Tech+Tools+4+Teachers


 * ==Graphic Organizer Sites==

[|Top 10 Sites for Brainstorming and Mind Mapping by David Kapuler]
[|Permanent link] Brainstorming/mindmapping is an educational technique that's been around since the beginning of thought. It's a tool that facilitates new ideas and is collaborative in nature. And, with the use of web 2.0 technology, this concept has evolved into an ideal 21st Century technology for education. **Top 10 Sites for Brainstorming/Mind Mapping** 1. [|Slick Plan] - What's not to like? Easy to use, create beautiful flow charts, then embed to a site. 2. [|Thinklinkr] - Real-time collaborative site where users brain storm and create a mind map. 3. [|Webspiration] - The popular desktop application is now the web... nuff said. 4. [|Diagrammr]- Quite simply the easiest mind mapping site to use, no registration is necessary, then share the URL w/ others. 5. [|Imagination Cubed]- Nice looking site that is ideal for the electronic whiteboards w/ the ability to draw your own mind maps. 6. [|Edistorm]- Real-Time mind mapping w/ sticky notes. 7. [|Education Eye]- A great way to brainstorm w/ this innovative search engine. 8. [|Mind42]- Nice collaborative mind mapping site that is easy to use. 9. [|Mindmeister]- Beautiful looking mind mapping site w/ the ability to embed into a site. 10. [|Mindomo]- One of the most detailed mind mapping sites w/ lots of web 2.0 features, such as sharing, commenting, etc. //David Kapuler was the media and technology specialist at Greendale (Wis.) School District. Read his blog at [|cyber-kap.blogspot.com].// [] Free Download for Graphic Organizers

Flash card creator
http://quizlet.com/

Online Assessment Tool:
 [|http://www.classmarker.com] All you need is a Net connection and browser to use this site (no software or downloads needed), making it ultra-convenient for your students to use and you to administer. It's a very impressive service to boot, with a very robust set of features that are fairly easy to figure out and implement.

==Literally hundreds of technology integrated lesson plans by grade level: http://www.nortellearnit.org/LearniT/lessonplans_by_grade/content area: http://www.nortellearnit.org/lessonplansbysubject/or technology: http://www.nortellearnit.org/LearniT/lessonplans_by_technology/ Video Tutorial on Using Different Technology Tools: http://www.nortellearnit.org/technology/ Other Related Resources: http://www.nortellearnit.org/resources/==

Top Ten Web 2.0 Tools


 * Chris Riedel**, //"Top 10 Web 2.0 Tools for Young Learners,"// T.H.E. Journal, 2/2/2009, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23898

1. Wikis Lovely rounded out her top 10 with Wikis and Wiki platforms, citing these as the most powerful of the Web 2.0 tools. "Wikis," she said, "are even more versatile than blogs. You can do anything with a Wiki," from embedding all kinds of content to promoting collaboration to creating an entire community all on a single platform. "In fact," she said, pointing to her presentation slides on the giant screen behind her, "You've been looking at a wiki this whole time during our discussion."

Nearing the top of the list, the versatility of blogs, said Lovely, is what makes them so valuable. Blogs provide opportunities to reach out to a range of community stakeholders including administrators, other teachers and students, parents, and the community at large. "Blogs have the power to give kids an authentic audience," she said. "It gives them a voice."
 * 2. Blogs

3. [|Voicethread]** Coming in at No. 3, Voicethread is audiovisual tool that gives users the ability to upload images or video files and then add audio or text comments. "The power of this," said Lovely, "is in the commenting."

While referred to as an "interactive poster," Glogster--Lovely's No. 4 pick--is, in effect, a personal Web page complete with embedded media links, sound, and video capabilities. Students can work with Glogster individually or as a group to create presentations, share information, and interact with their peers. Lovely stressed the importance of signing up for the "EDU" version, which prevents other users from viewing class-specific "Glogs."
 * 4. [|Glogster]**

This tool, according to Lovely, not only has the potential to improve class participation and collaboration, but it can also help cut costs by providing free voice and video calling to other Skype users worldwide. Some uses of the platform include multi-class and cross-district collaboration, professional development, and virtual field trips.
 * 5. [|Skype]**

Animoto is an automated presentation generator that focuses on using images to communicate a message. "This tool is great for class collaboration," said Lovely, and it is easier than using PowerPoint. Two versions of the platform are currently available: a paid version for general public use and a free education version offering unlimited use for teachers and students.
 * 6. [|Animoto]**

Coming in at No. 7 on Lovely's list was "Yack Pack," an Internet-based voice communication tool that works a lot like voicemail for the Web. Users define a "pack"--a group of individuals they want to communicate with--and then record messages for the group, an individual, or even a subset within the group using a standard computer microphone. When members of the pack log in, they can listen and respond to the messages. Using Yack Pack Live--a component of Yack Pack--users have the added ability of broadcasting their messages in real time using a small widget that can be embedded in a website. Uses of the platform, said Lovely, include multi-class collaboration, or even parent-teacher communications.
 * 7. [|Yack Pack]**

8. [|Create-A-Graph] "This may be an odd choice for the list," Lovely conceded as she revealed her No. 8 pick, "because, in some ways, it's not really Web 2.0. It's not quite as collaborative as some of these other tools. But if you want to cut to the chase and teach kids about creating graphs and reading data, this is a great tool." Create-A-Graph is a Web-based tool aimed at giving students an accessible way to learn graphing fundamentals. The tool is easy and flexible, according to Lovely, and allows them to learn important concepts using their own information.

No. 9 on the list is Voki, a text to speech generator that, according to Lovely, has a lot of very interesting applications. "This is more than just something cute that can be embedded in a Web site," she said, referring to the animated figure being projected on the screen. "What if the Voki was reading a list of spelling words? What if it was speaking another language? What if I had a Web site that had a Voki embedded to tell my kids what was going on so that the one's that couldn't read could hear it? What if kids used Voki to say something important?"
 * 9. [|Voki]

10. [|Kerpoof]** Kerpoof is a site that provides a variety of creative tools for animation, drawing, and movie creation. Users can choose from a range of preset characters and environmental options, or they can create their own. The site offers drag-and-drop simplicity coupled with advanced animation and editing capabilities that, according to Lovely, open the platform up to a range of curricular applications.

Link to the Computer Lab Wikispace http://ascscomputers.wikispaces.com/
==SmartBoard Notebook Lessons http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+activities/ Click on the United States Lessons but also look at Canada because Canada was the first to have SmartBoard technology.==

Blogs

 * http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/blog/blogbasics.cfm
 * [|EduBlogs - Free blogs for education professionals]
 * [|Landmarks Blog Meister]
 * [|Learner Blogs]
 * [|Weblogg-ed]


 * Educational Blogs to Read**
 * Kathy Schrock - http://kathyschrock.net/blog/
 * • Will Richardson - http://weblogg-ed.com/
 * • David Warlick – http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/
 * Tim Lauer – http://tim.lauer.name/
 * Jenny Levine – [|www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/]
 * Tim Wilson – [|http://technosavvy.org]
 * Discovery Education - http://discoveryeducation.typepad.com/
 * Class Blogmeister - http://classblogmeister.com/ ||
 * == Podcasting ==


 * Podcasting Examples**
 * [|The Educational Podcast Network]
 * [|iWriter – Create study tools for iPod in minutes]
 * [|Kid-Cast - Podcasts for kids and by kids]
 * [|WillowWeb]
 * [|Madrid Young Learners Podcasts] - BESS
 * [|Podcast Page] - BESS
 * [|PodcastAlley- The place to find Podcasts] - BESS
 * [|Gabcast - Record Podcast by phone]
 * [|Bob Sprankle]
 * [|Podcast Page]
 * [|PodcastAlley- The place to find Podcasts]
 * [|Grammer Girl]
 * [|K.I.S.S] - MP3


 * Recording Tools**
 * [|Audacity]
 * [|Gabcast - Record Podcast by phone]
 * [|Gcast]

**Audio Tools** * [|Free Sound Project]
 * [|Podsafe Audio]
 * [|Common Content: Catalog]
 * [|Free Downloadable Sounds]
 * [|Free Downloadable music]

**•** **Online Free Hosting**
 * [|Our Media]
 * [|Pod Bean]
 * [|Gcast]
 * [|Kid-cast]


 * Miscellaneous**
 * [|iWriter – Create study tools for iPod in minutes] ||
 * ==Vodcasts==
 * [|Introducing Vodcasting Blog]
 * [|Microsoft Photo Story] ||
 * ==RSS Feeds & Aggregators==
 * [|FeedBurner]
 * [|Bloglines]
 * [|Pageflakes - The whole Web at your Fingertips!]
 * [|JotSpot]
 * [|Netvibes] ||
 * == Social Bookmarking ==
 * [|del.icio.us]
 * [|iKeepBookmarks - A Web-Based Bookmark Manager]
 * [|LookSmart's Furl - Your Personal Web]
 * [|My Bookmarks] ||

Social Tools

 * Documents**
 * [|Google Docs & Spreadsheets]
 * [|Zoho Creator>]
 * Calendars**
 * [|Famundo]


 * Miscellaneous**
 * [|Gliffy] - Diagrams
 * [|Slideshare] - Share your slideshows online
 * [|Atlas] - Create, Save and Share online maps
 * [|Scriblink] - Online Whiteboard ||

Wikis

 * Wiki Tools **
 * • PB Wiki – [|www.pbwiki.com]
 * WikiSpaces – www.wikispaces.com
 * Jotspot- [|www.jotspot.com]
 * SeedWiki – [|www.seedwiki.com]
 * Wikicities – [|www.wikicities.com]

**Wiki Examples**
 * http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/
 * SDRTech Wiki - [|http://sdrtech.pbwiki.com]
 * http://webloggedlinks.pbwiki.com/
 * [|Welcome to Room 15 Wiki! - Mr. Lindsay's 6th grade classroom wiki]
 * http://schools.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page (Online Collaborative Writing )
 * [|http://www.ahistoryteacher.com/~ahistory/apwhreview/][|index.php?title=Main_Page] (Simulation)
 * https://sdrtech.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * == Aggregators ==
 * [|Bloglines] - BESS
 * [|JotSpot] - BESS
 * [|Netvibes]
 * [|Pageflakes - The whole Web at your Fingertips!] ||
 * == Miscellaneous ==
 * [|Go2Web20.net - The complete Web 2.0 directory]
 * [|43 Things]
 * [|Jumpcut [Make Amazing Movies Online]] - BESS ||

From: http://sdrtrain.pbwiki.com/Web-2-Resources