2 Cool Tools!

Thanks to Jonathan Wylie from The Education Technology Blog I now have two new tools to put in my back pocket. I am eager to learn even more about them, but I can see the great potential they have for an educator.

My first new tool is not only for educators, but could be used by anybody who loves to bookmark websites, like me! Imagine that the Internet bookmarks you have on your computer are able to follow you wherever you are.  How nice would it be to have access to them at home, as well as on your work computer? That's exactly what Xmarks does.  It's a free browser plug-in that works with Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Explorer.  Besides having your bookmarks available on multiple computers, another benefit of Xmarks is that it saves your bookmarks, even in the event of a computer crash.  This tool could be a big time saver, because, if you're like me, there's no more e-mailing the links to yourself so you can access them on another computer.  The only negative I see is that logging in to the Xmarks account each time you need access to your bookmarks could become tedious.  However, I think the benefits here greatly outweigh the drawbacks.  Check out what Wylie had to say about Xmarks: http://educationtechnologyblog.com/2011/09/free-bookmark-sync-with-xmarks/

The second tool is a software program, which currently offers a free account, as well as purchase options.  Present.me allows you to bring your PowerPoint presentations to life, as you record a video of yourself talking about each slide.  In the end, your slideshow is displayed alongside your video. I am really intrigued by this program and become more interested as I watched videos of how it's being used in the educational setting.  You have to check out the video of how a first grade class used present.me to narrate pictures they had drawn. One idea I had for using present.me is for when you're unable to be in the classroom and have a substitute teaching. I often find myself leaving such specific directions for the substitute about how to teach a certain lesson or concept that I wonder if it's just more worth it for me to come to school, despite illness etc.  However, with present.me I'd be able to create a quick power point and accompanying video if there's something I find myself needing to teach the kids myself.  Another use could be for those students who have difficulty giving oral presentations in front of the class. If they had access to present.me they'd be able to record themselves ahead of time, and thus, eliminate some of the pressures associated with presenting.    Here is Wylie's blog post that introduced me to present. me: http://educationtechnologyblog.com/2011/09/present-me-presentation-software-for-educators/

If you have ever used these tools before, or give them a try, let me know.  I'd love to hear feedback!