Awesome Highlighter

Helping students research and take notes is often a difficult task. Awesome Highlighter can help with allowing them to highlight text and then save a SMALL link to that page. The short url can be saved, or emailed to self or research partners.

Best of all, there is a Bookmarklet or FireFix add-on, so once you install it, all you have to do is click on the AH on your browser page to start highlighting. Ah, how simple!

Sometimes paper is best

Many of us are familiar with digital graphic organizers - sometimes called mind maps, but sometimes paper is the way to go, especially with small groups physically in the same spot! For just some times Holt McDougal Online has published, free of charge, downloadable PDF files for various organizers. They also come with teaching notes on how to use them in the classroom.

Create Quizzes with MyStudiyo

In their own words:

"MyStudiyo offers a rich FREE solution to create online quizzes . Embed a great looking quiz widget in any website or blog without programming."

Registration required, but free. There is no limit on the number of questions and you can add video, images, and text. Check out there FAQ page for even more information.

Want to see a quiz or two? Check out what the History Channel has created!

Storybird books

Storybirds "are short, visual stories that you make with family and friends to share and (soon) print." Teachers and Librarians can create free accounts for their class that doesn't require students have email.

Storybird Quick Tour from Storybird on Vimeo.

Voice Thread

VoiceThread is an online tool for having conversations about media. The powerful tool is currently not free, but you can sign up for a trial account to get your feet wet. On October 10th a new version will be coming - a PRO version and it will be free for teachers! What is Voicethread is all about, try looking around here.

Comment from Ben Papell at Voice Thread:
Thanks for the kind words! As far as our plan for educators K-12, it’s very simple, FREE. We thought Voicethread would have classroom implications, but not to the extent that teachers are demonstrating. What’s great to see is that regardless of the subject being taught, there seems to be a fit. We feel we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg with classroom applications for Voicethread and we need to make sure educators have access to discover the tool and use it as they see fit. We have a ‘Pro’ service launching on the 10th of October, it will provide unlimited access to Voicethread, and it to, will be FREE for educators K-12.
Thanks for everything,

Ben Papell
voicethread.com
Original comment from NC-Tech blog.