Online Photo Editing

I have already been thrilled by the online mind mapper Bubbl.us. There are quite a few online photo editors, but none as smooth or fun as Picnik. It has similar effects to expensive propriatary software such as Photoshop. It is free and you can import your pictures from many online photostorage sites like Picasa Web Albums, Photobucket or Flickr. The interface is easy and fun to use.... even my six year old had fun with it for hours.

JibJab

Wow, those great guys from science 21 at Flinders Uni have blown me away with their use of the online card creator JibJab. To check Wardy's, Debra's and Martin's effort see their animated JibJab card look at their site (great stuff on their site for science educators).

I simply HAD to make one for myself despite my tiredness and the lateness of the hour. The best ones come at a price, however some are free.. some are animated and others are static postcards, to embed or email - go NUTS.

I had embedded my personal JibJab, however my son protested, so I removed it.

Animoto

Animoto is great software that turns your snaps into a music video.

Register and start by seeing how easy it is to make your own free 30 second blockbuster - the software is intuitive and times pictures and effects the beat of the music. Makes your holiday snaps a little less boring by turning them into a music video.

Once you have seen how easy it is to use, try using it in the classroom. Students can upload their own photos and music, but just as easily you could have a bank of pictures of class projects or activities so they can make their own films. Or they could even download images from the web and make a project on say.... space exploration or on mammals. So go to with Animoto for Education for your free teachers account. The brilliance of this is you get an all access pass, which means the students are not restricted to a paltry 30 seconds (about 10 images) and they can download their creations... great for classroom presentations!!! The interface is easy and intuitive - start today!

Blogs and the PLP

Last week I ran a workshop on blogs at the ASMS, specifically how blogs can fufil some of the requirements of the PLP (Personal Learning Plan) which is an element of the "New SACE".

The workshop addressed

• how blogs can be used in the classroom
• the benefits of students blogging
• different gadgets(widgets) that can be embedded into a blog

Feedback I recieved was most favourable, workshop participants could see how blogs could be used by students to accomplish a variety of tasks; and that really it is just a simple way to create a web page.


To view the steps to make a blog... or even send students to this site so they can get started, or get an idea of what a PLP might look like. (if you are at school some sites will be blocked)

I would like to thank Jayne Heath for asking me to present the workshop.

This is my powerpoint posted on to slideshare...

Personal Learning Plans using BLOGS

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: 2.0 web)

Bubbl.us - Web 2.0 Concept Map

Bubbl.us which is a web 2.0 mind mapper, way better than freemind from what i can see, dead simple to use. You don't have to download software, and you can embed the mind maps into your blog, wiki or web page... save and print them. of course it has all the best features of web 2.0... collaboration and sharing etc. For its features read this or watch a youtube. I would love to see a search feature where I can peek at other peoples maps.