There are so many great technology tools…wikis, blogs, Google docs, podcasts, Moodle sites, VoiceThread, and on and on. Sometimes it’s difficult to know which tool to use for a given project or activity.

The best way to approach this problem is to always start with the question “What are the instructional goals?” and then to think about how to accomplish those goals. Sometimes the answer will be technology; other times it may be paper-and-pencil, f2f group discussion, or something else.

Here is a grid that outlines the main differences between things like wikis, blogs, document sharing, etc. with some thoughts on which are best suited to different classroom activities.

If you have your own tips to share about how you choose which tool to use for different activities, post your thoughts here to share with others.

I recently evaluated some of the online graphic organizers available. The results are here. Different projects and student groups have different needs, so you’ll want to evaluate them for your own purposes.

Please post a comment here or on the wiki if there are other online graphic organizers you’ve tried and liked.

We had a great time at the Web 2.0 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet workshop in San Antonio.

All of the resources we shared are available for anyone to access, share, and use in any setting in the Web 2.0 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet wiki.

Here is the “roadmap” and some quick start guides for the workshop.

Enjoy!

Over the past year, I have been working on strategies for differentiating PD. I am more convinced than ever that a great way to provide meaningful, hands-on, inquiry-driven PD is with a wiki and a “road map” that lets people work at their own level. I am trying to do less and less presentation at my workshops. I sometimes get a few comments from people who prefer a slower, step-by-step walk-through of each thing we’re doing, but most people like what I think is a more authentic and meaningful approach to PD. Here are some comments people have made about this:

“I liked being able to work at my own pace. ”

“[The wiki] was great! Everything you need to know or to have for review will be available in one easy location anytime I want it!”

“Great hands on approach. I learn best when I can do it myself.”

“These kinds of topics need time for exploration and right-at-the-time questions.”

“I liked the break up of overview and hands on. This allowed participants to play and ask questions when needed.”

“Great balance and I did not feel guilty when I was working on the laptop.” [Presenter's notes: I didn't see anyone doing email or other "off-task" things during the copious hands-on time. This made me feel good!]

I was doing a Web 2.0 workshop last week and brought up Photoshop Express, the new, free, online photo editor. Imagine my delight when I saw the new resizing tool — this was the one feature I thought this tool was really missing! I shrieked with glee upon see it.

This brought up one of the great things about Web 2.0 tools — they are not constrained in the way that traditional boxed software is. They can add features, respond to user comments, and evolve as necessary, even daily. (In the old days of software, we had to wait until those 25,000 CDs were gone before we could update things.) And that is just what we are seeing in tools like Photoshop Express, the Google tool suite, and others.

Of course, this can be challenging in terms of staying up-t0-date, especially for those who are offering professional development. It is making printed user manuals a thing of the past and wiki-driven PD a must. But I like wikis better anyway, so I say, bring on the change!

Here is an awesome new wiki WebTools4u2use about Web 2.0 tools produced by my good friend Donna Baumbach.

Also, in preparing for my own upcoming workshops Web 2.0 All You Can Eat Buffet, I’ve had a lot of fun playing with many new Web 2.0 tools. Here’s a sample project I created with VoiceThread. Please join in and add your comments (text, voice, video) about events in our nation’s recent history.

Oh yes! Oh yes! The Web 2.0 app I’ve been waiting for is now Web 2.0, free and online. It’s Photoshop Express! (Sign up fast to get the personal URL of your choice.

It’s beta and undoubtedly new features will be added, but right now it lets you upload photos, crop, rotate, retouch, etc. The interface seems very intuitive (compared to Photoshop or the Gimp) And, of course, optionally, you can share your photos.

One omission, at first glance, is that they don’t offer a Creative Commons license option. (I’m emailing the suggestion to them.) However, their terms of use (again, at a first quick read) don’t seem onerous like some other content sharing sites.

Bravo, Adobe!

Here’s a nice side benefit to Web 2.0: When the batteries on your laptop die, you can just grab another one and keep working!

At NECC last week, I presented a session called “Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate and Enrich Instruction.” The ISTE folks had wanted to podcast the session, but I wasn’t crazy about the legal agreement they were using. (It wasn’t Creative Commons and gave pretty extensive rights to Apple.)

So….I created my own digital version of this session for folks to download:

Audio only (MP3)
Video version (streaming, for viewing in a browser; loads faster, but lower quality)
Video version (WMV, 320×240, for Win download)
Video version (MOV, 320×240, for Mac download)
Video version (M4V, 320×240, for ipod download)

If anyone is interested in a higher resolution version to share with folks who weren’t able to attend, email me, and I’ll try to send you a CD.

For those who are interested, I audio recorded this with a very inexpensive Olympus WS-100 pocket recorder. I edited the audio in Audacity and brought it all into Windows Movie Maker for editing. The visuals included exported jpgs from my presentation slides and screen-capture videos made with Camstudio. I used HandShare to create the Palm movies (which is the same software I used to present). Creating the whole thing took about 4 hours.

It was a lot of fun making this and was a good way to reflect on my own style of presenting (and hopefully refine it for upcoming events).

I hope this is a useful resource for you all.

I love the recent explosion of user-created video content that’s going on in the world. It’s creative, thought-provoking, and empowering. I’ve also written previously about the great potential of video to help differentiate instruction and enrich student learning.

However [rant coming]…the wide variety of video formats, codecs, etc. is driving me crazy! The more time I spend with video, the more time I spend with conversion tools and help pages about what device and software use what format and what codec, and the more time I spend mumbling about why this *%#%&*(# video won’t play right.

One tool I’ve found really useful for this though is Zamzar. This is a free online converter that works not only with video, but also with images, docs, and audio. One really useful thing this tool does very well is to convert videos from YouTube and TeacherTube, so that you can view them on a variety of devices such as iPods and handhelds. You just upload the video (or a link) and select the format you want. Then they email you a link for the converted file. (They do seem to have some DNS problems with their email system, but I’ve found it works well with gmail accounts, so if you have problems getting an email, try that.)

As with all web-based content, make sure to watch for copyright and attribution issues. And with all Web 2.0 services, you should read the Terms of Service.

And for those who are curious, the name is a take-off on Gregor Samsa, intended to connote transformation.