Cite your Sources: CiteLigher

Web Address: http://www.citelighter.com

CiteLighter is competing with dozens of other tools out there for taking notes on the web.  But with it's unique academic perspective it might find a useful niche to fill.  With tools for highlighting, saving and ordering information CiteLighter may be a tool worth reckoning with.

Infuse Learning

Web Address: http://www.infuselearning.com/register/index.lasso/

I have been using Socrative.com as a learner response system in my classes and presentations for a while now and I really love it. But recently, at UCET, Leslie Fisher introduced me to Infuse Learning.  It does several things that Socrative doesn't and still does all the things that Socrative does.  I still like the simplicity of the Socrative URL but if I was regularly using this with students the power and features of Infuse learning would quickly overwhelm what other interactive clicker tools can do.

Remember Everything

There are a variety of tools, techniques, resources and information available for taking notes.  There isn't just an App for that there are literally hundreds.  This time we are going to talk about just 4! All of them part of a single service.



Evernote  is the service.  It  lets you take notes and keep track of lists, documents, all kinds of stuff on virtually any device you own.  There are apps for the desktop, iOS devices, Android and clippers, plugins, and add-ons for most browsers.

Skitch for Annotations! Skitch lets you take photos and annotate them.  These can be anything from screen grabs on an iPhone to massive images on your desktop.  Skitch basically lays a transparent layer over your photo and allows text, arrows, shapes and squiggles on top of your image.  These annotated images are uploaded into your Evernote account and available in Skitch on all your devices.



Penultimate is a handwriting app.  It lets you make simple and complex notes and keeps them all...yup, you guessed it.  Right in your EverNote Notebooks.

The last item sort of speaks for itself. It's Contacts management tool.





Three tools and 1 Service that let you remember it all.

Dipity

Web Address: http://www.dipity.com

Dipity is a Web 2.0 tool designed to build timelines.  The tool is just what  you would expect it to be.  A long scrolling (left to right) list showing events.  Images and additional information can be added including maps, comments and a description of the image. Anyone can create a dipity timeline about anything so some  caution may be needed with the site. But as a way to create Web 2.0 timlines it is excellent.

Steve Job's Life and Career on Dipity.

Tech Tip Tueday: Text your students

Here are three quick ways to blast text messages to students:

1. Sign up for a Google Voice account.  http://www.google.com/voice You can then use this account to send texts.  Google will give you a number online that will forward to your cell or you can manage it entirely online.  Students don't see  your cell phone number they see the Google Number. This one is great but could be a little harder to manage with large numbers of students.
2. Remind101 http://www.remind101.com A service that allows students to text a number to sign up for text alerts. Students never see the the teachers personal cell phone number but they can receive alerts about upcoming events.
3. Cel.ly http://cel.ly A service for SMS.  There is also an Android app.  The tools can also be managed via their website.  Students and parents can receive updates about what a teacher is doing in the classroom again all without the students getting the teachers personal number.

As with all things be sure to consider and abide by local policies and procedures regarding student:teacher interactions.