HandPicked - webtools for educators - Recently Updated Pages

Admin. + Communication

tainal — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:03:41 CDT

This area is the spot for tools designed to help us with day to day organisation and communication.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting, we can fix that up later.

*Tool*	*Description*	*Comments from Users*
	Stickies Get rid of all those little bits of paper! Stickies for Windows lets you put sticky notes on your Windows desktop. A built-in application is available for Mac users. Free Download. Windows Only. Download : Step-by- Step Instructions	If the installer file displays any error messages, you need to install one or both of these packages: Microsoft Windows Installer and Microsoft .NET. Click here for downloads A great wee application, really easy to use. Stickies appear on start-up !
	Skype Make calls from your computer, free to other people on Skype, cheap to phones and mobiles across the world. Other skype features include: instant messaging, file transfer, short message service and video conferencing. Free Download. Windows and Mac.	Have used for a 4 way conference with other advisors, this worked well. The file transfer and instant messaging utilities came in handy. Inclusion - Check out this link for an example of how one class used skype to connect with their classmate who was at home with leukemia. Skyping experts into the classroom
	Desktop Search by Google This quick download allows you to search your computer as easily as you search the web with google. It also works with your emails.	Give it a go, have found it a real time-saver when trying to locate that file.
	Delicious is web-based bookmarking. It allows you to access your bookmarks from any computer and tag them accordingly. A great way to discover what others are bookmarking. Download step-by step instructions	Easy to use and extremely useful. Give your web-bookmarks so much more functionality. Accessing others bookmarks is a great function!
	Free Powerpoint templates: http://www.indezine.com/powerpoint/templates/freetemplates.html	Rec. by Delwyn
	Dimdim - Lets up to 20 people collaborate and communicate using rich media in real time. Only 1 video link for Host can be share during conference. Similar to etherpad, skbl, adds more functionality.	Easier uploading, sharing of files, photos, video's and pqwerpoints during the meeting. The video link can be shared or swapped at any time for another person to host the meeting.
	jing add visuals to your online conversations Use Jing to capture anything you see on your computer screen and share it instantly...as an image or short movie. Jing is also easy to use because of the simple controls. You’ll be up and capturing in minutes once the software is installed. If you need a piece of software that allows you to effortlessly capture still and moving images of your desktop then I’d recommend Jing to do the job for you. There’s nothing else like it for the PC.	Not a gadget today, but a piece of software that I thought some of you would find both interesting and useful. Jing is a screen capture tool that sits on your computer screen unobtrusively until you need to capture the whole screen or an area. Share a snapshot of a document Comment verbally on students' homework Post tidbits from your life on Twitter or Facebook

Sound Recorders/Editors

fayzel — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:07:19 CDT

This is the spot for tools designed to capture and edit sound.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Audacity is a sound editor that can record and play sounds and import and export WAV, AIFF and MP3 files. Despite the dull interface this free download has advanced capabilities. Sounds can be edited, tracks mixed and effects appliedto your recordings.Built-in effects include bass boost, wah wah, and noise removal. Free download. Windows and MAC users.	To export to mp3's you must download the following extension : LAME
	A VoiceThread is an online media album that can hold different types of media (images, documents and videos). It allows people to make comments via text or voice recordings and share them with whoever they choose.	Unlike anything I have seen. Endless capabilities.Check out education examples. Free and very easy to use. 20/01/08 - There is a one time, $10 verification fee to join the ED.VoiceThread community. This has added security benefits for classroom use. Free ordinary accounts for educators still exist.
	Voki is a free service that allows you to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile, and in email messages.	free online voice recorder. You can use your own voice or select an electronic voice in different languages and dialects. Wonderful for students to use oral language and second language.

Wikis

rjensen — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:44:20 CDT

This is the spot for finding software recommendations that allow multiple users to create, edit, and link web pages easily. For an intro to the wonderful world of wikis check out this video:

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	WikiSpaces is a user-friendly free wiki host providing space, visual page editing, and discussion areas. Educators can create advertising free wikis. A great tool for collaborative projects and staff sharing. See NZ examples	Make sure you enter via the 'Wikispaces for Teachers' window this will ensure your wiki is free of advertising. Simultaneous editing is a 'no-go'.
	skrbl - a simple and easy online multi user whiteboard. Great for quick projects. Sketch, text, share files, upload pictures all in one common space. Download Step-By-Step Instructions	Very handy,easy to use application. No problem with simultaneous editing by multiple users.
	This is a wetpaint wiki. User-friendly and visually can be more appealing than other wiki hosts. Conversation threads can be started. Individual pages can be locked to avoid editing. See examples of Wetpaintwikis in education	01/08 - Wetpaint has just releasedadvertising-freewikis for educators.
	Etherpad lets up to 8 people collaborate on the same page in real-time. Each person will be assigned a colour. Similar to skrbl but added functionality.	More linear than skrbl. Great for collaborative writing.

Numeracy

rjensen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:07:51 CDT

Effective Pedagogy (New Zealand Curriculum pg 34-36, 2007)	What we are already doing?	What else is possible?
Creating a supportive learning environment
Encouraging reflective thought and action
Encouraging the relevance of new learning
Facilitating shared learning
Making connections to prior learning and experience
Providing sufficient opportunities to learn
Teaching as Inquiry

Science

rjensen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:03:31 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Maori

rjensen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:03:04 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Advisors Area

rjensen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:52:54 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Outputs

rjensen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:42:11 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Making the Most of this Site

rjensen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:25:54 CDT

'Hand-Picked - web tools for educators' has been set-up as a place for :

sharing our top finds - tools that we have tried and that have worked well
the 'nitty-gritty ' comments on tools - installation hassles, uses etc

Software on this site have been organised into categories according to the function i.e. mind mapping tools, blogging tools, survey creator tools... A brief description of each tool is provided as well as a direct link to the tool itself.

School Support Services - Digital Dozen - Issue 1

	S oftware for Learning - MOE initiative and part of TKI. This site includes detailed info. on freeware and discounted software for classroom use.
	Classroom 2.0 Wiki - a wiki dedicated to classroom and professional-development use of Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies.
	E d ucational Software and Web 2.0 - Suzie Vesper, Wellington ICTPD facilitator, includes both offline and web 2.0 software in her directory.

Moviemaking

rjensen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:25:39 CDT

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Windows Movie maker is part of the Microsoft Office package and is a user-friendly video-editing application. Download this handout for the basics on how to capture footage and create a movie.

Maori Resources

rjensen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:10:54 CDT

Maori Proofing Tools

This is the spot for finding tools that allow you to add macrons, Maori graphics and icons to your work.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Macrons are an important part of written te reo Māori. However, keyboards do not typically have a key for macrons. This free download allows you to add macrons. Windows only. Download Step-by -Step Instructions	After installing the Māori Keyboard definition a user can press the [~`] key once then any vowel and a macron will appear.
	Thousands of high quality maori graphics available for download - animated, buttons, kowhaiwhai...	Only images in the clipart section are copyright free.
	Online maori proofing tools and macron keyboards

File Convertors/Downloaders

rjensen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:03:14 CDT

This is the spot for tools to help with converting files into desired formats and /or sizes.
Other tools listed in this section are for downloading web files.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments
	Zamzar Zamzar is a web-based file conversion tool that can convert your video, audio, images, and documents from nearly any format to nearly any format you like. Three simple steps completes the process.	No registration required. Free version allows you to convert files of up to 100mb. You can also add the url of a video say from Youtube andselect the format you want the file to end up in and they will send you a link to download the file. Time delays are relative to the file size.
	Senduit Senduit is a very simple two-step file uploading site. Files uploaded to Senduit are automatically removed from the server in 30 minutes to 1 week depending on what you specify when you upload. Senduit accepts any type of file up to 100mb in size. Once uploaded, you are sent to a page with the URL for your file.	Good for sharing large files as it save having to zip them.
	Convert Tube A great application for downloading videos from you-tube. Converttube works for both PC and MAC. A FLV player is required. Download one here. Download step -by step instructions.
	Keepvid To download videos direct from most video sites. A FLV player is required. Download one here.	Dee Reid told me about this one. She uses it for downloading movies from Youtube.
	HTML to PDF A very handy application for transferring webpages into pdfs. Simply paste the url into this application and it automatically converts it to a pdf.	Thanks Derek Wenmoth for sharing this on your blog.
PDF to Word Convertor	Does anyone have a recommendation?

Multi-media Creators

rjensen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:43:42 CDT

This is the spot for finding tools for the quick and easy creation of presentations including slideshows, posters, word-art and movies.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool

Description

Comments from Users

Photostory is an absolute must for home and school use. This free windows download is a simple application that allows you to very quickly create a multi-media presentation using still images.
Free download. Windows only.

Bubbleshare is a totally free option for sharing photos on the web. Bubbleshare allows you to create slideshows with your images complete with captions, themes and clipart to your images. A great option when looking for a tool to use to embed slideshows in blogs.

There are 100’s around, to check out more tools see this collection.

Glogster. A great tool for communicating an important message - glogster creates an online poster complete with your choice of images, videos, music and text.
10/11 - Yeehah! - Glogster for Educators Use this with students to ensure appropriate content.

Check out some examples
Some students at Buckland Beach Intermediate are using glogster as a frontapge to their e-portfolios. See example.

Wordle is a tool for generating ‘word clouds’ from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like.

Ideas for use:
analysing key-words from text/ recording and finding commonalities re prior knowledge/ making sense of proverbs, concepts...

Imageloop is very similar to Bubbleshare, the only difference is how the end result is displayed.

There are 100’s around, to check out more tools see this collection.

I really like this site because it is simple to use and the interface is uncluttered. There is no advertising or options that would be inappropriate for kids (well I haven't tripped over any yet!) and watchdog doesn't block it:)

Had some trouble behind our firewall gettin file uploads to work with Firefox, all good with IE though.

It's very similar to RockYou!

Web based document creators

rjensen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:17:25 CDT

This is the spot for tools to create and share your work online. This means your documents are available anywhere and can be accessed and edited by invited people.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Googledocs is a free web-based word processor and spreadsheet which allows you to share and collaborate online in real time. Existing documents can be imported. Documents accessible anywhere.	Early days for me but I like it so far. There is a limit on how much a user can store on his/her account. Each document must be under 500k. 10/10 - Am hooked! I can upload exisiting documents from my hard -drive and invite others to view and collaborate on the same document.

Filehosting

rjensen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:15:12 CDT

This is the spot for finding tools that provide free web space for your documents, pictures, music and movies.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Flickr - A popular Web site for sharing photographs, the service is also used by bloggers to store their photos. Users can browse the online community for photos and all images can be tagged.
	Slideshare - Upload your powerpoint slideshows to slideshare. Share your slideshows via a url. This site also allows you to search for presentations around a particular topic. This is one of the spots I visit when preparing a presentation as it is loaded with thousands of rich powerpoints. .	Handy, easy to use application.
	eSnips is a website where you can upload anything - photos, videos, links, music and documents - and share it with others. You get 5 Gb of free storage
	Boxnet - Online storage for all your files.This was my pick for file storage of documents that are shared via by blog. Since I signed up the free version has disappeared. Options start from $25 per year/2GB	Boxnet downloads the file direct from the blog, doesn't take the user to another site for download.

Must Have

rjensen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:45:45 CDT

Tool	Description
	Photostory Slideshow Creator is an absolute must for home and school use. This free windows download is a simple application that allows you to very quickly create a multi-media presentation using still images. Free download. Windows only.
	Māori Keyboard -Macrons are an important part of written te reo Māori. However, keyboards do not typically have a key for macrons. This free download allows you to add macrons. Windows only.
	Skype Admin and Communication Make calls from your computer, free to other people on Skype, cheap to phones and mobiles across the world. Other skype features include: instant messaging, file transfer, short message service and video conferencing. Free Download. Windows and Mac.
	skrbl Wiki a simple and easy online multi user whiteboard. Great for quick projects. Sketch, text, share files, upload pictures all in one common space.
	Desktop Search by Google This quick download allows you to search your computer as easily as you search the web with google. It also works with your emails.
	A VoiceThread is an online media album that can hold different types of media (images, documents and videos). It allows people to make comments via text or voice recordings and share them with whoever they choose.
	Delicious is web-based bookmarking. It allows you to access your bookmarks from any computer and tag them accordingly. A great way to discover what others are bookmarking.

Image Editing

rjensen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:30:23 CDT

This is the spot for finding tools to manipulate, enhance, and transform your images.

Some of the programs can be used to create computer art from scratch.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	GIMP is a powerful editor for digital graphics and photographs. Great for resizing and cropping photos, altering colors, combining multiple images, removing unwanted image features, and converting between different image formats. Free download. For windows and MAC OSX users.
	Picasa is a free software download from Google that helps you view, organize, edit and share your digital photos on your PC. Picasa won't delete your pictures or put them online without your permission. Free download. For windows only.
	Glogster : This very funky application allows users to express themselves by creating a multi-media poster. Your own media as well as that contained in the globster library can be used. Very user-friendly application with a multitude of tools avalible. Studnets could use globster to express their understanding of a concept such as well-being or sustainability. Well worth a play.	Ensure you only view appropriate content my making use of the newly launched: Glogster for Educators

Game/Quiz/Lnr Object Creators

rjensen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:17:33 CDT

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Quia - An easy to use quiz/game creator that offers over 15 different templates. Games are easily shared and can be created using your choice of media. 30 day free trial available.	My favourite, great to use with students - get them to create a game to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. Rocky See attachment - 'quia -getting started guide' near the foot of this page.
	Class Tools: Use this online tool to create a range of games, activities and diagrams. Template game creators include: arcade game, dustbin game and lights out.
	Magic Studio - Use your own content to create a range of learning objects including:Timelines, DragnDrops, Featurettes, Image Explorers	Great for student use. Very user-friendly see support clip

Mindmaps + Diagrams

rjensen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:57:24 CDT

This is the spot for finding tools that allow you to represent your ideas with diagrams and mind maps.
Some great tools here for creating a diagram on-line with others.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki (see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Inspiration - A great desktop application designed specifically for classroom use. This user-friendly application has three main areas: mindmap, diagram and outline. Templates encourage higher order use of information. Not too pricey – 6 licenses approx. $250. 30 day free trial available.	NZ educators contact Norm at Edsoft edsoft@xtra.co.nz to order.
	bubbl.us -A simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online. Not the most thorough mind-mapping application in the world but it is great for the quick organisation of ideas. Mindmaps can be exported as image files and/or embedded in blogs.	I haven’t yet experimented with the share /collaborate function but it appears that you can invite others to contribute their ideas.
	ClassTools - Use this online tool to create a range of diagrams including timelines, venns, fishbones and targets.	Embed codes provided so diagrams can be posted on your blog/website.
	Freemind - Still attempting the download

Web Searching

rjensen — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:02:31 CDT

This spot lists favourite search engines.

Do you have something to add?
Email the details to me - rjensen@waikato.ac.nz or add it yourself by first joining this wiki
(see button on right) and then using the 'easyedit' tool-bar to add your info. Don't fuss about formatting; we can fix that up later.

Tool	Description	Comments from Users
	Google - No explanation necessary ! Although make sure you utilise all the different search categories i.e. search for just images or blogs or news etc	How would we live without it !
	Oskope is an image search engine that gives you a selection of websites to look through i.e. - flickr, youtube... Oskope also offerslots of options on how to view your search.	A refreshing way to search, helps to extend thinking on a subject.
	Quintura is a visual search engine. It extracts keywords from search results and builds a word cloud. By clicking words in the cloud, you refine your query. ‘Quintura For Kids’ has just been released and from what I have seen it looks great.	A great tool for helping children to define their search and to teach the concept of key-words.
	Boolify A web-based search engine that teachers you the logic of boolean web-searching whilst you perform a google search.