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Online Education for Dummies!

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Ed Tech Tools

Here is a list of technology tools that can be used in an educational setting depending on the driving objectives for use.  For informational purposes $ = Free or close to free, $$ = somewhat inexpensive, and $$$ = expensive.

Audio / Video Editing

Audacity

A free, open source software for recording and editing sounds in Linux, Mac OS X, and other operating systems. http://audacity.sourceforge.net ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [x] Other

Example:
http://kevin.thecuttinged.com/education/nova/edd8008/projects.php

Final Cut Express

Your ticket to more advanced video editing, Final Cut Express 4 delivers a powerful and extensible toolset. http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/ ($$)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://kevin.thecuttinged.com/education/nova/edd8123/projects.php

Garage Band

The best way to record music on a Mac is now the best way to record podcasts. http://www.apple.com/garageband ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

iDVD

Create your own DVD in less time than it takes to watch one. With iDVD, you can premiere your movies and photo slideshows on a professional-quality DVD with animated menus, buttons, scene selection, and more. All customizable to suit whatever you’re sharing. http://www.apple.com/ilife/idvd/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

iMovie

Maybe you want to throw together a few video clips. Maybe you have more time and want to fine-tune every edit. Or maybe you just want to flip through clips the way you flip through album covers in iTunes. iMovie lets you do it all — then share it all. http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://kevin.thecuttinged.com/education/nova/edd7005/VideoProject.mp4

Propaganda

A powerful tool you can use to create audio shows that sound professionally produced with a minimum of effort. http://www.makepropaganda.com/ ($)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Blogging

Blogger

A blog is your easy-to-use web site, where you can quickly post thoughts, interact with people, and more. All for FREE. http://www.blogger.com/start ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

EduBlog

Create your own ad free fully featured WordPress blog at edublogs.org. Including free Yacapaca assessment tool from the Chalkface Project. http://www.edublogs.org/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Liberated Syndication

If you are representing a podcasting network, association, or are looking for enterprise level distribution, please contact us directly at fusion@libsyn.com Each service level contains the full set of LibSyn features. https://www.libsyn.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Moveable Type

Movable Type makes it simple to start a blog, manage entire websites and build an engaged community of readers and customers. http://www.movabletype.org/ or http://www.movabletype.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Collaborating

Confluence

Confluence is a simple, practical web application that makes it easy for you and your teammates to collaborate and manage knowledge. http://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence ($$$)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Google Docs

Share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and web forms instantly & collaborate real-time; Pick exactly who can access your documents; Edit your documents from anywhere; Nothing to download -- your browser is all you need. http://docs.google.com ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZrTX4Ly18onZGdubjZwZ2NfNmdnd2t2c2Qy&hl=en

Media Wiki

MediaWiki is a free software wiki package written in PHP, originally for use on Wikipedia. http://www.mediawiki.org/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://unitingpride.org/docs

PB Wiki

PBwiki is the world's largest consumer wiki farm.Wikis are simple Web pages that let you collaborate with others. http://pbwiki.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://kejohns.pbworks.com/

Communicating Synchronously

Adium

Adium is a free instant messaging application for Mac OS X that can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, and more. http://adium.im/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Adobe Connect

Securely share presentations and multimedia right from your desktop, and get feedback from hundreds of participants - all using a web browser and the Adobe Flash Player runtime, already installed on 98% of Internet-connected personal computers. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/ ($$$)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/trial/

DimDim

Dimdim is a very simple to use browser-based web conferencing service. You can show presentations, collaborate via whiteboards, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam with absolutely no download required to host, attend or even record meetings. http://www.dimdim.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://webmeeting.dimdim.com/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=kejohns

Elluminate

Web-conferencing tool with fully integrated audio, video, interactive whiteboard, and more. http://www.elluminate.com ($$$)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Elluminate vRoom

vRoom is a FREE, 3-person meeting room with full functionality, except recording and integrated teleconferencing. http://www.learncentral.org/user/vroomreg ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://www.learncentral.org/vroom/enter/3915

Fire

Fire is a free Instant Messaging client for Mac OS X. It supports the seven most popular Instant Messaging services: AIM, ICQ, irc, Jabber (including Google Talk and Apple iChat Server), MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, Apple Bonjour (aka Rendezvous). http://fire.sourceforge.net/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Google Talk

They say talk is cheap. Google thinks it should be free. Google Talk enables you to call or send instant messages to your friends for free–anytime, anywhere in the world. http://www.google.com/talk/ ($)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Google Voice and Video Chat

Since sometimes reading "lol" doesn't deliver the same punch as actually hearing your friend laugh at your jokes, you can now use voice and video capabilities in your Gmail chat. From within Gmail, you can have an actual conversation with someone (seriously, out loud), or even chat face to face over video. http://mail.google.com/videochat ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Google Wave

Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. (Currently available by invite only!) http://wave.google.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Skype

Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world. Also, until the end of the year you can also make free calls to landlines and mobiles in the US and Canada from Skype. http://www.skype.com ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [x] Other

Trillian

Trillian is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/ ($)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Vyew

With Vyew you can give a presentation to a hundred people online or post a document you've been working on for review by your colleagues at their convenience. Vyew is extremely flexible allowing you to bring online collaboration and conferencing into your workflow on your terms. http://vyew.com/site/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Yugma

Yugma is a free web conferencing service that enables people to instantly connect over the internet and to collaborate using any application or software, using both Windows and Mac. Businesses can connect on-demand and real-time with clients, prospects or employees whether they are across the city, nation or even the globe. https://www.yugma.com/index.php ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Creating Materials / Activities

iWork

iWork, Apple’s productivity suite, is the easiest way to create great-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Writing and page layout are easy using Pages. Numbers gives you simple ways to make sense of your data. New cinematic animations, transitions, and effects in Keynote will keep your audience captivated. And iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office, so sharing your work is even easier. http://www.apple.com/iwork/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Open Office

OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. http://www.openoffice.org/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [x] Other

Quia

Create activities, quizzes, games, Web pages, surveys, and more! Free 30 day trial. $49 / year subscription fee. http://www.quia.com/ ($$)

[x] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Designing

Kompozer

KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding. http://kompozer.net/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Managing Course Content

ATutor

ATutor is an Open Source Web-based Learning Content Management System designed with accessibility and adaptability in mind. Administrators can install or update ATutor in minutes, and develop custom templates to give ATutor a new look. http://www.atutor.ca/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

EduTools

Compare reviews of the CMS products most commonly used in higher education and also used by many K-12 virtual schools. http://www.edutools.info ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Moodle

Moodle is a course management system (CMS) - a free, Open Source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. You can download and use it on any computer you have handy (including webhosts), yet it can scale from a single-teacher site to a 50,000-student University. http://moodle.org ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://www.cuconnection.net/moodle/

Managing Information

Celtx

Celtx is the world's first all-in-one media pre-production system. It replaces 'paper & binder' pre-production with a digital approach that's more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share. http://celtx.com/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [x] Other

Example:
http://kevin.thecuttinged.com/education/nova/edd7005/finalproject/Storyboard.pdf

Delicious

Anyone can browse del.icio.us and see what others find interesting. Keep links to your favorite articles, blogs, music, restaurant reviews, and more on del.icio.us and access them from any computer on the web. Share favorites with friends, family, and colleagues. Discover new things. Everything on del.icio.us is someone's favorite - they've already done the work of finding it. Explore and enjoy. http://delicious.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://delicious.com/kejohns

Diigo

http://www.diigo.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://www.diigo.com/user/kejohns

Elgg

Elgg is the creation of Ben Werdmuller and David Tosh. The concept behind the system is to develop a fully customizable learning landscape. To achieve this Elgg is a hybrid of weblogging, e-portfolios and social networking. It is hoped this combination of features will provide an engaging environment for learners to create their own learning space and then connect to others, forming online communities of learning. http://elgg.org/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Flickr

Flickr is a way to get your photos to the people who matter to you. With Flickr you can: Show off your favorite photos to the world; Blog the photos you take with a cameraphone; Securely and privately show photos to your friends and family around the world; and much, much more! http://www.flickr.com ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is a free reader for PDF (Portable Document Format) documents. You can view and print PDF documents with it. http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php ($)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

FreeMind

FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java. The recent development has hopefully turned it into high productivity tool. We are proud that the operation and navigation of FreeMind is faster than that of MindManager because of one-click "fold / unfold" and "follow link" operations. http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/institutes/presentations/templates/CourseOutline.html

FURL

Furl is a free service that saves a personal copy of any page you find on the Web, and lets you find it again instantly by searching your archive of pages. It's your Personal Web. http://www.furl.net/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Gmail

Gmail is a webmail application built on the idea that you should never have to delete mail and you should always be able to find the message you want. http://www.google.com/gmail ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

iGoogle

Google is a customizable AJAX-based startpage much like Netvibes, Pageflakes, My Yahoo! and Windows Live Personalized Experience. http://www.google.com/ig ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Netvibes

http://www.netvibes.com ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Picasa

Picasa is free photo editing software from Google that makes your pictures look great. Sharing your best photos with friends and family is as easy as pressing a button! http://picasa.google.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bnk420/2000JeepCherokeeSport?authkey=Gv1sRgCM_8iJiiirG-1AE#

SugarCRM

Commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM). CRM software for sales force automation and customer support deployed on demand or on site. http://www.sugarcrm.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Managing Projects

Base Camp

Share files, meet deadlines, assign tasks, centralize feedback, and make clients smile. http://www.basecamphq.com/ ($$)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

dotProject

dotProject is a web-based project management application, designed to provide project layout and control functions. http://www.dotproject.net/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Huddle

Huddle combines online collaboration, live conferencing, project management software ?and document sharing. http://www.huddle.net/ ($$)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Managing Time

TimeDriver

TimeDriver is a revolutionary appointment invitation system that will compel your customers and community to schedule time with you. By embedding a "schedule now" button in email messages and on Web pages, you'll drive more appointments with fewer hassles than ever before. http://timedriver.timetrade.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
https://my.timedriver.com/GYDHM

Managing Web Content

Drupal

Drupal.org is the official website of Drupal, an open source content management platform. Equipped with a powerful blend of features, Drupal supports a variety of websites ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven websites. http://drupal.org/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://ojctech.com/

Joomla

Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications http://www.joomla.org/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Podcasting

Odeo

Odeo makes it easy to find, play and enjoy the latest audio & video from around the web. Discover great shows, subscribe to favorites, create playlists and share with friends. From comedy to cooking, entertainment to education, if it's online, it's on Odeo. http://odeo.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

PodProducer

PodProducer is a software tool that lets anyone create a podcast easily, with just a microphone or headset you can be recording your podcast in seconds. http://www.podproducer.net/ ($)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

ProfCast

ProfCast is a versatile, powerful, yet very simple to use tool for recording lectures including PowerPoint and/or Keynote slides for creating enhanced podcasts. ProfCast provides a low cost solution for recording and distributing lectures, special events, and presentations as podcasts. ProfCast offers an integrated workflow that makes creating, recording, and publishing podcasts easy. It's as simple as Launch, Load, and Lecture! http://profcast.com/public/index.php ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Presenting Materials

iDVD & iMovie

iDVD: Give yourself the green light with new Apple-designed movie themes. Create Hollywood-style movies using cinematic titles, new audio tools, and real-time Mac OS X Core Video effects, then share them in a video podcast or save them to iPod. iMovie: Author and burn movies, photos, and music to widescreen DVD. From instant gratification with Magic iDVD to next-generation themes and an enhanced Map View, iDVD 6 makes it easy to make beautiful DVDs of your latest photos and movies. http://www.apple.com/ilife/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Microsoft Producer

Microsoft Producer for Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 makes it easy to capture and synchronize audio, video, slides and images—creating engaging rich media presentations. Capture, synchronize, and publish audio, video, slides, and images to create rich media presentations viewable in a browser. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/technologies/producer.mspx ($)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Prezi

Prezi is zooming sketches on a digital napkin. It's visualization and storytelling without slides. Your ideas live on stage and on the web. http://prezi.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://prezi.com/wesbmcijhqvx/view/#1

Site Pal

SitePal is an Internet-based subscription service that allows you to create a wide-array of animated speaking characters, which can be added to your website for a variety of professional and personal applications. SitePal provides a rich, easy-to-use to interface that makes the process of designing, managing and publishing your characters a breeze! Absolutely no programming knowledge is required to use SitePal. However, SitePal does interface with various programming languages for those who are technically inclined. http://www.sitepal.com/ ($$)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

VoiceThread

With VoiceThread, group conversations are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world. All with no software to install. http://voicethread.com/#home ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://voicethread.com/share/196480/

Voki

Voki is a free service that allows you to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile, and in email messages. http://www.voki.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://www.voki.com/php/viewmessage/?chsm=ea48311a406c99750e6d7e4c9f519b73&mId=403470

Screen Capturing

CaptureIt

CaptureIt! is an amazing screen capture tool unlike anything you have seen before. Forget about complex shortcuts and your crossed and tired the poor fingers... Just run CaptureIt! and make your task faster than ever! http://deepit.ru/products/CaptureIt/info/ ($)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Jing

Elegant in its simplicity, Jing's minimal feature set keeps the focus on instant sharing. We think it's the perfect companion to the casual, fast-paced online conversations we all have every day. http://www.jingproject.com/ ($)

[x] Web [ ] Mac [ ] Windows [ ] Other

Techsmith's Camtasia

Camtasia lets you easily create compelling training and presentations for Web and CD-ROM delivery, and you can do it without ever leaving your office. It is the only product versatile enough to record live PowerPoint presentations, personalized technical training sessions, and rich software demonstrations. http://www.techsmith.com/ ($$)

[ ] Web [x] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other

Example:
http://kevin.thecuttinged.com/education/nova/edd7005/finalproject/10%20Guiding%20Principles/10%20Guiding%20Principles.html

Techsmith's SnagIt

Using SnagIt, you can select and capture anything on your screen, then easily add text, arrows, or effects, and save the capture to a file or share it immediately by e-mail or IM. http://www.techsmith.com/ ($$)

[ ] Web [ ] Mac [x] Windows [ ] Other