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.
Livebrush is a free drawing application but a download and install is required. My abstract image above was created in about 3 minutes.
It employs an easy-to-use brush tool that reacts to your gesture. By combining simple motion controls with brush styles, Livebrush offers a fun and unique way to create graphics.
At times I felt like I wasn’t in control but I must admit it was pretty fun. Here’s an introductory video below.
(special thanks to this amazing guy for the find!)
I’ve been having a look at Scribblar. My verdict is still out on it. It is tagged as “simple, effective online collaboration.” Basically you create a room that has a real-time whiteboard that multi-viewers can participate in. Draw, edit, write and/or exchange ideas. The video below is a basic introduction to it.
Thoughts? It could be useful for my art classes but I am a big fan of VoiceThread already. The pro with Scribblar is that it is done in real time.
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
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.
Some interesting stuff I found surfing around and some via Twitter (I can’t remember what by whom, but thank you and sorry for not referencing):
Do you use Skype? Check out TinyChat. “Peer-to-Peer chat service that allows you to set up a one-on-one conversation with a friend in literally seconds. No plug-ins, no software, not even a username required. The only thing you literally have to do is pick a URL for your video on the p2p.tinychat.com domain.” (via Mashable)
TubeChop allows you to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.
At fontcapture.com you can create a font from your very own handwriting. There’s no software to download and install, all you need is a printer and a scanner.
FrameByFrame“…lets you create stop-motion animation videos using any webcam/video camera connected to your Mac, including iSight. Just take some pictures and in a matter of seconds you’ve got your very own stop-motion Quicktime movie!” A freeware alternative to iStopMotion, but installation required.
I am really loving this little application and not just because it is free (download and install required). I’ve had it a while now but haven’t gotten around to using it. My loss. NameChanger is designed for the sole purpose of renaming a list of JPG files effortlessly. I love it to keep my photo library organised via titles, which makes it easier to do searches. Sure, iPhoto has a batch change option, but when I drag the photo to my desktop or send it as an attachment, it annoyingly reverts back to IMG3354.JPG. With NameChanger, I no longer have this problem. I was going to make my own tutorial but macintoshtipz has done a pretty good job. See it in action below.
As mentioned in his tutorial, it is better to change the name before importing into iPhoto. However, your camera may be set to import directly into iPhoto automatically. If so, create a folder on your desktop. Drag your photos from iPhoto into this folder, then delete the photos from iPhoto, NameChange them and re-import.
*Don’t forget to empty your trash from iPhoto. A lot of people don’t realise to do this!
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.
I have been playing around with WallWisher. It’s like an online notice board to keep notes, to-do-lists and announcements. I am wondering how to use it creatively in the classroom. Collaborative brainstorming, evaluations or shared note-taking may work. What I like about it is you can also post videos, photos and may rearrange the notes too. You can view and add to my example below or by clicking here.
Thanks to 
