86 EdTech Resources You May Have Missed–Treasure Chest February 12, 2012

Welcome to this week’s edition of Treasure Chest—86 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!

Featured

• Engaging Learners through Digital Storytelling: 40+ Resources & Tips : Teacher Reboot Camp–There are 100s of free digital tools and websites to inspire your learners to create extremely imaginative stories and share them with a global audience. I hope the following tips and resources will help you along your journey towards integrating digital storytelling into your curriculum.
• Student Assessments Facing Stiff Backlash in Texas – NYTimes.com–Parents and educators are expressing strong concern about the central role of standardized testing in the assessment and overall education of their children and students.

• A GeekyMomma’s Blog: Why There Are No Teachers in Heaven Today–What are YOU doing to keep your teachers from feeling like they are in Hell during PD?
• I Hate Homework. I Assign It Anyway. – NYTimes.com–One teacher explains why students need homework, but only the right kind of homework.
• The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons | The Edublogger–With this post, we hope to dispel a few myths and pull together a complete list of resources for teachers and students to use when blogging and working with content online.
• Should Athletes Have Social Media Privacy? One Bill Says Yes–Should universities be allowed to force student-athletes to have their Facebook and Twitter accounts watched by coaches and administrators?
• Ozge Karaoglu’s Blog – A to Z Web Tool: L–Here is the new post for the A to Z web tools series with the new letter: L

• Moving at the Speed of Creativity – Don’t Blame School Officials if Your Child Chooses to Look at Porn on His Laptop–Life is about choices, and students face a multitude of digital choices when they get online or connected with any device including a laptop, a phone, or other communication tool.
• Successful Teaching: Don’t Blame Me–I wanted to jump up and cheer! Too much of society today wants to always blame someone else for a person’s behavior.
• Goal #4: Reveal Their Strengths #30goals : Teacher Reboot Camp–Goal 4 of The 30 Goals Challenge 2012! Click the link to find out more about the new changes to this year’s 30 Goals Challenge for Educators!
• 20 Must-Have Educational Resources For All Teachers | Edudemic–So, I’m going to give you MY top 20 list and ask you to agree or respectfully disagree and offer your own.
• Computer skills are the grammar of the 21st century, says Ed Vaizey | Education | guardian.co.uk–Conservative culture minister says knowing how a computer works ‘on a par with a knowledge of the arts and humanities’
• 5 things I have learned from students about education technology… « CLOUDUCATION–Sometimes as I write about what I am teaching my students in the high school, it probably makes it seem as if that is a one-way street.  The truth of the matter is that it is often a two-way conversation that is very healthy.  I thought I would write about a few of the things I have learned from the students I teach:
• 9 Ways Students Can Use Social Media to Boost Their Careers–Here are nine things students should consider when starting to use social media professionally.
• 30 Online Multimedia Resources for PBL and Flipped Classrooms | 21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning–In this post I will introduce you to some multimedia mega-sites found on the web that can be used in the PBL classroom.
• The 7 Golden Rules of Using Technology in Schools | MindShift–Sometimes teachers and administrators need a kick in the pants to see what they perceive as problems re-framed in a different way

Tools

• 5 Essential Classroom Management Tools for Teachers–These classroom management tools — from apps to videos — offer tips for both new teachers and vets alike.
• Free Audio Tools for Teachers ( Presentation )–Speaking from the” in the trenches ” perspective, I know exactly what kind of audio tools you are looking for as a teacher. You might be in need of a simple web application, easy to use and above all free . Well this presentation has 12 such tools.
• Top 10 Downloads That Enhance Windows’ Built-In Tools–Windows has a ton of great utilities, and while we can’t live without some of them, there’s a special place in our heart for programs that merely improve Windows, rather than adding new software. Here are our top 10 apps that take Windows’ built-in tools and make them better.
• 40+ Apps & Tools To Customize Your Facebook Pages–Facebook now has over 800 million active users around the world. If it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world (right behind China and
• 10 Free Web Conferencing Tools | Open Source Technology Blog–8 Free web conferencing tools that are equally packed with features like WebEx
• Easily Create Embeddable Map Overlays with UMapper–Do you want to plot out the service area for your business and post it in your website?  Or perhaps you just want an easy way to show a realtor which areas you’re willing to buy a home in.  UMapper is a free webapp that can handle that.
• Gesture Enabled Browsing on Your Android Device–Gesture Enabled Browsing on Your Android Device

• The PopSci Flash Arcade | Popular Science–Five web-based games—all playable right here—that are redefining the way we have fun with video games online
• Dashboard For Chrome: Take Notes & Perform Calculations via A Pop-up–Often, while we work online, we need to jot down important tasks, reminders, contacts or perform simple calculations. *Dashboard For Chrome* is a extension
• 3 Super Handy Page Highlight Tools For Annotating Online–Highlighters, sticky notes and a red pen have been the tools of choice with paper. But, what are the best page highlight tools online?

• 4 Free Apps To Download YouTube Videos [Mac]–If you want to download YouTube videos to your PC, the options are seemingly endless. There are a huge number of options available that are simple and effective, including not only standalone software but also browser extensions. Mac owners have fewer options to pick from – but that doesn’t mean we’re out of luck.
• Wolfram Alpha Launches Pro Version Of Its Knowledge Engine [News]–Starting today, the well-known research engine Wolfram Alpha will offer an enhanced version of its platform – Wolfram Alpha Pro
• Everstudent – A Student Planner Within Evernote–Everstudent – A Student Planner Within Evernote
• Review: 5 free Uninstallers for Windows 7–Remove and uninstall stubborn applications with these 5 best free uninstaller freeware for Windows
• LaunchBoard: iOS-Inspired Chrome App Launcher [Browser Extension]–LaunchBoard is a Chrome extension that is inspired by iPhone’s app launcher. This simple tool scans Chrome for all your installed Apps, and displays their

How-To

• How to create perfect iTunes playlists | News | TechRadar–How to create perfect iTunes playlists Organise your listening with iTunes Smart Playlists : TechRadar
• Easily Create A Facebook Timeline Cover From Your Android Phone–For those of you who use both Facebook and Android phone, Facebook Cover Art allows you to make new cover photos from pictures you take from your phone
• About Facebook’s New Photo Viewer & How to Go Back to Old One If You Want to–A Guide to Facebook’s New Photo Viewer and How to Go Back to the Old One If You Want to.
• 10 ways to get the most out of Evernote | TechRepublic–Evernote’s flexibility and convenience have millions of users hooked. Here are some of the best ways to put this note-taking tool to good use.
• Get Organized: Clean Up iTunes (Part 1) | PCMag.com–Duplicate tracks, unnamed albums, a disarray of miscellaneous songs and audio files–if those words describe your iTunes music library, take these three easy and accessible steps to clean it up.
• How to Embed Images and Logos in QR Codes–QR Codes are mostly black and white images but you make easily customize the look of QR codes with colored pictures and logos.
• How to Export all your Google Docs Files with a Click–See how easy it is to export all your Google Docs files as a zip file in a single click using the Google Takeout service
• School Systems Blog – Four Ways to Use Pinterest in Education–Pinterest is an electronic bulletin board where users can “pin” images from around the web. These images are then categorized into various boards on the users’ profile
• 14 Practical Ways to Use Evernote : The World :: American Express OPEN Forum–Here are fourteen uses of Evernote that can help you organize, archive, and share information.
• How To Share Your Printer With Anyone On The Internet–Windows 7’s Homegroup feature makes sharing printers on your local network easy, but what if you want to share a printer over the Internet? This has traditionally been very complicated, involving print drivers, firewall rules and IP addresses. Google Cloud Print, built into Google Chrome, simplifies online printer sharing.
• Turn Your School Staff Into A Powerful Twitter Team–With this is mind we have put together a Prezi you can use to turn those nay-sayers into converts.
• 37 Ways Teachers Should Use Pinterest – Best Colleges Online–One of the newest and best online tools for teachers is Pinterest.
• The dos and don’ts of Twitter hashtags–Inspired by recent hashtag fatigue, we’ve decided to help out our readers with this helpful guide on the proper use of hashtags…
• How to Hack Your Facebook Profile Photo with Timeline–We love Timeline for Facebook. Maybe you don’t. Doesn’t really matter since Facebook is forcing everyone to switch. So what to do? We say have some fun with it! Since Timeline adds a big, splashy picture to your profile page, you can easily hack that big picture with your original profile picture to give your Facebook page some character (and make all your friends Like you). Here’s how.
• How To Download & Back Up Your Gmail & Other Google Data–We’re storing more and more data in the cloud these days. Email, contacts, documents, photos, calendar entries – you name it, it’s on Google’s servers. But what happens when the services we rely on go down? When the US government seized Megaupload, many users lost data they were storing on Megaupload’s servers
• How To: Sync Android With Microsoft Outlook | PCMag.com–Syncing Exchange accounts with Android is a snap, but local sync with Microsoft Outlook and a USB cable is much tougher.
• iLibrarian » 5 More Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Library–This post is a follow-up to an earlier post titled 5 Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Library. Since it was so popular I decided to continue with 5 more suggestions for using this hot new social site for your library.

iOS

• APPitic – 1,300+ EDUapps–a directory of apps by education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) to help you transform teaching and learning. (apps, education, educacion, primaria, preescolar, educativos. juegos, interactivos)
• The 40 Best iPad Apps for Young Learners | Classroom Talk–Here are 40 of the best apps for your young Einstein.
• Top 10 Tips To Improve iPhone’s Battery Life in iOS 5. | Jailbreak 5.0.1 – 5.1 – 5.0.2 UnTethered Absinthe Greenpois0n–Top 10 Tips To Improve iPhone’s Battery Life in iOS 5.
• How To Email Multiple Photos on an iPhone and iPad–Having trouble adding multiple photos to an email from your Apple iPhone or iPad? Turns out the trick is to think different.
• Camtasia Studio Video Tutorials Available on your iPad–The Fast Track app from TechSmith lets you master Screencasting with Camtasia Studio on your iPad. The video tutorials can also be watched offline.
• 20 Great iPad Apps for Primary Literacy | The Creative Education Blog–From initial charges that ‘it;s just an overgrown iPhone’ the iPad is now part of many teachers’ and schools’ essential kit. But it’s fair to say that …
• 30 best iPad games | iPad Atlas – CNET Reviews–Trying to figure out which iPad games to buy with your hard-earned dough? Here’s a look at our current top-30 favorites. Read this blog post by David Carnoy on iPad Atlas.
• Star Rover: Augmented Reality App For Star Gazing On Your iPad–There are some truly beautiful iPad apps on the iTunes App Store, which keep reminding you why you spent $500 on the tablet
• 20+ Enlightening Education Apps | iPad.AppStorm–Apple’s recent moves towards making the iPad an even better educational tool have highlighted again the incredible scope there is for developers in the education category of the App Store. The introduction of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author has shown just how committed Apple is to getting iPads into schools, the market for education apps is only going to grow!
• Hidden iPad Feature: Shake to Undo–Well, here is another one that I found by accident today – shake to undo.
• 10 Free iPhone Apps You’ll Use Every Day–We’ve compiled a list of free, everyday iPhone apps, whether to help you wake up in the morning, access the news or manage your to-do list.

Android

• Manage, Transfer Files From Android to PC ( No USB Cable Needed )–How to Manage and Transfer Photos/Files From Your Android Phone to PC Without Connecting USB Cable.
• 5 Free Motivational Android Apps You Can Carry Around With You Everyday–Mobile apps have ‘reformed’ us in more ways than we can imagine. Let’s think about our daily need to motivate and push ourselves into action
• yasp! For Android Is A Student Planner With A Backup Plan–In previously reviewed student planners such as Studious, My Class Schedule and Student Timetable, we have already seen some very handy timetable managing …

Miscellaneous

• A List of Free audio books for kids–I have compiled a list of links in a presentation that you can download and share with your students. I have reviewed all the links included and if you want to read the review just click on any title and you will be directed to the post.
• Collaborative Features in Google Docs – Google Docs–How have the collaborative features in Google Docs benefited you and/or your students? What would you say to teachers who are new to trying it out?
• Google Maps Mania: The History of Weather on Google Maps–Weather Underground’s WunderMap now allows the user to view historical weather records on a Google Map.
• 6 Sites To Get Kids Excited About Google Maps–Here are six brilliant sites that use Google Maps to make fascinating, interesting, fun and thought provoking things happen.
• Five Top-Secret Windows 7 Features–After taking a close look at the Windows 7 infrastructure, I’ve noticed a few features that make you wonder where they’ve been your whole life.
• 10 Websites Where Cool Computer Geeks Reside–Geeks were once ridiculed and reviled. Or perhaps that was just at my school. Either way, as first computers hit the mainstream, and then the Internet entered into our lives in a big way, geeks became the people to know. In fact, they started being considered cool. The Internet is now awash with places for these geeks to hang out, and they do so in increasing numbers.
• New Layout for Facebook Theater Mode Image Viewing–Here is a new layout for the Facebook Theater mode image viewing. With new features and editing options the layout is a welcome change for this author.
• Ten Websites for Science Teachers | Edutopia–Blogger Eric Brunsell takes us on a tour of his favorite online resources for science teachers.
• The Internet Imagined in 1969 | Open Culture–The gender stereotypes might be backward-looking (we’ll make up for it later in the day), but the technological vision is on the mark, right down to email …
• Create Photo Collages Using Pictures of your Facebook Friends–Create beautiful photo collages with your own Facebook photo albums or using pictures of your friends.
• 8 Inspirational Videos That Will Instantly Pump Up Your Motivation | MakeUseOf–How do you feel about motivational videos? You may think that they’re nothing more than glorified, digital pep rallies where overly optimistic people preach empty words of success, victory, and ultimately happiness. And to some extent, you may be right. Many motivational speakers give off a manipulative vibe, which often detracts from their message – and often times, motivational videos are no better.
• The State of Digital Education [INFOGRAPHIC] | kevin CORBETT–The Internet has dramatically changed the state of education over the past 20 years or so. It brings primary sources into every classroom and allows for more
• Education Nation 2011: Top 5 Websites for Teachers to Use in Their Classrooms–With thousands of cool sites to choose from, let’s take a look at five awesome sites for education.
• j2training’s LiveBinder Shelf–Create your own LiveBinder’s shelf.

Video/Slideshow

• Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen. – YouTube

• Animated History Of Aviation – YouTube

• A Day Made of Glass 2: Unpacked. The Story Behind Corning’s Vision. – YouTube

• 14 Years of US Weather – May 2, 1997 – Dec 31, 2011 – YouTube

• Old Technology – YouTube

• Alphabet Animals – Alphabetimals – The ABC Song – YouTube

Tagged as: Edtech, Resources, Treasure