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This is an online dropbox application that allows all file types to be uploaded securely to online storage without having to give your email address to everyone. I chose this application because it limits the exposure of your email account to potential spammers. The ability to upload all file types means that inhouse software application files can be put here also. I am thinking about items like interwrite files that most dropbox applications will not recognize.

Virtual Dub http://www.virtualdub.org/ Virtual Dub is a free downloadable online movie editing software for PC users that allows the manipulation and revision of avi files, jpeg and bmp files, and mp3 files. It is a website that allows you to quickly and easily design short videos to present to students or to create personal slideshows set to music. Either way Virtual Dub provides an opportunity to educators to take presentations past PowerPoint and to the next level of engaging video presentations. For the students of today we know and understand the importance of presenting our learners with the fast paced and visually stimulating graphics that they have been raised with. I chose to incorporate Virtual Dub because it is a free resource that is very effective that produces high quality presentations with an easy to use format. Another feature of Virtual Dub that I really appreciate and use frequently is the batch operation feature. This feature allows me to upload many photos or files all at once. Virtual Dub also allows users to edit their photos with advanced filters such as blur reduction, sharpen, emboss and many other features giving the final presentation a more clean cut and professional look.

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.

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 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.

Box allows for the sharing and managing of content files. Box will turn any folder into a public webpage to allow for project collaboration and sharing of information. A content search directory allows for easy look up of information. Box also allows for mobile access to your mobile device. Box is free for personal use and allows for access to files from anywhere.

This is a limited free site, but to upgrade is fairly inexpensive. This graphic organizer allows the use to embed text, files, photos, calendars, and locations. Additionally, this site allows the user to share and collaborate with others in real time or asynchronously.

SpiderScribe can be used as a graphic organizer to link together video production steps and concepts with pictures and links through mind mapping. This software is most effective linking together notes and files all in one mind map.

Audacity is free sound editing software. It is open source and there are versions for all operating systems and platforms. Constant improvements and an enormous and very active community of devote followers that offer support makes this tool a favorite of many.

Audacity allows for sounds, songs, and audio files to be recorded and edited. This tool will be useful for workshop participants to add their own voice to pictures and images in a presentation. Its features seemed easier to use than other similar audio editing applications.

* Brief Description: Audacity allows for high quality recording with different editing functions.  Allows for simple recording and for more complex mixing and editing.       * Brief Explanation: I like how easy it is to edit and record with Audacity and then be able to add the recordings to the screen captures created through Camtasia.      

Embedit.in is a very useful site for incorporating multimedia elements into any website. It is at the generative level of cognitive processing, as it focuses on integrating content into an effective presentation. An advantage to the site is that it is easy to use, as users simply upload documents, images, graphics, etc. or link to them on another site, and an embed code is provided. The site also provides analytic feedback on how the elements are used. Site allows the following types of files to be uploaded and embedded in blogs, wikis, etc.: Documents: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, pdf, wpd, odt, ods, odp; Images: png, jpg, gif, tiff, psd, bmp, eps, ai; Text: txt, rtf, csv

This is a free site for creating interactive flipbooks from pdf files. This is easy to use, share, and embed onto websites. Great way for individuals to share learning.

This is a free software package is on your Microsoft CD or, you can download it from Microsoft.com. Using Photostory, you can create slideshows using your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures, remove red-eye, add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, you can personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail or watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile-based portable device. Students can take their own digital photos to create a time-line, presentation, or video product.

This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box. You can display anything from a text file to a movie. You can also view and comment on the museum boxes submitted by others. MuseumBox is a cross curricular tool useful in areas of the curriculum where students have to assess, investigate or debate issues and explore and develop ideas. In addition it provides an excellent opportunity for integrating ICT into the curriculum. Not only is this site really original in its concept and organization, but it allows teachers to approve, reject, and edit student projects. If a box is approved, it will go live on the DiscoveryBox website within your school or organization's area. The author of the box will be also able to reload the box in the box creator. You may send a message to the user who created it if you choose this option. If a box is rejected, it will be returned to the author with any message. The author will be able to load the box and make changes, or do any further work on it. You can edit the box and make changes to the text and the audio attachments if necessary.

Another tool for creating videos. This is very simple and easy to use. They do charge, but when I contacted them and said I was a teacher, they upgraded my free version to a paid version and did not charge me anything. This gave me the ability to make longer videos and more of them. Easy to share as an embedded file on a website, or through YouTube, and through mobile devices as well.

Brief Description: Teacher Tube is an educational website where educators can upload instructional material to the cyber-world. People can gain ideas, upload their videos for others, or receive teaching resources. Brief Explanation: Teacher Tube is a great website because it allows you to share information effectively and can be useful for others to review and receive your personal ideas and research.

* Brief description of Web site: A free tool that provides an online community for sharing instructional videos. Additionally, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill. * Brief explanation of why you found this site to be better than others you found: This site is better than YouTube because it is strictly for educational purposes. Besides the fact that it is a free resources, users are able to view videos or upload videos to it.

TeacherTube is a video sharing website with the same features as YouTube, but for educators. Unfortunately, in many school districts by content filtering systems, YouTube has been blocked due to some of the content that can be accessed on the site. TeacherTube allows educators and students the ability to access various educational videos, documents, blogs, groups, photos, and audio to utilize and share in the classroom while at school. Many of these educational resources can be used as pre-training materials to a workshop, such as with my workshop on storytelling; I would show a short video about what PBL means as a means to introduce participants to the concept and to explain that they will be using PBL to design their own storytelling lesson. TeacherTube is much easier to access while at school than YouTube, which is why I feel TeacherTube is a better working tool for educators to use rather than attempting to access YouTube videos.

This website is a hosting service that allows you to create pages, edit pages and collaborate with people. It provides a wonderful opportunity for students to create projects and get feedback from others. Documents, pictures, graphics and videos can be upload to the site. I chose this site because it was very user friendly with some Office features.

Wikispaces allows users to collaborate online. Features include embedding files and videos, invitations to members, and restrictions for access and editing. Wikis support the principles of generative and essential learning. The collaboration that occurs through the use of a wiki creates an engaging learning environment for participants to process the material they are learning. Wikis are easier to use for collaborative efforts.

o Wikispaces provides a space where learners can collaborate while developing a final product to demonstrate understanding. Pictures, videos, documents, and just about anything can be added to the site. Cognitive processing is at its best with this tool as learners create knowledge together from the material they have studied. o Extremely easy to use especially with the update where the teacher can create a class code to share with students so they can join the class from any wiki account.

Inspiration is an excelled software program that helps you create graphic organizers. I like this program more than the others because it allows the user to save the file as a PDF or JPEG file. Many of the other resources do not allow for specialized saving.

This website, although is the advertising for the software, has an area for teachers to sign-in. This access has training and tutorials for teachers on how to use the software and how to integrate it into the curriculum. The site provides lesson plans and ideas for teachers as well as a forum and technical support. These programs are concept-mapping or brain-storming programs designed to help students of all ages prepare and organize their thoughts for writing. The program provides both text and visual elements to assist the learner. Purchase of the software is a condition of access to the teacher support and training areas.

This website, although is the advertising for the software, has an area for teachers to sign-in. This access has training and tutorials for teachers on how to use the software and how to integrate it into the curriculum. The site provides lesson plans and ideas for teachers as well as a forum and technical support. These programs are concept-mapping or brain-storming programs designed to help students of all ages prepare and organize their thoughts for writing. The program provides both text and visual elements to assist the learner. Purchase of the software is a condition of access to the teacher support and training areas.

This is the site to download the free version of Jing. You can also purchase the professional version. This tool will be used to create how to videos and real time screen sharing. When learners see step by step processes in real time, it helps to reinforce the concepts and increases memory. These videos can also be shared via HTML and as downloads. Because the HTML codes are easy (cut and paste) and the loading of the presentation (click play), learners will not have to have high tech skills to access the videos and they have the oprion to save them and revisit them.

Brief description of what it allows you to do and how it can be used for essential or generative learning: Jing is awesome!! Jing allows you to quickly take screenshots or record short videos. If one is intending participants to have something set-up before the presentation, record a Jing and save the file or easily share the file using sites like screencast.com. Jing allows audience members to be prepared for the speaker. Brief explanation of why you found this site to be better than others you found (e.g., more effective, creates better products, easier to use, and so on): Easy to use! You can also pause the recording while making it as well as mute. Screencast.com allows for quick sharing in multiple forms.

Learners can use jing to record their activities that demonstrate their learning within the Bb environment. It connects visuals with audio and can demonstrate, highlight, and segment items in accordance with best-practices in multimedia design. It's better than other products because it's easy to use and free!

FreeMind is an excellent resource for building graphic organizers of all types. Easy to use and free, FreeMind allows the user to create free-form maps, concept maps, flowcharts, and the functionality to do much more. The software also allows the user to save in a .jpg file format for easy retrieval from Mac and Windows machines.

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.