Tools+Page

Go back to the Oakridge Team page.

BTW, has anyone checked out the "50 Ways to Tell a Story" site mentioned in the PLP Ning "Building Trust in Our Online Community" yet? Pretty great way to start exploring a) framing a story on-line and b) the various tools to help you do it. Highly recommended!


 * What do YOU want to learn more about?**


 * Basic** -- Good first step for you to 'dip your foot in the water' or for a single project w/ students (or behind-the-scenes in preparation)
 * 1) Figure out what people mean by "Web 2.0" and what Web 2.0 tools actually are
 * 2) Make a wiki -- easy web site that people can co-edit together -- for class or for your own research
 * 3) Make a blog -- easy web site that will allow people to be 'in conversation' -- for class or for your own research
 * 4) Make a basic web site to post assignments, projects, research, etc (requires no coding or tech knowledge); Ex: Google Sites
 * 5) How to find highly-recommended education-oriented blogs to read; how to 'search' for blogs by subject
 * 6) Subscribe to blogs, on-line newspapers, etc. so they are easy to organize -- GoogleReader and other RSS (aka "Really Simple Subscription") feeds
 * 7) Upload a photo to the internet -- Flickr, Shutterfly, etc.
 * 8) Upload a video to the internet -- YouTube, TeacherTube, GoogleVideo, Vimeo, etc
 * 9) Download a podcast or vodcast (video) from the internet so that it is a file on your computer, iPod, etc.
 * 10) Bookmark/organize on-line research, tagging, etc. -- Delicious, etc
 * 11) On-line citation generators -- helping your students easily 'cite' their research


 * Medium** -- Once you've got some momentum with Web 2.0 tools, these might be interesting to try or to learn more about:
 * 1) Create and upload a podcast for class
 * [|Audacity - Free podcast creation tool]
 * [|How to Podcast Tutorial]
 * [|Gcast - place to upload podcasts to]
 * [|10 great ways to use audacity with your students]
 * [|"This I believe" podcast lesson plans]
 * [|Advanced podcasting tutorial]
 * Turn a PowerPoint presentation into an actual video (with sound and transitions)
 * [|SlideShare] (easy way to put a PowerPoint presentations up on-line; can provide a link for others to click or you can embed the actual presentation into a blog or wiki, etc.)
 * [|SlideBoom] (another variation to consider; in fact, if you search for "upload powerpoints" or something similar, you'll find others, too)
 * [|Prezi] (an visually alternative way to create a 'slide presentation' via a 'zooming' presentation tool)
 * Example of [|Prezi presentation done for Honors Eng II re: Lord of the Flies] (that also included a discussion about the Stanford Prison Experiment, human nature, good vs. evil, etc.
 * [|Ahead] (similar to Prezi with more options/power but not as intuitive; probably worth being aware as an option over time)
 * Create and upload a vodcast (i.e. "video" podcast)
 * [|Call Recorder] (if you want to record/save/upload videos of your Skype video calls, this is a great thing to buy for $20 to use)
 * Create an on-line video chat
 * [|Skype]
 * [|Call Recorder] (if you want to record/save/upload videos of your Skype video calls, this is a great thing to buy for $20 to use)
 * Create and archive a 'live-blog' or class/scribe notes -- allow others outside of class participate in the discussion
 * [|CoverItLive] (fantastic way to create an on-line 'chat' that people can participate in as well as read at a later date via archiving; not only can you provide a link to the 'chat conversation' that was held, you can also embed the actual 'archived' chat into a blog or wiki)
 * Get involved in 'social networking' and 'micro-blogging' - Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, FriendFeed
 * Have students work collaboratively on-line on documents, presentations, spreadsheets, etc -- GoogleDocs, wikis, etc
 * Comment on on-line articles or create discussions 'inside' an online article
 * Create an on-line audio and/or video how-to tutorial
 * [|Screenr - screencasting site] (5 minute maximum works through Twitter account)
 * [|Screenjelly - screencasting site](3 minute maximum)
 * [|Jing - downloadable program for screencasting]
 * 1) Embed a video or podcast into a blog entry, website, etc.
 * 2) How do do very basic blogging/web HTML (i.e. how to make things bold, italics, etc.)
 * 3) Take advantage of iTunes University classes (and/or to upload your own podcasts to iTunes University)
 * 4) Create a visual/graphic timeline with embedded content -- Dippity, etc.
 * 5) Verbally comment 'into' on-line PowerPoint-like presentations -- VoiceThread, etc.
 * 6) Drawing tools for the web -- DrawAnywhere, etc.


 * Complex** -- Some of these are 'hard' to do; some are 'conceptual'; and some are franklky 'cool' but hard to find an immediate use for 'in class'
 * 1) Create and manage a Ning group/site of your own
 * 2) Create a live video 'channel' -- Eluminate, Ustream, Whiteboard
 * 3) Using Google Earth -- including embedding content to create 'knowledge' tours
 * 4) Exploring Visual Information Design -- Cloudtagging, Wordle, etc
 * 5) Geotagging
 * 6) Publish an on-line book that can be printed or an e-book that is merely downloaded
 * 7) Understanding the CC ("Creative Commons") approach to the web, Wikipedia's collaborative editing/sharing model, etc.