Tweetdeck

I honestly can't believe I haven't posted about Tweetdeck before. I absolutely LOVE this application for Twitter. Ok, I'm highly addicted to Twitter. Sometimes I'm asked, "How can you possibly follow so many people and find value?" My answer is Tweetdeck!

It's a free download that runs on Adobe Air.

It takes a while to learn all that you can do on Tweetdeck. I recommend you do a google search and read some guides or watch a video on YouTube about all the features it has.

Sorry, time to fire up Tweetdeck and find some tweeps!

Need to Teach (or Learn) Touch Typing?

I recently found a FREE online application to help teach touch typing on either the Qwerty or Dvorak keyboard. It's not fancy, but great fun for students.
PowerTyping

LibraryThing

I love LibraryThing! As a frequent shopper at used book sales, I have frequently purchased duplicate copies of books. With LibraryThing, I can enter all my books (even using a cue cat to scan the ISBN numbers) and have access to this list from my cell phone, etc.

There are free accounts for up to 200 books (hey, there's more than that under my bed!) yearly accounts for $10 or lifetime (This was my choice) for $25.

There is also a social aspect to LibraryThing. You can view lists, reviews, friend people, etc.

Lesson Prepping

I spend a lot of time prepping lessons. I'm not really sure why, since I rarely follow my notes. Teaching for me is quite organic. What comes to mind in the next moment often is better than what resides in my notes. I guess that's why I love teaching.

But I do need notes. I guess one of the main reasons is that I teach the same subjects each year and want to be sure I cover the same material. Especially since I create my own tests.

I like outlines. Yeah, call me old school, but an outline is concise, organized and VERY visual. I usually make my outlines in pages (mac) or WORD (windows) depending on which machine on which I'm working.

I keep trying out new outlining software. My latest app I'm trying is Process.

Audible

Ok, so most of you already know what Audible is, but are you using it?  

Believe me, I love BOOKS!  I love the feel of a book in my hands, turning the pages, seeing it on the shelf, using unique book marks, etc.

I didn't think I would use something like audiobooks much, but I was WRONG!  It is so great to download that baby to your iPod and listen to it while doing mundane tasks that use your eyes, but not your full attention.  Fold laundry and listen to that history book you've been meaning to re-read.  Do dishes while listening to some escapist fiction.

I'm addicted already.  Give Audible a try!

Open Office

Recently I had a student who needed a word processing application, but needed something free.  I recommended the full productivity suite available at OpenOffice.org 

It's FREE and open source.  The products I've used have been able to download and upload windows files without a hitch.  I've liked having it on old machines that I'm unwilling to pay for new software.

The applications include 

     Writer (text document)

     Calc (spreadsheet)

     Draw (drawing - vector graphics)

     Impress (slideshow presentation)

     Base (database)

     Math (formula editor)

Jing

Looking to make a screencast? Try Jing.

A free and paid service that allows you to create screencasts is a major productivity tool, at least for me!  They have great tutorials on how to use the service. 

Smilebox

One new little service I've just loved for education and plain 'ole fun is Smilebox!

What is Smilebox?
Smilebox is a fun and engaging service that connects you with family and friends using your photos and videos. It's free, easy to use, and the results are amazing.

What can I make with Smilebox?
With Smilebox, you can create animated scrapbooks, photobooks, slideshows, postcards, and ecards for any occasion, and email them to anyone.

Is it free?
Yes, you can personalize and email or blog any design for free. You can also do more by purchasing the premium version of a design or joining Club Smilebox. Click here to see what you can do!

We've done some class photos with Smilebox and I used it at Christmas. I love that when I upload pics to iPhoto it automatically opens up Smilebox to use them!

Drop in and check it out!

Weebly

Poor neglected blog!  I apologize for not getting more goodies up sooner.

Today we have Weebly!

Weebly is a great way to create a site and get free hosting online.  It's simple and easy to use, but don't let that fool you - it's also quite powerful!

Take a look!

Hulu

Hulu

Ok, I know.  You're thinking this isn't educationally related.  Just for fun, huh...  

But wait a minute!  We're talking about educating with technology.  Ever want your students to watch a great movie about history, but couldn't take class time and realize asking them all to rent it was an impossibility?  Have them watch it on Hulu!  Go to the History channel on Hulu and see what all they have available!  It's mind-boggling...

Assign your students some Hulu and see at least a few happy campers!

Prepping for the New School Year

This year I have a new list of things I'm going to try and implement.  I also have a list of things I'm going to try and avoid!

Implement:

1. Touch things 1 time and deal with them adequately!

2. Improve my filing system for hard copies of important documents.

3. Weed through the ridiculous amount of books and part with some of them regardless of my emotional attachment!

4. Stop procrastinating on tasks I hate - by doing them first!

5. Be willing to give up a system, book, project, software, method, etc. that is not working for me before wasting vast amounts of time!

Avoid:

1. Making careless mistakes by rushing too much - ok....baby steps here - be more careful!

2. Use my time more wisely by using GTD strategies that work and simply life.

3. The phone....   Need I say more?

4. The television - at least during the day!

5. People who frustrate me or waste my time on things that don't really matter.

Well, it all sounds great.  The question is.....  Will I do it?  I'm definitely going to try!

Viewzi

Viewzi

A new way to search.  It's not like google or yahoo, but its much more visual and customizable.  

Check out viewzi for your next search!

Blambot

Blambot

Need a unique, comic book style font, for free?  Look no further than Blambot.  They have a huge selection (note - some of them are for fee)!

Privnote

Privnote

Want to feel like you're on Mission Impossible...

Try Privnote

You send a note and self destructs after they read it.  Cool, huh?

Remember the Milk

Remember the Milk

This slick little service allows you track tasks and projects and sync them.  It works well with other apps, especially GMail.  It's still in Beta so expect occasional issues and updates.  It's a handy little app for quickly entering or retrieving a to do list.  

Some of the things you can use it for include google calendars, you can twitter a message to it, email it, voice mail, etc.

iGTD for mac

iGTD 

Need an app for project and task management.  Here's a nifty one for mac users.  The interface is simple and easy to use.  The best news - its FREE!

Schoolhouse 2.0 for Mac

Schoolhouse 2.0 for Mac

This is a great organizer program for students (and applicable for teachers too).  It is only for mac, but its a well-done program and it's FREE!

Kaltura

Kaltura

I haven't really had time to play with this much yet, but with classes getting ready to start I thought I'd go ahead and post it.

Kaltura offers collaborative video editing online for free.  I can think of a million uses for this service.  Since I haven't gotten to play with it (and work with others) I'm not sure of the ease of use, but the idea is brilliant.  

How to Make It All Work Together

This year I've come across so many tools that will make teaching easier, but now I have to whittle it down to best choices.  This is the struggle.  Which tools will help the most, with the smallest learning curve for the students and parents?

I think the ones I will use the most this year are:

Twitter (a great way to get info to a group quickly)

Jott (a way to remind myself anywhere of something I'm likely to forget!)

Skitch (a great way to mark graphics up on anything quickly)

Evernote (for organizing notes with searchable text)

Since I have a website already, I don't need drop.io as much, but I think I'll still have some use for it

Adobe Buzzword

Adobe Buzzword

This online word processor allows you to work collaboratively with others and access your documents from any computer.  It's definitely a handy tool and free!  It allows mac and pc users to work together online without having to convert everything back and forth.  Love it...