The HotChalk LMS also includes a content library and article / news service. Plus, it's free!

JayCut is a free online video editor that provides some basic video editing features, but is likely able to meet the needs of most educational technologists and instructional designers. The site is fairly straight forward but can interface with a variety of files and can combine audio, video, and text in an online editor. Files can be uploaded or they can be captured via microphone and/or webcam. The options included in this online application are rather impressive. The site could be used for presentations or pre-training. Students may benefit from the use of JayCut as it can facilitate the organization of materials to support essential and generative cognitive processing. By organizing text, images, and sound in a coherent manner and in a manner that upholds signaling, and spatial and temporal contiguity, students may be more inclined to organize in their own mind relationships between new material and that which is stored in working memory.

The Trackstar site provides an online container for lesson materials that could also be used for pre-training activities. The site may help students select and organize mental representations of course concepts by facilitating the organization of related content.

The link opens a rather short twenty question quiz about HTML topics. As applicable / relevant, students could use the quiz to determine what they know about HTML prior to studying HTML programming. Likewise, they could use the same quiz after studying HTML programming to determine what they learned and what areas need further review. The quiz could be used as a catalyst for spurring essential cognitive processing by introducing topics that will be considered during a relevant learning experience. By using the quiz in a pre-testing fashion, introducing relevant topics prior to formal training may help students organize their mental learning space in preparation of a more comprehensive learning experience.

The page provides a variety of example rubrics for technology and Web topics, which is why I like the site over some others offering sample rubrics. Considering essential and generative learning, via the use of well-designed rubrics that mesh with the educational goals of the lesson, students can use the rubric during selection of memories that are relevant to the topics presented in the lesson and can also use the rubric to guide them during the organization and integration of old and new memories / domain knowledge.

Spaaze is a free online tool that offers a virtual endless desktop onto which a variety of information containers can be placed. Virtual hotspots can be created for quick maneuvering to critical locations. Also, documents, images, and videos can be linked to or uploaded directly, depending on the type of or degree of service being utilized (free, pay as you go, or subscription). While this is a form of graphic organizer, it does not utilize links between content objects. Rather, like objects are simply placed next to each other somewhere on the virtual desktop. Such items could be considered grouped or arranged in such a manner that would mimic the organization found in most graphic organizers or mind maps. The tool could be useful for students to organize information in a free-form format, which could help foster their organizational skills and develop essential cognitive processing skills. In sum, the tool could be useful for a variety of applications and needs and offers a drag-and-drop method of storage and organization; which could take on unique characteristics per the preferences of each user.

The mind42 site offers a free online tool for creating graphic organizers / mind maps similar to those created by webspiration. However, mind42 provides excellent file export functionality saving as .jpg, .png, .pdf, and other file formats. Also of interest are collapsible / expandable branches that could facilitate a gradual introduction of topics in a live lesson, as well as the ability to include notes, Web links, and a variety of icons in each node as needed. Of note, however, is the ability to include images directly into the graphic organizer by searching for relevant images online or by providing a direct link to an online image. Some basic formatting options, such as text color and size, are present. However, as all nodes other than the parent or central node are lines, no formatting of shapes is available. The tool does offer a simple approach to creating mind maps and graphic organizers, which may warrant additional investigation and use. In short, the saving functionality, branching without termination nodes (use a line instead), collapsibility, and image inclusion are features that may prove more useful than comparable tools. Considering essential cognitive processing, the tool may assist with selecting and organizing complex material in order to reach a generative processing state. This may be possible by presenting information in a keyed and organized approach, which is a central premise of most mind mapping software.

The wisemapping site offers a free online tool for creating graphic organizers / mind maps similar to those created by webspiration. However, wisemapping provides excellent file export functionality saving as .jpg, .png, .pdf, and other file formats. Also of interest are collapsible / expandable branches that could facilitate a gradual introduction of topics in a live lesson, as well as the ability to include notes, Web links, and a variety of icons in each node as needed. While much of the formatting options are present, as compared to webspiration, some items are not as robust. With more time, however, the functionality may rival or surpass webspiration or other products. In the mean time, the saving functionality, branching without termination nodes (use a line instead), and collapsibility are features that may prove more useful than comparable tools. Considering essential cognitive processing, the tool may assist with selecting and organizing complex material in order to reach a generative processing state. This may be possible by presenting information in a keyed and organized approach, which is a central premise of most mind mapping software.

Blockposters is a free online tool that will accept .jpg or .gif images up to 1 MB in size, allow for poster sizing, and return a .pdf file containing the image rendered across multiple pages. Simply print the file and assemble the pages for an instant poster-sized rendition of an image, graphic organizer, instruction page, or just about anything else. This is a tool I have been looking to find for some time! While I have tried replicating the functionality of this online tool using various desktop tools, the ease of use of Blockposters is amazing and the fact that a .pdf file is returned for easy downloading and printing is a welcome surprise. This tool could easily be used for pre-training by enlarging for print most graphic organizers, mind maps, and other types of assistive instructional material that facilitates essential cognitive processing tasks. By printing a graphic organizer in large format and posting in front of a class, students can easily refer to the diagram as needed while using their computers directly in front of them. Posting a large scale printout also eliminates students having to shuffle through miscellaneous printouts on their desktops while operating their computers. Handouts of the graphic organizer could be provided, but the timing of providing the handout could be strategically incorporated into the presentation / workshop to eliminate extraneous materials during the discovery and learning phases.

Frobee.com allows users to upload images, arrange them, set transition and timing options, add captions, and save the presentation as a Flash (swf) file for immediate download. The site does not provide hosting of the presentation, but the simplified interface and quick generation of output are outstanding features that help this online tool stand apart from the rest. By using Frobee.com, pictures or diagrams could be sequenced and displayed in a particular sequence to demonstrate a concept that unfolds across time or to demonstrate a specific process and the steps required to reach the end state from the beginning state. This type of media and demonstration could assist learners during essential and generative cognitive load.

authorSTREAM is an online tool that will convert timed or narrated PowerPoint presentations to video and retain most settings applied to the original slide show. Also, the videos can be downloaded or posted to various locations online and linked to via blogs, wikis, and other Web sites. Learners can benefit from the variety of features offered such as retaining transitions and special effects to capture attention and the use of video and narration adheres to dual coding principles. By combining those features, complex material can be presented in a manner that assists learners generative cognitive load. I found this tool to be better than others given its simplicity and the fact that it retains transitions and animations. The overall quality of the output is quite good also and the use of the tool is fairly straight forward.

Wiki for Snyder's Multimedia Workshop on Basic Web Site Construction using Online Tools and by Coding by Hand

The w3schools introduction to HTML pages serve as pre-training material as they help introduce the topics associated with Web programming. The site serves as a good primer that can be used prior to learning HTML tags and engaging in coding. I prefer this site to others as the navigation is helpful and the layout is concise, but advertisements are present. Considering essential cognitive load, the introductory pages may help students organize their thoughts about Web design and programming in HTML prior to actually beginning the hands-on portion of a programming lesson.

Video tutorials that demonstrate how to use the online image editor known as pixlr found at www.pixlr.com

Provides a brief learning experience on a tool that helps users create three-dimensional text / animations for use in Web sites.