If you're like me, many ideas occur to you but you don't know how to file them and keep them organized. One site that lets you do this is Thoughtboxes.
In my account I set up a Thoughtbox for each subject that I teach. Then when I have a new idea, I post that idea, and it is stored until I can use it. You can also use it for other tasks, such as shopping lists, but I mainly use it for work related planning.
QR Codes are getting a lot of attention lately. I have been researching how to create them and their possible use in online education. This video is a great example of how one company is using QR Codes. Perhaps our future texts will contain QR Codes rather than be eBooks.
The University of Pennsylvania offers a series of 60 second lectures. The lectures are presented by the School of Arts and Sciences professors, and are given every fall and spring. They are very interesting and cover a wide array of topics. Perhaps there is one you could use in your class!
This online tool is a timeline builder, formerly known by the unwieldy name - Mnemograph. I love history - and I love visuals, but timelines always seem a bit awkward. Despite scientists' speculations, time is very linear to me, and it is tough for me to get a perspective when a timeline stretches across pages and pages in a text, or it is so tiny as to be meaningless. This tool tackles the dilemma, by letting the user zoom in and out to organized and explore events.
TimeGlider has great potential for presenting information, and to allow students to organize and present information on their own. Why, you could even use it to organize events and project, or even develop a genealogy project. Let us know if you take it for a spin!
Google Instant Previews is a new function that allows a Google user to see a visual preview of their search results. A magnifying glass will now be listed beside each result, and the user just needs to hover over it to see a preview of the Website. This way the user does not have to pogostick between search results, or rather, completely open the browser window for each result. Try it today and see how it saves you time!
Cameroid.com is a free service that allows you to take a picture with your webcam and add a special effect. It is extremely user-friendly. All you have to do is choose the desired effect, allow the site to enable your webcam, and then take your picture! The picture can then be saved to the Cameroid.com site, or you can save it to your computer.
If you can't seem to find a suitable picture of yourself to put in your Instructor Information page, this may be a great alternative for you.
This site appeals to 'knowledge junkies' in a fun hip way. Lots of trivia and facts on a wide number of subjects. Granted, the info is not meant to be research quality, fully documented and supported, but still it could be a great way to stimulate online discussions, and spark students' interests. There is a magazine too, (that is available in the LW Nixon Library), great Tshirts ("homonyms are a reel waist of thyme") and quizzes (How many US vice presidents can you list in 8 minutes?)
Have you ever wanted to look at two screens side by side?
This is an option with Google Chrome Dual View. With this option, you are able to view two sites side by side, or you can make notes in the notepad on one side, while looking at a site on the other side. The only drawback is that you can't use secure (https://) sites within the split frames.
The dual view option is an excellent tool for you and your students when conducting research or just comparing sites.
SnackTools is a site that includes several tool for very quick online content creation. Once you register at SnackTools all of the tools listed below are available to you.
PhotoSnack, allows you to create an photo slideshow. I added several of the photos we have collected and created an IT Department PhotoSnack. There are several templates from which to choose.
TubeSnack is a great tool that is quick and easy to use. I was working with an instructor who wanted to include the 10 videos below in his course. Instead of embedding each we went to TubeSnack, created a new playlist, and pasted in the YouTube URL for each video. When we clicked Finish the embed code was available. The resulting product allows students to view each video from one link and easily navigate to the video(s) they wish to see. Check out the sample:
Another app is BannerSnack. View the video below to get an idea of the possibilities with BannerSnack.
The free SnackTools apps include: BannerSnack - A high-quality app for creating professional looking flash banners. PhotoSnack - A professional photo slideshow creator with a variety of attractive templates to choose from. PodSnack - An online app that allows users to build audio players and playlists for websites. TubeSnack - A video playlist creator which makes it easy for web users to share and embed video playlists. QuizSnack - A very easy and fun to use online poll & survey tool. FlipSnack - A stylish way to create and share PDFs as flipping books.
Explore has more than 30,000 photographs in its digital archive of photography — and you are free to use any of them, as long as it is not for commercial purposes. They do ask that you leave their explore.org watermark intact.
Their "video library is a collection of educational "pearls" that are well suited to supplement many types of lesson plans, from presentations on multiculturalism to interactive classes on environmental and wildlife preservation. Films range in length from minute-long segments to longer documentary pieces on a particular region (e.g., China, India, the Arctic)."
The photos can be used individually or you can embed the entire photo album from Explore.org as shown in this example, Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is home to the Kaaba, the place toward which all Muslims face during daily prayers.
You can also easily embed the videos as the code is provided for each. Not all but most have transcript available.This will be super for ADA compliance. The following sample is Truth behind the Veil – Islamic Women in Saudi Arabia.
The real-time encyclopedia, Mashpedia, recently added a Qwiki function to its site.
You can search for a subject, such as the Straits of Florida, and on the results page, to the right, you will see a box, like this, with Qwiki videos. Just click on one of the arrows, and you can scroll through the relevant Qwikis.
Qwiki.com is a great site that offers a huge assortment of videos on topics such as monuments, historical figures, animals, natural wonders and topics in the daily news.
What I like about these videos is that they are short but offer all of the basic information about the topics. Also, they are just beautiful videos and so interesting, which I think your students will appreciate.
It's that time of year, when we all tend to spend too much time with our eyes on the monitor. To keep the eyes from fatigue, try eye gymnastics. This little site is a great resource for exercises and information sure to keep your eyes from turning into zombie eyes.
Many of us use videos in our classes, but are they ADA compliant? If they don't have closed captioning, they aren't. One way to caption your videos, for FREE, is through YouTube. The following video shows how to upload your text, and how YouTube converts it to captioning.
One way to countdown the last few days of the semester is by creating a clock at Countdown Clocks. This site offers several types of countdown clocks, such as birthday, vacation, holidays, etc. Many different backgrounds are available as well, and you are given the ability to enter your own text.
"Have you ever emailed a version of a document to colleagues, waited for their replies, and merged their changes in? It’s a slow and difficult approach to collaboration.
Share documents with colleagues, and keep those versions up to date
Know when they start and stop editing the document
See their changes to the document as they make them"
With oneDrum there is no need to learn new programs. Just use the Office programs (presently Excel and PowerPoint but Word will be added later this year) as usual and always have the most up-to-date version of a shared document saved on your computer. Watch as colaborators make changes. And, think what a valuable tool oneDrum might be for your students involved in a group project! Check out the videos below to better understand the benefits.
If you're like me, many ideas occur to you but you don't know how to file them and keep them organized. One site that lets you do this is Thoughtboxes.
Google Instant Previews is a new function that allows a Google user to see a visual preview of their search results. A magnifying glass will now be listed beside each result, and the user just needs to hover over it to see a preview of the Website. This way the user does not have to pogostick between search results, or rather, completely open the browser window for each result. Try it today and see how it saves you time!
Cameroid.com is a free service that allows you to take a picture with your webcam and add a special effect. It is extremely user-friendly. All you have to do is choose the desired effect, allow the site to enable your webcam, and then take your picture! The picture can then be saved to the Cameroid.com site, or you can save it to your computer.
Have you ever wanted to look at two screens side by side?
