again
Ed World column on gadgets -- free online tools that make teaching easier, better, or just more fun. But new gadgets pop up online every day, and we like to keep up with the best of them. So, this year, we asked members of the Education World Tech Team to share their favorites. This is what they said.
Your Favorite Gadgets
Do you have a favorite gadget -- -- a free online tool that makes teaching or living -- easier, better, or just more fun? Share it with your colleagues on our Facebook page.
"I love tools that are simple and do one thing really well," Doug Johnson, director of media and technology in Mankato Minnesota, told Education World. "I call them 'tools for people who have better things to do than mess with tools.' " If I can get my elementary teachers excited about a program, I know it meets the criteria. Here are a couple that do...
"One of my most-used tools is Motivator, which allows "One of my most-used tools is Motivator, which allows users to create a motivational-style poster in about three minutes. Upload a photo, supply a headline and short text, and -- badda-bing-badda-boom -- you get an inspirational poster. I've used the posters in handouts, in multimedia presentations, and as blog-entry illustrations. They can be part of a very simple activity for students as well."
"My favorite gadget would have to be Wordle," said Cossondra George, a 7th grade math and social studies teacher in Newberry, Michigan. To use Wordle, simply choose any text or series of words, and paste them into a box at the Web site. A graphic display of the words is then created, with the size of each individual word being determined by its frequency in the original word set. The possibilities for this tool are exciting! I use it to display my classroom rules uniquely, as well as to display grade level content expectations for my classes. Students can use the tool to create unique book reports, social studies notes, or even to analyze their writing for overused
Your Favorite Gadgets
Do you have a favorite gadget -- -- a free online tool that makes teaching or living -- easier, better, or just more fun? Share it with your colleagues on our Facebook page.
"I love tools that are simple and do one thing really well," Doug Johnson, director of media and technology in Mankato Minnesota, told Education World. "I call them 'tools for people who have better things to do than mess with tools.' " If I can get my elementary teachers excited about a program, I know it meets the criteria. Here are a couple that do...
"One of my most-used tools is Motivator, which allows "One of my most-used tools is Motivator, which allows users to create a motivational-style poster in about three minutes. Upload a photo, supply a headline and short text, and -- badda-bing-badda-boom -- you get an inspirational poster. I've used the posters in handouts, in multimedia presentations, and as blog-entry illustrations. They can be part of a very simple activity for students as well."
"My favorite gadget would have to be Wordle," said Cossondra George, a 7th grade math and social studies teacher in Newberry, Michigan. To use Wordle, simply choose any text or series of words, and paste them into a box at the Web site. A graphic display of the words is then created, with the size of each individual word being determined by its frequency in the original word set. The possibilities for this tool are exciting! I use it to display my classroom rules uniquely, as well as to display grade level content expectations for my classes. Students can use the tool to create unique book reports, social studies notes, or even to analyze their writing for overused