A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet: Web 2.0 Tools A-H

BACKCHANNELING
5 Ways to Use Twitter to Avoid a Backchannel Disaster- from Mashable.com

7 Things You Should Know About Backchannel Communication

9 Tips for Enriching Your Presentations with Social Media- from Mashable.com

10 Observations About Backchanneling- written by David Warlick, an educator with the popular blog, 2 Cents Worth.

10 Reasons to Try Backchannel Chat

Back Noise - works with web browsers and iPhone, iPod and iPad

Backchannel in Education-Nine Uses- written by Dr. Derek Bruff, who has an interest in teaching with clickers (his blog is all about this)

Backchannel Discussion- LiveBinder

Backchanneling in Grade 1- first grade teacher's blog post includes the video below:

Backchanneling in Middle School Social Studies

Backchanneling with Elementary School Students- written by educator Silvia Tolisano, whose Langwitches blog very popular

BackNoise- create conversations on the fly

Cacoo- collaborate on online diagrams

Chatzy-have your own private chat room simply by inviting people and giving them the URL

Donut Chat- filter words, manage many rooms and embed in your web site

Edmodo- classes can have their own micro blogging network; students can communicate in real time, teachers can post assignments, questions for discussion

Google Wave-invite people into a conversation, post any links you might have, see text in real time and use many gadgets Google has.

HootCourse- take your class conversation online

Installing a Backchannel in My Classroom This Week- from Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis

Joint- group chat for Twitter (my school blocks Twitter, so this one is out for us..)

Kicking it Up a Notch: Back-channels in the Classroom- from K12 Online Conference

MeetingWords- real time collaborative text collaboration

MicroMobs- "name your mob" and "create your mob"; easily create your group discussion and share info, images, links etc.

Neat Chat- very easy site to use; simply enter the nickname and click "start group"; then email URL to people you want to invite.

Notaland- online collaboration

PinDax- take notes, upload images and chat in real-time; click here to see demo

Present.ly- allows you to create a private micro-blogging network if you have the same email domain; collaborate in real time

Scribblar- Multi-user whiteboard, live audio,image collaboration, text-chat and more:

Skrbl- interactive whiteboard allows you to chat, draw, write text in one spot

Today's Meet- create your room and collaborate in real time

Twiddla- online meetings; some accounts $$, one is free with limitations

Using Backchannels in the classroom
What is the Backchannel?

BOOKMARKING ONLINE

Aboogy- Personal bookmarks combined with your choice of search engines presented in clean and simple layout

Bookmark Commando- access bookmarks from anywhere in the world; reports if links are no longer valid

Del.icio.us- social bookmarking

Diigo- allows you to bookmark and more

Evernote- does much more than just bookmarking; one of my personal favorites for organizing my life

Google Bookmarks

Historious- one-click save

iKeepBookmarks- allows you to create folders of your bookmarks; set up a page for your school with your bookmarks; see sample here

LiveBinder It- every time you find a link you want to save, instead of clicking on 'favorites' you can click on 'LiveBinder it' and save directly to an existing or new binder.

MyBookmarks- access bookmarks from anywhere

My Home Page- looks like Only2Clicks, with thumbnails of your bookmarks displayed

Only2Clicks- thumbnails serve to identify sites; organize by tabs

Pinterest- online pinboard combines personal bookmarks and more

Quick Bookmarks

SiteJot- simple online bookmark manager

StumbleUpon- bookmark your favorite sites or have StumbleUpon find new sites for you based on your preferences

Symbaloo- like Only2Clicks, this is a visual bookmarking tool

Yahoo Bookmarks- access from anyplace in the world

Xmarks- works with IE, Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers; syncs your bookmarks

Zootool- visual bookmarking

COLLECTING INFORMATION
BagTheWeb- create bags "to collect, publish, and share any content from the Web."

CintaNotes- free personal notes manager; Windows only

Evernote-save urls, grab a screenshot and more; works with smartphones and iPad.

Inslices- collect articles, web sites, videos etc. and share with others

Listhings-sticky notes online

Only2Clicks- organize your sites with various tabs, (like folders) and thumbnails

Scoop.it- create a topic and Scoop.it will proceed to find you links on the Internet which are related to your topic

Spaaze- collect and organize web sites, videos etc. in one location, a giant cork-board.

Springpad- save information on your computer and it will sync with your mobile device (Android or iPhone)

Zotero- "free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself."

CONCEPT MAPS (MIND MAPS)
Biggerplate- choose from a collection of mind maps for education

Bubbl.us-brainstorm and mind map online

Classroom Assessment Technique: Concept Maps- video from the Center Instructional Innovation and Assessment

Classroom Assessment Techniques: Concept Mapping- Michael Zielik shows how concept maps have helped him assess his students' understanding of the subject matter in his course.

Concept Mapping- from the Center for Teaching and Learning

Concept Maps: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words- from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Connected Mind- use with Google Chrome browser

Creaza Education- mind mapping tool is one of the tools available

Dabbleboard- interactive whiteboard

Diagrammr- very simple user interface

Edistorm- free and $$ plans; online brainstorming

Edraw Soft- "build, save, share and print arbitrary mind maps absolutely free"; download required

Exploratree- offers many "thinking guides" which you can use for creating your mind map

FolderBoy-"record ideas, collaborate on tasks and unscramble your workflow"

Free Resources for Thinking Maps

Gliffy-create flowcharts, diagrams, floor plans, technical drawings

HeadCase-import text from MS Office documents;Windows only

How to Build a Mind Map in Microsoft Word

How to Convert Text to a Mind Map

iBrainstorm- app for the iPhone and iPad; share, use free form drawing

Inkflow- free and paid versions for the iPad

Knowcase- collaborative lists, save ideas, notes, to-dos

MAPMYself- free plan offers only 2 online maps per account

Mind42- browser-based online mind mapping

Mindmeister-mind mapping and brainstorming; available for iPhone and Android

Mindomo-collaborate-organize-share

Pinball

Poplet- "simple, smart, fun"

Quicklyst-create outlines; instant access to the Webster-Merriam dictionary, integrates with iPhone, Android and Kindle

Realtime Board- (beta) share publicly or privately; works with Google Drive

Slatebox- create collaborative mind maps and organizational charts

SlickPlan- free flowcharts

Spiderscribe-online mind mapping and brainstorming; connects notes, files, events; PC World choice

Ten Takeaway Tips for Using Authentic Assessment in Your School- from Edutopia

Text to Mind Map Converter

Thinklinkr-create and share outlines

View Your Mind

Whys and Hows of Assessment: Concept Maps- from Carnegie Mellon

Wisdomap

WiseMapping- create mind maps

CREATE COMICS AND ANIMATION
Aniboom-virtual animation studio

Animasher- create an animation

Animoto for Education- unlimited videos for you and your students

Be Funky- change a photo into a cartoon; other cool effects

Bubblr- create a comic strip with Flickr photos

Cartoonist- from Creaza's suite of tools

Chogger- comic can be 3-12+ frames; draw your own picture or take a live picture to use

Comicbrush- use your own drawing or photo, their library of characters, backgrounds and balloons, then add your own text.

Comic Master- create an online graphic novel

Funny Times Cartoon Playground- choose body parts to create the characters for your cartoon

GoAnimate- create animated cartoon with their backgrounds, characters, voices and effects; free version is limited to 2 minutes. Here is the link for GoAnimate for Schools.

Hero Machine- create the hero of your dreams

Kerpoof!- for younger kids

Make Beliefs Comix-dialogue can be written in English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese and Spanish; edit size of balloons, characters.

My ComicStrip

Pixton- $$, works on Mac, Windows or Linux computers; just add characters to the layout of choice and add text.

ReadWriteThink Comic Creator- for younger kids

Sketch Star- create an animation

Stage'd- digital toy for creating comics

Strip Creator

Strip Generator-choose how many fromes you want and cfreate a black and white comic.

Super Action Comic Maker- create a 6-frame comic

Super Hero Squad- create a 1-3 frame comic with a choice of background, characters and special effects.

ToonDoo- "just a few clicks, drag and drops..."

Witty Comics-use background templates, add characters and text.

Write Comics-registration is not needed; choose a background, characters and add your own text.

Xtranormal for Education- special pricing for schools