What came before the "Store" in Windows 8 or the iTunes Store for the iPad? Plan old web browser based web 2.0 tools. In the past the trick was to find the gems out there. Google has apps listed and many bloggers compiled their own lists. Some sites popped up to cash in on those of us searching for a variety of tools. Go2Web20 is such a site. I found Mindomo in and educational trade journal. I have made several mind maps this way. The interface is one of the best that I have found. But what if you need to make a mind map in a hurry and have smaller tools like an iPad mini. Go2web20 recommends Text 2 Mind. I made the Text 2 Mind map below with just a list of terms in the form of a bulleted list. This tool could be invaluable to teach some learners who are more visual than others how to see a bulleted list in terms of one items relationship to another. The ease of use of Text 2 Mind means that it is attainable by the youngest users. The map begins forming in an intriguing and entertaining animation sequence.
It is my opinion that may of the sits listed were programmed simply and were long on promise and short on delivery. There were also some wolves in sheep's clothing. For example under the Tag screencast I found free screen capture tool that promised to capture my movements as I demonstrated how to do something on the computer. But when I tried to create a demo for this class, the free site passed me to Camtasia which is a superior albeit costly tool to use. As an educator, we don't have time to waste on bait and switch sites.
I found sites that recommend tools that I appeal to me to be listed by some of the educational trade journals that I subscribe to like Discovery Education which recommended Slideshare which makes slide presentations available to everyone with a browser. This is a great way to share you power point slides with students who may not own a computer and rely on public access computers.
Teach Learning is another periodical that I read regularly and that offers several web 2.0 lists. Teach Learning is written and hosted by teachers and former teachers who imbue there lists with pedagogically sound suggestions and age appropriate tools.
Purdue Edu has a great list of tools in an accessible format. They use a wiki to enable student teachers to prune the list as tools fade and appear over time. They also offer a screen shot of the site and detailed reviews that help one find the most proven tools.
I spent hours looking at the Purdue wiki for cool sites to use when I realized that I was picking up some very good suggestions on how to use these tools in class.
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