Group items tagged

"In 2009, we shared our favorite tools for teachers on Twitter, with 100 resources for managing feeds, finding followers, and tackling classroom groups on the social media site. Since then, many tools have been revamped, replaced, or simply aren't available anymore. Clearly, an update is in order, so we're proud to present a new list for 2012, featuring the very best tools available to Twittering teachers today."

"The purpose of this site is to introduce the concept of Personal Learning Networks (PLN) and its key principles. The site is divided into several sections that are represented in the navigation menu. The first section-What is a PLN?-provides background information about PLN and a definition of this concept. Tools to construct a PLN is a section that describes the main categories-namely format, function, and application-in the PLN Tool Browser. In the Build your PLN section, we address the topics of privacy and licensing, including Creative Commons. How to optimize a PLN by adding a social dimension is the focus of the Making It Social section. The PLN Examples contain student testimonials that illustrate the uses of a PLN. Finally, if you want to explore tools that can be used to construct your own personal learning network, please check our PLN Tool Browser."

"YouTube is loaded with tools and settings that teachers and students often overlook. The YouTube audio slideshow tool is one of those overlooked tools built into YouTube. I often demonstrate it in my workshops on video creation. In the video embedded below I provide a demonstration of how to use YouTube's audio slideshow creation tool."

"The following are some of the best Cartoon Making tools. Due to the growing readers of these tools i finally decided to gather them together for you in a neat and accessible single page so that you can get back to them anytime you want. Educators might use these tools to create caricatures and cartoonic pictures to share with their students in the classroom. I know how important visual aids are in education and applications such as the ones mentioned down are just what we really need to spice up our learning and teaching."

"As the movement to get moving continues, look for more students asking for innovative ways to deliver presentations, share their thoughts, or just create. If your students are about to present or share in front of the class, they may want to try out a few of these sound recording / song creation tools. Best of all, you only need a standard computer. No fancy iPad or smartphones required.In the meantime, try out these tools and let us know how it goes. My personal favorite is Incredibox but Jamstudio is also quite great."

"As I lamented in my last post, many of the fabulous Web tools out there are restricted to users 13 and over. This limits what Elementary/Primary schools students can access online to create content to collaborate. To save others at school some time, then, I have compiled a list of popular/well known Web tools that can and can't be used by children under 13 - 1), so we are legally covered in what we are allowing our students to use and 2), so they know what is available. Please note that generally the sites that allow for under 13s still ask for parental permission ( even Edmodo if you haven't read the Terms of Use) so a solid school user agreement is needed to use these tools. Some of the sites are not US based so are not bound by COPPA and CIPA regulations. It still requires schools to carefully check out what can be viewed on these sites to ensure they are appropriate to access."

"The internet is awash with exciting and innovative tools, and your students have grown up immersed in this world - get in on the act. The digital revolution has given us instant communication and easy global connectedness, with mobile technology in particular growing at warp speed: in 2013, there are almost as many mobile phone contracts as there are people in the world. This digital transformation has produced some extraordinary online tools for flexible education, which enhance students' learning and promise innovative pedagogy for teachers. However, they can also be daunting and challenging for educators. It is clear that teachers cannot ignore these tools, which go far beyond just Facebook and Twitter. Educators are now dealing with Generation Z - students born after 1995 who have hardly known a world without social media and have always lived a life measured in bits and bytes. Most have access to iPads and smartphones as well as textbooks and, therefore, the massive resource of the internet."

"Audio editing software are usually expensive and hard to operate. As teachers and educators, we sometimes need to record audio clips, edit them and integrate them in our multimedia projects in class. There are a variety of free web tools that you can use with your students to do that. I am sharing with you a list of some of the top free audio editing tools to use with your students."

"Audio editing software are usually expensive and hard to operate. As teachers and educators, we sometimes need to record audio clips, edit them and integrate them in our multimedia projects in class. There are a variety of free web tools that you can use with your students to do that. I am sharing with you a list of some of the top free audio editing tools to use with your students."

"Animoto is an excellent tool for creating audio slideshows. But there are some limitations to it that some teachers don't like. Most notable of those limitations is the time limit (30 seconds unless you get an Animoto for Education account), lack of space for text, and that students have to remember a username and password to use it. The YouTube slideshow tool provides a tool for creating audio slideshows without those three limitations of Animoto."

"Below are some great web tools that you can use to create interactive lessons and presentations. These tools  allow you to breathe life into your teachable content through the use of images, videos, links to web pages and many more. Some of them even enable you to gather instant feedback from students through synchronous polls or text messaging."

"By far the most prevalent issue I see in schools struggling with their technology integration and implementation is the lack of a collective vision for how digital learning tools will be used to enhance learning. Schools often purchase software, computer devices, and technology-based learning systems because they are effective marketing tools for recruitment, or because they want to keep pace with the digital investments of rival institutions, or simply because they fear appearing outdated. None of these have to do with learning, of course, and inevitably are insufficient to smooth over the challenges that arise as digital tools enter classroom spaces."

"As the web becomes more and more inundated with blogs, videos, tweets, status updates, news, articles, and countless other forms of content, "information overload" is something we all seem to suffer. It is becoming more difficult to weed through all the "stuff" out there and pluck out the best, most share-worthy tidbits of information, especially if your topic is niche. Let's face it, Google definitely has its shortcomings when it comes to content curation and the more it tries to cater to all audiences, the less useful it becomes. The demand for timely, relevant content that is specific to our unique interests and perspectives has given rise to a new generation of tools that aim to help individuals and companies curate content from the web and deliver it in a meaningful way. These new tools range from simple, application-specific types such as social media aggregators and discovery engines, to more complex, full-blown publishing solutions for organizations."

Just when you thought you were getting a handle on all this stuff eh?

After Google+ entered the social networking scene not so long ago, the number of online distractions hasn't really decreased. At the same time, innovations and smarter solutions to handle your actions online have fortunately continued to thrive too. Instead of the usual to-do lists, news readers, or sharing tools, they tackle things in new and more helpful ways. What's most important for me, is that they slot right into my workflow, and allow me to become more efficient without changing my behavior. A few apps recently managed to do so brilliantly. Here are my favorite new tools to help you stay focused and use the Web more innovatively.

"In this post, we'll break down more than 50 different sources and tools for visual content. We'll cover the following (click on any section to be taken to that area directly): Searchable photo sites Free-form photo libraries Photo search tools Create-your-own image tools Embeddable media"

"Technology and education are pretty intertwined these days and nearly every teacher has a few favorite tech tools that make doing his or her job and connecting with students a little bit easier and more fun for all involved."

"There is a new timeline tool in town! Actually MyHistro is more than just a timeline - it has a  built-in mapping tool too. MyHistro allows users to build timelines around a theme or story with options for including text, video and photos. Every 'event' the user adds to their story can be geo-located on a Google Map. Stories can be developed by individuals or as a collaborative effort; the owner simply invites others to co-author a timeline. Comments are limited to registered users only. Registration is free with unlimited space and number of timelines you can create."

"Web-based tools continue to proliferate, giving teachers more to add to their arsenal, but it can be hard to determine which resources are worth spending time exploring. At the International Society of  Technology in Education (ISTE) conference this year, Adam Bellow, founder of EduClipper, and Steve Dembo, Online Community Manager for Discovery Education offered a quick run through of some favorite apps. The two educators are early adopters of ed-tech classroom strategies and have a lot of experience with tech integration."

"Web-based tools continue to proliferate, giving teachers more to add to their arsenal, but it can be hard to determine which resources are worth spending time exploring. At the International Society of  Technology in Education (ISTE) conference this year, Adam Bellow, founder of EduClipper, and Steve Dembo, Online Community Manager for Discovery Education offered a quick run through of some favorite apps. The two educators are early adopters of ed-tech classroom strategies and have a lot of experience with tech integration."

"Here are the Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 -  the results of the 7th Annual Learning Tools Survey - as voted for by over 500 learning professionals worldwide. (Released 30 September 201s)"