For my ninth podcast I listened to the Tech Chick Tips. On their lastest episode they discussed a variety of new tools and websites that they have discovered that are beneficial for educators.
The first tool they discussed can be used by educators from K-12 and all the way up to PhD level teachers. The Tech Chicks announced that Wiki Spaces are now offering free spaces for educators all the way to PhD's. The educator account on Wiki Spaces has been free for K-12 teachers for quite a while giving out a total 980,000 free spaces. This month they made it available for all levels of educators. These spaces are a great collaboration tool that can be used for editing, sharing what you know and best of all it is free and private. It is also extremely simple to use. The Tech Chicks said that if you can type in a word processor than you can use Wiki Spaces.
The next resource that the Tech Chicks mentioned was a critique or description of four ways to give short presentations online. This is a free tool for teachers to use on Free Tech for Teachers. The four tools that commentator of the site discussed were Big Markers, Zip Cast, Scriblar, Markers and Join Me. The descriptions and tools given are for free. They allow you to create a little room where you can interact with students, other educators etc.
The other resource discussed was one call Type With Me. This tool is a quick way to collaborate on a word document. It is similar to Google Docs in that it allows you to create a document, share it with others and work on it at the same time. However, unlike Google Docs you do not need an e-mail to login. You simply are given a unique URL that you can share. Everyone working on the document types in a different color and the site allows you a chat options while you are working. The finished file can be exported as an html, text file, PDF, etc. The only downside to this tool is that iPad users cannot yet type on the document, they can chat and view the progress but cannot contribute.
The next resource that the Tech Chicks really like was one called Web O'Word. This site posts a new word everyday. Along with the word you are given a visual that helps explain the word, the word is used in context and various information about the word is provided. There are also crossword puzzles that combine all the different vocabulary words used. You can print off the crossword puzzles or you can use them interactively online. The Tech Chicks said that the collection of words are really good, they aren't just simple words.
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