and compares what a good wiki is vs a bad wiki.
  8. Wiki-Site - A free site for creating a wiki built on the same engine of Wikipedia.
  9. Weebly - A popular website creator for education that allows for blogging and a creation of a site that can be used as a wiki.
  10. Google Sites - A nice free way to create a project wiki through the use of awesome Google tools.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Webdoc

Webdoc is a a cool new (beta) site for creating multimedia type blog posts w/ comments. A neat little twist w/ webdoc's is that the comments that others leave are in a webdoc format. This means that a person can create their own little multimedia blog to respond to a post. Another nice feature is the ability to embed a webdoc into your site/blog.

Below is their demo video...

webdoc in action from webdoc on Vimeo.



I highly recommend checking out Webdoc by clicking here!!

Thanks to the wonderful, Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip.
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Adobe Creative Suite 5.5

A lot of press has been going around for Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 and for good reason. This is release from Adobe and has lots of features for the mobile learner as well as ISTE standard compliance. As w/ any Adobe product the latest in flash technology can be found as well as leading web authoring tools (ie. html 5).

For more information on CS 5.5 click here!!
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Friday, May 6, 2011

InstaBlogg

InstaBlogg is a great site for creating a single blog post. It's very easy to use w/ some nice features such as making the post public/private and turning on/off comments.

I highly recommend checking out InstaBlogg by clicking here!!

Thanks to Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip!

Fraboom

Fraboom is a wonderful site for elementary students for engaging them in fun online learning. This is a free online children's museum which has lots of nice features such as interactive books, games, and even the ability to interactive in live classes.

I highly recommend checking out Fraboom by clicking here!!



Thanks to iLearn Technology for the tip!!
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JellyCam

JellyCam is a new site that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's wonderful blog, for doing stop motion animation. This is done w/ the use of a web cam or a bunch of photos and very easy to use (think QuickTime). JC is a free download for Mac of PC.

I highly recommend checking out JellyCam by clicking here!!

Below is a demo video...

Monday, May 2, 2011

ImageOid

ImageOid is a site I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a nice site for uploading an image and the adding a preset effect and then downloading to your computer.

Below is an example...



Give ImageOid a try by clicking here.