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"Today while I was browsing my Google Plus feeds I came across this wonderful work by Pip Cleaves. This is a slideshow presentation in which Cleaves features a plethora of web tools to help educators and teachers (who do not always work in the app world) create  effective learning designs. These tools are arranged into six main categories:"

"Tim, a Director of Instructional Technology from El Paso, Texas, gives a strong account of how iPad can be used as a tool for creation. He clearly details some of the concrete ways that the often-defended tablet can be used to produce videos, music, drawings, and works of art that move well beyond consumption. Kim, on the other hand, offers a unique perspective as an educator who has recently transitioned from supporting an iPad environment to using a Chromebook as his primary device. In his post, 3 Reasons Why Chromebook Beats iPad in 1:1 Programs, Kim gives the following three reasons for the superiority of the Chromebook: Chromebooks are for creating, and iPads are for consuming The App vs the Web The Google Ecosystem for Collaboration The most viable of these three reasons from Kim is the final one, the collaborative tools that are inherent in the Google ecosystem can be accessed seamlessly on a Chromebook. While iOS device access to Google tools continues to become less and less of an issue, schools that want to focus primarily on Google tools should look no further than Chromebooks. However, I would like to challenge Kim's first two points. As he notes in his discussion around his first point, the consumption versus creation debate with iPads and Chromebooks has been made countless times by those on both sides of this discussion."

"Reading through the solution to Dr. Russell's search challenge, which is a very advanced one that I wouldn't expect most high school students to employ, got me thinking about a search strategy and tools that I haven't employed before. That prompted me into thinking about creating a list of accessible search tools and strategies that middle school and high school students often overlook. Here's my short list of tools and strategies that are often overlooked."

"When I put together this list of top-rated games of 2015, I noticed that though the tools varied in target grades and subjects, they shared some key things. As Mitch Resnick of the MIT Media Lab has argued, if you want to know if a tool is good for learning, first look to see if it aids kids' creativity and expression. I think many (if not all) the tools on this list get kids there, but they don't all take the same path. Some of these tools explicitly help kids make things while others foster thinking and reflection skills that complicate and expand their understanding of themselves and their worlds. They show us how great games can be for learning and inspire others to follow their lead."

"Shannon Hyman, a librarian at one of our elementary schools, invited #TechTakeout to her AMAZING MakerFest Day to run ten different stations. Each one of the stations highlighted a tool that the students would have access to in her library. Every 4th and 5th grade student had the opportunity to attend the event and learn about each tool. The students had about 5-8 minutes at each station since we wanted everyone to get a chance to see everything. This was enough time to introduce the tool, but in some cases the students had a hands-on experience. Judging from what the students were saying throughout the day, when we return from winter break they will be rushing to the library to work with all of the new tools!"

"Google has a rich history of creating map-related tools that can be used across all subject areas for engaging, immersive learning experiences. Some of these include Tour Builder, Earth, Expeditions, My Maps, and many more (see my slideshow on Google mapping tools). Recently Google has launched a new tool called Google Tour Creator. This tool allows you and your students to create 360 degree tours, which can then be shared with and viewed by others. It is very much like creating your own Google Expeditions. Don't have a 360 degree camera? That's ok! Although you can use a 360 degree camera to take pictures for Tour Creator, you can also just use the images from Google's Street View, or you can use a free mobile app such as Cardboard Camera to take the photos."

"As you probably know, Google Drive is far more than a place to store files online. It also includes a suite of versatile creation tools, many of which perform the same functions as the ones we use in other spaces. These include Google Docs, a word processing program that behaves similarly to Microsoft Word, Google Slides, a presentation program similar to PowerPoint, and Google Forms, a survey-creation tool similar to Survey Monkey. Although Drive also includes other tools, these three are particularly useful for creating rigorous, academically robust projects. If your school uses Google Classroom or at least gives students access to Google Drive, your students are probably already using these tools to write papers or create slideshow presentations, but there are other projects they could be doing that you may not have thought of. Below I have listed 16 great ideas for projects using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms. (If you and your students want to learn more about how to use these apps, check out my Google Drive Basics course; more info at the end of this post!)"

"Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to run a number of sessions for teachers, which started as sessions entitled, "Tools for Engagement." For the session, I'd model a handful of tools for efficiency, management, and engagement, and then give participants time to explore and then crowdsource their favorite digital tools as well. Upon leaving the collaborative session, all participants would leave with a copy of the creation we had developed together. This past week at FETC, I had the opportunity to do this session again, alongside about 100 educators from all over the country. Upon completion of the session, a participant asked, "Can we share this document with those we work with?" My response? "Better yet, share it with every educator that you know that can benefit." In an effort to try and practice what I preach, I want to share the crowdsourced resource with YOU ALL as well. So, here it is…"

"There's no shortage of great websites, apps and programs available on the Internet. Some, however, rise above the rest. Your 2014 list of our 11 most useful tools of 2014 covers everything from creating charts to making your computer screen a little easier on the eyes. Of course there's plenty we missed, but these are some of the tools that came to our attention this year."

"Glide is a free tool for making your own mobile apps. It's a tool that has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorite tools for teachers and students. It's a tool that we'll spend time using during the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. With Glide anyone who can make a spreadsheet in Google Sheets can make his or her own mobile app."

"Hello, photographers. For the last two months, I've been doing market research for my project Photolemur and looking for different tools in the area of photo enhancement and photo editing. I spent a lot of time searching, and came up with a large organized list of 104 photo editing tools and apps that you should know about. I believe all these services might be useful for some photographers, so I'll share them here with you. And just to make it easier to find something specific, the list is numbered. Enjoy!"

"Real-time collaboration has become an essential component of working and learning online, since these tasks are never complete without collaboration. There are many times, when collaborating online in real-time becomes a necessity to keep people involved, make them work together and to keep teams focused to accomplish business goals. With real-time collaboration you get the opportunity to work with people located in different parts of the world at the same time on the same document and see the changes in an instant. There are numerous tools available for the purpose."

http://www.creativebloq.com/design/online-collaboration-tools-912855 Previous link is dead.

"Creating great infographics need not be a chore, no matter if you're a teacher or a student. Taking information and presenting it in an artful and visually appealing way has never been easier, thanks to the infographic tools you can use today. Before you dive in, here are some quick tips: Collect your data. If you have been collecting data, compile it all in a spreadsheet. Decide the best way to present your data (flyer-style, bar charts, line charts, Venn diagrams, histogram, scatter plot charts, flow charts, timelines, etc.). Design a rough sketch so you don't end up flying blind. Pick your app and get to work! Now that you've got basic tips on how to get started, it's time to get creative. Here are 9 great infographic tools to help you get started creating great infographics."

"What are the best 3D printing tools to help you get the best quality prints? Pinshape guest writer Brett Turnage is here to share his top 5 tools and why they make his life easier and print quality better! "

Fortunately there are a number of free tools that do these things and they are available for use on any technology platform as they require nothing more than access to the internet. Recently Eric Sheninger used a set of these tools to give his audience at the Hawker Brownlow Conference on Thinking and Learning in Melbourne a voice.

"Free educational tools-what could be better? Anytime, anywhere, teachers like to have plenty of resources to pick from to help them create great classroom experiences to engage their students. We've got some wonderful content-packed free educational tools for teachers to explore. They're online and ready to be discovered! There are slideshows, printables, lesson plans, downloadable content and guides, videos, and much more. The sites listed below offer lots of stuff for all subjects and grades, so dive in and see what you can dig up."

"100 tools that can help twittering teachers make the most out of this helpful microblogging tool."

""A collection of web based tools to help learners exploit the web" RSS"

A collection of 400 + online tools for learners.

A collection of 400 + online tools for learners.

"The possibilities for the use of timeline tools in the class are endless. Whether you want to teach salient historical incidents, chronological order of events, or explain a developmental process in biology or simply outline the major learning curves for the year, timeline creation tools are the ideal platforms to implement."

"Creating and using mind maps is a great way to get students brainstorming ideas about a given topic, organize their thought processes and turn these ideas into a neatly written pieces. I have been using several web tools with my students over the past few years. From teaching vocabulary to getting students engaged in the prewriting process, I found the functionalities and ease of use of these web tools a great way to enhance students productivity."