Cool+Web+Tools

Software Tools:

1. Microsoft PowerPoint [|PowerPoint Home Page]
Microsoft Office PowerPoint enables users to quickly create high-impact, dynamic presentations that integrate sound, text, videos, and images. Many students are already familiar with PowerPoint and use it often in their classes.

2. Microsoft Publisher [|Publisher Home Page]
Microsoft Office Publisher helps you create, personalize, and share a wide range of publications.

3. Microsoft Word [|Word Home Page]
Microsoft Office Word is a powerful authoring program that gives you the ability to create and share documents by combining a comprehensive set of writing tools with the easy-to-use Microsoft Office Fluent user interface. This is the program that students will use to begin the creation of their digital products. Word is used for the traditional writing elements from which the rest of the project will bloom.

4. Windows Moviemaker [|Moviemaker Home Page]
Windows Movie Maker 2.1 makes movies amazingly fun. With Movie Maker 2.1, you can create, edit, and share your movies right on your computer. Build your movie with a few simple drag-and-drops. Delete bad shots and include only the best scenes. Then share your movie via the Web, e-mail, or CD.

5. iMovie [|iMovie Home Page]
iMovie makes viewing and working with video as intuitive as enjoying your photos. A built-in library automatically organizes your video, so all the clips you’ve captured and movies you’ve created are just a click away. With its revolutionary interface, iMovie makes it quick and easy to browse your library and create new movies. And iMovie is built for sharing. In just a few steps, you can add movies to your website, publish them on YouTube, and create versions for iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV.

6. iPhoto [|iPhoto Home Page]
Don’t be daunted by all those digital photos you’ve been taking. Have fun with them. Share them by email or create amazing web pages, cards and calendars. iPhoto automatically organizes your photo library and makes editing as easy as clicking your mouse — so you can get the most out of even the biggest collection.


 * **[|iLife Tutorials: Click here for video tutorials on iLife products such as iMovie and iPhoto.]**

7. Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is very easy to operate and manipulate and can import and export MP3 files, edit them, mix them together, or cut and paste them for a new effect. By far the best of the sound tools.

Web Based Tools:

1. Bubbleshare http://www.bubbleshare.com/
Create from uploaded images, clip art library, records 30 second audio/video captions for each image. Overlay comic bubbles with text. Code to embed in blogs, web site. Options to have prints made as books, posters.

2. Joggle http://www.joggle.com/
Upload images or search/upload flickr or Google for images by tag. Create Slideshows with transitions and attach background audio. Share via email, embed code.

3. ImageLoop http://www.imageloop.com/
Upload images from computer or flickr or upload PowerPoint files. Select from animated templates. Publish to blog or MySpace. RSS, comments.

4. One True Media http://www.onetruemedia.com/
"...effortlessly combine photos and video clips with words and music to personalize your story. Quickly share with our Online Slideshow or get as creative as you want with our Video Montage." Upload images and audio for story track. Embed in blogs or directly post to YouTube/Google video, mySpace, Google Groups. Great template choices.

5. SlideFlickr http://slideflickr.com/
"SlideFlickr will help you create and embed Flickr slideshows in less than 10 seconds" for putting slideshows in your own site. Generate from flickr users, sets, groups, tags. Attach audio via mp3 url. Embed in blogs, web sites, facebook.

5A. Voice Thread [|http://voicethread.com/#home]
A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds [|images, documents, and videos] and allows people to leave [|comments in 5 ways] - using voice (with a mic or phone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). [|Share] a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.

6. Dandelife [|http://dandelife.com]
Generate a timeline of any kind of event in your life, write as blog-like entry, apply tags, attach images, videos, bookmarks form other web service sites. Not the easiest tool to use!

7. OurStory http://www.ourstory.com/
Write a 'story' which is what happened on a date in time, add pictures, video, and OurSotry creates a timeline. Imports flickr photos.

8. xtimeline http://xtimeline.com/
Powerful and well designed timeline. Attach images or embed media to any entry, provide source info (for historical timelines?), tags. Can import data from Excel/CSV files.

Mixer Tools
Weave uploaded or flickr imported images into a media presentation with multiple voices. Record audio, video, or add text or drawn annotations. Others can add video, audio, and text comments as well.
 * 9. ** **Voice Threads** **[|http://voicethread.com]**

10. VUVOX http://www.vuvox.com/
"turn your photos, video and music into professional quality presentations that can be easily shared with friends and family. " search images in flickr, google, upluad youtube video, embed code (see [|MasterNewmedia review]).

11. VUVOX Collage http://www.vuvox.com/collage
Collage provides a rich interface for creating highly visual presentations along scrolling horizontal strip, with imported pictures, audio, and video plus tools for creating hotspot links to web sites or to open other slideshows (note currently in private beta).

12. ComicsSketch http://www.mainada.net/comics/
A tool for people who can actually draw! Create all content via pen and color tools.

13. Toondoo [|http://www.toondo.com]
Create your own 1, 2, or 3 panel cartoons using a library of cartoons, text bubbles. Images can be uploaded and manipulated with simple tools. Created "doos" can be combined into "ToonBooks", embedded in blogs, etc. A lot of versatility.

14. Kerpoof http://www.kerpoof.com/
A fun to use cartoon tools with stock shapes and character bubbles. No import of media, no audio, no ability to create links or embed code.

15. Comiqs http://comiqs.com/
Turn photos, "doodles", and text into a multipane comic strip. Import photos from flickr or upload from desktop. Add bubbles, text.

15A. ComicCreator from ReadWriteThink [|http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/]
The //Comic Creator// is an interactive tool that invites students to compose their own //comic// strips for a variety of contexts.

15B. Make Beliefs Comix [|http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/]
Make your own //comics// online with MakeBeliefsComix.com!

15C. Strip Creator [|http://www.stripcreator.com/make.php]
Strip Creator, is used in classrooms to create strips quickly.

15D. Piki Kids [|http://www.pikikids.com/]
Another comic creator tool online.

16. Tabblo http://www.tabblo.com/
an application to put together photos and words with styled templates into a visual collage, also creates slideshows, permissions for views, import form flickr, print services (posters etc)

17. Scrapblog http://www.scrapblog.com/
Create multipage collections of photos (import from 5 photo sites), decoration "stickies", videos from Youtube, and publish to several blog sites.

18. Flickr Tell a Story in 5 Frames http://flickr.com/groups/visualstory/
"Tell a Story in 5 Frames has two important parts. The first part is creating and telling a story through visual means with only a title to help guide the interpretation. The second part is the response of the group to the visual story."

19. Flickr Six Word Story http://www.flickr.com/groups/sixwordstory/
is "a photo with a Six Word Story in the title section of a Flickr photo. Be as inventive as possible. Have those few words tell the whole tale, and let the picture be its visual interpretation."

20. Pictures with Stories Flickr Group http://www.flickr.com/groups/stories/
"Your photograph must be accompanied by a story. The story must be at least five sentences long and MUST be true - no poems or fiction please. Tell us something about your photograph, why you took it, the story behind the photograph." This is a loose fit in the 50s as it is more aimed at sharing te thoughts behind a picture.

21. Fix Picture http://www.fixpicture.org/
It's the fastest way to resize and convert your pictures and images. You can apply rotation, and some effects like greyscale, sepia, blur, ... It's so simple, select your picture file, choose some process to apply, click on OK, and you'll be able to save the picture on your computer. Support all popular picture file formats (jpeg, tiff, png, gif, bmp, tga, ...) and camera RAW formats (crw, nef, raf, cr2, dng, ...). More than 400 formats supported.

22. SumoPaint [|http://www.sumopaint.com/]
Sumopaint is a free image editing software that gives you the opportunity to create, open and edit images online. The final image can be saved to your account online or to your local computer.

23. Pic Juice [|http://www.picjuice.com/]
With picjuice you can easily edit your photos: resize, crop, rotate, flip and adjust contrast and color levels. After you have finished, click on the "Save" icon to download your photo.

24. Adobe Photoshop Express [|https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html]
At Photoshop Express you can quickly and easily accentuate your photos with easy-to-use options for resizing, cropping, sharpening, and more. Make your photos pop with fun, eye-catching effects and enhancements. Then share your photos in My Gallery, where you can create customized photo displays, or upload them to your Facebook page, blog, or anywhere else online.

25. Rsizr [|http://rsizr.com/]
Rsizr is a Flash application that lets you resize JPG, PNG, and GIF images on your computer. With rsizr, in addition to normal image rescaling and cropping, you can also resize images using a new image resizing algorithm called seam carving that tries to keep intact areas in your image that are richer in detail.

26. FotoFlexer http://fotoflexer.com/
FotoFlexer is one of the most advanced online digital photo editor. It performs advanced effects previously only available to professionals using expensive software. FotoFlexer integrates with leading photo sites and social networks. Import and export photos with ease.

27. Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is very easy to operate and manipulate and can import and export MP3 files, edit them, mix them together, or cut and paste them for a new effect. By far the best of the sound tools.

28. Podcast People http://podcastpeople.com/
This is more of a tool to create podcasts including audio, video content as well as traditional "blog" posts. It could be used to serialize a story into small segments.

29. Blabberize http://www.blabberize.com/
Rather simple and crude, but can be effective! Upload a picture of a frontal view of a face, mark the key points of the mouth, and record the audio. It creates a simple animation of the mount moving to the sound of the voice.

30. Jamendo http://www.jamendo.com/en/
A website for creative commons music. Searching for places to send my students to get music. The big problem is that there is no guarantee there won't be profanity in the music. Listen to the music first before letting students use it.

31. Soundsnap http://www.soundsnap.com/
Sound effects and music for free - but your work must be creative commons and you must share it!

32. FreeSound http://www.freesound.org/
Sound effects for use in digital stories and podcasts.

33. Jumpcut http://www.jumpcut.com/
A powerful video editor, almost like iMovie in a web page. Import images form flickr/facebook, upload video/audio, apply transitions, titles, effects. Pretty close to iMovie in a browser but not viable for longer videos.

34. eyespot http://eyespot.com/
Offers a timeline editor to mix (and remix) media including images, videos, and audio. Includes titling, special effect, transitions, but audio is background, cannot by synced to images.

35. BubblePLY http://www.bubbleply.com/
Load a video form any URL (e.g. YouTube, Blip.tv) and then annotate with text "bubbles"

36. Animoto http://animoto.com/
This tool analyzes an uploaded set of images and creates a "professional" music video based on a secret artificial intelligence logic. Very easy to create elegant picture shows.

37. JayCut http://jaycut.com/
Powerful features! Import photos, audio, video, and make a movie on a multi-track timeline plus transitions and effects

38. Empressr http://www.empressr.com/
Interface allows import of images, video, text overlays, etc.

39. Spresent http://www.spresent.com/
Offers a PowerPoint like editor all in a web site. Import images (desktop, flickr), upload a PPT, movies from YouTube, audio via URL, use templates, etc. Audio can be synced to slides.

40. Thumbstacks http://www.thumbstacks.com/
Create simple, PowerPoint-like presentations with simple templates, imports photos from flickr. Very buggy.

41. Slideshare / Slidecasts [|http://www.slideshare.net]
It's YouTube for PowerPoint. Upload Powerpoint/Keynote/PDF content and converts to Flash easily embedded in other web sites. Provide a URL for an audio track, and you can sync it to create an audio narrated "slidecast"

42. Zoho Show http://show.zoho.com/
Part of the Zoho suite of online productivity tools, Zoho Show provides a clean PowerPoint like interface for creating slide shows. Or you can directly import a PPT file (< 10 Mb) and publish without any extra work.

43. MyPlick http://myplick.com/
Upload a presentation file (PPT or PDF) and an audio file, use the sync tools, and create an audio narrated slideshow / presentation. One of the best interfaces for syncing audio to slides.

44. Comeeko http://www.comeeko.com/
Comeeko lets you take your photos and put them into nice photo strips. Create your own photo strips and share them online.Photo strips are your photos made into comic strips.

45. Scrapblog http://www.scrapblog.com/
If you love sharing photos, you'll love Scrapblog. With Scrapblog, you can easily create stunning multimedia scrapbooks featuring your photos, videos, audio and a bunch of creative elements. We made Scrapblog drag-and-drop-easy so that everyone can tell their stories and share them online or turn them into high-quality photo books and DVDs. Best of all, it's free and there's nothing to download.

46. LifeHaps [|http://www.lifehaps.com/#]
Lifehaps allows you to organize all the important events in your life over a timeline. Then you can share it with friends, or just keep it private to yourself and family.