Crayola Digi-Color

Crayola Digi-Color is a great site for kids looking for a great coloring experience. CDC is a very easy site to use and all that is required is the latest version of Flash installed on your browser.

Below is my sample pic using a number of color/drawing tools...



Give Crayola Digi-Color a try by clicking here.

Forestle

Forestle is a search engine I just found out about from Ozge Karaoglu's excellent blog. This is a typical search engine which helps save the rain forest by searching.



Give Forestle a try by clicking here.

Personal Learning Networks

Recently, I did a special guest post on Buffy Hamilton's amazing blog regarding Personal Learning Networks. While I didn't want to rehash all of that here, I did want to share who some of my vital members were for those looking to start their own PLN.

I like to think of these people as more then just a social network but almost like my "online family". I owe so much to each and every one of them as they have provided unlimited resources/support while never asking for anything in return. This list is in random order and just a few of the names of the many that I'd like to include.

• Buffy J Hamilton - Librarian of the future, her resume speaks for herself. A wonderful person who is an asset to any PLN.
• Amber Rowland - created her own Ning network, excellent dancer (don't ask ;-), among other accolades.
• Ozge Karaoglu - creator of the best wiki/Glog I have ever seen. If anyone ever needed assistance creating a digital portfolio, I would start here.
• Alexandra Fransisco - a great person who is taking a unique approach to blogging on things Web 2.0 (a blog in a foreign language).
• Larry Ferlazzo - is the biggest reason I am blogging today. His excellent resources, books, and overall kind nature are second to none.
• Richard Byrne - probably the most famous of all the resource sharing blogs out there and an excellent resource.
• Naomi Harm - one of the nicest and most successful educators I have ever met. She has done so much for me and technology that it's hard to even fathom.
• Bob Furst - my old tech director who is now doing consulting and teaching cutting edge online courses.
• Jennifer Cuellar - a 3rd grade teacher who fuses technology into education seemlessly.
• Marama Stewart - a kind resource sharing teacher who is always there to help.
• Ana Maria Menezes - one of the best 21st Century blogs around.
• Kevin Honeycutt - nuff said
• Tim Holt - creator of Vidsnacks
• Jennifer Dorman - known as Cliotech, has done so much for technology and now working for Discovery Education.
• Teryl Magee - Brain Pop consultant, tech extraordinaire.
• Shelly Terrell - a very special person who goes out of her way to help out whoever is in need (she has done so much for me). Uncanny ability in the latest of technology, mind maps, twitter, etc.
  

Thumboo

Thumboo is a new (beta) site for creating thumbnail images of any website. Once the thumbnail is generated you can either save the jpg. or copy the html code and embed it into your site/blog. This is really an easy thing to do a nice feature for those of us that dabble in web design.

Below is an example of a thumbnail from this very blog...




Give Thumboo a try by clicking here.

For another review check out Larry Ferlazzo's great blog.

Edublog Awards

The 2009 Edublog awards are here and below is how one could go about nominating their favorite blogs...

The 2009 Edublog Awards

Welcome to the 2009 Edublog Awards.

Celebrating the achievements of edubloggers, twitterers, podcasters, video makers, online communities, wiki hosts and other web based users of educational technology.

Now into our 6th year!

And this year we’re going to run the nominations for each category just the same as we did last year :)

In order to nominate blogs for the 2009 Edublog Awards you have to link to them first!

• Nominations: Close Tuesday 8 December!
• Voting: Ends Wednesday 16 December!
• Award Ceremony: Friday 18 December!

Nominations are now open… read on to find out how to nominate:

So, first, choose the sites that you want to nominate in the following categories (you can nominate for as many, or as few, categories as you like):

Best individual blog
Best individual tweeter
Best group blog
Best new blog
Best class blog
Best student blog
Best resource sharing blog
Most influential blog post
Most influential tweet / series of tweets / tweet based discussion
Best teacher blog
Best librarian / library blog
Best educational tech support blog
Best elearning / corporate education blog
Best educational use of audio
Best educational use of video / visual
Best educational wiki
Best educational use of a social networking service
Best educational use of a virtual world
Lifetime achievement

Then, follow these two simple steps to nominate (nominations made without links or without correct submission will not be counted)

Step 1: Write a post on your blog linking to:

1. The Edublog Awards Homepage (that’s here :)
2. The blogs & sites that you want to nominate (must be linked to!)
   

You can nominate for as many categories as you like, but only one nomination per category, and not yourself You can nominate a blog (or site) for more than one category)

For example:

My Nominations for The 2009 Edublog Awards are:

Best individual blog: Larry Ferlazzo
Best resource sharing blog: OL Daily

Step 2: Email us the link to your nomination post

Use the form below to contact us, please include a genuine email address (spam free, just in case we need to confirm identity) and the link to your nominations post.

e.g.
Subject: Edublogs 2009 Nominations
Body: Here are my nominations for the 2009 Edublog Awards: http://myblogname.com/2008-nominations/

Below are my nominations:

• Best individual blog - Shelly Terrell
• Best individual tweeter - Steven Anderson
• Best new blog - Alexandra Fransisco
• Best resource sharing blog - Larry Ferlazzo
• Most influential blog post - Kim Cofino (online safety & responsibility)
• Best Librarian blog - Buffy Hamilton
• Best educational wiki - Ozge Karaoglu
• Lifetime Achievement - Naomi Harm
  

Inside a Cyber Studio: Kimberly Wright

Due to the popular response I've decided to issue two columns a week instead of one. I will post one at the beginning (monday/tuesday) of the week and then one at the end (friday). Otherwise, it would just take to long to get through all of them.
Keep in mind the questions might change from time to time (especially as technology changes), and I'm looking to provide other formats as well (audio/video).

I hope you all find this to be a fun/exciting journey as we get to learn a bit more about each other and why we love technology & education.

Kimberly Wright

1. Where do you live? El Paso, Texas
2. How long have you been working w/ technology/education? 4 years
3. What OS/platform do you use for your work? Mac
4. What is your favorite Web 2.0/21st Century tool and why? Plurk, it is my online university and has allowed me to connect with hundreds of educators around the world. I can virtually travel anywhere and I will find one of my plurk friends.
5. What is the biggest misconception about technology? That it is more work than traditional methods.
6. What are the biggest hurdles you face as a technology educator? Administration AND other reluctant educators.
7. What has been your biggest success in technology integration? The individual successes of my students...including 100% achievement on standardized testing.
8. What has been your biggest setback in technology integration? The lack of funding...there is so much we *could* do.
   
9. Who/what has been your biggest inspiration in technology/education? Kevin Honeycutt and my Plurk PLN!!!
10. Where do you see technology integration heading in the future? I see our students learning in virtual worlds...

Fun

1. What is your favorite book? Eleven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
2. What is your favorite movie? Up

Next on Cyber Studio: Vanessa Joy Every

Murgurdy

Murgurdy is a new search engine which I learned about from Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog. This is a nice search engine to get visual results on search terms. For example, whatever term is searched a nice collection thumbnails is returned w/ a blurb about the site underneath.

Below is a pic on a search of the term, web 2.0.



Give Murgurdy a try by clicking here.

Big Huge Thesaurus

Big Huge Thesaurus is a site for finding synonyms/antonyms. It reminds me of a little of an online version of the Apple Dictionary w/ less features. For me, this is another nice feature for a great site (Big Huge Labs) that is getting more features for education by the day.



Give Big Huge Thesaurus a try by clicking here.

Speechable

Speechable is a fun site for adding speech bubbles/text to images. There are other sites that do the same thing but this might be the easiest. All a user has to do is upload a picture and click on the bubble, text, or drawing button to edit their image.



Give Speechable a try by clicking here.

Twick.it

Twick.it is an interesting new search engine that reminds me of a combination of Twitter and Wikipedia. The reason for this is each result is a max 140 characters (hence the Twitter reference), and all results are based on user created content. While this is interesting it does limit the number of results.

Below is a search on the term education...




Give Twick.it a try by clicking here.

For more info check out Larry Ferlazzo's blog.

Thinkature

Thinkature is a site for real-time collaboration that I heard about from Jennifer Dorman's blog. This is a place where educators can come to collaborate in real-time. I like to think of this as one alternative to Google Wave.

The way Thinkature works is by creating "virtual work-spaces". As quoted directly from their site, "Once inside your workspace, you can communicate by chatting, drawing, creating cards, and adding content from around the Internet."

This really is a nice looking tool that is very easy to use.



Give Thinkature a try by clicking here (as the demo page lets you try it out live).

Google Swirl

Google Swirl is a site I just found out about from one of my favorite blogs, Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a new way (developed in Google Labs ;-) to search for images.

What I like so much about it is that after you type in a term, it gives you a list of thumbnails on top of stacks. It vaguely reminded me of how Time Machine looks when you are restoring a backup on a Mac. Once a thumbnail is clicked the real fun begins as a "wonder wheel" opens up (think Richard Pryor in the Toy). However, the image can be clicked even further to show how everything is linked together in a nice display of wheels.



Give Google Swirl a try by clicking here.

360 Cities

360 Cities is a site powered by Google for panoramic images. The way this is incorporated is nice because it uses the Google Earth interface. I really can see this being used in some type of History/Geography class. Also, this would be a really nice resource for photographers to teach panoramic imaging.

More info direct from their site, "360cities.net is a great way to check out thousands of high-resolution, interactive panorama images from around the world."



Give 360 Cities a try by clicking here.

Fine Tuna

Fine Tuna is a site for adding feedback or comments onto a pic. This kind of reminded me of Skitch w/ less features. While Skitch is an app, FT is an online resource that is 100% free.

What makes FT such a viable option for adding text to pics is because of how simple it is to use. All a user has to do is upload a pic, click on the text button, then decide if they want to move it around or draw on it.



Give Fine Tuna a try by clicking here.

Web 2.0 Backpack

These next few posts are going to be from a list created by Naomi Harm (A List for the Ages). Naomi has become a great and trusted friend whose knowledge and skill set are second to none. All one has to do is look at her accomplishments to see how innovative and successful she truly is. The first of these posts will cover a resource called, a Web 2.0 Backpack.

The Web 2.0 backpack is a list from Read Write Web that organizes and covers great apps for students. While this list is long, I'd have to agree on the following: Google Docs, Mindomo, Calcoolate, Zotero, and Zoho.

For the entire list click here.

Runpolls

Runpolls is a new site for creating online surveys. It has a very unique drag/drop interface that separates it from other similar tools such as Vorbeo.

Below is a pic of a poll being created...



There are many online tools that accomplish the same thing but RP is one of the more innovative ones to come around.

Give Runpolls a try by clicking here.

For a more detailed review, check out Larry Ferlazzo's blog.

Pingtest

Pingtest is a site for measuring the quality of your connection speed to the internet. This is done by selecting various servers to test your connection speed by pinging. Also, you can select the server you want to ping to. This is a very useful and easy app to use.



Give Pingtest a try by clicking here.

Inside a Cyber Studio: Skip Zalneraitis

Due to the popular response I've decided to issue two columns a week instead of one. I will post one at the beginning (monday/tuesday) of the week and then one at the end (friday). Otherwise, it would just take to long to get through all of them.
Keep in mind the questions might change from time to time (especially as technology changes), and I'm looking to provide other formats as well (audio/video).

I hope you all find this to be a fun/exciting journey as we get to learn a bit more about each other and why we love technology & education.

Skip Zalneraitis
Blog: http://skipz.edublogs.org/

1. Where do you live? Brattleboro Vermont
2. How long have you been working w/ technology/education? 25 years
3. What OS/platform do you use for your work? All
4. What is your favorite Web 2.0/21st Century tool and why? hardware - SMARTboard - It brings out the explorer in my students; software - iLife - so versatile with a zero learning curve
5. What is the biggest misconception about technology? That technology makes the curriculum. In education, folks are looking for the silver bullet, and there is none.
6. What are the biggest hurdles you face as a technology educator? Money is the biggest block to ubiquitous technology.
7. What has been your biggest success in technology integration? In the private sector: convincing the mgt of the company I worked for almost 20 years to switch to PC-based computing; In school: to convince the administration that we should free, open filter workshop and game fests for our students after school. It really helps them to blossom.
8. What has been your biggest setback in technology integration? Entering public education before I refreshed myself with a Master's to bring me up to speed to meet the kids' needs.
9. Who/what has been your biggest inspiration in technology/education? There are so many people. In my previous life - my boss, Michael Trombley. He was a former sailor and welder and he took to technology and supported me in bring PC-based computing to our company. In my present work, I had to say Larry Ferlazzo and Miguel Guhlin: two inspiring educators, wonderful writer, two og the hardest working people I know!
10. Where do you see technology heading in the future? We have intelligensia and furturist working on Web 6.0 already. I think the trend, due to diminishing $$$ and natural resources, will be to virtual reality.

Fun

1. What is your favorite book? Currently: 'Infected' and ''Contagious' by Scott Sigler
2. What is your favorite movie? 'Neverwhere' written by Neil Gaiman

Next on Cyber Studio: Kimberly Wright

Mutapic

Mutapic is a site I just learned about from the wonderful Cliotech. This is a site for creating visual brainstorms. After giving it a try I was rather impressed on the amount of variables one can control before processing their request. However, I really only seeing this site being used in abstract art classes.

Give Mutapic a try by clicking here.

Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha (please, don't ask me to pronounce ;-) is a relatively new style of presentation. Shelly Terrell first introduced me to do this, and besides really confusing me about the terminology, I'm very glad that she did (read her much more detailed review here).

This presentation consists of only 20 slides, and each slide auto-advances to the next after 20 seconds. So, the entire presentation ends up lasting 6 min 40 sec per presenter. In the traditional style all presenters go one after another. Only when all the presentations are done do people gather to network/collaborate on the event.

Below is a Pecha Kucha video on Pecha Kucha....


I really can see this being a benefit in a conference/convention type setting. I almost like to think of it as speed dating for presentations. This way people get a visual on a certain topic, digest the information, then process how they want to proceed after it is all done. A lot of educational topics can be covered in a Pech Kucha event which can only enhance the networking experience.

Inside a Cyber Studio: Tim Holt

Due to the popular response I've decided to issue two columns a week instead of one. I will post one at the beginning (monday/tuesday) of the week and then one at the end (friday). Otherwise, it would just take to long to get through all of them.
Keep in mind the questions might change from time to time (especially as technology changes), and I'm looking to provide other formats as well (audio/video).

I hope you all find this to be a fun/exciting journey as we get to learn a bit more about each other and why we love technology & education.

Tim Holt
Blog: http://web.mac.com/timholt/Intended_Consequenses/Tim_Holts_Intended_Consequenses.html

1. Where do you live? El Paso, Texas
2. How long have you been working w/ technology/education? 23 years
3. What OS/platform do you use for your work? Both Windows & Mac
4. What is your favorite Web 2.0/21st Century tool and why? My blog site, because it has transformed the way I learn and work. All of the stuff I do now is an offshoot of what I learned by starting a blog.
5. What is the biggest misconception about technology? That it is something that is separate from the normal learning process. Technology is not a place, it is a tool
6. What are the biggest hurdles you face as a technology educator? Getting people to understand that it is not hard to integrate technology into lessons.
7. What has been your biggest success in technology integration? Actually, too many to mention, because the small ones were "big" for the people who did them, and the "big" ones were successful for the people that did them.
8. What has been your biggest setback in technology integration? Lack of understanding by upper administration
9. Who/what has been your biggest inspiration in technology/education? My yodas are many, but the biggest is Kevin Honeycutt, followed by Marco Torres. There are Many many more however....
10. Where do you see technology integration heading in the future? Actually, I see a big disconnect beginning to happen between those that have access and those that don't.
    

Fun

1. What is your favorite book? This week?
2. What is your favorite movie? Casablanca

Next on Cyber Studio: Skip Zalneraitis

Open Source Cinema

Open Source Cinema is an excellent site I found out about from the equally impressive, Shelly Terrell. This is site for editing/remixing videos. It reminded me a bit of a cross between Remix America and iMovie HD. For example, once a user uploads their video/audio/photos, they can simply remix it via drag/drop, just like in iMovie HD.

However, the one issue I had was how slow it was. This is probably due to the large file sizes of video/audio and probably a bandwidth issue on my end. That being said this was a very user friendly site and I think great way to share/collaborate on videos w/ others.

I don't think any filtering is going on, so keep that in mind if using w/ students.

Below is my sample video...



Give Open Source Cinema a try by clicking here.

Typo Generator

Typo Generator is an interesting site where a user enters text and then clicks generate to see it change into a graphical design. While not very fancy, it is very easy to use. Text style, colors, and background are all areas that can be edited. Also, a user and can pick and choose which one of those categories they want to change.

Give Typo Generator a try by clicking here.



For a more detailed review check out the great blog, ZarcoEnglish.

Pixound

Pixound is a application (thanks to Tim Holt of Vidsnacks) for mixing sound w/ pictures. After giving it a try, all I can say is, it is a lot of fun.

Also, it's easy to use which should be a plus for music/art teachers who want to incorporate this into their teachings. All a user has to do is download the app and then try out the free 9 (cost $99) day trial. From there a user can upload a photo, tweak the music settings (somewhat similar to Garageband), and then move the cursor around the screen to watch your music change.



Give Pixound a try by clicking here.

Blog Companion: V. VI

Due to the very warm response I decided to create another volume of "cliff notes" to my blog. I like to refer to them as "blog companions" that helps the reader focus on some of the more significant online tools. I hope that people will find this as a useful resource and feel free to use it in any format that works for them.

However, keep in mind that these tools while valuable should be used w/ regards to their district's online acceptable use policy and CIPA compliance.

This companion will focus on technical/techy apps that can be used to improve a user's digital experience.

One last thing I'd like to point out is that underneath the Blog Companion gadget on the right side of the screen, you'll notice a list of links called Blog Companions. This is where I will keep past volumes so others can view/download them at any time.

Again, thanks for reading and please feel free to comment as it helps me gauge how I can best meet people's needs.

Blog Companion V. VI formats:

Digital Book
Direct Download

Inside a Cyber Studio: Richard Byrne

Due to the popular response I've decided to issue two columns a week instead of one. I will post one at the beginning (monday/tuesday) of the week and then one at the end (friday). Otherwise, it would just take to long to get through all of them.
Keep in mind the questions might change from time to time (especially as technology changes), and I'm looking to provide other formats as well (audio/video).

I hope you all find this to be a fun/exciting journey as we get to learn a bit more about each other and why we love technology & education.

Richard Byrne
blog: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

1. Where do you live? Gray, ME
2. How long have you been working w/ technology/education? six years
3. What OS/platform do you use for your work? all
4. What is your favorite Web 2.0/21st Century tool and why? It's tough to pick just one, but I have to say Drop.io. Drop.io can be used by teachers of any content area at any grade level. Drop.io allows people to share text, video, and audio media. You can also use Drop.io as a bookmarking service. Drop.io's free voicemail service allows you to make mp3 recordings without the need for any software. Drop.io can also be used to conduct online, real-time, presentations. Best of all, Drop.io is free.
   
5. What is the biggest misconception about technology? The biggest misconception is that every teenager is a digital native. There are many teenagers who have grown up on the "other" side of the digital divide who only use a computer at school.
   
6. What are the biggest hurdles you face as a technology educator? The biggest obstacle is a lack of funding for hardware improvements. For example, we just deployed 1200+ netbooks, but our bandwidth cannot support all of the users being on the network at once.
   
7. What has been your biggest success in technology integration? The biggest success, by far, is the increase in student engagement because I'm offering kids more than just content lessons. I offer them lessons on web applications that they can apply to other settings.
   
8. What has been your biggest setback in technology integration? The biggest set-back has been not convincing my direct superiors to try some of the tools that I have my students using.
   
9. Who/what has been your biggest inspiration in technology/education? Scott McLeod and Wes Fryer. Scott for his thoughts on leading in the 21st century. Wes for his thoughts about using technology to improve education. If you've never seen Wesley's presentation on Blended Learning, you owe it to yourself to find it on SlideShare.
   
10. Where do you see technology integration heading in the future? I believe that mobile devices are the future of technology integration. The mobile phones that kids carry everywhere provide them with a world of knowledge and opportunity that 25 years ago was only available in big city libraries.
    

Fun

1. What is your favorite book? A Good Life Wasted
2. What is your favorite movie? A River Runs Through It

Next on Cyber Studio: Tim Holt

A list for the ages...

I wanted to do a quick post on a Web 2.0 list that was shared w/ me by a very generous/special person. I did a Cyber Studio w/ Naomi Harm a few weeks back (which you can read by clicking here) and was blown away by this intensive list which she created on Web 2.0 resources.

I highly recommend checking out her list by clicking here.

60 Second Recap

60 Second Recap is a new site (alpha) that is vastly becoming one of my favorite new sites for literature. This is a place where people can go to get a 60 video summary of some of the great works of literature. Think of it as a book review w/ a interactive presentation happening behind the presenter.

I can see this site being used for MS/HS students as teachers introduce new topics to help perk their interests!!


A screen shot from the review of Frankenstein.

Give 60 Second Recap a look by clicking here.

For another excellent review check out The Educational Tech Guy's blog.

Zimmer Twins

Zimmer Twins is a fun site for digital storytelling that looks like a cartoon. What makes ZT so great is that it can be used in education and is fairly safe. The reason I say "fairly" is because there is no true filtering going on. However, they do have strict usage policy which they enforce so nothing inappropriate gets posted (they have a flagging policy)

Zimmer Twins is a standard Web 2.0 app. A user can rate, comment, and share their videos. Creating a video is simple as ZT is a very user friendly site.

Below is my sample video (ignore the watermark)...



Give Zimmer Twins a try by clicking here.

For another excellent review and great place to find little gems like this, check out Ozge Karaoglu's wonderful blog.

GeoCube

GeoCube is an excellent flash based site for History/Geography teachers. Think of it as YouCube w/ a lot more interaction. Just click on the cube to rotate it, select a thumbnail and watch the resources (text/audio/video) come to life.



Give GeoCube a try by clicking here.

A special thank you goes out to Alexandra Fransisco, who reviews this in her excellent blog.

Compare My Doc's

Compare My Doc's is a new (beta) site that is powered by Text Flow. What TF is known for is "true" parallel word processing. This means working on two documents in "real time" for a simple way to review/edit/combine documents.

Compare My Doc's does something very similar by allowing a user to upload a doc file (text only) and then simply comparing it to another. Ideally, this is great for comparing various drafts on the same topic but can also be used effectively w/ others. For example, if you are doing a project on Jupiter and another person in your group types up the moons, you can effectively view them at the same time using CMD and the merge them into one smooth document.

Give Compare My Doc's a try by clicking here.

For a more detailed review, check out the brilliant blog, Zarco English.

Insightify

Insightify is a new (beta) site for making polls and can only be accessed right now via invitation. This is a very early review based on what I've seen w/ a more updated (tested) review coming soon.

Insightify looks to be a excellent option for making online polls. However, it doesn't end there. A user can also print out their polls and even send to their iPhone to make it mobile.

Another great feature which got me the most excited/separates it from their competition, is the ability to collaborate w/ others. Imagine a way to invite users (similar to Google Docs) to your poll and either give them rights to just view content or edit it. Also, you can choose which polls a user sees.

Finally, Insightify will have a free and paid version (monthly) that a user can switch between based on their needs. This is something rather unique and that you don't see everyday.



I highly suggest signing up for an invitation to give this great new site a try by clicking here.

LinkUp

LinkUp is a flash based site I learned about from iLearn Technology, one of the great educational blogs out there. This is a great site that engages students and teaches them the skills such as grouping and word recognition.

Also, another great feature is the ability to create your own game by adding categories and key words.



I highly recommend giving LinkUp a try by clicking here.