The Significance of Failure in Defining Success

One of the great misunderstandings of the learning process is that one must expect perfection or a lack of mistake-making when trying something new. Learning from one's failures and improving upon them is essential in becoming better at what you do.  This video of a student who has designed a way to "trap" a monster using a Rube Goldberg machine is a wonderful illustration of this. 

Tech Tidbits: Quizizz--Interactive Quiz Generator

One of the important tasks that teachers must do during the course of instruction is to informally assess students in order to measure their comprehension of what is being taught.  This enables the instructor to determine how best to modify their instructional techniques in order to best address a students' needs.  A fun way that teachers can assess students' comprehension of a topic is through the use of Quizizz, an interactive quiz generator that allows you to create your own interactive multiple choice game, or use a quiz created by other users.  

Quizizz does not require you to sign up for an free account if you want to use other users' quizzes with your students, but if you want to create your own quiz, you will need to register for an account.  Creating a quiz is a very simple process, and once a quiz is published, it generates a unique numeric code that you can share with your students in order to join the quiz.  Students go to join.quizizz.com and enter the 5-digit code in order to join the quiz.  Each student can then answer the questions to the quiz.  The teacher determines the amount of time students are given to answer each question, from 5 seconds to 5 minutes. 

As students progress through the quiz, they are awarded a varying amount of points based on whether they answered the question correctly and how quickly the question was answered. Zero points are awarded for incorrect answers. Teachers can see how students are answering questions on their screen and track the progress of each student.  Once the quiz is completed by all students, the teacher can download an Excel file that displays the information from the quiz, including the students who participated, which questions they answered, and how they answered the questions.  Teachers can use this data as an informal assessment to see which students are struggling with the information, and which students are comprehending the content.

Tech Tidbits: Wolfram Alpha

Research is an important facet of academic learning on all levels of education, including elementary school, all the way through high school, and it is important for learners to be able to locate and evaluate research results that are trustworthy, responsibly sourced, and accurate.  You can't always guarantee that with a Google search!  One online search engine that provides accurate and responsibly sourced results for information searches is Wolfram Alpha, which refers to itself as a "computational knowledge engine".

  

Wolfram Alpha provides search results on almost any topic you can imagine, without results that offer opinions or bias.  The results are presented as data, which can proven as factual, as opposed to other search engines that provide top results based on popularity or relevance.  It allows you to perform searches on topics based on a large variety of categories, including mathematics; words & linguistics; people & history; chemistry; physics; music; astronomy; art & design; places & geography; and many more. 

You can also search for information on two different people or areas in order to provide results that compare the two search topics with each other.  For example, you can search for "George Washington" and "Abraham Lincoln" at the same time, and the results will create a data table comparing the birthdates, places born, dates of death, and places of death of the two people.  A similar search can be done for different towns or cities, which can be used to explore objectives in Social Studies.  

Feel free to explore the different categories provided to see what other types of searches you can conduct!  There are entirely too many to list here, so explore what Wolfram Alpha has to offer!  

Tech Tidbit: NewseumEd.org

A major issue in American politics today is the ability for one to exercise their1st Amendment rights, providing the freedom of self-expression.  History and/or Social Studies teachers who discuss the Constitution with their students can use the digital resources provided by NewseumEd to explore how the 1st Amendment has been an important part of American history.  

NewseumEd is an extension of the original Newseum site, and does require you to register for a free account to make use of its resources.  You can filter your results in the EdTools section by type of tool, topic, theme, century, and more.  You can also for resources by a certain topic related to the 1st Amendment, such as "Civil Rights", "National Security", or "Supreme Court", for example.  The EdCollections section allows you to explore topics related to the 1st Amendment more in-depth with a variety of interactive learning tools, multimedia primary resources, and digital artifacts.  In the EdIdeas section, there are a number of tips, suggestions from other NewseumEd users, and current event resources that are regularly updated.  Finally, in the EdCommunity section, you can read testimonials of how other teachers have successfully utilized NewseumEd in their classroom.  You can submit your own testimonial as well!

 

Tech Tidbit: SmartyPins

It's time for another Tech Tidbits video, after my track-out session!  This time I am demonstrating the use of SmartyPins, a fun and free website that combines Google Maps with trivia questions on a variety of topics, including Arts & Culture; Science & Geography; Sports & Games; Entertainment; and History & Current Events. 

Smarty Pins

Once the game starts, the user is provided with a maximum of 1000 miles and is provided with a series of trivia questions based on the selected category. Based on the clues provided, the user is directed to place the pin on the location on the map as close as possible to where they think the location is.  Once the answer is submitted, the actual location is revealed with the distance in miles from the submitted location. 

If there is a differential between the provided answer and the actual location, that number of miles is subtracted from the running total.  The game ends when you run out of miles!  If you answer 5 questions correctly without running out of miles, you can choose to start a new game, or continue the game.

 

Smarty Pins could be used as a formative evaluation tool to test students' knowledge of geography combined with science and/or history, or just a fun way to sharpen students' critical thinking skills.  This site could be used to test students' geography knowledge in a fun, low-pressure context that students (and teachers) should enjoy!

Tech Tidbits: YouCanBook.Me

This Tech Tidbits video is a good companion piece to my previous video, which demonstrated the use of HashTagToDo. This video demonstrates the use of
YouCanBook.me, which syncs with your online calendar (in this case I will be using Google Calendar) in order to allow others to sign up for an appointment time with you according to the time frame you set.  This site could be used to enable parents to sign up for parent/teacher conferences on a certain date at a certain time, with the time allotment that you designate. This site could also be used for co-workers to book an appointment to meet with you according to your work schedule.

 

Once you create your account using your WCPSS e-mail account, you can choose a unique URL address that will can be posted and shared for others to access in order to book an appointment with you.  In the settings for your account you can choose the blocks of time each day of the week that you are available for appointments.  You can choose the day that the availability starts, as well as when it ends.  You can choose to include or exclude weekends.  You can even choose how far in advance visitors can book appointments with you. The site offers video tutorials as well as an FAQ section if there are options that you aren't sure how to select.  If you use online calendars (such as Google Calendar) and might have the need to offer an appointment calendar function to others, YouCanBook.me might be what you are looking for! 

A very powerful message about preparing America's youth for the future

Courtesy of Community Consolidated School District 59:

Tech Tidbits: HashTagToDo.com

As a busy teacher with an active work life as well as a packed personal life after the bell, it's difficult to get everything done that you want to get done, let alone remembering all that you need to get done throughout the day!  I know I have to keep my work schedule straight by using Google Calendar, as many of you may do.  The website HashTagToDo allows you to sync with your Google Calendar and add the hashtag #ToDo to your scheduled appointments and create a "To Do" list of what you plan to accomplish for the day.  HashTagToDo then adds a "checkbox" to your scheduled item's title as well as a "To Do" list to your Google Calendar for the day.

Once you have completed a task on your "To Do" list, edit your scheduled item and place an "X" inside the checkbox and save your item again. HashTagToDo will update your "ToDo" list and indicate that task has been completed.  At the end of the day, any items on your "ToDo" list that aren't marked as completed (or aren't deleted) will be moved to the next day's schedule.

By using HashTagToDo, you can keep up with all the tasks you want to accomplish every day, and help keep track of the tasks you might forget about otherwise! 

Tech Tidbits Video: Versal.com

Versal is a content management system that enables you to create and organize online courses for students to utilize and complete a variety of activities. The course materials can be edited and rearranged, and adjusted for different levels of learning.  There are also numerous interactive gadgets covering a wide variety of subjects that can be downloaded and inserted into a course for free.

Using Versal, you can incorporate a wide variety of interactive features, including: Multiple choice quizzes; category sorting; Short Response, Deeper Diagram; Map; Slideshow; Whiteboard; Mathematical Expressions; Markdown; References; Timeline; Typing Test; and Visual Ranker.

Versal also enables you to integrate interactive activities from exterior online resources such as: Quizlet; Google Docs; Disqus; Sketchfab; Prezi; Microsoft OneDrive; Desmos; Flowkey; Educreations; Brainshark, GeoGebra; and Thinglink. 

You can also embed your Versal course into a website that you already have, so students can utilize it without having to have them register on the site.  Best of all, Versal is free to use.  (Although you can upgrade to use additional features!)

Tech Tidbits videos: DigitalVaults

This week I am demonstrating the use of DigitalVaults, hosted by The National Archives Experience.  The site makes available a large amount of historical resources that have digitized for the purposes of engaging in research projects and presentations.  You can search for resources by keyword or by tag, and the results can be filtered by media type, such as documents, images, posters, videos, maps, and more.  You can view the information for each document and view links to additional resources available on external weblinks.  

Using this site, you can add resources to a collection and import those resources into a digital poster or animated slideshow movie.  To save and/or share your presentations, you do have to create a free account using a valid e-mail address.  If you are a Wake County Public Schools employee and are using this site for educational purposes, please register using your WCPSS e-mail address. Likewise, if you are a WCPSS student, please register your account using your WCPSS student e-mail address.

I created a series of two videos demonstrating DigitalVaults; the first provides an overview of the site.  The second demonstrates how to use the digital resources to create a digital poster and/or an animated slideshow video.

 

Tech Tidbits video: text2mindmap.com

What sets Text2Mindmap apart from other mindmapping (or concept mapping) webtools is the fact that you can enter the text for the main concepts and supporting concepts in the form of an outline.  There is no need to sign up for an account to use this site, although there are pay models available if you want to save and edit mindmaps later on.  There is no danger of accidentally creating concept bubbles or connecting concepts together that you don't want connected. 

     

Enter your central concept at the top and press Enter.  Indent 2 spaces for the first subtopic and press Enter.  Type in each supporting topic by indenting 2 additional spaces. To create your mindmap, click "Draw Mind Map".  See the pictures below for an example.
          

Text2Mindmap can be used for multiple purposes and subjects, including Language Arts/Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, and more.  

Tech Tidbit Video: ZoomIn

The latest Tech Tidbit video demonstrates the use of ZoomIn, a Learning Management System website designed for high school social studies teachers to enroll students and assign materials created by the ZoomIn site.  Students can enroll in a class created by their teacher by entering a specific enrollment password.  Once students are enrolled, the teacher can assign unit materials, writing assignments, and more related to a particular United States History Unit.                

The ZoomIn site allows the teacher to track the progress of each student and see how much of each assignment they have completed and/or submitted.  The site also allows the students to create notes based on each unit and it provides a template for writing an essay for each unit.  In turn, the site lets the teacher see when essays have been submitted.  They can also download students' notes and essays in CSV files.  

Teachers can also share classes with other instructional personnel such as department members or media coordinators by sharing teacher enrollment codes with their peers.  In this way, teachers can collaborate with each other in units using ZoomIn.  Administrators can also use ZoomIn to provide professional development opportunities for teachers and staff if desired.  

Tech Tidbits video: Vibby.com

Hello!  I am back from my summer hiatus with another Tech Tidbits video!  This time I am demonstrating how to use Vibby, a webtool site that enables you to select clips from YouTube videos for students to view and comment on if you want.  Using Vibby, you can select only the portions of the video you want to show and skip the parts you don't.  

This video demonstrates how to use Vibby.com

Although you can show clips of videos in Discovery Education, that function is only available for videos in their inventory.  Using Vibby, you can create your own customized and clipped videos from YouTube and embed them in your website or link them via URL address or through Twitter or Facebook (at home, of course!) 

Tech Tidbits video: Twiddla

Twiddla is an free, open-source online whiteboard tool that allows multiple users to view and edit the same whiteboard screen simultaneously.  When you create a new whiteboard screen, it generates a unique URL address that can be shared with others via an e-vite from the site, or one you can post on a website or in an e-mail, etc.  Users can draw with drawing tools, insert shapes, and add text as with other online whiteboard tools. You can also screenshare documents or pictures that are uploaded for others to view and annotate.

Users can also share websites via their Twiddla whiteboard so they can be viewed at the same time, and they can be clicked on, drawn upon, and more. 

While teachers can use LanSchools to share their screens with their students, it doesn't allow other users to click on links via their screens when a site is shared.  This site could be used as a collaborative technology tool for group projects and more.  If you would like to learn more about how Twiddla works, watch the video below.  

Why I do what I do...

It's always nice to get a note of thanks from a co-worker for what you do with their students...

Tech Tidbits video: Apricot

Apricot is a free webtool that enables teachers to create class lists and enroll students for the purpose of sending out writing prompts for students to respond to and submit back to their teachers.  Students enroll in the teacher's class by submitting their class code when signing up.  After students submit their writing response, the teacher is notified in their teacher account.  

Parents are also able to enroll in a teacher's class list by registering with a unique enrollment code provided by Apricot.  The parent can choose their student and enter their e-mail address so they can be notified when their student submits a writing response.  In this manner, parents can read their child's writing responses and help keep track of their progress.

Watch a robotic roach launch a robotic bird!

Source: Wired UK

Tech Tidbits video: Athenir

Athenir is a relatively new search engine that displays search results as visualizations of related terms.  While the search results are displayed on the right side of the screen, the visualizations for the search results look similar to groups of cells.

               

As you click on each search term, the visualization display creates smaller sub-groups of related search terms that users can click on to delve further into the search results. Athenir serves as an effective search engine for students who have difficulty related one group of search terms to another. 

Inviting Digital Visitors in the classroom with Video Conferencing tools

A friend and former co-worker of mine recently invited a professional musician/friend of his to listen to and offer constructive advice to his middle school band students via Skype.  She listened to them play while he and his class appeared in the lower right corner of the screen.

I remember showing his how to use Skype years ago, and I was excited to watch his archived video of his Skyping experience with his class.  I am hopeful that as the new school year approaches, that more of the teachers at both of my schools become more interested in video conferencing using Skype, Google Hangout, or other similar tools. 

Tech Tidbit video: LucidPress (Digital Multimedia Publishing)

LucidPress allows users to create and publish digital multimedia publications for online display, sharing, and access.  By signing up for a free account, you can store up to 25 mb worth of projects, and create digital publications for print, or for online sharing and access.  The tool menu is similar to that of PowerPoint or Microsoft Publisher, in that you can insert text boxes and format text, as well as insert and resize images.  You can also insert online videos by entering the URL to online videos found on YouTube, Vimeo, and other video sharing sites.  You can publish these documents and share them via e-mail, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google +. You can also download the publication as digital image files such as jpeg files.

  

If you wish to embed your publication on a website, you can instantly sign up for a free trial subscription that allows you access to the paid pro feature menu.  By using LucidPress, you can have students create digital artifacts and bypass posterboard and markers, which can become damaged when displayed. 

What is a MakerSpace?

Interesting video I found answering the question: 

"What Is A MakerSpace?"

(Courtesy of gcaavideos)

3D Printing in Kindergarten..."Printergarten"?

This past weekend my elementary school held "Saturday School"...a 1/2 day making up one of the days we missed back in February due to snow and ice. You would think that it wouldn't be a noteworthy day, especially since it was a make-up day.  Not so!  In one particular kindergarten class, they were experiencing the use of a 3D printer!  

The students were able to select the models for the objects they wanted to have printed, including a Star Wars "Death Star", letters of the alphabet, a cupcake with a separate top and bottom, and a chameleon! It was like having a MakerSpace in their classroom for the day!  What a unique and memorable learning experience using technology in education!

  

Tech Tidbit video: SketchToy

SketchToy is a fun whiteboard drawing tool that has the added fun bonus of enabling your drawing to "squiggle" to vary degrees.  It operates similarly to other whiteboard application tools, with the option of sharing the drawing with others via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and you can also download the drawing as a .PNG file as well.

                               

Students can save their pictures they draw in SketchToy and use them in digital storytelling projects.  You can also link to each drawing with a unique URL that is generated once the drawing is saved.

Tech Tidbit Video: Embedding a video from Google Drive into a website

Many teachers this time of year are spotlighting their students' work by creating videos of class projects, etc.  However, they don't always want to upload these videos to YouTube or Vimeo for the general public to find.  (Yes, there are privacy settings on these video sharing sites, but for the sake of argument...ha ha!)

One way you can share your videos with your primary stakeholders (your students and their families) is by uploading your video to your Google Drive account and embedding the video onto your website.  This video will demonstrate how you can do this!

Tech Tidbit Video: LucidChart

The latest Tech Tidbits video focuses on LucidChart, a concept-mapping site that allows users to create concept maps for a variety of purposes, incuding organizational charts, connecting concepts with related topics, and much more.  There are a large number of shapes, icons, and symbols that you can drag onto the template screen and connect together.


There are, admittedly, a lot of concept-mapping online tools out there, but LucidChart is allowing those who sign up for a free account with their educational e-mail address can request a free upgrade to a LucidChart Pro account at this address: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/education/K12 .
Approval for the request usually will be granted within 24-48 hours.

Tech Tidbit Video: Meerkat

The latest Tech Tidbit video focuses on Meerkat, an iOS app that is available for download from the iTunes App Store for iPhones or iPads.  (Sorry, no Android devices yet!)  Meerkat is an app that allows you to livestream video and audio over the internet and let others access it via Twitter!  (So, you do need an active Twitter account as well to "tweet" out the link to your livestream!

Not only can you livestream video using Meerkat, you can also follow other Meerkat users and be alerted to when they are broadcasting live.  You can also view other livestreams from Meerkat users.  Once you complete a livestream, you can save the video to Meerkat, depending on the length of the video.  However, once a livestream has concluded on Meerkat, you cannot watch a replay of the video via the link on the Twitter post.  

You can use Meerkat for a wide variety of purposes including the sharing of a class event, viewing a presentation from your peers, listening to a presentation from an expert on a particular topic, and more!  Meerkat should not be used to pirate licensed and/or copyrighted materials such as music, movies, or television shows.  

Tech TIdbit Video: 3 Online Tools to view YouTube videos without ads or side videos

The latest Tech Tidbits video demonstrates 3 online website tools that allow you to view YouTube videos without advertisements or side videos that might distract viewers.  

• Viewpure
• Safeshare.tv
• Watchkin.com

Teenage girls in Ghana learn to code

Currently, it seems that the majority of the stories you hear about the role of women in Africa either deal with the abduction of Nigerian girls by the soldiers of Boko Haram, or the limited access most girls have to equitable education. However,  there are encouraging stories demonstrating that many girls in Africa are being given chances to become engaged in their education.  For example, in the slum called Nima, in the Ghana capital of Accra, several teenaged girls are enrolled in classes teaching them to code.  Read more about this story here
.

This image was captured by @pkopoku during our @Techneedsgirls workshop in the slum in Nima #AfricanChildDay pic.twitter.com/SPJ71zWmlV
— Regina Agyare (@ragyare) June 16, 2014

Tech Tidbit video: Parapara Animation Tool

This week's Tech Tidbit demonstrates the use of the Parapara Animation Tool, which allows you to create simple animated cartoons, which loop endlessly.
The site is free of charge and does not require you to sign up for an account. The display allows you to draw your animation one frame at a time, and then add as many frames as you would like.  

Once you have created each frame of your animation, you add a title as well as the name of the creator, and the site creates a unique URL link where the animation can be viewed.  You can also send the link to others via e-mail, and it also creates a QR code for the link that you can access via a QR code reader.  You can also display the cartoon in a website via embed code.

Teachers can use this site for educational purposes by having students create frames demonstrating steps in a process for science or social studies.  They could also use this site to display information about themselves or their interests...any way you can imagine!   

Tech Tidbits Video: TitanPad.com

One of the key themes of the Common Core Curriculum is to have students collaborate together on projects, documents, etc.  One of the main struggles is how to integrate technology so that students can collaborate simultaneously on assignments.  This week's tech tool is TitanPad, which is a free tool that allows users to create word processing documents online and share editing rights with the people they invite using a unique URL link.  Each user in TitanPad (up to 8 different users) has a different color that highlights the text they enter in the document.  Each collaborator can enter and edit text simultaneously, even the text of the other users.  

This tool can be used by students to create, edit, and finalize word processing documents without emailing the file back and forth to each other.  Although using Google Docs would be the ideal environment for such an activity, none of the students in Wake County do not have WCPSS-provided Google Drive accounts as of yet.  TitanPad is one webtool that students can use to experience collaborative word processing until these accounts are provided.

Girl Receives new 3-D Printed Hand

A little girl who had her hand amputated soon after birth has received a new artificial hand courtesy of a 3-D printer.  (Source: NBCNews.com)

Smartbox: A Product Right In Line For Only Opportunistic Leaders!

Presenting...SMARTBOX by Inbox!  An idea whose time has come!

Tech Tidbit video: Scrawlar.com

The latest "Tech Tidbits" tutorial video focuses on Scrawlar, which is a free website that allows teachers to sign up for a free classroom account and add students to a class roster. During the sign-up process, the teacher will create a unique access code (consisting of lower-case letters and/or at least 1 number) which will allow students to access the class account when they log in as students. When a student is added to the class roster, the site creates a log-in number that each student will use to sign in.

Scrawlar serves as an online word processor/whiteboard sharing site that allows teachers to save and share documents and/or whiteboard screens with students.  When sharing documents with students, teachers can choose to let students view or edit documents.  In turn, students can create and share documents and/or whiteboard screens with the teacher as well as other students in the class.  Teachers can utilize this site to help share information with students for collaborative projects or to check for classroom activities such as morning work or as formative assessments.  Students can also use the word processor or whiteboard functions to submit informative reports or displays without the use of e-mail.  

Tech Tidbit Video: Appear.in

This week's Tech Tidbit video focuses on Appear.in, a website that allows you to set up a unique temporary video chat/conferencing room online for you to invite others to join you in a video conversation.  After you create a unique video chatroom name, send out the link to up to 8 other people for them to join the conversation!  You can also mute the microphone, disable the webcam, and share materials on your screen to the other participants in the chat.

The advantage of using Appear.in over using Skype or Google Hangouts is that it doesn't depend on anyone signing up for a Skype or G-Mail account...there is no registration or sign-in required...just create the unique URL address and share it out.  If you are using an iPhone instead of a laptop, you will need to download the Appear.in app from the iTunes store first.  (Unfortunately, the app doesn't appear to be in the Google Play store yet, but that may change in the future.)  You also cannot archive the video chat as yet.  However, this site seems to be a hassle-free alternative to more involved video conferencing tools.  Give it a try!

(Oh yeah, the screencast didn't pick up the audio from my friend when she conferenced in!  I could hear her just fine, but the mic didn't pick up the sound.  Otherwise, I would have included more of our conversation!)

Tech Tidbit Video: HemingwayApp.com

My latest Tech Tidbit video focuses on HemingwayApp.com, a free website application that allows you to copy and paste bodies of written text into the page.  The site will then analyze the content of the writing and identify the text's level of readability,as well as the number of paragraphs, sentences, words, and characters in the text.

The site also identifies how many sentences in the text are considered "hard to read", and "very hard to read", and offers suggestions for how to improve and clarify the writing.  There is a pay version of this site that offers more features, but this site provides a chance for the user to check their writing for errors, as well as suggestions for clarifying their phrasing.  

Tech Tidbit Video: Thematic.co

The latest Tech Tidbit tutorial video focuses on Thematic, which allows you to upload pictures and create a photostory quickly and easily!  You can add a simple textbox for each picture if you want to add information about the picture, and change the color of the text to contrast with each picture.

Since Thematic is primarily a picture-based presentation tool, you aren't able to add extensive amounts of text to each picture.  However, you can upload individual images with text and graphics already included in the picture if you would like!  Thematic can be adjusted for public or private settings, and a presentation can be shared via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or Google +

Note: As one of the Terms of Use, Thematic cannot be used by anyone younger than 13 years old.  However, teachers can use it for presentations for their students if they want!

Tech Tidbit Video: LessonPaths

The latest Tech Tidbit video focuses on LessonPaths, which allows you to create a customized "playlist" of web links, uploaded documents, written articles, and pop quizzes that can be presented to students as an independent study activity, a type of webquest, or formative evaluation tool. Each portion of the LessonPath playlist can include a Challenge question to evaluate the student's comprehension of the article or link they visit.

You can share the playlists via e-mail, URL link, or social media. You can also embed the playlist onto the website of your choice. If you don't want to create your own playlist of links, you can browse the wide variety of playlists created by others to see if there is a ready-made activity for your students to use.

Tech Tidbit Video: issuu.com

The latest Tech Tidbit video focuses on issuu, a site that enables you to upload documents such as Microsoft Word documents, Excel files, PDF's, and PowerPoint presentations and process them so they can be viewed digitally.  Then you can embed the converted file into your website, blog, or wiki site. You can also share the file via a variety of social media sites or by e-mail.

The purpose of sharing this site is demonstrate how you can embed documents such as syllabuses, class newsletters, and other files into a classroom website or blog.  Many schools require their teachers to maintain and update classroom websites regularly, and using a site such as issuu.com allows teachers to display important documents so they can be viewed online as well as downloaded.

Tech Tidbit Video: HSTRY.CO

This week's Tech Tidbit video introduces HSTRY.CO, a Web 2.0 site that allows the user to create an interactive timeline and add features such as text, images, video clips, audio files, as well as "Did You Know" segments and a quiz as well!  

You can also use this site to use as a presentation tool if you want.  The center line that runs vertically down the middle can help you organize the items in the order you want them to appear!

Tech Tidbit Video: JustPaste.it

Wow! It's been a little while since my last post!  Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope your holiday break was restful and relaxing!

This week's Tech Tidbit video focuses on JustPaste.it, an information-sharing website that allows you to create a page where you can enter and share information with others without the need to register for an account or sign up in any way.  Information you send can include pictures or hyperlinks to other websites outside of the JustPaste.it site.  Once a page has been created, it generates a unique URL address that you can link to or share.  You can also create your own customized URL if you wish.

Using the JustPaste.it site eliminates the need to send e-mail attachments to others in order to share information.  All the information you need is available through the URL address that is created!  Plus, if you need to edit the information on that JustPaste.it page, you can do that as well!