Draw on the Net

If you teach using a projector and a laptop, but you don't have a Smartboard, sometimes you wish you were able to draw on a webpage just to highlight a section or point out a noteworthy feature. While you might have software installed on your computer that will allow you to do this, occasionally, all you want is a quick-launching option to make a note or two and then move on. I've blogged previously about Markup.io which lets you place arrows, circles and squares on webpages, but "Drawonthenet" allows you to scribble away to your heart's content. You can even "save" your creation as a separate webpage, and direct your students to the annotated version. To use, simply drag the "star" to your links bar on your browser, navigate to the page you want to notate, and activate the bookmarklet.

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cl1p.net - The internet clipboard

Ever want an easy way to copy and paste text or links between computers? Cl1p.net allows users to easily pick up selected links on any internet enable computer. Create a "cl1p page", add whatever you want, share the URL with team members. So easy to use, and since there is no signin needed, students can use it quite easily.  (You can create an account if you wish, to get more features.) Links expire after 1 week, unless you change the default. There is even the option of creating a bookmarklet for easy clipping. Just click the "Extras" link.

Creating ePubs on the fly

"dotEPUB is software in the cloud that allows you to convert any webpage into an e-book."

Friends know I am an avid reader, and have many books around me at all times. Lately though, I find that I am reading more and more on my iPad. (I think I am hitting about 50% with the eVersions starting to win out!) It's easy to find content with all the eBookstores, but what about creating my own? One handicap has been the process of creating ePubs (the format I prefer on my Stanza app.) I know I can create ePubs using the latest version of Pages (which I don't have) or by running a conversion in Calibre. But what about doing it on the fly?

This is why I was so excited to find "dotePub" the other day. This tool works via a bookmarklet, great for my laptop or desktop, but it also works on the iPad itself. How perfect is that! Simply visit the site, add the bookmarklet to your menu bar, and start converting.


You can view "how to videos" on the site as well.

Bookmarklets: Paper Case and Liquid Page

I recently came across two bookmarklets that I wanted to share with you. (As you probably remember from previous posts, a bookmarklet is a snippet of code that you drag to your browser's address bar. Every time you click it, it will cause the page you're viewing to change its appearance.) The first one I'd like to share is "Liquid Page". What I love about Liquid Page, is that it allows you to drag around the elements of any webpage you visit. It's a great way to rethink the layout of a page you're designing. With younger students, it can be used to play with a column of words as if they are fridge magnets, or rearrange images to group like items together. (Fun on a Smartboard!)

"Paper Case" is another useful bookmarklet. You can find it on the Liquid Mongoose site. Simply visit Netflix, Music.aol.com, or Picassa and click on your bookmarklet to create a pre-formatted page that you can print to hold your CDs. There's even a video tutorial to explain how it all works. (See below.)

Read URLs in another language: a translating bookmarklet

While machine translators are not foolproof, they can certainly help bridge some of the communication gaps for the user. I've tried the Google bookmarklet by translating a page into French (which I speak) and, guess what: it's not too shabby! Your beginning ESL students will thank you. Simply visit the page below, and find the appropriate target language button, and drag it to your address bar. So easy.

http://translate.google.com/translate_buttons

"Add a translation browser button to your browser's Links Toolbar to translate web pages or pieces of text with a single click. While surfing the web, if you find a piece of text you'd like to translate, select the text with your mouse and click the browser button. If you want to translate a whole web page, simply click the button."


Try it right now by clicking HERE.

Determining Readability - with just one click!

So you have a class with a range of learners (who doesn't) and you are trying to differentiate your instruction by choosing a range of reading material for the project your students are working on. You know that you can use something like EBSCO to search for articles because it will give you the lexile reading level of the articles you find. But what about articles on the internet... is there a way to determine the reading level, easily? Why yes there is. I happened across a site called "Read-able" (The Readability Test Tool) which allows you to plug in the URL of a page you are considering and it reports back the readability using a number of different metrics. Their motto: "Let's make the unreadable readable."

As they say on the site:

The Readability Test Tool takes the text on your web page and gives a score for the most used readability indicators.

• Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease
• Flesch Kincaid Grade Level
• Gunning Fog Score
• Coleman Liau Index
• Automated Readability Index (ARI)

You can even get a bookmarklet to drag to your address bar so that you can easily (one click!) get a sense of the page. This is a great tool, well worth checking out.

TidyRead - for a cleaner page

Here's another bookmarklet that will help clean up webpages and make reading and/or printing much easier: TidyRead. What I like about this applet is that you can resize the margins or font size on the fly. (There's a menu that appears across the top of the document.) It's really handy for projecting an article on the big screen, without all the "extra" visual clutter. Using it is simply a matter of dragging the icon to your menu bar. When you want to "tidy-read" a site, just click on the link! (There is also a way to use this on the iTouch/iPhone as well. Just follow the instructions on the site.)

On the fly photo editing

Sometimes all you need to do is quickly edit, resize or touch up an image before you use it. But the thought of downloading the jpeg and then launching Photoshop, and then making the changes, saving your work and finally, uploading ... seems like just too much work. Then, along comes "Snipshot". This great web-based freebie allows you to take an image from any webpage, make the changes you need and move on! There is a basic app that allows you to resize, crop, rotate, enhance and "adjust". "Effects" only lets you create a black and white image. There is a Pro version that offers many more features. It might be worth getting if you do lots of image fiddling.

The great thing about Snipshot is that the creators have provided users with a handy bookmarklet that can be dragged to the browser menu bar. This lets you scoop the images from any html page for quick editing.

This is a super application!

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Cut the clutter - Easy to Read

Some web pages are very attractive and interesting to look at. But sometimes, those same features can make it difficult to read, especially for a student who may be easily distracted. Along comes a great tool by arc90: the "readability" bookmarklet. Much like "Quietube", you drag the icon from arc90's page to your browser's button bar. Then, as you visit pages, you can "de-clutter" them by simply clicking on your "readability" button. Arc90 give you the option of selecting font sizes, page width and presentation style. You can even email or print the "clean" version!

Quietube - Youtube lite

Bookmarklets are "min-apps" you drag to your browser button bar, that allow you to automate certain tasks that you perform again and again. (Here's a site with some common examples: https://www.squarefree.com/bookmarklets/)

At a Metro tech meeting this week, Sandra from Langley passed on a great bookmarklet for Youtube users. Quietube strips away all the distracting side-bar material, and shows just the video clip itself (much like it would appear embedded in its own page.) It supports Youtube, BBC iPlayer, Viddler and Vimeo.( with more to come...)

Another great feature, is that Quietube generates a new URL you can email or link to that points to the stripped down page. Very slick!