Video Creation/Editing--Animoto

Animoto claims to "turn your photos, video clips, and music into stunning video masterpieces to share with everyone. Fast, free, and shockingly easy!"  It's true!!

I used Animoto with 3rd-5th grade students for a booktrailer contest.  Students chose their favorite works of literature and created a short video enticing peers to checkout the books for a summer read.  Using Animoto was easy, and the kids did a great job.  It even gave us the chance to talk about copyright/fair use.  

The best booktrailers are linked to the district's book catalog so technically, these booktrailers could be seen by anyone in the world that has Internet access.  I highly recommend Animoto.  Of course, if you publish student work to the Internet, you must have parents/students sign a release.  

Wikis-Wikispaces

I just joined Wikispaces, followed the tutorial and began the first steps of setting up my educational wiki page.  The tutorial was easy to follow, and YouTube video instructions were helpful.  I still need to explore Wikispaces, but it seems like a great educational tool for students and teachers.

Website Creation--Jimdo

Jimdo is awesome.  I have tried other website creation pages, and Jimdo is by far the easiest.  After signing up for a free account, Jimdo sent emailed me my password within seconds. I went through a simple seven-step tutorial that allowed me to choose a custom design, add text, add photos and practice using the navigation tools.  I think students would find this site easy to navigate.  Give Jimdo a try: http://www.jimdo.com/index.php

Surveys and Polling--SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey( http://www.surveymonkey.com/) is free website that allows users to create surveys, collect responses and analyze results.  Of course users can also sign up for more complex plans that range from $17/month to $65/month.  People in our district use it all the time.  Other survey sites include PollDaddy and Pinnion.

Presentations--Sliderocket

Sliderocket is a quick and easy way to make an online presentation.  The basic version is free, and it didn't take long to figure it out.  If you're new to Sliderocket, make sure you check out "Get Inspiration" on the top tool bar.  Preview "Top Ten Presentations". The Girl Effect, a very powerful slide with embedded video, was my favorite.  Play around with Sliderocket.  You'll be using it for fun, school or work before you know it!

http://www.sliderocket.com

Presentation Sharing-SlideShare

SlideShare allows users to share presentations via the Internet.  Your published work can be viewed by the public or you can mark it as private. You can also share your presentation via email, Facebook or Twitter.  Many non-profit organizations use SlideShare.  In fact, I noticed that The PEW Research Center has SlideShare presentations embedded into many of their published studies.  SlideShare is also a great tool for teachers and students.

Phone-Apps--Appolicious

Appolicious is DELICIOUS!  Appolicious is a website that allows users to find and suggest the best apps out there.  Site users can browse apps by category.  You can also see recommendations, Apps in the news, Hot Apps and Apps that are on sale.  If you join Appolicious, you can write reviews and connect with people that share your interests.  Check it out!

http://www.appolicious.com/

Flashcard/Learning Sites--StudyBlue

Study Blue is an online study site for high school and college students.  I like the fact that you can create study cards (flash cards) and quizzes.  You can also use pre-exisiting materials.  Everything is saved to the cloud, so you can access the information from any computer/smart phone (free mobile app).  Just log in and go!

I plan to share this site with my college nieces and nephews.

http://www.studyblue.com/

Curation-Google+

I am a member of Google+, Google's answer to FaceBook.  It's been around for about a year now, but  must admit that I don't use it.   Not many of my friends are on Google+...they are FaceBookers.  Like Facebook, Google+ allows you to 'hangout' with your friends via the Internet.  After I was assigned this blog, I decided to see how Google+ was doing compared to FaceBook.  Here's what Wikipedia had to say:

On February 28, 2012 Todd Wasserman from Mashable reported Google+ users are only spending 3.3 minutes monthly on Google+ which is a downward trend from 4.8 minutes in December and 5.1 minutes in November compared to Facebook users currently spending 7.5 hours using Facebook monthly (CNN, February 28, 2011).

YIKES!

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AV File Conversion-YouTube Downloader

Need software that lets you download videos from YouTube or FaceBook and convert them to a new format?  YouTube Downloader is for you.  It's easy!  Just enter the URL for the video you want to download and click OK!  YouTube Downloader Basic is FREE. Download it now and get started!  

http://youtubedownload.altervista.org/

Social Media and Networking-FaceBook

FaceBook is a free social networking site that allows users to post text, pictures and video. After registering,  FB users can 'friend' people that they know and follow their FaceBook activity.  When viewing your FaceBook newsfeed, you can view and comment on people's posts.  You can also click 'like' if you simply want to agree with what they've posted.  FaceBook allows users to chat in realtime and send private messages.  Privacy settings make it possible to limit who sees your FB page.  I often check my account from my iPhone.  It's a great way to keep up with family and friends that are spread throughout the country (or even the world) and it can be highly addictive!

Storage-DropBox

DropBox (https://www.dropbox.com/) is an easy way to store documents on the cloud, and it's free.  Users create a dropbox folder on their computer(s) and store files in that folder.  When the folder is accessed from any computer, users can view the documents they have placed in that folder.  I use Dropbox to store my SHSU assignments so I can access them from work or out of town.  It's easy to sign up for the service, and video tutorials lead you through the process.  I highly recommend Dropbox.

URL Management-TinyURL

TinyURL.com is a great tool to use if you need to shorten a URL.  I have used TinyURL when I needed the URL to be shorter so it would neatly fit into a presentation.  I have also used it when I needed a URL that was simple for students to remember.  TinyURL is quick and easy to use.

Graphic Organizers-Wordle

Wordle, a graphic organizer, allows students to generate "word clouds" from entered text.  The more often a word is entered, the larger it appears in the word cloud.  After typing in a variety of words, students can experiment with font, color scheme and word designs.  For a library lesson on fairy tales, we had first grade students type in key words about Cinderella.  Although many students chose the same words, their wordle were unique due to the ability to play with the color, font and format.  They loved the lesson!   We printed the wordles to add to their fairy tale journals.  A word to the wise, if you need to save ink, don't allow them to chose layouts with black backgrounds if you are printing!

Educational Social Networking-Edmodo

Edmodo is an online social networking resource designed for educational purposes.  Edmodo claims to promote "anytime, anyplace learning. Functionally, it allows teachers to post messages, discuss classroom topics, assign and grade classwork, share content and materials, and network and exchange ideas with their peers ."  Last year I used Edmodo with 5th grade book club students.  Edmodo allowed students to discuss their thoughts and ask/answer questions about the book before our face-to-face meeting.  Edmodo enabled students to make connections and collaborate about book themes, etc. before  ever setting foot in the library for "formal" discussion.  Because of this online tool, we were able to delve deeper into the book's meaning in the limited amount of time we have during a school day.  

Citation Online--BibMe

BibMe (http://www.bibme.org/) is an online tool that helps users correctly cite the resources that they use.  Users can choose the format they desire:  MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian.  You can easily cite books, magazines, journals, websites etc.  I really like that I can choose between auto-fill mode and manual entry mode.  For example, if I want to cite an article from cnn.com, I can enter cnn.com into the  search window  auto-fill completes the basic information before I add the specifics of the citation.  Unlike Son of Citation, BibMe allows users to save their entries and add annotations if desired.  As a grad school student, sites like BibMe have made my life much easier!  Other citation sites you might try are EasyBib and Son of Citation.  Good luck!

Informational Resources--Kahn Academy

How do you find the square root of a number?  What is exponential decay?  What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?  What can I expect on the GMAT?  Khan Academy can help you answer these questions and thousands more.  The non-profit organization's goal is to change "education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere."  Students (or anyone) can access the free video lessons from any computer that has internet access.  After watching a 20/20 segment in September 2011, my middle school daughter started using the site to help her understand Algebra lessons.  It's made homework time less stressful!


20/20 Story: 


http://www.khanacademy.org/talks-and-interviews/v/khan-academy-on-20-20--sep-2011

Videos-YouTube

YouTube is a video sharing website.  Registered users can view and upload videos.  Unregistered users can view videos.  I use YouTube to keep up with friends (my brother has posted video of his son), for professional reasons (how do you bind a book?) and for fun (Charlie Bit Me).  My kids love the "Charlie Bit Me" video.  I just checked, and it has over 7 MILLION views.  Without question, YouTube connects the world.  Users can get information from experts, watch silly videos for fun and keep up-to-date on family and world events.

Electronic Posterboard-Glogster

Glogster allows users to create interactive posters.  It's fun.  It's free.  It's AWESOME!  Users can take a mundane presentation and place it in a variety of available formats.  They can also add photos, video and audio.  Finally, users can share their creations on Facebook and Twitter.  I think it's a educational tool that will engage students of all ages.

Blogs-Google Blooger

A blog is a great way to share personal or professional opinions on the Internet.  With advances in technology, it's easy for the average compute user to set up a blog.  In fact, I set up this blog in a matter of minutes on Google's Blogger.  Novice computer users can also watch how to videos on You Tube.

Blogs are a great way to express yourself and keep up to date on subjects that interest you.

Images-Instagram

My thirteen-year old really wanted to be on Instagram.  Of course, I am going to follow her.  We had fun setting up our Instagram accounts and talked about using the app responsibly.  We are following my niece in Louisiana, and I think it will be a fun way to keep in touch with her.  I love the way the pics look like old Polaroids.  Very cool!

Facebook acquired Instagram for a billion dollars in cash/stock options last April:  http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/09/technology/facebook_acquires_instagram/index.htm

Chat-Skype

My family and I have used Skype for several years.  After moving to San Antonio in 2006, we bought web cameras for our parents so our children could keep in touch with their grandparents via Skype. When my daughter did a report on aging, she really wanted to interview her grandparents. With Skype, she was able to interview her grandparents like they were in the same room with her.  She recorded her conversations with them and embedded the Skype video into her presentation.

Bibliographies-Goodreads

I  joined Goodreads my first semester as a Lib Sci student for SHSU.  Dr. Crispin had students join Goodreads and write recommendations for our favorite books.  It's a good way of keeping tabs on what's hot and what's not.  I still visit Goodreads when I'm looking for a new book myself, my children or my students.