66 EdTech Resources You May Have Missed–Treasure Chest May 1, 2011

by Jeffrey Thomas on April 28, 2011

Welcome to this week’s edition of Treasure Chest—66 EdTech Resources You May Have Missed.

It’s really difficult to keep up with all that happens in educational technology. This is my attempt to make it just a little easier. I post a Treasure Chest every Sunday!

This week the White iPhone was introduced but for me, the Yahoo Mail outage (Maximum PC | Yahoo Email Outage Affected 1 Million Users) and part of the week with limited internet access were the big stories. I’m hoping that this week’s Treasure Chest has not been too adversely affected by my online mishaps!

Featured

We are Khan Academy, You Will Be Assimilated! | The Tech Savvy Educator–I’m certainly not the first to be questioning the value of Khan Academy. After reading Frank Noschese’s fantastic analysis of how the ear-drum deafening support of Khan Academy from the corporate world, thought leaders, and the media is a sad reflection of what people don’t understand about education in this country, I felt as though it might be beneficial to take a more balanced approach.
7 Wonders Panoramas – The New 7 Wonders -Travel Great Wall, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu – 360 degree Panoramas–Travel the World for free. Visit Paris – London – Rome – New York etc. Fly in a minute to Australia and Brazil by 360 degree panoramas
Storify Collects Strands of News on the Social Web – NYTimes.com–Storify aims to help journalists and others sift through the explosion of online content and publish the most relevant information.
30 Free Creative Commons Photos for Education–Rather than keep these images to myself I have decided to share them with other teachers to use on their blogs, as Keynote/PowerPoint backgrounds or on classroom handouts
Cloud Computing Requires Backup–I’m a huge believer in cloud computing. We use several tools that keep our data accessible anywhere the web is, and it works rather well for us. Except when it doesn’t.
MathsLinks – A directory of useful objects found on the web for teaching Maths.–MathsLinks is a directory of 300+ useful objects found on the web for teaching Maths. This site aims to not only collate the best maths activities on the web, but present them in a meaningful way.
Using VoiceThread to Promote Learning Engagement and Success for All Students

Helping my Dad Learn About Computers | Technology Teacher–I recently visited my mother and father, both in their late-80s, and both non-computer-users. It’s often surprising to my friends that my parents do not even own a computer. After all, I am considered the essence of geekiness.
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: 15 Fantastic Ways to Use Flipboard–Because so little content is really produced FOR the flipboard, you have to know how to add it.
For Students, What Is the “Facebook Effect” on Grades–Social media has several effects on academic work — some more positive than others. Here’s an infographic that digs into the effects
YouTube Founders Acquire Delicious From Yahoo–The future of social bookmarking tool Delicious is no longer in doubt. Yahoo has sold the site to YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen
Free Computer & Internet Books Online–The best freeware reviews presented to you by Gizmo’s team of experts. Gizmo’s Freeware is the most respected source of advice on the web for choosing the best free software.
Beautiful web-based timeline software–Welcome to TikiToki, a web app that makes it dead easy to make stunning, animated timelines that work in your browser. Our basic account is completely free.
Stop the Cloud, I Want to Get Off! – Yahoo! News–Remember when the “cloud” was just called the “Internet?” This absurd fascination with naming online services after suspended atmospheric condensation is kind of driving me nuts.
Innovators Rejoice: Using Technology to Support Creative Minds in the Classroom – Detroit Technology in Education | Exa–Now more than ever, the world of technology is expanding at an astounding rate. New mediums for communication are constantly becoming available to us

Tools

Convert to Cartoon ; turn your pictures into cartoons ~ Educational Technology–Convert to Cartoon is a cool website to use with your students . It converts your photos and images to cartoons
Free Technology for Teachers: SMART Notebook Search Engine–As you would expect from the name, theSMART Notebook search engine is designed to help you find resources designed for teaching with SMARTBoards.
Shorten Links, Upload Photos, Expand URL’s In Twitter New Interface–The Power Twitter Chrome extension lets you shorten links using Bit.ly and upload photos directly from Twitter.com new interface. You can also preview or expand long links and view YouTube videos directly within the Twitter timeline
Tools To Help Dropbox Users Share & Receive Files Faster & Easier–One of the players in the file sharing game is Dropbox. This popular file backup and sync service allows its users to share files easily via a Public Folder. With this feature, sharing files is as easy as sharing the download links, and if you want to make the Dropbox file sharing experience even better, here are two tools that could help.
6 Web-Based Instant File Sharing Sites You’ve Never Heard Of–Send large files to your friends without any hassle. There are a wide variety of websites that make it possible for you to send any file without having to create a user account. If you’ve got a file to share, and email simply isn’t cutting it, you’ve found the right list. Keep reading to discover some more great tools for the job.
Online Doodle Tools–Any of these web pages would be especially spectacular on an Interactive White Board.
Free Tools Challenge #19: Audacity – Exploring the Power of Voice | Teacher Challenge–This is the 19th post in the 30 days to using the best of the web’s free tools for educators series
5 Simple Applications That Let You Do More With Evernote–Did you ever notice how the most popular apps & platforms have lots of additional add-ons and extensions that were created for them? Evernote is no different – check out the Evernote Trunk and you’ll see. In this article, I’ll show you a few of the simple applications that will help improve your Evernote experience.

How-To

How To Find Creative Commons Content With Google–Creative Commons content isn’t always as easy to find as you think. In fact, most things that you find and copy are copyrighted in a way that makes it illegal to copy it without asking the owner for permission. However, the Creative Commons license can help you with that and make you feel better as a person by being a good citizen of the internet.
3 Ways To Create Video For Your School–Creating video for your school has become a requirement. In this post I offer three ways for you to create video – regardless of your video expertise.
How To Create and Run Your Own Audio Podcast – How-To Geek–Ever feel like taking your voice to the web, literally? Podcasts are a great way to interact with people and supplement a blog. Here’s what you need to know, from buying a mic to hosting it on your site.
4 Ways To Make Good Use Of Dropbox For Android–There are countless ways to make use of Dropbox, and here are 4 more ways to use Dropbox for Android
10 Tips On How to Use Evernote To Its Fullest–It seems everyone’s using Evernote these days, but you may not be aware of some of its most handy features. Here are 10 tips for how you can incorporate Evernote into your workflow, keep it organized, and use it to the fullest so you can save time and have the information you need to be productive wherever you are
The How-To Geek Guide to Making Your Own Custom Ethernet Cables – How-To Geek–Ever set up a router, only to find out you need two short Ethernet cables, and you’ve only got one long one? With a few tools and a little DIY geekery, you can start making all your own network cables.
Using Google Docs in the classroom: Tips and Tricks–This guide provides some six tips and tricks for teachers who’ve mastered the basics of Google Docs. It covers how to keep student work organized, revisions and revision history, and how to publish student work.
Educational Technology Guy: Getting started with Blogger and Google Sites–Both Blogger and Google Sites are extremely easy to use. I use Blogger for this blog, and for my class blogs. I have a blog for each class and I post assignments, announcements, reminders, and links on the site.
How to Save Paper by Highlighting and Commenting on PDFs – How-To Geek–Here’s a little-known fact: There are applications that let you annotate and modify PDF files for free, with no watermarks. This way you can review a document and make your comments without wasting any paper in the process.
How to get online storage for free–If you’re not using the cloud to store you data on the cloud, then you are doing yourself a disservice. There are numerous benefits of using online backup services or online storage [the terms are interchangeable], to store your data.
5 Quick Ways to Liven Up Your Twitter Stream–Whether you’re a Twitter novice or tweeting pro, there are always ways to improve your presence on the microblogging service.
Building the Backchannel: How to Use Twitter in Large Classroom–Many educators have found that the use of Twitter increases engagement in large classrooms. How do you make it work in your classroom?
Advanced Video Search on YouTube with Simple Commands–Searching videos on YouTube is simple but if you know a few advanced search tricks, it becomes even more fun and accurate. Here are some search tips that will help you find the exact video you are looking for minus the guesswork.
How To Remove Programs Completely Using Revo Uninstaller–Remove the unnecessary applications completely with Revo Uninstaller, a powerful freeware utility for Windows
How To Permanently Store Your Data In The Cloud–Are you ready to step into The Cloud? In this article I will show you how you can become largely independent of local data storage. I will provide an overview of how the Internet can help you sync information across different software, platforms and devices to have your data accessible anytime, anywhere by you or by anyone you choose.

iOS

50 really useful iPad tips and tricks | News | TechRadar UK–50 really useful iPad tips and tricks iPad 2 tips and original iPad tips – get ‘em here! : TechRadar UK
iPads in Education–Welcome to the iPad in Education’ web site – concerned with using Apple’s iPad for teaching and learning. Although this is based in the UK, the site’s content will reflect practice from other counties and contexts in order to explore and learn from a wide field
Free Technology for Teachers: iBrainstorm – Free iPad & iPhone Brainstorming App–iBrainstorm is a free brainstorming application for the iPad and the iPhone. The app allows you to record brainstorming sessions using a combination of free hand drawings and sticky notes. You can share and collaborate with other users of iBrainstorm

iBrainstorm Demo

TweetDeck v2.0: A Complete “Re-imagining” Of The iPhone App–Calling it a re-imagining à la Hollywood’s recent Batman movies, TweetDeck has released a redesigned iPhone app
iPad Tutorial: How to quickly update multiple iPads to a new version of the iOS | iPad Academy–What if you have more than a few iPads or iPod touch devices, perhaps dozens, that need updating to a new version of the iOS? Here’s a method to save time and bandwidth.
10 Must Have iPad Apps for Students and Teachers – Distance Education.org–Each of these education and productivity apps offers users a platform that will help them to manage the many tasks that they will encounter during the course of their studies.
White iPhone 4 Now Available in Apple Online Store–We knew it’s happening today, but it’s still hard to believe our eyes: after an extended period of downtime, the white iPhone 4 is now available
Five Great Apps To Enhance The Way You Use Your iPhone--Today we’ll be reviewing five great iPhone apps which can be used to enhance the way you use your smartphone
5 Best Apps to Use Your iPhone as a PC or Mac Remote Control–Remote controlling your PC or Mac isn’t new or something that we haven’t heard of, there are a bunch of such apps, but which ones are the best?
Fun Educational Apps: Best Apps for Kids iPhone – iPad – iPod Touch: Fun Educational Apps – 2011 Apps Reviews–Best apps for kids reviews to turn your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad into a Fun Educational Learning Center with some top fun educational apps for children. Find out all about the best Kids Apps that make learning fun.

Miscellaneous

Thousands of Free Audio Books.–bookshouldbefree.com is a brilliant resource for high school and tertiary students and teachers that need to read a classic text but can’t really justify the hours of sitting associated with sitting and reading.
The Five Kinds of Computer Backup Storage–There are five kinds of computer backup storage each with its own advantages and disadvantages you should consider. We’ll briefly describe each type of computer backup storage in this article so you can choose the best option for you.
Nature in Time-Lapse: 10 Awe-Inspiring Videos–From the lifecycle of a simple weed to the splendour of the Northern Lights, we’ve found 10 awe-inspiring time-lapse treats from the natural world.
The ‘fine print’ of cloud computing | TechRepublic–One of the more difficult areas for IT leaders to come to terms with are the legal implications of cloud computing
act.ly – Start a Twitter Petition in Seconds–Actly is petitions designed to take full advantage of Twitter. Start a Twitter petition in seconds.
Five Common HDTV Questions, Answered – PCWorld–LCD or plasma? HDMI or component? Read on for answers to the five most common HDTV questions.
Why You Should Check Your Public Dropbox Folders–Here is a task for you. Go to Google, Bing or your preferred search engine, and enter the following search term into the search box at the top:
The Cheapskate’s Guide to Getting Free Dropbox Space–Dropbox is one of the best file synchronization tools around, but you start out with only 2 GB of space, which isn’t always enough to sync music or collaborate with your co-workers. Here’s how to increase your storage without paying anything.
Google Docs Now Native On Android | PCWorld–Google’s cloud document service has a new Android app and some new features along with it.
10 Google Labs Experiments You Should Know–Design weblog for designers, bloggers and tech users. Covering useful tools, tutorials, tips and inspirational photos.
Screen Capture Tools to Look At | Windows 7 News–Every now and then you want to capture the contents on your screen to past them into a text editor, or to manipulate them with Paint or some such program.
Growly Notes: A Free Alternative To OneNote For Mac Users–If you’re a Mac user and have been looking for a free alternative to Microsoft’s OneNote, GrowlyBird Software has the perfect solution
Dropbox – Uses of Dropbox in the Classroom