...this online tool allows one or more users to create an online sketch in real-time; no registration is needed and the image can be embedded in a blog or Web site with the included code

Shape Collage is a nifty free utility available for PCs, Macs, and Linux. There are limitations to the free version - most notably, you can't save save & reopen projects (click here for the list of features available in the $25 Pro flavor) - but it's super easy to use and the results are fantastic. Highly intuitive, the menus are simple to navigate, featuring clear options incorporated into a well laid-out workspace. It just feels natural, encouraging you to try different settings to see the result. This YouTube video does a terrific job explaining the program and its features. It's absolutely worth the download to explore for yourself.

a game and curriculum designed to educate preteen students about the forms and methods of advertising. Admongo's primary feature is a game in which students earn points by collecting advertisements as they move through a fictional city. As they advance through the game, students will see short videos that explain the type of advertisements they see and how those advertisements attempt to get them to take an action. Watch the video below to learn more. Applications for Education Admongo provides a curriculum for teachers to use with 5th and 6th grade students. The curriculum is designed to complement the lessons students learn by playing the game. On the Admongo curriculum page teachers will find posters, handouts, quizzes and other printable materials to use in their classrooms.

a free service for creating animated videos. Without downloading any software or having any special skills, Memoov allows users to create animated videos up to five minutes in length. Creating an animated video with Memoov can be as simple as selecting a setting image(s), selecting a character or characters, and adding dialogue. Memoov offers users a wide variety options that make it stand out amongst similar services. Memoov allows users to customize the appearance of the characters in their animated videos. On the dialogue front, Memoov gives users the option to record their own voices for use in their videos. Users can also upload pre-recorded dialogue in MP3 format. Memoov users have the option to add background music to their animated videos.

a neat site for introducing elementary school students to making simple animated video stories. On the Zimmer Twins site students can create a story from scratch or complete one of the "cliff hanger" story starters. Students do not need to have any drawing skills in order to create a story as all elements are added to the video through a simple drag and drop interface. Students select settings, characters, character actions, emotions, and text styles then drag those elements into the storyboard. Students then arrange those elements and type words into the conversation bubbles where appropriate.

favorite web-based tool to recommend to teachers for podcasting. After using it briefly last night, I completely understand why. iPadio accounts are free, and you can use ANY phone to call into the service and record a message which is immediately converted into a web-based podcast. This recording TRULY is a "podcast," because it's placed inside a web feed / RSS feed that makes it "subscribable." The feature I like the best is it is also easily linkable AND embeddable.

TitanPad is essentially a clone of the original EtherPad. With TitanPad anyone can instantly create a collaborative document. You do not have to create an account to use TitanPad, in fact creating an account isn't even an option. To get started just click "create public pad," enter your name, and start typing. To invite people to collaborate, just share the url assigned to your TitanPad. Every collaborator on TitanPad is given a unique color to highlight the text they've added. Try it now on this document that I started. Applications for Education TitanPad could be used as a platform for quickly hosting and recording an online brainstorming session with your students. As accounts aren't necessary you won't lose any classroom time to getting students through a registration process.

Plagiarism checker-free

Wiffiti (http://wiffiti.com) allows students to submit a text message to an online bulletin board. Messages can also be submitted to Poll Everywhere, but the Wiffiti board is large and animated and students love the fake names it assigns to their posts. ..

Spaaze is a free online sticky note service that offers some handy functions for teachers and students. Spaaze allows you to write notes, edit notes and reorder your notes. Your notes can be simple text notes or you can create notes that contain videos, images, or links. Use the Spaaze browser bookmarklet to add a note to your collection anytime you come across an interesting find on the web. The video below gives a good overview of what can be done with Spaaze. Applications for Education Spaaze could be used by students as a personal organizer. Spaaze could be particularly useful for students who don't have their own computers and need to rely on computer labs in order to get work done online. By using Spaaze those students can create notes of what they need to do, what they have done, and create notes about the useful things they find while researching on the web.

great online tool that students can use to create posters and videos. The National Archives Digital Vault poster and video creation tools allow students to drag and drop digital artifacts into a poster or video. The National Archives provides images, documents, and audio in an easy to use editor. When making a poster students can combine multiple images, change background colors, and create captions to make collages of digital artifacts.

The educational web site ProProfs.com has launched a free, easy-to-use quiz creation site that can help teachers enhance their lesson plans and engage students. Called Quiz Maker, the site is based on feedback from thousands of ProProfs users who shared their ideas for how ProProfs could improve on its Quiz School application.

MPEG Streamclip is a powerful free video converter, player, editor for Mac and Windows. It can play many movie files, not only MPEGs; it can convert MPEG files between muxed/demuxed formats for authoring; it can encode movies to many formats, including iPod; it can cut, trim and join movies. MPEG Streamclip can also download videos from YouTube and Google by entering the page URL. You can use MPEG Streamclip to open and play most movie formats including MPEG files or transport streams; edit them with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Trim; set In/Out points and convert them into muxed or demuxed files, or export them to QuickTime, AVI, DV and MPEG-4 files with more than professional quality, so you can easily import them in a DVD authoring tool, and use them with many other applications or devices. Supported input formats: MPEG, VOB, PS, M2P, MOD, VRO, DAT, MOV, DV, AVI, MP4, TS, M2T, MMV, REC, VID, AVR, M2V, M1V, MPV, AIFF, M1A, MP2, MPA, AC3, ...

Here is a list of sites that offer free reading materials for ebooks as well as a rating guide for those interested in buying an ereader.

an online diagram maker with an extensive library of shapes and icons, added features such as shading and gradients, and the ability to collaborate in real-time

In addition to oodles of interactive math flashcards, Aplus Math hosts two flashcard creators for designing and printing custom cards. The first, Flashcard Creator, prints a set of twelve cards (four cards per page) for any operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and any set of operands (one through twelve). The second tool, called Custom Flashcards, lets you design math flashcards individually by inputting each problem (two operands and an operator). Each tool also lets you choose between four print sizes, from small to extra large.

America on the Move is a great online exhibit produced and hosted by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. America on the Move showcases the evolution of transportation in the United States. America on the Move is divided into three main sections; Exhibition, Collection, and Themes. The exhibition section is essentially a timeline tour through American history. The exhibition section begins with the construction of the first National Road and chronicles each phase of transportation development through the 21st Century. The collection section of America on the Move features images of artifacts related to various forms of transportation used throughout US History. Visitors to the site can browse the collection or search by era, region, or form of transportation. The themes section of America on the Move arranges artifacts and stories into eight different themes. Each theme contains narratives related to various eras in the transportation history of the United States. Applications for Education In addition to the great online exhibits America on the Move offers three well-designed educational games for students. Each of the games is requires students to analyze and process information about the history of transportation. In the first game, Where's Everyone Going? students match vehicles to their proper era to learn about transportation in that era. In the second game, Drive Through Time, students spin a clock to select a year. Then they select a scenario and mode of transportation appropriate for that scenario's era. In the third game, Be a Movie Director, students select a storyline and the modes of transportation necessary for the storyline. At the end the students will see the movie they created. America on the Move also offers teachers some free classroom guides to use while students explore the exhibits.

Learn Your Tables is a neat little site for students to use to learn and develop multiplication skills. The site offers two basic games on two different levels. The most basic game is a simple drag and drop activity in which students match equations to their correct answers. The more "advanced" game has students enter the correct answer to a multiplication question. The easier of the two levels only contains problems from one multiplication table while the more difficult level contains problems from multiple multiplication tables.

Web Based Meeting Scheduler

isten to classics and poems through the generosity of this site's creators. Download story files to your mp3 player or listen to the files on your computer.