100 Blogs Every New Teacher Should Read

100 Blogs Every New Teacher Should Read

Really worth checking out!

100 Incredibly Useful YouTube Channels for Teachers | Online College Courses

100 Incredibly Useful YouTube Channels for Teachers | Online College Courses

YouTube has earned a reputation for featuring brain cell-slaughtering fare such as the truly abysmal Fred and playing host to the some of the most depressingly stupid comments th...

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award.

9 Safety Tips for Podcasting in the Classroom – SimpleK12

9 Safety Tips for Podcasting in the Classroom – SimpleK12

Podcasting in your classroom is a creative way to stimulate learning and motivate students to participate in classroom activities and collaborative assignments. With any technology, it is extremely important to remember to stay safe! The link yields just a few tips to help ensure you are podcasting safely.

Animation Playhouse Free Animated Gifs Halloween Page 1

Animation Playhouse Free Animated Gifs Halloween Page 1

For those who use graphics :) Have fun.

the creative internet (106 things)

the creative internet (106 things)

Well worth the wait to see this.

iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » 31 of My Favorite Digital Storytelling Sites

iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » 31 of My Favorite Digital Storytelling Sites

Ways to move digital storytelling to new heights

A Rubric for Evaluating Student Blogs - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education

A Rubric for Evaluating Student Blogs - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education

The pedagogical value and the challenges of integrating student blogging into your teaching is a recurring topic on ProfHacker. Some of our earliest posts dealt with student blogging, and we have revisited the issue frequently. Most recently, Jeff and Julie wrote about that age-old question—How are you going to grade this?—when it comes to evaluating classroom blogs. Jeff and Julie offer a number of fantastic pointers, and they also refer to a blogging rubric that I use in my own teaching. I’ve never directly described how I grade student blog posts on ProfHacker, but I think it’s about time to share what has been a valuable tool, and to encourage professors to adopt and modify it to fit their own needs.

100 Serious Twitter Tips for Academics | Best Colleges Online

100 Serious Twitter Tips for Academics | Best Colleges Online

Twitter’s popularity has soared recently, and for good reason. What started as a simple way to update friends about daily life has grown into a powerful tool for business, communication, and education. While many campuses are just picking up on the educational rewards possible with Twitter, there is still plenty of room to create new and exciting ways to use Twitter on campus. The following tips will help you know just how to get started using Twitter in academia, teach you etiquette, offer strategies and benefits, provide suggestions for specific ways to use Twitter, list tools to use with Twitter, and more.

Education Article :: 100+ Google Tricks for Teachers

Education Article :: 100+ Google Tricks for Teachers

It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it.

Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social life–time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google has to offer?

From super-effective search tricks to Google tools specifically for education to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these tricks will surely save you some precious time.

50 Excellent Open Courses on Teaching With Technology

50 Excellent Open Courses on Teaching With Technology

The information below is taken from a recent posting on www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com.

It is a listing of 50 free online courses that are offered on a wide variety of instructional technology topics. The courses are free, self-directed, and accessible over the internet. Rather then listing a few examples in this posting I decided to paste all of the links below. (see the link above)

Texting and Teachers Experimenting with Technology: 10 Resources | Teacher Reboot Camp

Texting and Teachers Experimenting with Technology: 10 Resources | Teacher Reboot Camp

A great article discussing how cell phones can be useful in classes instead of a distraction.

10 Benefits of Mobile Devices for Learning « Mobile Learning Blog

10 Benefits of Mobile Devices for Learning « Mobile Learning Blog

Today’s mobile devices can handle a majority of tasks that teachers require and students expect from personal computers (PCs). However, there are many distinct advantages that are unique to mobile devices.

Five Free 21st Century Presentations by David Kapuler

Five Free 21st Century Presentations by David Kapuler

Recently, I've had the opportunity to compile some presentations that I've done throughout the year. I've made these all available at no charge and allow people to edit them and use them as they desire. These courses are a nice guide to educators who want to explore 21st Century/Web 2.0 technologies. I cover a wide range of areas, from building a PLN to blogging in the classroom.

Free Technology for Teachers: 47 Alternatives to Using YouTube in the Classroom

Free Technology for Teachers: 47 Alternatives to Using YouTube in the Classroom

reposted - by Richard Byrne

Some excellent educational content can be found on YouTube. However, many teachers cannot access YouTube in their classrooms. That is why I originally wrote what became one of the most popular posts to ever appear on Free Technology for Teachers, 30+ Alternatives to YouTube. That post is now fourteen months old and I've come across more alternatives in that time. Also in that time span some of the resources on the list have shut down. So it's time to update the list.

Best Embeds for Educational Wikis and Blogs

Best Embeds for Educational Wikis and Blogs

Now that you and/or your students are using wikis and blogs, are you curious what could be added to them? From animated slideshows to collaborative documents to interactive review games, many great (and free) tools are available. As a follow up to my previous post “What Teachers Should and Should Not Be Posting on their Classroom Webpages”, I’ve pulled a master list of embedding options that will hopefully spark your imagination.

28 Video Websites To Upgrade Your Knowledge | Creative Magazine

28 Video Websites To Upgrade Your Knowledge | Creative Magazine

Great resource of video educational tools

Eyejot :: What's Eyejot?

Eyejot :: What's Eyejot?

I may have posted on this before ... but

Eyejot is the first, comprehensive, client-free online video messaging platform ideal for both personal and business communications. It offers everyone the ability to create and receive video messages in a self-contained, spam-free environment. With no client to install, you can start using Eyejot immediately with any browser, on any platform. It even features built-in support for iTunes™ (and iPods™), mobile devices and social networks like MySpace™.Watch Eyejot video examples.

Mac Freeware All-Stars: Our 10 Best in Category Picks | Mac.AppStorm

Mac Freeware All-Stars: Our 10 Best in Category Picks | Mac.AppStorm

Recently we posted an enormous roundup of 100 free Mac applications. These types of articles are awesome for a quick overview of everything that’s available, but sometimes you just want to know what the best free app is in a given genre.

Today we’ll answer this question by presenting our top picks for free applications across various categories. Below we’ll take a look at the best of the best in free software and then give you the chance to join the discussion and cast your vote.

Tools to help!

NoodleTools : MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian Bibliography Composer, Online Notecards

NoodleTools provides innovative software that teaches students and supports teachers and librarians throughout the entire research process

Greplin

Greplin

a site that searches all your online data, in one place, really fast.

Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org: Free ePub solutions for Your Nook

Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org: Free ePub solutions for Your Nook

Do you know where you can find free ePub publications for your eReader, especially the Nook?

Earlier this week (or maybe it was last week), I shared eReader Indecision. I finally made a decision and ordered the Barnes and Noble Nook Wi-Fi. (Here's one of the reasons why I didn't get a Kindle...lack of format support, such as for ePub). I'm hoping I didn't totally make a mistake but only hands-on experience and time will tell. Also, I'm hoping that the Nook Wi-Fi will be something that will work well in a school environment where 3G access isn't necessarily encouraged.......

Teachers and Students in Control - 4 Media Creating Sites

Teachers and Students in Control - 4 Media Creating Sites

There are so many tools and resources that are available to the education world that let you and your students create tons of different applications. These sites are great for incorporating into class projects, lessons or just having fun with learning! These 4 sites will provide you with a quick variety of some of those great resources. Combining technology with learning is just another way of preparing students for the future while having fun.

Full List - 50 Best Websites 2010 - TIME

Full List - 50 Best Websites 2010 - TIME

From the helpful to the distracting, the big hitters to the unknowns, TIME offers a road map to the best of the Web

YouTube - Dr. Bena Kallick Video Blog-Technology In The Classroom.wmv

YouTube - Dr. Bena Kallick Video Blog-Technology In The Classroom.wmv

Some thoughts on classroom management with technology.

Bittersweet News for Social Media in Education | Edutopia

Bittersweet News for Social Media in Education | Edutopia

We're purposely creating a disconnect with our youth and setting them up to fail in the digital space by simply hiding social media sites because we're too afraid of misuse. Whether we like it or not, our students are already using social media sites. Seventy-three percent of American teens now use social networking websites, according to new study by Pew Internet on Social Media and Young Adults. Are we going to stand aside and watch them engage in social media with their phones and at home? What about teaching our youth about digital footprints, citizenship, and etiquette in this quickly evolving space? As educators, I can't imagine a more important role to take on.

Mobile Trends, E-books, and the Web « The Xplanation

The following is an except from the web site - it makes for good reading

Mobile Trends, E-books, and the Web « The Xplanation

Welcome to this morning’s Daily Research Update. Today’s themes are social networking, rethinking learning, and for-profits. If you want more context for this research, take a look at our Education and Technology Trends for 2010. You may also be interested in our Weekly Research Index, or you can follow our live, daily research on our Current News page.

(Click here to see a simple listing of today’s suggested reading)

Let’s talk mobile for a bit, shall we? For starters, some are questioning the success of RIM’s latest BlackBerry — the Torch. “The WSJ cites analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus, which both estimate that RIM sold about 150,000 of the device over the weekend. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs called the launch “underwhelming.” For comparison’s sake, the iPhone 4 sold 1.7 million devices in its opening weekend.”

Weblogg-ed » Unlearning Teaching

Weblogg-ed » Unlearning Teaching

Rather than teachers delivering an information product to be ‘consumed’ and fed back by the student, co-creating value would see the teacher and student mutually involved in assembling and dissembling cultural products. As co-creators, both would add value to the capacity building work being done through the invitation to ‘meddle’ and to make errors. The teacher is in there experimenting and learning from the instructive complications of her errors alongside her students, rather than moving from desk to desk or chat room to chat room, watching over her flock.

Langwitches Blog » 21st Century Learning

Langwitches Blog » 21st Century Learning

I found the following video in my Reader today from The Innovative Educator. I will be saving the video for future PD opportunities.

b

iPad Quiz Maker

ProProfs is an advanced, free quiz maker offering more features than you might expect. Advanced options like security, scoring, time limits & more make this online quiz software perfect for corporations, educational institutions and just for fun. This free quiz maker is 100% safe for use in educational environment with Family-safe advertisements in the free version. If you are looking for a test generator, exam maker or a causal quiz creator, ProProfs fits the need. Make your own online quiz now with many options at your disposal.

Sonic Pics for iPod (and iPad)

Reviews and views on iPod Apps for Education

This app allows you to narrate over pictures in your photo gallery. It’s very simple to start a project, choose pictures then record the narration to accompany your pictures. You change between photos by swiping your finger across the screen.

What matters about 21st Century Learning

David Warlick does a superb job in describing why our mission is not about the tool but about the learning.

Technology for 21st Century Learning: Part 1 : 2¢ Worth

The only thing that is one to one that we should be concerned with is equitable access to rigorous, relevant, and irresistible learning experiences that reflect and harness the times, environment, and ultimate goals of the learning.

Schools making use of iPads

North Adams Public Schools making use of iPads - North Adams Transcript

Forget laptops. The North Adams Public Schools are hoping the latest form of innovative handheld technology -- the Apple iPad -- will entice at-risk students to improve their grades and graduate on time.

The school district is piloting a new program aimed at helping students earn credits for classes they’ve failed through learning modules specifically created for the iPad.

Access iPad and iPod documents when offline

Offline Access to Cloud Documents Comes to the iPhone and iPad

Cloud storage and collaboration platform Box.net has just updated its iPhone and iPad application with support for offline downloads and background processing in iOS 4.

Creating content with iPads

Creating Content with iPads – #edtech #elearning #ipad | School Technology Solutions

I am sick of people saying that the iPad is for consuming and not creating online digital content. There is no doubt that the iPad is a great device to browse the web, read an eBook and check email (consuming) but it can do so much more than that. You will see from my list below that the iPad is far superior to the laptop in a lot of different areas of digital content creation.

IPad Curriculum

iPad Curriculum
This site has ideas on how to use the iPad in schools - take a look.

Technology takes formative assessment to a whole new level

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/08/04/technology-takes-formative-assessment-to-a-whole-new-level/

Student response system (SRS) technology has caught on in classrooms nationwide as a tool for boosting class participation, as well as helping teachers ensure that students understand what’s being taught before they move on to another concept. But the current generation of the technology has its limitations.

 

Create free online polls without signing-up

Need to make a survey - try Flisti

http://flisti.com/

Anthologize

Anthologize is a free, open-source, plugin that transforms WordPress 3.0 into a platform for publishing electronic texts. Grab posts from your WordPress blog, import feeds from external sites, or create new content directly within Anthologize. Then outline, order, and edit your work, crafting it into a single volume for export in several formats, including—in this release—PDF, ePUB, TEI.

http://anthologize.org/

More iPad items for school

On the Wire—iPad Apps| The Committed Sardine

A wordle replacement

Tagxedo - Creator
Tagxedo turns words -- famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters -- into a visually stunning tag cloud, words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text.

Screencast

Screenr - Create screencasts and screen recordings the easy way

Now you can create screencasts for your followers as easily as you tweet. Just click the record button and you’ll have your ready-to-tweet screencast in seconds.

Seven Ways to Find Teachers on Twitter

Twitter can be a great way to find resources and as a PLN - so....

Free Technology for Teachers: Seven Ways to Find Teachers on Twitter

More Web 2.0 Resources

» Resources

The list below is an ever expanding list of free resources, now over a 100 tools, that can be used in a classroom either by students or teachers. Each utility has a review and I provide a link to the site so that you can download the tool should you wish to use it. I will endeavour to keep the links up to date, but am not responsible for any site or service mentioned below. Please use them on an as you find it basis.

iPad Second Thoughts

That'SLife » Blog Archive » iPad – Second Thoughts

Well, at the moment it’s more a case of what am I not doing with it. Here’s the software I’m currently making most use of:

iPad apps - and teaching with Mobile devices

10 Excellent iPad Apps for the Lifelong Learner

In spite of being involved with technology in one way or another for most of my working career, I’ve never been much of a gadget guy. So, I was a bit surprised when I saw the iPad and immediately felt like I had to have one.

More Screencasting

Free Technology for Teachers: Screenjelly - Quick and Easy Screencasting

Screenjelly is a free web-based tool that allows anyone to quickly create a screencast video. To use Screenjelly all you need to do is go to Screenjelly.com and click the big red "record" button. Once clicked Screenjelly will begin recording your screen and your voice (if you choose) for up to three minutes. When you're done recording press "stop" and you can then share your video on Twitter and other social networks. You can also embed your Screenjelly recording into your blog or website.

Simple Diagrams

Free Technology for Teachers: Simple Diagrams - Free Diagram Creation Tool

Simple Diagrams offers a free tool that anyone can use to create diagrams using a combination of clip art, text, and free hand drawings. Simple Diagrams provides a large selection of shapes and drawings that you can drag and drop into your diagrams. You can adjust the size of each element you place in your diagram. Any element can also be altered by using the pencil drawing tool. The pencil tool can also be used to create a drawing from scratch.

Google Training

Google Apps for Education - Free hosted email (Gmail) for EDU

Google Apps Education Edition offers a free (and ad-free) set of customizable tools that enable faculty, staff and students to work together and learn more effectively

Digital Storytelling with the iPad

Digital Storytelling with the iPad

Digital Storytelling can transform your students' writing into a visual masterpiece that is filled with voice and emotion, while enhancing critical thinking skills. The iPad takes digital storytelling to a new level by making the process easier, and even more engaging for students of all grade levels as well as for their teachers.

In defence od PowerPoint

In Defense of PowerPoint - BusinessWeek

The presentation software has become a target of comedians and critics. The problem isn't PowerPoint, but how presenters abuse it

Join an educational technology group - collaborate!

Groups | Edutopia

Edutopia Community Groups

Our community welcomes all teachers, administrators, parents, and others who are passionate about improving education.

Where do you rank - wuiz on your Technology Integration

QUIZ: Tech Savvy Teaching: How Do You Rank? | Edutopia

WHERE ARE YOU IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM? Are tech tools improving your teaching or just a distraction? The quiz below will rank you on our technology integration scale and provide you with smart tips to extend your tech comfort zone.

Aviary - Tools

Aviary - Tools

Aviary is a suite of powerful creative applications that you can use right in your web browser. We're on a mission to make creation accessible to artists of all genres, from graphic design to audio editing. Let Aviary and Worth1000 artists perform design services for you. Sign up for an account today to start creating, sharing, and collaborating with our community of artists.

ELI Discovery Tool: Collaborative Learning Workshop Guide | EDUCAUSE

ELI Discovery Tool: Collaborative Learning Workshop Guide | EDUCAUSE

Although there is much variation on the definition of collaborative learning, it typically refers to a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Put differently, collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other to varying degrees (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning). Thus, collaborative learning is commonly illustrated when groups of students work together to search for understanding, meaning, or solutions or to create an artifact or product of their learning. Further, collaborative learning redefines the traditional student-teacher relationship in the classroom and can include collaborative writing, group projects, joint problem solving, debates, study teams, and other activities.

HOW TO: Make a Great How-To Video

This should be useful for digital storytelling

HOW TO: Make a Great How-To Video

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a video certainly adds a good few more on top of that. One area in which video is invaluable is the “how-to” instructional that takes a diagram, recipe, or list of steps and brings the topic to life.

A bad how-to isn’t worth the pixels it’s rendered with, so we quizzed Tom Laidlaw, CEO of VideoJug.com — a site dedicated to how-to videos that stocks over 125,000 of them. He shared some dos and don’ts for the format.

Whether you’re a small business owner and want to demo a product, an artisan wanting to show off your skills, or even a consumer with a passion for sharing knowledge, before you pick up the camcorder, have a read of our top tips below

Free Technology for Teachers: 100 Ways to Use VoiceThread in Education

Free Technology for Teachers: 100 Ways to Use VoiceThread in Education

100 Ways to Use VoiceThread in EDU is the title of a collaborative effort to gather educators' ideas for using VoiceThread in the classroom. Watch, read, and listen below

Easy Google Apps Management with Gpanion | Web.AppStorm

Easy Google Apps Management with Gpanion | Web.AppStorm

We all love Google and the dozens of great services & apps it offers. The problem is there are dozens of them and we tend to use a quiet a few as time passes on. The drop down under the more option is ever changing and often won’t list the apps we use on a daily basis.

Today we will take a quick look at Gpanion, which helps tie up loose ends when it comes to accessing Google’s apps and services.

Learning with 'e's: Movements for change

Steve Wheeler tackles these tough issues.

Learning with 'e's: Movements for change

The learning technology landscape is changing and many questions are being asked. Why should teachers give away their resources, and why should they share their hard work with other teachers? What is Creative Commons and how does it work? What is open scholarship and what does it have to offer me? Will the 'giants' in the publishing world take notice of the Open Educational Resource movement? How did Web 2.0 come about? How do movements for change emerge and gain impetus? Does change come best from a top-down or a bottom-up approach? And where can we find the useful open

10 Free Audio Programs to Use for E-Learning » The Rapid eLearning Blog

10 Free Audio Programs to Use for E-Learning » The Rapid eLearning Blog

Show Your Media Literacy - Worldbuilder

Show Your Media Literacy - Worldbuilder

Nice video on Media Literacy - worth a watch

Reframing Google's Search Options: The Poster, by Joyce Kasman Valenza

Reframing Google's Search Options: The Poster, by Joyce Kasman Valenza

Recently, Steven W. Anderson shared a fabulous post, Some Google Search Engines You Might Not Know About. Steve got me thinking about Google's many other hidden treasures.

Over the past couple of years, those brilliant Google engineers designed stunning search options, moving Google search way, way beyond an effective, but relatively inflexible, vertical search.

The problem is--so many of the very best search options are buried in the vast Google wilderness of labs, or in the wonderful, but lost pulldowns of more and even more--places where few but the most intrepid students and teachers dare to go.

Welcome to NBC Learn

NBC News has created 10,000 historic and current event resources for 21st century teaching and learning. The videos are updated daily, aligned to state standards, and downloadable. To learn more, sign-up for a FREE trial at www.nbclearn.com.

Welcome to NBC Learn

Shareaholic for Google Chrome - The best way to share, tweet, bookmark, save and e-mail webpages

Shareaholic for Google Chrome - The best way to share, tweet, bookmark, save and e-mail webpages

I discovered this tool - which allows you to share to most of your favorite sites and email - it seems like a great browser plugin.

Deleting Facebook

Deleting your Facebook account (FAQ) | InSecurity Complex - CNET News

Are you confused by the myriad changes Facebook keeps making to its privacy settings? Are you angry about your data being exposed without your express consent? Are you just fed up and not going to take it anymore?

Online Learning: A Continuum of Opportunity

NAIS Task Force

NAIS 21st Century Curriculum/Technology Task Force
Online Learning: A Continuum of Opportunity
Critical Questions for School Leaders

Tired of lecturing?

Fifty Alternatives To Lecture

Fifty Alternatives to Lecture

Researched by J. Prusch and written and adapted by A.M. Pickett.

Almost any activity can be designed to be carried out in some way or another for an online course. Most important is that the instructor must set up the activity with all the supporting and explanatory documentation necessary for the students to understand fully what they are to do, when, where in the course they are to do it, what is expected specifically, and how they will be evaluated. Areas in the course must be designed and set up in advance by the instructor to account for and accommodate, explain, model, and evaluate each activity. Below are some ideas to get you thinking about what is possible and how. For help implementing any of these ideas in your course, contact your assigned instructional design partner.

Open Course in Education Futures #edfuture

Open Course in Education Futures | Open to all.

I am participating in this free eight week course - it looks to be an interesting experience.  The first orientation and lecture is available online. Stay tuned to get more information.

Mandatory Reading for School Reformers and Transformers: Alvin Toffler’s 2007 Interview in EduTopia

Mandatory Reading for School Reformers and Transformers: Alvin Toffler’s 2007 Interview in EduTopia « Moving at the Speed of Creativity

James Daly's 2007 interview with Alvin Toffler, "Reshaping Learning from the Ground Up," should be considered mandatory reading for anyone seeking to reform and/or transform formal education in the 21st century.

RCampus - Create and Conduct Courses Online

Free Technology for Teachers: RCampus - Create and Conduct Courses Online

RCampus - Create and Conduct Courses Online

RCampus is a free, web-based, platform for creating and conducting courses online. Using RCampus teachers can create a course, collect students' assignments, and maintain a gradebook. RCampus provides all of the tools you would expect to find in an online course management system. Through RCampus you can post assignments, host discussion forums, post videos, post images, post links, collect assignments, and manage a gradebook.

Report profiles key emerging technologies for K-12

Report profiles key emerging technologies for K-12

The New Media Consortium (NMC) today released the 2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition, the second in an annual series of reports focused on emerging technology use in elementary and secondary education. The report identifies and describes six emerging technologies that will likely have a significant impact on K-12 education in the next one to five years.

Ning: Failures, Lessons and Six Alternatives

Ning: Failures, Lessons and Six Alternatives

Ning, the network of social networks that boasted 20 million visitors a month, is making massive staff cutbacks and has announced a complete end to free services for its users. Those who pay for premium services will be asked to pay more, and those who are getting their social networks free of charge will be asked to fork over or phase off the Ning platform.

Save My Ning

Save My Ning.com - Home

Save My Ning is an archive service that will allow you to backup your existing Ning Network on our webservers for free. We will host ads on the sites in order to cover the cost much like your Ning Network had ads. However, you will not be able to post to your archive, only read it. For continuing your community, we recommend any of the services listed to the side.

Replacing Etherpad with TypeWith.Me

One EtherPad Replacement « Tablet Talk

Source: Jane’s eLearning Pick of the Day

Site: TypeWith.Me

There is a super simple and ultra functional website called Etherpad. Etherpad allows you to create a document that multiple people can edit at once. It can be handy for collaboration with other teachers, creating a super-simple wiki page and a few dozen other uses. There are other sites which allow similar functionality, but what sets etherpad apart is that you can create and share a new page without an account (type in to your browser http://etherpad.com/xxx where xxx=what you want your page to be titled). Another thing that sets etherpad apart is the simple chat function in the bottom corner of the page. It allows users to discuss things before they set them down on the page.

So if etherpad is so great, why would you ever use anything that was similar? Well, etherpad was purchased by google (have you heard of them?) and the technology behind the product is going to be used in other products that google offers.

Google will not be keeping etherpad up and running, but to their credit they have made the source code available to other designers. The first (that I’m aware of) replacement is TypeWith.Me and is linked up at the top of the page. You can navigate to the site and create a pad (or you can place http://typewith.me/xxx in your brower’s URL bar, where xxx is your desired title) and start collaborating on shared documents!

If you want to just ’see’ what a pad looks like before you create one, click here:

http://typewith.me/tablettalk

There are likely to be be more and more etherpad replacement on the horizon. Enjoy.

Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom by Alan November

This seems very aligned to my feelings on how we need to be teaching - well done and thanks Alan!

Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom by Alan November

Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom by Alan November from Brian Mull on Vimeo.

Google for Educators: The Best Features for Busy Teachers

Google for Educators: The Best Features for Busy Teachers | Edutopia

Among all the links and downloads out there, it can be hard for teachers to know which ones work best. Google has made it easier by creating Google for Educators, which compiles some of the search engine's most useful features in one place. Whether you're teaching Spanish or social studies, mathematics or music, there's a free Google feature that will make your lessons more dynamic and your projects more organized. The lively, informative Web site offers step-by-step visual tours and even videos to help you get set up. Below are some of the most useful features the site has to offer:

Guiding students on the web

Home | JOG THE WEB

JOG THE WEB is a web-based tool that allows anyone to create a synchronous guide to a series of web sites.

Its step by step approach of taking viewers through web sites allowing the author to annotate and ask guiding questions for each page is unique.

Give it a try and start creating your own Jogs.

Tools to create digital stories

CogDogRoo - Storytools

The Fifty Tools
Below you will find 50+ web tools you can use to create your own web-based story. Again, the mission is not to review or try every single one (that would be madness, I know), but pick one that sounds interesting and see if you can produce something. I have used each tool to produce an example of the original Dominoe story, plus links are provided, where available, to examples by other people. Please share your own examples or thoughts in the discussion area of this wiki.

But before rummaging around the toolbox, have you done your prep work? Do you have your story idea or presentation concept outlined, developed? This should be on paper or in a document file or scribbled on the back of a napkin, but do not rely on making it up as you go! If not, go back 2 spaces and do this now. Next- do you have your media assets available, your images, video clips, audio files-- if not go find your media now.

A New way to Blog?

Glogster – Poster Yourself | Text, Images, Music and Video

Glogster EDU is your original educational resource for innovative and interactive learning. Glogster EDU was conceived to imaginatively, productively, and collaboratively respond to the dynamic educational landscape and exceed the needs of today’s educators and learners. We value the participation of educators and strive to assimilate their contributions to Glogster EDU, Glogster EDU is yours! Educators from all over the world are integrating Glogster EDU’s resourceful platform to make traditional learning more dynamic, more interactive and more in tune with learners today. Most importantly Glogster EDU is FUN for teachers and learners alike!

100 Apps for Tech–Savvy Teachers

100 Apps for Tech–Savvy Teachers

Teachers have one of the most difficult jobs out there. As an educator, you have to manage a classroom of boisterous students, organize heaps of data, stay up–to–date with current events and plan lessons day in and day out. In today’s technologically linked world, the ability to use web applications is at your advantage as an educator, and we are here to tell you the best tools to use. So if you teach at an online college, or in a traditional classroom, here is a collection of 100 web and iPhone applications that make the grade for tech–savvy teachers:

Letter to an administrator

I could not agree with this more - leaders need to think and act for the students.

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Dear Administrator: Focus

Dear Administrator: Focus

Online Professional Learning - Recordings Available

Online Professional Learning Program – January 2010 - News and Events - Research and Innovation - Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

In January 2010, the Department offered a program of free, online conferences to support teacher professional learning. The program of web conferences covered the domains of Literacy, Maths, Science and ICT.

A synopsis and an online recording of each session are available via the links below.

Nine Myths about Public Schools

Gerald Bracey: Nine Myths About Public Schools

None of this will likely strike you as particularly new, but it might be good to have a bunch of myths lined up and debunked all in one place.

25 places to find instructional videos

Jane's Learning Pick of the Day: 25 places to find instructional videos

Recently I have received a number of emails asking about places that offer free instructional videos (on all subjects), so I thought I would put together a posting of the main ones that I know about:

Get more out of Twitter

Get More out of Twitter with Twitter Apps. (Part 1) by Ozge Karaoglu

Get More out of Twitter with Twitter Apps. (Part 1) by Ozge Karaoglu

Why E-Learning is so Effective

Why E-Learning is So Effective » The Rapid eLearning Blog

E-learning is hot. And for good reason. If done right, it can produce great results by decreasing costs and improving performance. Also, unlike a one time classroom session, the elearning course is available for others. This includes the static elearning course as well as any ongoing conversations in networked communities.

Technology Tools

Illinois Online Network: Institutes: Webinars

2009 Technology Tools Webinar- sponsored by the Center for Distance Learning

Great things to use in education if you have not looked.

Google Ambassadors: 45 Essential Google Links - Tell a Friend

45 Essential Google Links - Tell a Friend
The greatest advent of Google is that you never need to update your software and you are always connected wherever you go and access your account via the omnipresent Google cloud.

The list has been broken down into several sections to make it easier for those beginning their Google experience and those who want to augment their abilities. You may want to bookmark this blog as it is added to and modified. If you have suggestions for re-categorization or additional links see the note at the end of the list.

Google Squared

I just discovered this site and the cool things you can do - try a search term of 'US Presidents"  - I love these new things.

Google Squared

Distance Learning / Distance Education

Distance Learning / Distance Education | eLearning Blog Dont Waste Your Time

Steve Wheeler (aka Twitter timbuckteeth) has been writing a series of articles on how distance education has “developed and the influences it has had on our current education provision”.

Making and Sharing Video Online

Stupeflix Studio - Video creation made easy

Create
Remix
Share
Impress

Ways to use iPod Touch in education when you have no wifi

iPod Touch : 10 Cool Productivity Apps For Offline Use

With 100,000+ apps in the App Store, we can find apps for a variety of uses, such as turning your iPod Touch/iPhone into a professional camera/photo editor (for iPhone), an external hard drive, a reference book, or a radio, yet productivity apps that integrate with Google services, which are free and which we can use without Wi-Fi are harder to find. Not every place we are in will have Wi-Fi, especially if we are on-the-go or commuting a lot. That’s when apps with offline capabilities come in handy.

Can We Really Measure "21st Century" Skills?

From Daniel Hickey's Blog - Re-Mediating Assessment

re-mediating assessment: Can We Really Measure "21st Century" Skills?

The members of the 21st Century Assessment Project were asked a while ago to respond to four pressing questions regarding assessment of “21st Century Skills.” These questions had come via program officers at leading foundations, including Connie Yowell at MacArthur’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative, which funds our Project. I am going to launch my efforts to blog more during my much-needed sabbatical by answering the first question, with some help from my doctoral student Jenna McWilliams.

Great Video from a key player in the technology and futurist world

YouTube - Ray Kurzweil: How technology's accelerating power will transform us

Ray Kurzweil: How technology's accelerating power will transform us

Ray Kurzweil: How technology's accelerating power will transform us

Taking Attendance with a Cell Phone

Taking class attendance with cell phone SMS messages and PollEverywhere » Moving at the Speed of Creativity

I’ve used PollEverywhere the past two weeks to take class attendance in my Technology 4 Teachers course at the University of Central Oklahoma. The first week I had everyone submit their name with a cell phone as a SMS message at the start of each class.

Looking at Policy for Social Media

Social Media Today | Social Media Policies of 113 Organizations

With companies searching for and developing standards for social media usage, many of them have come up with social media policies of their own.

I’ve found that reviewing the policies of other companies is a worthwhile way to gauge how a company uses social media and their goals with social media. These also serve as case studies for ideas of the type of information that is included in a social media policy.

The best web tool

Readability - An Arc90 Lab Experiment

I stumbled upon this browser add on - what a good thing to have found.  Give it a try.  A pleasure to have a web page suddenly readable.

K12 Online Conference is starting

You can participate - here is the opening pre-keynote. For more info go to http://k12onlineconference.org/

WatchKnow

WatchKnow - About

The Internet is full of useful information, but it's disorganized and often unreliable. Despite its problems, the potential of the Internet for education is especially huge. Imagine tapping into that potential.

Imagine collecting all the best free educational videos made for children, and making them findable and watchable on one website. Then imagine creating many, many more such videos.

Just think: millions of great short videos, and other watchable media, explaining every topic taught in schools, in every major language on Earth.

Finally, imagine them all deeply and usefully categorized according to subject, education level, and placed in the order in which topics are typically taught.

WatchKnow—as in, "You watch, you know"—has started building this resource.

Social Media Revolution

Interesting Video on how Social Media is affecting us