Web 2.0 Techniques

This page shares applications and software that offer innovative ways to use Internet tools.

Digital Storytelling & Digital Timeline

  • Web 2.0 and Digital Storytelling ELI podcast with Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Associate Director of Academic Technology,Simmons College.
  • Digital Storytelling Tips and Resources from Gail Matthews-DeNatale's ELI presentation in 2008.
  • Digital Storytelling PowerPoint given by Gail Matthews-DeNatale and Simmons College colleagues at ELI conference 2008.
  • Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling developed for the Instructional Technology Program, College of Education, University of Houston.
  • Photo Story 3 is a free download from Microsoft that gives an easy way to create a multimedia slidshow presentation that includes images, narration, music and special effects.
  • Photo Story 3 Tutorials from Microsoft.
  • Photo Story 3 Tutorial from Mark Coffman. Subjects on the left panel help you to find the exact task you would like to perform.
  • Create Your First Photo Story using Photo Story 3 from Microsoft.
  • Photo Story 3 tutorial This article from The Educators Ezine is a quick tutorial on how to use Photo Story 3 which is a free download from Microsoft. This is an example of student's creating book trailers, however, it shows the basics.
  • 50 Tools That Tell a Story from Cogdogroo blog. Lots of resources.
  • WebQuests and Best Webquests Templates for inquiry-based learning, information gathering and sharing.
  • VuVox Storytelling program that allows interactive slideshows and presentations. Mixes pictures, video, audio and text.
  • Dipity Make, share or find a digital and interactive timeline that can incorporate, images, audio and RSS feeds. Video clips are available to include in your timeline on a variety of subjects.
  • Timetoast Creates timelines, shares them. Can use your own images and text or select from a database of already created timelines. Hosts for free.

Mashups and Applications

A mashup is a Web application that combines data from one or more sources into a single integrated tool. The term Mashup implies easy, fast integration, frequently done by access to open APIs (web applications) and data sources to produce results that were not the original reason for producing the raw source data. Content used in mashups is typically obtained from a third party source. Other methods of obtaining content for mashups include Web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom), and screen scraping. Many people are experimenting with mashups using Flickr, Google, Microsoft, Pictometry, Yahoo, and YouTube APIs, which has led to the creation of mashup editors.

Personal start pages

igoogle, MyYahoo, netvibes, Qrowd and pageflakes are mashups (custumizable web pages) where users can add news, games, photos, podcasts or weather to their personal start pages. These sites offer gadgets/widgets or free web applications to create a start page consisting of the user's favorite sites and feeds.

Visualization and Non-Linear Presentation Tools

  • Voicethread isa web-based collaborative network that is simple, and powerful. Images can be annotated with collaborative comments.
  • Voicethread Video that explains and gives examples of what you can do using this multimedia share space.
  • Kaltura, a video collaboration and editing program, explained on You Tube.
  • Kaltura An open-ource platform for video creation, management, interaction, and collaboration. Kaltura enables any site to integrate advanced interactive rich–media functionalities, including video searching, uploading, importing, editing, annotating, remixing, and sharing.
  • Dipity Make, share or find a digital and interactive timeline that can incorporate, images, audio and RSS feeds. Video clips are available to include in your timeline on a variety of subject.
  • VistaZoo is a portal from where you can create virtual tours combining panoramas, pictures, video, audio, floor plans and objects in 3D.
  • Prezi Non-linear presentation tool that links relations, zooming into details and adjusting without the need to skip slides. Allows you to adjust on the fly.
  • Mindomo Web-based mind mapping tool with capabilities of desktop software with no software to install. Allows many levels of topics and links.
  • CMap is a concept map tool, free to educators, to graphically organize the class, facts or any data. You can build maps with it that include podcasts, videos and images.

Charts

  • Rich Chart Live is a free online service which creates enjoyable and captivating charts with attractive visuals and interactivity.
  • ChartGizmo Free charts, financial, scientific and other types of data, flash charts. Pie, bar, Line, Ring, 3D Pie, 3D Bar, 3D Line,Candle, Scatterplot, and TimeSeries charts. Import from Excel is available.
  • PollDaddy Create surveys, templates, can print and export results.

Second Life & Virtual Worlds

Digital Games

Teacher Tools

  • VocabGrabber extracts key vocabulary from any text, allowing you to sort, filter, and save the most relevant vocab words.