Tubechop - Youtube à la carte

Say you want to show just one little section of a YouTube clip to a class, or display it on your blog. With a little URL editing you can change the start time, but what about the end time? Enter TubeChop. This handy webapp allows you to choose a YouTube video, set the beginning and end sliders (easier to do by looking at the original clip, and noting the best start and end times) and then "chop it", creating a unique URL that you can share, including an embed code you can use on a website or blog. So easy.

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My Newest Fav iPad browser - Puffin

I love my iPad, and the only thing that would be a real improvement would be a faster, Flash compatible browser. Unfortunately, I was never able to find anything to fit the bill. Until now: Puffin! My wife (an Elementary TL) was tipped off to this app by a colleague. (Even the free version is pretty good!)

The publicity on the website promises faster screen refreshes and page-loading. And claims to offer Flash functionality. I tried it out on a few sites where I cannot use my iPad and was pleasantly surprised. Puffin even includes a virtual pop-up trackpad so you can use a pointer to click and scroll on sites that don't like the touch and swipe UI. There are a few idiosyncrasies, but overall I was impressed with what it can do. Try it with your favourite edu site.

Here's a side-by-side comparison:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxoqQAIyU-I

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Twtrland - Who are you following?

So you're thinking of following someone on Twitter, but you're not sure if they tweeting or retweeting enough, or too much, or not at all. Take a look at twtrland.  Simply type in the handle of the person you are thinking of following and see what comes up. It's informative to check your own twitter profile as well!  

Here's what the creators themselves say about their service:

"We take a bag of tweets, analyze them, and create a profile page which showcasts the person behind them. Currently we focus on behavior patterns, famous words, top followers, links, replies, songs, pictures and check-ins."

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"The Free Dictionary"

While this is not exactly a "web app", the Free Dictionary has many word intensive activities for students to try. Teachers will also like the options: word matching, mystery word, vocab of the day, as well as multiple language support. Great for the language arts teacher!



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