Miro Video Converter

Miro Video Converter is an excellent downloaded app (mac/win) for converting video to almost any format. It's especially nice for converter it to mobile devices such as: iphone, iPad, Android, etc.



Give MVC a try by clicking here.

Zootool

Zootool is a nice bookmarklet that is a cross between Diigo and Zemanta in that it is for bookmarking your favorite media (sites, pics, videos, documents) and then sharing them all over the web. The bookmarklet is very easy to use w/ a nice user interface and is linked up to the most popular social networks for sharing.



I highly recommend checking out Zootool by clicking here!!

Word Stash

Once again Free Technology 4 Teachers has found an online gem, Word Stash. This is a great site that allows users to "stash" (save) words and create lists. These lists can then be quizzed on. Also, there are a quite a few options to enjoy such as: listening to the word, sharing words via links, viewing examples of the words in sentences, etc etc.

WS can best be described as half a dictionary and half a vocabulary builder.

I highly recommend checking out Word Stash by clicking here!!!

Neotake

Neotake is a search engine for searching for ebooks that I found out about from Richard Byrne. However, you are able to sign up as a member to this site and join their online community to collaborate w/ other members.

Below is a pic on a search of the term technology...



Give Neotake a try by clicking here.

Perk Up your Projects

Perk Up your Projects is a great wiki that I just found out about from Naomi Harm. This is a website filled w/ a ton of resources for educators that focuses on Web 2.0 and different applications that can be used in the classroom. Also, a number of different projects can be found w/ examples such as: timelines, slideshows, comic creators, etc etc.

I highly recommend giving Perk Up your Projects by clicking here!!!

Storify

Storify is an interesting site for creating digital storytelling using social media. The way this is done is by taking different media: weets, pics, text, etc) and then arranging them in any order (similar to Google Search Stories). A user then can add text to create a story. Once the story is created it can then be embedded into a site.

I highly recommend checking out Storify by clicking here!!

Thanks to the wonderful blog, Zarco English for the tip.

Comic Master

Comic Master is a site I just found out about from the excellent blog, iLearn Technology. This site is similar to most online comic creators such as Pixton or Toon Doo. As w/ other similar sites, CM has a nice drag-n-drop user interface w/ lost of items to choose from.



I highly recommend checking out Comic Master by clicking here!!!

Muro

Muro is a nice site for digital art. As w/ most digital art sites a user can change colors, adjust gradient, add effects, etc etc.



I highly recommend checking out Muro by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip!!!

5 Free 21st Century Presentations

Recently, I've had the opportunity to present and compile some presentations that I've done throughout the year. I've made these all available for free and allow people to edit them and use them as they desire. I feel these courses could offer a nice guide to educators who want to explore 21st Century/Web 2.0 technologies. I try to cover a wide range of areas such as building a PLN to blogging in the classroom.

1. Cutting Edge Technology - A course that focuses on web 2.0 technologies and building a personal learning network (PLN).
2. Digital Storytelling 4 Everyone - A list of sites arranged by grade level w/ a Voicethread example.
3. Blogging 101 - A great way to introduce and use blogging in a classroom.
4. 50 Sites in 60 Minutes - A collection of great websites that can be used in the classroom.
5. Backchanneling in the Classroom - A nice way to learn how to use a backchannel channel chat in a classroom w/ a list of resources.
   

Zoho Wiki

Zoho Wiki is an online portal for creating a collaborative website. This can be an excellent tool for schools as it allows educators to create interactive online content for students. It's almost like a full fledged content management system.



Straight from their site a list of their features:

• Wikis help Teachers to create virtual classrooms for their students to stay connected beyond classroom and harness the power of an extended classroom.
• Maintain online schedules and calendars for students to track project / assignment deadlines.
• Host pictures, slide shows, photo galleries, video clips of school or classroom events.
• Encourage parent's participation in classroom activities and keep them updated on their children's performance.
• Showcase the positive happenings in a classroom or school in your website.

Click here for more info on how Zoho Wiki can be used in the classroom!!

justpaste.it

justpaste.it is a great site for sharing text or images w/ other users. This is a very user friendly site that any word processing user would feel right at home w/. All a person has to do is enter text or an image and then click publish to get a unique URL to share w/ others.

I highly recommend checking out justpaste.it by clicking here!!

Thanks to Richard Byrne for the tip!!

Top 10 Sites for Bookmarking and Annotating

Annotation is a summary made of information in a book, document, online record, video, software code or other information, "in the margin", or perhaps just underlined or highlighted passages (wikipedia). This is a very useful skill or tool to have that goes along w/ bookmarking, when it comes to managing information the web.

Top 10 sites for Bookmarking & Annotating

1. Diigo - Excellent site for bookmarking and annotating w/ the ability to create student accounts, simply the best!!
   
2. Delicioius - Probably the most popular bookmarking site on the web w/ lots of educators to be found!!
   
3. iCyte - Similar to Diigo w/ the ability to annotate and then share or embed into a site.
   
4. Rooh.It - A great way to highlight content on the web and then share w/ others and add comments!
   
5. Digg - A popular way to bookmark w/ the ability to share w/ others, comment, and even generate a widget for a website.
   
6. Trailmeme - An innovative site w/ a beautiful user interface for annotating web content and generating a unique user interface/path to follow.
   
7. Jog the Web - Similar to Trailmeme and very user friendly (nice Web 2.0 jogs to follow!!).
   
8. Pinboard - A very simple site to bookmark w/out all of the clutter that some of the more popular sites have. Also, works well w/ mobile devices!!
   
9. School Noodle - A great way for teachers to bookmarks sites and then share these resources w/ other educators!!
   
10. Krunchd - A nice way to take a collection of sites and create one unique URL for all of them.
    

iCyte

iCyte is a wonderful site for bookmarking and annotating web sites. Also, a user can save a site that is no longer active on the web, comment on them, and then send it to others or embed in their site.

I highly recommend giving iCyte a try by clicking here!!

For an ambitious project on 21st Century learning on iCyte, I suggest checking out Duma Lucian's, Free Project in the Clouds for Teachers around the World.

Googlios

Googlios is a site for creating ePortfolios through the use of Google tools that has been getting quite of bit of press online lately. This is done by creating a portfolio using a Google Site.

I highly recommend checking out the video below to get an idea of this relatively easy yet cool project...



For other ePorfolio ideas check out VisualCV.

Click here for more info on Googlios.

Outshouts

Outshouts is another site I learned about today from Ozge on Twitter. This is a great site for creating nice video mixes/digital storytelling. This is done by selecting or uploading video, then creating a unique intro and adding some nice effects. Once the video is done it can either be emailed or embedded into a site.



I highly recommend checking out Outshouts by clicking here!!

Booktagger

Booktagger is a site I just found out about on Twitter from Ozge Karagolu. I like to think of this as an alternative to Shelfari which is ideal for finding books and building an online bookshelf. Once that is a done a person can share their shelf w/ others and even recommend or review their books.

Give Booktagger a try by clicking here!!

join.me

join.me is a site that allows multi-platform users (mac or pc) the ability to share screens via a free download. What's nice about it is that it is very easy to use and almost as useful as the built in screen sharing for a Mac.

I highly recommend checking out join.me for those looking to share their screen w/ others by clicking here. (This would be a nice thing to have when trying to help your friends/family troubleshoot their computer problems. Just download this app on both machines and then get to work.)

For a more detailed review check out Free Technology 4 Teachers.

We are Teachers

We are Teachers is a wonderful social network for educators that I'm just now starting to find out about due to the magic of collaboration. Luckily, I came across this in reading the comments online from one of my top 10 lists that was on T & L's site.

This is a network that is filled w/ innovative ideas on a number of different subject. Also, this community is filled w/ different educators from around the world so an array of ideas can be found here. Plus, people can receive prizes & cash by submitting their ideas and lessons.

I highly recommend checking out We are Teachers by clicking here, as it is one of the better online communities to come around in a while.

Jewel Beat

Jewel Beat is a nice site for free sound effects and background music.

Click here to find a list of downloads.

Trailmeme

Trailmeme is a site I just found out about from the great blog, Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a site that reminds me of JogtheWeb in that it is designed to annotate web pages and leave a path for others to follow.

Below is an introduction video on this innovative website.



I highly recommend checking out Trailmeme by clicking here!!

Entri

Entri is a nice free site for collaborating on a document. W/ a click of a button a user can create a document and then share it w/ others to collaborate on. Some other nice features are syncing w/ Twitter and the ability to generate an html code to embed into a site.

I highly recommend giving Entri a site by clicking here!!!



Thanks to Richard Byrne's wonderful blog for the tip!

Top 10 Reminder

Due to the popularity of the Top 10 lists (which are extremely fun to do), I've decided to do a quarterly post of the wiki I created where all the lists can be found.

Click here to view all the lists I've created.

On a side note, I have been looking to expand my love of doing these lists to other forms of media such as: movies, books, music, etc. If I find the time and an audience for it, I might give it a go. Although, I would probably have to create a new blog for something like this.

Take care and as always thanks for reading all of your support!!!

Create PDF

Create PDF is a site for converting documents into PDF's w/ a twist. Not only can a user create a PDF, but they can merge two documents into one and add a watermark as well.

Give Create PDF a try by clicking here.

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the tip.

Snappy Words

Snappy Words is a visual thesaurus and dictionary that is very similar to VisuWords in that it shares a very similar look and style. This is a very user friendly site and a nice way to to learn how words are associated in a visual way.

Give Snappy Words a try by clicking here!!!

Thanks to Free Technology 4 Teachers for the tip!

Voki

Voki is an avatar that I've used on and off for over 2 yrs, but thanks to Larry Ferlazzo I decided to revisit their site upon learning of some educational features. Voki has just released an educational instance for use of their vokis which removes all of that annoying advertising on their avatar.



Voki's are a really nice way to integrate technology into almost any subject and I highly recommend checking out their site by clicking here!!!

DocDroid

DocDroid is a new (beta) site for file sharing that is quite easy to use. Not only can a user password protect their files but people can choose the format in which they want to retrieve their files as well (quite handy).

Give DocDroid a try by clicking here.

Thanks to ZarcoEnglish for the tip!!

Dushare

Dushare is a new (beta) site that I found out about from the wonderful blog iLearn Technology. Not only is this site super easy to use a user has the ability to chat while sending a file. A nifty little feature if you ask me.

Give Dushare a try by clicking here!!

Top 10 Sites for Creating Digital Magazines and Newspapers

In my never ending quest to find useful "top 10" lists, I was inspired on Twitter to create one for digital magazines/newspapers. While this is something that can be done in any word processor, there are dedicated sites that bring this to a whole new level.

Top 10 sites for Creating Digital Magazines/Newspapers

1. Iussu - One of the most popular and successful online digital magazine creators/publishers around, w/ a very nice user interface.
   
2. Yudu - Upload a document or PDF to create an online magazine that can be emailed our or embedded into a site.
   
3. Openzine - Very user friendly site w/ an abundance of templates and layouts to create a professional looking magazine and share online.
   
4. NewsCred - Create a terrific looking online newspaper in 5 minutes, similar to Openzine.
   
5. Scribd - A very popular "web 2.0" site for creating online content and publishing.
   
6. Fodey - A fun site to create a newspaper and then download to print out or put on a blog/site.
   
7. Zinepal - A great way to bring the news to students by "clipping" online articles. This is a wonderful site for those making the move to ebook readers.
   
8. Paper.li - A fantastic site to turn Twitter into an online readable magazine.
   
9. Guzzle.it - Is a news aggregator that puts online news in one customizable place.
   
10. Crayon - Create a professional looking newspaper w/ this nice online creator. There are a bunch of options to choose from so has a bit of a higher learning curve.
    

Pie Color

Pie Color is a nice site for making colorful looking pie charts very easily!!

Give Pie Color a try by clicking here.



Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the tip!!

Paper.li

Paper.li is a new (alpha) site for converting Twitter posts into a readable newspaper format. I first heard about this site from the brilliant technology educator, Naomi Harm. Not only can a person view Twitter feeds in a newspaper style, but you can also use Paper.li as a search engine for Twitter.


I highly recommend giving Paper.li a try by clicking here!!!

Hello Hype

Hello Hype is a site that the "reviewer" in me just loves. This is a place where people can leave micro (short) reviews on their favorite books, movies, or music. After looking at it, I feel that it does have potential to be a nice tool for students to use to increase their writing skills on topics they might feel more comfortable about.



I recommend giving Hello Hype a try by clicking here.

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

Picturing America

Picturing America is a great site that I learned about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a wonderful site to use w/ students to teach them about history and culture in a visual way. Also, another great feature to this site are the different categories/themes one can search for pictures such as: leadership, courage, and landscapes.



I highly recommend giving Picturing America a look by clicking here!!!

Tuxpi

Tuxpi is a fun site for adding effects to photos. There are many sites that do similar things such as Big Huge Labs and Cameroid.

Give Tuxpi a try by clicking here!



Thanks to the wonderful blog, Book Chook for the tip!!

BlipSnips

BlipSnips is a great little site that I like to compare to Kwout, although instead of grabbing bits of text you're grabbing bits of video. Basically, it is a way to tag videos and then add comments or share them w/ others by embedding directly into your site.



Give BlipSnips a try by clicking here!!

Thanks to Zarco English for the tip!

MotionFX

MotionFX is a cool site for digital storytelling that is very similar to Dvovler. As w/ most online video sites all a user has to do is select certain elements: theme, media, audio, text etc then click create.



I highly recommend checking out MotionFX by clicking here!!

Read Print

Read Print is an interesting site that is ideal for library and reading teachers/students. This is a site that contains 1000's of free online, book, poems, and resources for anyone to use.

Give Read Print a try by clicking here!!

Dvovler

Dvovler is a fun site for digital storytelling. What makes Dvovler so good is how user friendly it is. All a user has to do is select their: scene, background, characters, music and then add the text, Dvovler takes care of the rest. Once the video is finished it can be shared w/ others. One feature that would be ideal for education is the ability to embed a finished video into a site.



I highly recommend checking out Dvovler by clicking here!!!

Art Babble

Art Babble is a great site to find videos about art. A person can search for videos based on artist or channel.

Give Art Babble a try by clicking here.

Thanks to Richard Byrne for the tip!!!

VidScan

VidScan is an impressive new site that shows Timelines of YouTube videos. The way this is done is by breaking down segments of the videos by comments to help users figure out which parts of the video to leave out. Keep in mind not all YouTube video has timeline snippets.



Give VidScan a try by clicking here!!

Thanks to Alexandra Fransisco for the tip!!