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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Lino.it - a corkboard interface

Lino it is an easy to use webapp that lets you post and share stickies for a project, class discussion or brainstorming session. You can log in via the web, or use a dedicated iOS or Android app to access your board.

This short vimeo clip shows how to use the features. I think you could easily use "groups" for classroom notetaking. (See another clip below.)

There's also helpful "how to" lino board.


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Need help finding the right app?

Sometimes the task of finding the right app can be down-right time consuming. While there are a number of clearinghouses out there that list apps by topic or use, Quixey aims to help you find any kind of app (iOS, Android, web-based, etc) that will meet your needs. Your initial search can be refined, and refined so you end up with a manageable list.

Banners anyone?

Bannerbreak has so many options to choose from. If you want to jazz up a class site or your own blog, see what they have to offer.

It Checks, It Grades, It Suggests!

Another site that helps students get a sense of their own writing is "PaperRater".  

From the website:  

"PaperRater.com is a free resource, developed and maintained by linguistics professionals and graduate students. It is used by schools and universities in over 46 countries to help students improve their writing."

PaperRater will even provide the following services:

• Plagiarism Detection
• Auto Grader
• Spelling and Grammar Check
• Style and Word Choice Analysis
• Readability Statistics

(In an article for SLJ, Krista Brakhage speaks about how she uses it herself! LINK)

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"Check your own paper, kids"

Worried about plagiarism? Wondering what to do about it? Instead of having the teacher check, why not ask the students to do it first? Plagium is a site similar to many grammar checking URLs that scours the internet for copied content. This can be a helpful pointer to students who may have inadvertently copied, and a wake-up call to those who have fallen into the practice. Why not give it a whirl?

ThingLink - link anything to your images

Do you want an easy way to annotate the images you find, or the pics you place on your website or blog? ThingLink is an innovative way to do this. You can embed videos, images, sound files and URLs, making your image much more than a simple picture. Teachers could upload an image of a worksheet, with step by step audio instructions. Students could use a relevant picture as a project placeholder for any number of links to supplemental material. Watch the short video on the site and then sign up!

Zipcast

Slideshare has added a great feature to its hosting of PPT shows - audio and video. Yes, using the Zipcast function, you can now do a realtime audio or video presentation using your Slideshare content. Invite participants and you have an instant webinar. The free version has a few limitations, but for ease of use, it can't be beat.




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Quick Start Page for your links

Looking for a quick "Table of contents" page for your staff or students? Start.io gives you an easy to set up, no fuss start page. Customize the colours and background design.



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QR Voice - have your say!

A QR code can be used for all kinds of things. Now, you can use them to share a machine-read message with QR Voice. It's a great way to add a little "spice" to a worksheet, book review or even a birthday card.

I think with a little brainstorming, you could come up with all kinds of uses. The best part? It even will read in a whole bunch of languages. (Maybe a fun way to do vocab lists, or instructions?)

Scan it! How's your French?

Miniature Faking with TiltShift

Stop motion animation has become a popular way to represent the world, and a "fresh" approach to film-making. Now, photographers are talking about "tilt shifting" as a way of flipping this on its head. Rather than trying to make clay look like the real world, tilt shifting seeks to make the real world look like claymation. Called "miniature faking", you can transform a real-life scene into a miniature world with a great iPhone app. This new application called TiltShift simulates the effect of a tilt-shift lens, tricking your mind into viewing a photo as a miniature scene.

StoryJumper - create picture books

Quick Picture Book Publishing

Create your own account and start writing using StoryJumper. Write a story to illustrate a concept you are trying to teach. Share it "publicly" and use it in your class. Teachers can create a class account and manage student work. 

"StoryJumper is a website that allows kids to build their own books. You can easily create cover pages, add text, upload drawings or photos to illustrate your story, and you can use the StoryJumper clipart gallery, too. When you re done, you can order your own professionally published hardback book."

Step-by-step instructions: HERE

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