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Tools for teachers plus some blogs to read.

Twitter has become an incredible tool not just for communication, but for improving your life. College students can use it to expand their social circle,

Find images for comps, inspiration or research.

interesting photo search tool.

awesome database of edtech tools

"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.

Thanks to a nifty web tool called Wordle, you can create your own word clouds and tap into the educational benefits this verbal-ranking, categorization tool offers.

Quizlet is a lightning fast way to memorize vocabulary lists. It's like flashcards, but much more fun and interactive.

Quizlet is the largest study site in the U.S., providing powerful learning tools and games to over 7 million students and teachers each month.

Vocabulary Resource

This is SO awesome! I can't wait to try the tutorials and start making art! I'm definitely passing this one on to my students right away!

Free, web-based art and photo editing tool. Very cool looking.

This is a great idea but the site itself gave me an instant headache because of the color combination, could it be toned down?

Tools to help students engage in rigorous thinking, organize complex ideas, and scaffold their ineractions with texts. Not to be used simply as worksheets or activities for their own sake.

"Joyce Valenza Ph.D On the librarian: What's the point . . ? The Twitter conversation April 30, 2009 @karlfisch: What's the point of having a media specialist if they aren't specialists in the media forms of the day? I was nearly finished copying and pasting, figuring out how best to post Tuesday's Twitter conversation, when I discovered that Karl Fisch (@karlfisch), who kinda started it all, already took care of that. (You likely know of Karl's very popular and provocative videos.) I am still not sure how best to frame this conversation on the place of the information/media specialist in today's school. What is clear is that a lot of smart people--people who are out there teaching, speaking, moving, and shaking--are disappointed in what they see when they see school librarians. Either we have a perception problem or we need to do some serious retooling. I'd say we have to deal with both. In a hurry. Being an information (or media) specialist today means being an expert in how information and media flow TODAY! It is about knowing how information and media are created and communicated. How to evalute, synthesize, and ethically use information and media in all their varied forms. It is about being able to communicate knowlege in new ways for new audiences using powerful new information and communication tools. Forgive me if it hurts. In my mind, if you are not an expert in new information and communication tools, you are NOT a media specialist for today. Tuesday's conversation happened in the open, on Twitter. We need to be aware that these conversations are happening where we cannot hear them--at conferences, at Board and cabinet meetings. We also need to make sure that our voices are heard and that we hear the voices of others in places like Twitter, where so many educational leaders and thinkers are chatting about us and many other things. I've selected the remarks that resonated loudest for me. (I've shuffled a bit, but you can visit Karl'

Closed microblogging program

I hope to do a pilot use of Yammer after Easter. It depends on my Uni adopting it officially so that I can set up a student group. I have used Yammer with other staff members: it's easy to use and it's nice to have a channel for quick communication - away from the tsumamis of emails... Yammer could well be to students' liking for that very reason, particularly if their studies are partly or wholly online.

Use social networking to organise your school by setting up it's own with this site, which is very similar to Twitter. The free version does have some limitations which means it is not very suitable for students to use, but this communication and collaboration tool would be great for the staff. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+&+Web+Tools

Web 2.0 Tools for instructions . Great resources

Powerful free online.pdf editor & simple to use. Just start as an "unregistered" user, upload your file, edit, and save & download to your computer! Great tool!

Free PDF editor

Edit PDF documents with this great site. Just upload or link to an online PDF, add text, free hand writing/drawing and images, then download. Great for adding additional instruction or hand in dates to the PDFs you find online. No sign up require to use most features. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

 Ideas about using Facebook in education

"Facebook is controversial within the educational circles-should it or should it not be included as a valid learning tool. Teachers coming under fire for Facebook postings. Should teachers friend students, former students, etc. At the very least, you should have as much information as possible before you make your final decision. Of course, your school/district policies may make the decision for you-but if not, here is all the information you will need to make an informed decision on using Facebook as an educational tool."

An ebook that provides a comprehensive guide to Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

A collection of online tools geared toward language learning. The Conversations tool enables you to record questions for students to submit oral responses to online.

New free backchanneling tool from the MIT media lab.

One of the aspects of Backchan.nl that I'm excited about is the option to create multiple channels ahead of time. This will be a useful time-saver on the days when I have four consecutive classes and I want each class to have its own channel. Richard Byrne

A tool for creating a backchannel.