 me, NextVista.org what we'll cover (Google, non-Google stuff) Getting Started - what these tools should do for us Urban Dictionary - interpreting the language of the locals Merriam-Webster - more traditional definitions Books and Scholar - thinking about what's worth reading Google Search - language tools, advanced search, and more options File Search - not reinventing the wheel -and- developing a critical eye Search Curriculum - helping kids search (much) more efficiently Wordle - popular system for making word clouds Poll Everywhere - gathering data using cell phones or internet-connected computers another form of survey Collaboration Kicked Up a Notch - why paper can hold us back Google Docs - word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations Docs - sharing, revision history, and saving the file Presentations - use for prompts, planning, and (of course) presenting Spreadsheets - cool tricks with fill and lookup the formula for the lookup is =googlelookup(cell,cell) Forms - the magic of gathering data (Know your lyrics?) branching forms - this stuff just keeps getting better Sites - building web pages, the Google way Wikispaces - an especially education-friendly wiki company Capturing Attention - it's all about the visuals CoolIris - photo walls from search results (plug-in for browsers) TagGalaxy - a world of photos from search results More Google Fun - getting geographical, calendrical, and alertical; Wave and Buzz Maps - (My Maps) grab a Google Earth file from wherever and try adding it to your Maps account Calendar - (Other Calendars -> Add -> Browse Interesting Calendars) lots of fun stuff! Alerts - every school should be using this Wave - solid tool for small teams of 3-8 folks Buzz - good backchannel tool integrated into Gmail Cool Google Downloads - make sure your bandwidth is okay for these! Earth - 3D Atlas (and Lit Trips) Sketch Up - computer-aided design, without the heart-stopping price tab Picasa - great for photos and organizing them Communities - for us, for the kiddos Fresh Brain - a place for teens to be wildly creative (the Scouting video) Classroom 2.0 and Learn Central - perhaps the best sites for collaborating with colleagues What You See and Hear - approaches to using audio, images, and video YouTube - great source for tutorials YouTube EDU - Google's answer to ITunesU? info for educators Zamzar - for bringing these videos to your desktop Creative Commons - copyright, public domain, and 'copyright-friendly'; royalty-free vs. free proper citation is always a component - use filenames to keep the info Citing Sources, the easy way Flickr and Morguefile - images in quantity and quality PodSafeAudio and Jamendo - music you can use PartnersInRhyme - both royalty-free and free sound effects (note the difference) Software and Sites You Might Want - fantastic freeware from the non-Google world Irfan View - free graphics editor and converter Photo Story 3 - a free program from Microsoft - really. Jing - freeware for screencasting Audacity - powerful audio editor Voice Thread - audio blogs with images Glogster - multimedia posters Photosynth - mix photos for a 3D effect File Hippo - great site for downloading freeware
Metamark - making the URLs more comfortable  Saving the World From Ignorance - my favorite place for fascinating projects NextVista.org - videos to learn, to travel, and to inspire Activity possibilities: choose a video to show students to get their thoughts on strengths, weaknesses, changes, etc. Sign up for the Next Vista newsletter here! Or here. Or here. Ask nicely, and I'll send free resources your way. Let The MACUL People Know: Featured Speaker Evaluation Trying to contact Rushton Hurley? Use Next Vista's contact page at: http://www.nextvista.org/contact/. Looking for the regular Free Tools Out The Wazoo page? Click here: http://xrl.us/freetools Here's that Fresh Brain Scouting video I probably showed: http://nextvista.org/rhvideos/bsa-recruitment.mov |