The Best in Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing is becoming more and more popular by the day!  So, the number of sites and apps that allow you to conduct a video conference are increasing.  Here are a few of the best sites and apps I've seen that allow you to do just that.

My favorite is a site called LiveMinutes.  The best thing about LiveMinutes (other than the fact that it's FREE) is that it's collaborative.  You can set up and run a webinar in seconds!  Once you share the link you can talk, Skype, draw on a whiteboard, and even share screens.  With Live Minutes, you can upload and collaborate on documents, too.

Check it out at http://liveminutes.com/oneclick/

Another great videoconferencing app is Fring.  Fring allows you to video chat, group video chat with multiple users at once, call for free and even message for FREE! .

You can check it out at http://www.fring.com/

A Better Way to Create and Run Assessments

ExamView is a great resource for anyone who already has a SMART Board and a SMART Response system. We usually call them "clickers." You can create assessments in ExamView much easier than you can in the Notebook software. Once you have created an assessment in ExamView, you can actually export it to import it right into SMART Notebook. The screencast below shows you how to export from ExamView and import into SMART Notebook. Check it out!

Create a Flipping eBook!

I have been looking for the perfect site for building eBooks.  Well, I think I have found it.  My main goal was to be able to hyperlink from one page to another.  I wanted to create eBooks with vocabulary words throughout the book that could be hyperlinked to the glossary for a definition.  FlipSnack does everything I want it to do, and the books look great.  I used a few other sites to create eBooks, but they weren't as aesthetically pleasing as the ones done with FlipSnack.  Another great feature is that you can upload PowerPoint slides and PDFs to convert them to eBooks.  This is a great tool if you're looking to create eBooks.  When you're finished with your eBook, simply email the link, post to FaceBook, Twitter, and others, or download the file.  It's as easy as 1-2-3.

Create Your Own eBook now @

www.flipsnack.com

How are you doing with keeping your projects organized?  Here's a tool that can help you keep up with every step of your project from start to finish.  It's called Trello.  Trello is a project organization tool that breaks your project up into manageable pieces called boards.  You can create boards that match up with the specific steps within your project.  Here's a short video to show just how useful Trello is and how you can use Trello for your projects.

You can check out Trello's website at www.trello.com

8 Ways To Use Facebook In The Classroom

Recently, I read a blog post on theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com about using Facebook in the classroom.  It is such a great article about drawing teachers, students, and families closer together using social media in general.  I mean think about it....how many of us already have a Facebook account?  Our students are craving this type of technology, so why not incorporate into the classroom?

I think students would love to have the opportunity to update their status throughout the day to reflect something interesting they have done or learned.  Then parents, family members, friends, and even other classmates can comment to start an enriching conversation thread centered around the classroom.

It's also a great way to celebrate student work.  By allowing students to post their work to sites like Facebook, teachers are allowing family members and classmates to offer instant feedback.

To read more about how social media can be used in any classroom, check out the referenced article by clicking the link below.

The Innovative Educator - 8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Schoening's First Grade Class

Photoshop for FREE?

www.aviary.com

Well...not exactly, but there's a FREE, web-based image editing software that works just like PhotoShop.  It's called Aviary...and, of course, it's FREE.  You might be thinking, "What is Aviary?"  Aviary is a great, web-based image editing software like PhotoShop that allows you to do some remarkable things with images and audio.  It has layers just like PhotoShop.  In fact, it does just about anything PhotoShop can do.  Once you get to Aviary's website, you'll notice Aviary actually has a suite of editing tools.  Visit Aviary's website by clicking the link above to start creating creative and unique designs of your own.

Too Many Passwords?

www.mitto.com

Have you ever really counted how many different usernames and passwords you have to remember?  I counted over 30!  That's way too many usernames and passwords for anybody to have to remember.  There's a great web-based password manager out there called Mitto.  Mitto can store and mange all your passwords with one-click access to all your favorite sites.  You can even categorize your passwords and share access to your services with password sharing.  This has proven to be a great service for individuals and teams who share common usernames and/or passwords for various websites.  If you have sites you visit for personal and business use, then you'll love the fact that you can tag each password based on its purpose.  Give Mitto a shot and begin simplifying your life today!

Can't Access the Internet?

You were probably asked to change your password over the summer.  Connecting back to the network has been the most common problem so far as we are returning from our summer vacation.  The most common fix has been quite simple.  In fact, it has been so simple it may surprise you!  Try to plug an ethernet cable into your computer - it's the one that looks like a large phone cord.  After it's connected........(drum roll please)........restart your computer!  This has actually taken care of most connection problems.  I understand this won't necessarily work for everyone, but it's worth a shot.

Blogging

Blogs are such a great way to drive traffic to your site!