TOP 10 TOOLS 2007 & 2008
Leigh Zeitz

Leigh is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology at the University of Northern Iowa. He has been teaching, writing, lecturing and consulting about using technology to support learning since 1980.

Leigh's Top 10 Tools as at 16 August 2008

1. Google Docs – A free utility that enables you to work collaboratively with others on wordprocessed or spreadsheet documents as well as visual presentations. The GREATEST tool is the form tool that enables you to create forms that are posted on the web. As users enter the data, it appears immediately in your spreadsheet.

2. Jing – Capture video from your screen or take quick snapshots. Use this free utility to create instructional videos (<5 minutes). TechSmith will even store these flash files on their server. A REAL winner.

3. Inspiration - A quick and easy program for outlining or diagramming information about a domain of knowledge. I begin all of my writing using Inspiration.

4. Google Scholar - Great research resource that includes information about the popularity of each citation as well as identifying Web and library sources for finding the articles.

5. Ning – Personalized Facebook creator. Develop a social community for your class or organization. It is free and filled with the capacity to build an interactive community

6. Voicethread – Promotes asynchronous discussion about posted subjects. This utility leapfrogs all other applications because of its inclusiveness and simplicity. One a photo, video, graphic or document is posted, visitors can comment on it by recording audio files or entering text. You can even phone your comments to the site. Can make graphic notations on the item of discussion while talking. Tough to describe, it’s a MUST SEE to BELIEVE.

7. Gabcast – Make your podcast from your telephone. This free tool enables you to create podcast audio files from your cell phone. I like Gabcast better than Gcast because it is more versatile.

8. Skype - Opens the world to the classroom. Can be used by the average person to communicate with people from all over the world. I recently gave a keynote speech in Indonesia (from my office in Iowa) through Skype.

9. Google Sites – Sites replaces Google Page Creator. It makes web design fun and easy. Sites allows you to insert lots of extras including videos, widgets, etc. You can create an unlimited number of sites but are limited to 100MB of space.

10. Wikispaces - This service enables me to provide an interactive site for my students. Once I have created it, they can become active contributors to the site.

Leigh's Top 10 Tools as at 5 August 2007

1. Google Scholar - Great research resource which includes information about the popularity of each citation as well as identifying Web and library sources for finding the articles.

2. Inspiration - A quick and easy program for outlining or diagramming information about a domain of knowledge. I begin all of my writing using Inspiration.

3. Good Search -  A Yahoo web search engine that will donate money to your favorite charity with each search you make. It is literally Yahoo with a heart. =-)

4. del.icio.us - A social bookmarking website that simplifies the process of sharing your bookmarks with others. It is also a valuable resource for finding other's favorite sites.

5. Google Earth - Provides a whole new perspective on the world. The visuals improve students' (and teachers') understanding of the world by actually seeing the locations. The ability to use and create overlays provides a geographical context for almost any subject area.

6. Skype - Opens the world to the classroom. Can be used by the average person to communicate with people from all over the world. I recently gave a keynote speech in Indonesia (from my office in Iowa) through Skype.

7. WordPress - This is my favorite blogging software. It is simple and has a useful tagging system. I would like to see the podcasting capabilities built into Wordpress rather than requiring the add-in, Podpress.

8. Google Page Creator - This site will revolutionize web design. Instead of teaching web editors like SeaMonkey or nVue, we are teaching our introductory students to use Google Pages for creating websites and WebQuests. Unfortunately, this utility has a great limitation in that it does not allow users to easily use pre-made templates or tables.

9. Wikispaces - This service enables me to provide an interactive site for my students.  Once I have created it, they can become active contributors to the site.

10. YouTube - This is the resource of the future. Multimedia is the channel for communication today and with the ease of creating and viewing videos, YouTube has become the broadcasting center for learners of all ages.