Dropbox: File Syncing & Sharing Made Easy

Dropbox offers users an online backup service, free file syncing, and the ability to share your files with others. It will allow you to access your stored files on a Mac, PC, and Linux computer, or on the go with a mobile app for the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android devices. Everything in your Dropbox is available from the Dropbox website.

Free version allows up to 2GB and a subscription up to 100 GB.

Features

• File sync
• File sharing
• Online backup
• Web access
• Security & privacy
• Mobile device access
• Works offline

Advantages for Teachers

• It's FREE
• It' convenient
• It saves you time
• Use it with students

Dropbox Blog

Edmodo: Social Networking Site for Educators

Edmodo is a FREE, secure, social learning platform for teachers, students, schools, and districts.

Edmodo provides teachers and students with a secure and easy way to post classroom materials, share links and videos, and access homework, grades, and school notices. Teachers and students can store and share all forms of digital content - blogs, links, pictures, video, documents, presentations, and more. There are also special institutional features for schools and districts that can be accessed for free by administrators.

Features

• messages
• assignments
• calendar
• networking
• communities
• library
• mobile web
• groups

Help Center

Blog

Edmodo Tutorial from Mr. Robitaille on Vimeo.

ClassTools.net

ClassTools.net is cool tool to create free educational games, quizzes, activities and diagrams in seconds. ClassTools.net allows you to host them on your own blog, website, or intranet. There is NO sign up, NO passwords, and NO CHARGE.

The resources are FREE and there is no charge for creating resources with any of the templates. Each template can be saved as a stand-alone HTML file or as a Widget that can be embedded into a blog or wiki (as long as it is non-commercial). The downloaded HTML files need to communicate with the ClassTools server and therefore require a computer to have an Internet connection.

There is a premium membership option for using ClassTools.net. Some of the features are:

• Ad-Free Templates
• Full-Screen Mode
• Personal Area
• Print Facility
• Live Editing
• Export as Image

Sample chemistry game

PollDaddy

PollDaddy is "the most powerful and easy-to-use survey software around."

Polldaddy allows you to create stunning surveys, polls, and quizzes in minutes. Collect responses via your website, e-mail, iPad, Facebook, and Twitter. Generate and share easy-to-read reports. There is a FREE account and a Pro Account.

Education:

Test your students with pop quizzes. Gather feedback on course work, field trips, and events from students and colleagues. Polldaddy eases communication in the classroom and teachers' lounge.

Plan Events:

Whether it's a corporate meeting, wedding, or birthday, gathering information from attendees prior to the event can save a lot of hassle. Find out the dates that suit people, what food they eat and who's coming with them. Polldaddy can ask the questions you don't have time to ask yourself.

Audience Participation:

Polls are perfect way to interact with site visitors. Your audience can give you instant feedback on the topics you choose, with a single click. Polldaddy makes it easy to get feedback.

Market Research:

Reach out to your potential customers and survey them on your new products and services. With our innovative iPad app, you can collect survey responses in person at conferences and shows.

Simple Diagrams

Simple Diagrams is a small desktop application that helps you express your ideas quickly and simply. There's just enough functionality to describe a thought or capture a process. Simple Diagrams keeps the visual expression clear through the simple design of library items and backgrounds. There is a FREE version along with the full version for $25.

Features

• drag, drop, and size symbols from libraries
• add photos and post-notes
• various backgrounds styles (chalkboard, whiteboard, etc.)
• save diagrams on your computer
• export your diagram to PNG

And, since Simple Diagrams is built on the Adobe Air platform, it will run smoothly on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Here's a screenshot of application in use:

Curriki - K-12 Open Curricula Community

Curriki is your world of educational resources and curriculum. Curriki originated from the idea that technology can play a crucial role in breaking down the barriers of the Education Divide - the gap between those who have access to high-quality education and those who do not. Curriki helps bridge this divide by providing FREE and open resources to teachers who need them most.

Curriki is a non-profit organization that is leading the K-12 global community for teachers, students, and parents to create, share, and find open learning resources that improve teacher effectiveness and student outcomes.

Educators can join Curriki for FREE and publish curricula for the world to see and use.

Moodle - A FREE Web-Based App for Online Learning

Moodle is an Open Source Course Management System (CMS), also know as a Learning Management System (LMS), or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. To work, it needs to be installed on a web server somewhere, either on one of your own computers or one at a web hosting company. It is a FREE web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites.

The focus on the Moodle project is always on giving educators the best tools to manage and promote learning. There are many ways to use Moodle.

• Moodle has features that allow it to scale to very large deployments and hundreds of thousands of students, yet it can also be used for a primary school or an education hobbyist.



• Many institutions use it as their platform to conduct fully online classes, while some use it to augment traditional classes known as blended learning.
  



• Many of the users love to use the activity modules - such as forums, databases, and wikis; to build collaborative communities of learning around their subject matter while others may prefer to use Moodle as a way to deliver content to students and assess learning using assignments or quizzes.

In an article by James Mitchell, Moodle and Its Potential for the Public High School Classroom, Mitchell looks at the aspects of using Moodle in the classroom with the challenges of today's public education and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Mitchell concludes that Moodle is a "very viable option" to providing learning materials online with easy to manage software and that most schools are satisfied with the results of the software.

Mitchell, James (2007). Moodle and Its Potential for the Public High School Classroom. Retrieved from http://mrjmitchell.com/portfolio/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/690_lit_review_moodle_jmitchell.pdf

Jing for Screenshots

Jing is a screencasting software launched by TechSmith. Jing allows users to take a picture or make a short video of what you see on your computer. You can share it instantly via web, email, IM, Twitter, or on your blog. Best of all, it's simple and FREE! Jing is the perfect way to enhance your fast-paced online conversations.

As a teacher and technology coordinator at Marbury High School, I use Jing to take screen-shots and screen-captures to help my students and staff. If I need to show the staff how to take attendance, set up grade book, or print rosters from I-Now, then Jing is the software I open. With a few clicks I can quickly and easily take a screen-capture and add instructions, save and upload it for teachers to view. Jing also works great with the students in the classroom.

Welcome To My Blog!

Welcome to my blog, Tech Tools for Teachers. I hope this blog provides some new technology tools, tips, and tricks for you.

I have been teaching at Marbury High School for 11 years. Technology is constantly changing and I want to learn new approaches to enhance the learning environment by incorporating the new technology into the classrooms. In order to accomplish this goal, I am in the Interactive Technology online graduate program at The University of Alabama to learn new ideas, approaches, and methods that I can then present to my colleagues and students. This blog is to share some of the Web 2.0 tools I have learned.