Edistorm

Edistorm is a new site for brainstorming similar to the way Wall Wisher or Pin Dax works. This is done in real-time by the use of stickies. As w/ any "web 2.0" site this incorporates collaboration as a number of users can brainstorm at the same time. Also, the stickies are color coordinated for organization.

I recommend giving Edistorm a try by clicking here.



For a much more detailed review, check out the excellent blog iLearn Technology!

HootCourse

HootCourse is a very ambitious project and that is to bring the most popular social networks into the classroom. This is done by creating a virtual space that is built around real-time tweets and status updates of those popular sites.

After giving it a look, I must say that I am very intrigued. I would love to see this used in a "real" teaching environment. This could be great for the higher grade levels. There are some nice teacher features too, such as the ability to embed.

I'd love to see a paid service that filters content for this site, that would be ideal for education.

I highly recommend checking out HootCourse by clicking here.

A big thank you to Free Technology 4 Teachers for his excellent review!!

TitanPad

TitanPad is a new site that is built around the Etherpad engine for creating/collaborating on a word processing document in real-time. As most collaborative sites it has a chat window and colors each individuals text to keep track of who is editing what.




I highly recommend checking out TitanPad by clicking here.

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

SynchTube

SynchTube is a great new (beta) site that is very useful. It allows a user to create a "virtual room" where they can "house" a YouTube video while enabling a chat feature as well. This is ideal for people who want to share videos in real-time and then chat about it. I can see this working great in education and the "web 2.0" world where collaboration is key.

Below is a snap shot of the room I created which you can join by clicking here. I'm hoping to use this w/ my PLN network on new types of technologies. This would've been great when Google Wave came out so all of us could've helped each other through the high learning curve.



Give SynchTube a try by clicking here.

Cacoo

Cacoo is a new (beta) site for creating: graphs, diagrams, flowcharts, etc. It is very similar to Lovely Charts in that respect and has some really attractive options for users. For example, everything is done via a drag/drop interface which is ideal for any "Mac" user. Also, there is real-time collaboration going on via a chat; and the ability to have unlimited undo's. Finally, a person can share their media via an html code which is ideal for sites/blogs.

Below is a quick example I made in 3 min (very user friendly)...



Give Cacoo a try by clicking here.

For another excellent review check out Richard Byrne's amazing blog.

Scoopler

Scoopler is a new (beta) real time search engine. So, What does that mean? Well, here is a quote from their site... "Scoopler is a real-time search engine. We aggregate and organize content being shared on the internet as it happens, like eye-witness reports of breaking news, photos and videos from big events, and links to the hottest memes of the day."

Scoopler is very easy to use and the results it gives back are quite interesting. I do like how there is a "share" button. When you click that it gives you some options of sites you can share to such as: Twitter, Digg, De.lic.ious, etc.

Below is a screen shot of my 21st century technology search...



Give Scoopler a try by clicking here.

Drop.io

Drop.io is an online solution for sharing/collaborating (real time)/streaming all sorts of documents and media. Think of it as Google Doc's w/ a lot more options.

The first thing that you'll notice about Drop.io is the vast amounts of options that you can do. First, it is real-time collaborating (such as Ether Pad), any comments, files you upload, or documents you share are uploaded in real time online, no emailing is required. Second, there are features that are unique to Drop.io that seperates it from other online resources. One of the nicest features is the ability to record/upload an audio file to any "drop box". This will help explain to your user what you want them to do. Another nice feature is a Chat feature similar to Google Doc's and even the ability to change the way you view your content.

However, while Drop.io does has some more robust features then Google Doc's it does lack in one key category and that is the ability to "house" itself inside of Gaggle which then filters all email inside of Google. This feature and this feature alone is one reason why Google is the way to go when using w/ a school. Another reason to go w/ Google is the huge amounts of resources online already available.

For more info click here.

If you're looking for just an easy way to do filesharing/document creation online, Shutterborg is a nice solution too.

Parallel/Collaborative Word Processing

Parallel Word Processing is a term used for collaborating on the same document in "real time". Now, there are applications that do something very similar the most popular being Google Doc's, but in reality that is not done in "real time". The two I'm very excited about our Text Flow and Ether Pad.

Text Flow - This is true Parallel Word Processing. Upload as many documents as you like and then collaborate to get your desired result. It really is a time saver and helps eliminate mistakes. View the demo here.

Ether Pad - is great due to it's simplicity in use. All you have to do is click on Create New Pad, share the URL, and then start collaborating. While it may not have as many "bells & whistles" as some other apps it certainly gets the job done. For a demo click here.