Ten Free On-Line Resources that Every Teacher Should Know (Version 2009)

Drs. Neal Topp, Bob Goeman, & Paul Clark -- University of Nebraska at Omaha

Tools & Techniques Toolbox http://www.citt.ufl.edu/toolbox/
Here, you will find very brief introduction to various tools and techniques for use in face to face education and synchronous/asynchronous distance education. Click on a link to view information on each tool or technique including: What the tool or technique is, Educational uses and benefits, An example, How to get started with it, Where to learn more about it

PhET Interactive Simulations http://phet.colorado.edu/
Fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena from the PhET project at the University of Colorado. Includes an extensive suite of simulations to improve the way that physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and math are taught and learned. The simulations are interactive tools that enable students to make connections between real life phenomena and the underlying science which explains such phenomena.

Edutopia.org http://www.edutopia.org/
The George Lucas Educational Foundation with success stories about what works in public education. Also provides in-depth and interactive resources, which offer practical, hands-on advice, real-world examples, lively contributions from practitioners, and invaluable tips and tools.

Animoto http://animoto.com/
Animoto produces TV-quality music videos using your photos in just minutes and is very, very easy to use.

WetPaint http://www.wetpaint.com/
Wetpaint lets you build a rich, online community around the whatever-it-is that you’re really into. Utilizing the best features of wikis, blogs, forums and social networks, Wetpaint mixes everything you need so you can create, collect, and organize content on your own social website.

Wordle http://www.wordle.net/
Wordle is a tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.

Bubbl.us http://bubbl.us/edit.php
This is a great on-line brainstorming tool. It is easy to use, prints well, and has the usual Web2.0 collaboration features.

Google Forms http://docs.google.com/
Forms in Google Docs allow you to make surveys and the data is directly imported into Google Sheets.

Twitter http://twitter.com/
Twitter is a free social software and micro-blogging service that allows users to send text-based messages with a maximum of 140 characters via cell phone, text messaging or e-mail to the Twitter website. Included will be examples of how educators can use this tool.

Augmented Reality http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/?c_id=googaugreal#/augmented_reality
Cutting (maybe bleeding) edge online tool. Wow, where are we headed in the near future!?!?

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Neal W. Topp, Ph.D. ntopp@unomaha.edu June 2009