Monday, November 21, 2011

Top 100 Tools For Learning 2011

Great list produced every year from C4LPT - Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies.

Here are the Top 100 Tools for Learning 2011. This the 5th Annual Survey of Learning Tools finalised on 13 November 2011. This year’s list is compiled from the Top 10 Tools lists of 531 learning professionals worldwide – from education, training and workplace learning.


KEY:
Previous years rankings shown in grey | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
F = free, P = paid for, D = download, O = online

Top 30

  1. Twitter - micro-sharing site   |  1 |  1 | 11 | 43=    F O 
  2. YouTube - video-sharing tool | 2 |  3 | 18 | 22=   F O 
  3. Google Docs – collaboration suite (incl Google Forms) |  3 | 5 | 7 | 14    F O 
  4. Skype - instant messaging/VoIP tool  |  6 |  11= | 4 | 3=    F/P D  
  5. WordPress - blogging tool  | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6=6=    F O/D
  6. Dropbox - file synching software   | 13 | 71= | – | -   F/P O/D
  7. Prezi - presentation software  | 12 | 28 |  - |  -   F O
  8. Moodle - course management system  |  10 | 14= | 9 | 12=    F/D
  9. Slideshare - presentation sharing site  | 5 | 7 | 20 | 31   F O
  10. (Edu)Glogster - interactive poster tool  | 25 | 55= | – | -  F O
  11. Wikipedia - collaborative encyclopaedia  | 16 | 17 | 13 | 26=  F O
  12. Blogger/Blogspot - blogging tool  | 14 | 14= | 10 | 9  F O
  13. diigo - social annotation tool  | 15 | 22= | 35= | 72=  F O
  14. Facebook - social network   | 9 | 31= |  24 | 17=  F O
  15. Google Search - search engine  | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3  F O
  16. Google Reader - RSS reader   | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7=  F O
  17. Evernote - note-taking tool  | 23 | 27 | – | 16=  F D
  18. Jing - screen capture tool   | 17 | 20 | 26= | -  F D
  19. PowerPoint - presentation software  |  21 | 13 | 8 | 5  P D
  20. Gmail - web-based email service   | 31 | 21 | 14 | 7=  F O
  21. LinkedIn - prof social network  | 30 | 38= | 30= | 31=   F O
  22. Edmodo - edu social networking site  | 46 | 88 | – | -   F O
  23. Wikispaces - wiki tool  | 17 | 29 | 19 | 15   F/P O
  24. Delicious - social bookmarking tool  |  4 | 2 | 1 | 2  F O
  25. Voicethread - collaborative slideshows  | 19 | 19 | 23 | –   F/P O
  26. Google+ - social network  - F O   Highest placed new tool
  27. Animoto - videos from images  | 28 | 31= |  - |  -  F O
  28. Camtasia- screencasting tool   |  27 | 26 | 26= | 50=  P D
  29. Audacity  - sound editor/recorder  | 24 | 9= | 12 | 11  F D
  30. TED Talks - inspirational videos   F O  New

31- 65

  1. Yammer - private microsharing platform  | 68 | 71= | – |  -  F/P O
  2. Google Earth - virtual globe  | 41 | 43= | 40=| 40=  F D
  3. Scoopit - curation software – F O  New 
  4. PBWorks - wiki tool  | 33 | 34 | 35= | 43=  F/P O
  5. Google Apps - branded app suite  | 34 | 38= | 68= | -  F/P O
  6. flickr - photo sharing site   |  20 | 18 | 15 | 16   F O
  7. Tweetdeck - Twitter client  | 37 | 43= |  - | -  F D
  8. Google Maps - online maps  | 58 | 67 | 34 | 36=  F O
  9. Wordle - word cloud generator   |  22 | 30 |  - | –   F O
  10. Voki- speaking avatar creator  | 75 |  - | – |  -  F O
  11. Symbaloo - Internet portal/dashboard  F O  New
  12. Word - word processing software  | 60 | 36= | 22 | 10  P D
  13. Google Sites - wiki/website tool  | 39= | 71= | 59= | -  F O
  14. iPad and apps -   New 
  15. Google Chrome  - web browser   | 44 | 55= | – | -  F D
  16. Articulate  – e-learning software  | 43 | 24 | 25 | 22=  P D
  17. Snagit - screen capture tool   | 42 | 25 | 21 | 26=  P D
  18. Adobe Captivate - demo/scenario tools | 38 | 22= | 30= | 17=   P D
  19. Vimeo - video sharing site  | 70 | – |  - | -   F O
  20. Geogebra - maths software for schools – F D  New 
  21. Screenr - screencasting tool  | 58 | 55= | – | –   F O
  22. Mindmeister - mindmapping software  | 73= | 55= | 42= | -  P D
  23. Picasa -  photo organiser  | 46 | 63 |  - | 57=  F D
  24. Wallwisher - online noticeboard  | -  26 |  - |  - |  -  F O
  25. iPhone/iPod Touch and apps   | 39 | 31= | 50= | 43=
  26. Scribd - document sharing tool  | 54 | 71=| 83= | 50=  F O
  27. Ning - private social networking plat form  | 31 | 11= | 16 | 31=  P O
  28. eFront - course management system   F/P D/O  New 
  29. Adobe Connect - web conferencing tool  | 61 | 41= | 66= | 72=  P O
  30. Elluminate/Blackboard Collaborate - web conferencing  | 35 | 43= | 50= | 50=  P O
  31. OpenOffice - office suite  | 61 | 71= | 41= | 31=  F D
  32. Storybird - collaborative storytelling   | 71 | – | – | -  F O
  33. Knol - share what you think  -  F O  New 
  34. LiveBinders - 3-ring binder for the web  | 61 | – | – | –  F O
  35. Sharepoint - intranet platform   | 75= | 50= | – | -  P D

66-100

In this the bottom 1/3rd of the list, there are a lot of tied places.
  1.  iTunes and iTunesU - music/podcast player/site  | 51 | 41= | 28 | 26=  F/P D
  2. Mahara - e-portfolio platform  F D    New
  3. lino - online stickies  F O  New
  4. Outlook - email client  | 95 | 67= | 38= | 17=  P D
  5. Posterous - blogging software  | 36 | 55= | – | -  F O
  6. Storify - makes stories using social media  F O  New
  7. Udutu - collaborative course authoring tool  | 95 | 64= | – | -   F/P O
  8. Hootsuite - social media dashboard  | 74= | – | – | –  F D
  9. BigBlueButton - web conferencing   F O  New
  10. Edublogs - educational blogging tool   | 48 | 49 | 59= | 72=  F O
  11. Etherpad + clones - real-time text collab  | 50 | 71= | – | -  F O
  12. iGoogle - personalised start page  | 44 | 16 | 17 | 17=  F O
  13. iMovie - Video editing software   | 95 | 88= | 66= | -  P D
  14. Khan Academy - learning platform   F O  New
  15. SurveyMonkey - survey tool   | 48= |  88= | 54= | -  F/P O
  16. Excel - spreadsheet software   | – | 50= | 27  P D
  17. Google Calendar - online calendar  |  53 | 50= | 29 | 36=  F O
  18. Kindle - ebook reader   New
  19. Poll Everywhere - instant audience feedback   F/P O/D  New
  20. Quizlet - flash card and study games website   F O  New
  21. Screencast-0-matic - online screen recorder  F O  New
  22. TeacherTube - edu video sharing site | 90 | 64= | 80= | 57=  F O
  23. Zotero - collect/manage research  | 57 | – | 66= | 72=  F O
  24. Blackboard - course management system  | 68 | – | – | -  P D
  25. Android phones and apps   | 85 |  - |  - |  -
  26. bubblus - collaborative mind mapping tool  | 89 | 55= | 83= | -  F O
  27. Buddypress - social networking software  F D  New
  28. Composica - social e-learning authoring system   P D  New
  29. Adobe Flash - animation authoring  | 81= | 38= | 38= | 43=  P D
  30. Fuze meeting - web conferencing  P O  New
  31. Netvibes - personal start page  | 61 | 55= | 37 | 26=  F O
  32. Paper.li - daily digest of tweets   F O  New
  33. ReadItLater - save pages for later   F O  New
  34. Weebly - website/blog software   F O  New
  35. OneNote - personal information manager | 85= |  – | 66= | - P D




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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Interactive Tour of the Sistine Chapel

If you are studying the Sistine Chapel with your students than you will find no better 360 degree Virtual Interactive Tour than this one. It is a beautifully made high definition fly around one of the most world's most famous Chapels. Built by Villanova at the request of the Vatican this is a quick and easy way to give your students a sense of the size, scale and beauty of the paintings. It is spectacular!



For some great educational information about the different panels, walls and ceiling go to;




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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Using iDevices in the Science Lab

Can you record what you see in a microscope using an iDevice. This post has been cross-posted at AppsinEducation. One of the Science teachers came into the staff room very excited yesterday. She had been working with her senior science class with the normal light microscope looking at red and white blood cells at 400X. They were discussing how they could document their experiment. One of her students just grabbed his iPhone, placed it on the eyepiece of the microscope and took a photograph. Here are the resulting images.


The pink dot in the top left corner is a white blood cell
These images where use to grid up and count the cells before drawing the diagram.

This was so good because the NSW Biology Stage 6 Syllabus states that students must:


  • use a technique using prepared slides and
  • measure the field of view
Module 9.2 includes a section on Maintaining a Balance. In Section 2 the second practical bullet point is


  • performs a first hand investigation using the light microscope and prepared slides to gather information to estimate the size of red and white blood cells and draw scale diagrams of each
The beauty of this is not the use of technology itself but that the technology increased motivation and the subsequent task became easier to perform. The drawing and documentation became a real learning experience and the students were able to contribute to their own learning by discovering new ways of documenting their own experiments.

It would be easy to take this further again. Looking at hormones under an electron microscope would give you beautiful images of crystalline structures. This opens up some great links between art and science. This is itself a discussion that has gained attention lately and one area where a cross curricula project could be beneficial to develop.

Progesterone, Estradial, Estrone, Methhotrexate, Testosterone,and Diethylstilbeshol
These are images of hormones as seen under a microscope, from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University.

I would love to hear how you have used iDevices in your science lessons. Include them in the comments section so we can share these ideas with others. Science teachers do get to do some pretty cool stuff.

To see what is possible check out Princeton University's 2011 Art of Science winners.

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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Biggest List of Design Tools


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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Free Stock Music - Royalty Free License




FreeStockMusic offers a wide variety of 100% free production music in eight genres: cinematic scores, corporate, easy listening, electronic, hip-hop, international, pop and rock.


FreeStockMusic are committed to helping find the perfect song for your video, movie, film, video game, or media project. Their music comes with a royalty-free license allowing you to use the music in all types of productions for worldwide distribution, forever. There are never any fees.





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Saturday, October 29, 2011

ThingLink - Image Linking Tool

This is a fantatsic Web 2 tool that allows you to create links within your website or blog using your images. It turns you images into an interactive wall or a single image into an interactive image full of tagged information. Roll your cursor over the button and up pops the info, video or sound. I can see so many uses for this in a classroom - and it could be so much fun.

This is well worth a look from an educational point of view. Not only could teachers make some amazing resources but the students could present their own information in a pretty cool way. Check out the ThingLink site and watch the video to see how it works.


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Friday, October 21, 2011

Small Group Types

The Centre for Teaching Excellence is about fostering teaching and learning of the highest quality. This is an excellent discussion on the different types of group work with students. There is a very good explanation of the different types of group work and then a series of instructions for setting up and getting the most out of it.



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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Differentiator

I love this tool! This is a great tool for teachers to be continually asking themselves how they are differentiating the tasks that they set their students. Developed by Ian Byrdseed at Byrdseed Gifted it is an exceptionally simple idea executed beautifully. It is just so easy to use. Even if you do not use this all the time it is a reminder that we should be using all of Bloom's Taxonomies and not just the few that we are comfortable with. Make sure that you visit Byrdseed Gifted where you will also find lots of resources, tools and ideas for teaching in a gifted classroom or with gifted students. Enjoy!



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Sunday, October 9, 2011

ASLA Conference Resources Roundup

I was lucky enough to be invited to present a session at the ASLA Conference last week at Riverview. I was amazed at the energy and enthusiasm around both professional development and the notion of integrating technology in education. 
Because of other commitments I was unable to attend the full conference however I was an eager follower on twitter for those sessions I missed and I wanted to make sure I missed nothing of the online resources being discussed. 
Tweeter of the Conference - Gold Star goes to @stacyt for 154 tweets, and who I was lucky enough to have sit in on my session and a close second goes to @craftylibrarian for a plucky 108 tweets. Congratulations to all who attended and to those on the committee - this is a conference all educators would benefit from. So after 1171 tweets from 146 different twitters who tweeted a total of 70 separate hashtags and 286 urls here is the breakdown.

Presentations:
http://deangroom.wordpress.com/ - gaming in education

Blogs:
Judith Way Are you game?
Carmel Galvin Librarycurrants
Tania Sheko Brave new world Her other blogs are listed from this site
Marita Thomson Developing readers one of various blogs
Karen Powers Big Bookcase
Leanne Windsor Learning to learn
Judith Way The Way forward previously the power behind SLAV's Bright ideas
Audrey Nay Teacher Talk  and other blogs

Tech Blogs:
Greg Swanson - Appsineducation
Silvia Tolisano - Langwitches
Andrew Churches Edorigami
Greg Swanson - Edtechtoolbox
Greg Swanson - Artygames

Australian k-12 LibGuides:
These TLs are curating content and providing lessons for their students via LibGuides. You can see their sites here.
Leanne Windsor, Petra Pollum and Alison Rout at the Illawarra Grammar School
Cathy Oxley and colleagues at Brisbane Grammar School
Tania Sheko and colleagues at Melbourne High School
Stacey Taylor and Jenny Uther at Monte Sant' Angelo
as well as my valued colleague at Trinity Grammar School, Alison Klein at our site The Arthur Holt Library.

iPad:
Osfoora - rss reader for iPad
Aurasma - Augmented Reality for iPad - http://www.aurasma.com/

Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXCuGvsThEw - People stuck on an elevator
Web2 Tools:
academic.research.microsoft.com/
Articles:

Website Builders:

Interesting Websites:
http://aso.gov.au/education/  - screen australia with teachers notes

Student Built Resources:

Gaming for Learning:

Books for Gaming in Education
Reality is Broken
Grand Theft Childhood
Don’t bother me Mum, I’m learning.
Please add to these by emailing to me names of resources for all those sessions I did not see. Alternatively, direct people to a more comprehensive list of resources for the ASLA Conference in the comments section. Enjoy
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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

100+ Google Tricks for Teachers

Thanks to Amber Johnson a contributor over at TeachHUB for putting this list together. Be sure to check out their site as it is a great place for news, recommendations and resources by Teachers, for Teachers. We do have a page on the main blog with 100+ google tools but they push out about 20 updates a month so a more up to date version might be needed. Anyway enjoy the fruit of Amber's hard work.







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