This week I decided to check out some of the many tools available for use in the classroom. I'm going to focus on two online programs that can be a great asset in the classroom.
The first tool I tested out was Prezi (http://prezi.com). Prezi is a nice tool for creating multimedia rich presentations. I was really amazed at how easy it was to set up a presentation. I have never used the program before the other day and it was very easy to set up a presentation. It has many different tutorials for every level of user. The tutorials also were very easy to understand and very informative, which is nice.
Prezi also allows for easy collaboration with others and the ability to share your presentations over the internet.
Another great thing was they offer a teacher and student account that gives you extra data storage over the normal free account. You could pay for an account for either $59 or $159 a year, but the free teacher account is equal to the $59 account. All you need is a school email account and you can register for the teacher/student account.
The next tool I'm going to discuss is Google Docs. Google Docs is another free program that allows you to share all types of files with collaborators around the world. You can create and share powerpoint type slideshows, word documents, spreadsheets, drawings and many other file types. I currently use Google Docs with my fellow teachers. The nice thing is how easy it is to share and collaborate on projects. I currently use it to share and edit lesson plans with my In-Class-Support teacher. It has a chat feature that allows you to discuss while you are working on your project, or in my case, lesson plans. It has come in very handy. I would say I still haven't used all the features it offers, but have been very satisfied with what I have been able to do with it so far. I would definitely recommend this site for any time you need to collaborate with others and can not do it in person. The ease of it is what sets it apart from other programs I've used in the past. Instead of email items to people, you can just open it up in your browser and see what your colleague is doing and go from there.
There are plenty of other wonderful tools out there but these were the two I like the best. For some more suggestions, check out these sites:
1) http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
2) http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/
3) http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
