Top 10 Technology Tools for Teaching and Learning Kimberly Tohill Penn State University USA

Workshop Overview Introduce each tool Discuss main features and uses Demonstrate how to use the tool Resources for classroom implementation Questions or comments?

Tool Categories Presentations Collaboration Online Publishing Blogs Audio/Podcasting Digital Video File Storage Social Bookmarking Organization Social Networking

Presentation Tools Main Components Featured Tool Allows editing and formatting of inserted text Allows manipulation of inserted images and/or graphics Provides a slide-show system to display content

Vuvox Fast layout and customization of photos, video, text and music. Add media hotspots, narrate interactivity. Publish to any webpage 3 platforms to create: Express, Collage, & Studio “Provide whatever cool content that you have. Take pictures, video, audio and text. Mix it up. Choose backgrounds, colors, textures that create your vibe and then you are ready to share your piece with the world.”

Collaboration Tools Main Components Featured Tool Two or more people can work together to create and edit a document Synchronous or asynchronous

Google Documents Collaborative writing and editing Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings Edited and stored online Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection Download and save in various formats You choose the amount of interaction users can have with your documents (view, comment, edit)

Online Publishing Main Components Featured Tool Write articles about items of personal interest Publish articles on the web Receive comments and critiques of articles written Write comments and critiques of other articles

Teen/Tween Tribune Aggregates news stories that are of interest to tweens & teens Users can submit their own stories Users can comment on stories and on other comments – all mediated by teachers! Promotes reading, writing, and critical thinking Teachers can blog and share lesson plans in the faculty lounge

Blogs Main Features Featured Tool Personal “journal” entries to publish on the web Most blogs are interactive via comments Contain text, images, links to other sites, video

Blogger Is connected through your Google account Easily write and edit entries and comments Easy to use interface that allows customization of layouts, fonts, and widgets Users can subscribe to your blog easily through RSS feeds Includes an HTML text editor

Audio/Podcasting Main Components Featured Tool Record audio files Publish files to the web, download to your personal media player Subscribe to new content through RSS

Podomatic Create audio files and publish them to the web All you need is a microphone! Create “minicasts”: audio + images = video slide show Also includes a directory of podcasts 500 MB of storage 15 GB bandwidth per month

Digital Video Main Components Featured Tool Upload and share digital video recorded with your computer, camera, cell phone, etc! Locate supplemental videos to use to enhance classroom lessons

TeacherTube Online community to share instructional videos Make constructive comments about others’ videos Use rating system to show appreciation for videos of value Flag inappropriate content Also has an extensive directory of audio files, documents and photos for educational use Subscribe to “channels” of your favorite video producers

File Storage Main Components Featured Tool Store files locally and remotely Synchronize files on all your devices Files are available from anywhere there is Internet access

Dropbox All files located in one convenient place Automatically updates all devices when you add/delete files (computer, phone) Files saved on the web and on your local devices Share your dropbox with others

Social Bookmarking Main Components Featured Tool Organize, manage, store, and search for bookmarks online Tag resources into a personal classification system Sharing resources through bookmarks

Diigo Add all your favorite websites to collections within your Diigo library Organize bookmarks by lists or tags Highlight and add sticky notes to websites Share bookmarks with others Follow users that share similar interests

Organization Main Components Featured Tool Group, classify, and share information gathered from the web

LiveBinders Organized by website and tabs Toolbar add-on to make adding content easy Easy to embed in blogs Upload any file up to 5MB Total free storage is 100MB Site offers free webinars on further use of LiveBinders

Social Networking Main Components Featured Tool Online platform for creating social connections among users Includes representations of users (i.e. avatars, pictures, user names) Allows users to share interests, events, ideas, activities, and more

Edmodo Students can turn in assignments online Another way to connect with students in a social network! Interface is much like Facebook but in a secure environment Post questions or reminders to students as your “status” Upload images and video Students can turn in assignments online Set up a calendar with important dates and deadlines Enter grades Award badges to students Weekly webinars to improve your usage of edmodo

Resources Vuvox in Education Google Docs in Education Podcasting in the Classroom TeacherTube in the Classroom Tips for Using Dropbox in the Classroom 33 Ways to Use Blogs in the Classroom Using Diigo in the Classroom LiveBinders in Science & Math Ideas for Using Edmodo Web 2.0 Teacher Tools

Culminating Discussion Questions? Comments?

Thank you for attending this workshop! Kimberly Tohill Penn State University, USA klt5203@psu.edu