learningIT

I found out about Shape Collage via Twitter (thanks klbeasley). It’s free with a downloadable and online version. I did try to embed my interactive collage here on this blog but it failed. : (

You will have to settle for the screencapture, but if you click it, it will take you to the almighty interactive URL. (The neat thing about it, is that each photo is clickable and the file is able to be imported into Photoshop where each photo will appear as a layer). A tutorial video is included below but it is really simple to use.

I blogged about my school’s BTG Conference this weekend here where Chris Toy and Kim Cofino are also presenting (I’ll hopefully be able to post on that if I can make it to their session). I myself presented on Essential 2.0 Tools for Teachers and Students. It was kind of tough to narrow the list down as everyone is coming from a different place and are at different IT stages. Most of the tools I suggest are not new and if you are a regular reader of this blog, you have probably encountered them already. I presented using this wiki which I encourage you to look at if interested. Embedded below is the document version provided as a faster reference (also included in the wiki). In my opinion, most of these tools should be standard in classrooms now.

Recently I posted about Google’s Wonder Wheel. More comes this week with Google Image Swirl.

Thanks to Video in the Classroom where I discovered One True Media. It allows you to mix photos and videos into slideshows. Themes are provided with some special effect tools as well. As slick as Animoto but some of the themes may become tiresome after a few uses (it also adds extra length to your slideshow). It’s web based so no need to worry about Mac or PC. The only gripe I have is that it didn’t handle portrait sized photos well. A lot of mine were cut off. Perhaps there is a settings option for this? I have embedded my trial below (or click here).

I have also blogged and compared other photoslideshow tools here that may be of interest as well.

P.S. Do readers know if Animoto has taken down their educator’s pass? I can’t seem to find it on their site. UPDATE: here it is

FreeTechForTeachers created this short guide to 15 tools and strategies for helping your students (and your colleagues) improve their Internet search results. Have a look.

Beyond Google – 15 Tools and Strategies for Improving Your Web Search Results –

10 Killer Content Sources for Your iPod Learning Mix (via Mission To Learn)

Improve Your Browsing Sessions with SuggestRSS (via WebAppStorm)

More Challenges with Wikis: 4 ways to move students from passive to active (via The Journal)

Have a look at Matthew Needleman’s Video In The Classroom (Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Grades and Beyond) site to view student films, film techniques, tutorials, tips and rubrics.

A Missing Piece in the Economic Stimulus: Hobbling Arts Hobbles Innovation - an excellent article on why art education matters and how it leads to innovations in other areas. (from Psychology Today via Journeys in Art)

The 3 Best Sites To Read Manga Online (via Daniel Pink on Twitter)

File2.ws may be of interest to both teachers and students as an alternative way to showcase student/teacher work.

File2.ws is a free website that converts any of your own files into a public online web page. Every converted file to a web page has a unique web address so you can share it with friends, or other people on the internet. This allows information to be shared quickly and efficiently to a large audience.

I’ve been seeing a lot of good photo related stuff on the blogs that I subscribe to and they reminded me of this one, which I keep forgetting to post. Why not David Hockney yourself with Hockneyizer? It’s free.

We are a Mac school. Some students are not. We use both Keynote, PowerPoint as well as other options. Another one has caught my attention. 280 Slides looks like it was made for Mac, but is actually web based. It’s free but requires you to create an account to save. It looks and feels similar to Keynote and has a clear and user-friendly interface.

When finished creating your presentation, you may download it as a PowerPoint, PDF or as an Open Documet file. Heck, you could even simply leave it online. Share features allow you to publish to Slideshare, email and embedding. It’s worth a look. Quickly are the days going when students will no longer be able to say “I don’t have that (software) at home.” I am continually amazed at how much stuff is entering the cloud. Can’t wait for the day when all I need is a wireless keyboard and my TV to do everything.

You may also be interested in Presentation Skills.

Bored of PowerPoint/Keynote? Try presenting with these tools instead.

Not about IT or art, but I thought I’d share anyway.

KenKen Puzzles: “Invented by Japanese math teacher, Tetsuya Miyamoto, KENKEN® allows you to test your puzzle acumen and improve your math skills at the same time.”

(Thanks to my colleague Elliot T. for the tip)