A great blog post about why Skype is a wonderful tool to use in the classroom. It also discusses the way to approach it with parents...

"So what is the vessay?  It's a voicethread essay.  My students are required to write their persuasive essay.  It will require a thesis that can be argued, transition words to make their writing fluid, and evidence from the text to support their point.  Then they will need to find pictures to represent their argument and, finally, record it as a voice thread."

GCF Free Learn provides online lessons and tutorials for mathematics, reading, and technology topics. The lessons on GCF Free Learn are a mix of text explanations, interactive displays and activities, and video demonstrations.

A post about 2 safe online social networks: Diipo and Edmodo...

Love it or hate it, no one can ignore Microsoft Office. One way or the other it manages to pop up in our lives. Even if a lot of people have found cooler alternatives in the cloud like Google Docs, a lot of businesses and most Government Offices continue to use Microsoft Office to create and edit documents.So it's only appropriate to use the lemons to make lemonade. Even if we can't ditch Microsoft Office for good, we can leverage the cloud to collaborate on them. Agilewords is one such app that helps users to edit and review documents in the cloud.From WebAppStorm

Why Twitter? Read on....

"What it is: IDroo is an educational multi user whiteboard that lets students instantly collaborate online.  Everything that is drawn or written on the whiteboard is visible to all participants in real-time.  IDroo supports an unlimited number of meeting participants, the only limitations are computer power and internet connection speed.  There is a professional math typing tool built-in making it easy to teach or work through math problems collaboratively. Best of all, IDroo can be used with Skype! IDroo is free for non-commercial use. Now for the downfall (and this is a HUGE downfall in my humble opinion), IDroo is currently only available for Windows.  I  know, disappointment for us Mac lovers. *sigh*  If you are using a Windows computer this is a great way to collaborate online! How to integrate IDroo into the classroom: IDroo would be a great app for collaborating with other classrooms around the world.  Students can use the multi user whiteboard space to work together, share ideas, and brainstorm.  IDroo would also be fantastic as a way for teachers to tutor students virtually.  Set up an "open lab" time once a week online where students can drop in and get extra help.  Virtual lab times are especially helpful for elementary students who can't dictate their own schedules and often can't stay after school for extra help. Tips: Don't forget to allow IDroo to access Skype API after you download!" iLearn Technology

This is part IV in a series dedicated to free, online writing tools for kids. 

25 Collaboration tools you shouldn't miss. (Beyond Google Docs!)