I decided to give a brief synopsis of several tools, how I would use them, if I liked or disliked the tool. I thought having all of these wonderful tools in one place could be beneficial later. It was a lot of fun exploring and playing on these sites. Hope you find several that will be helpful to you.
Sticky notes used on a “bulletin board” where people can post comments to a general question you pose. I can see how this could be used at a professional development with teachers posting their answers or questions to the topic addressed. You can see the one I created at
Wordle was fun! You type in a bunch of words and it puts them into a colorful collage. I can see this being used for vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, general information regarding a topic covered to see how much was learned and retained, review of terms studied, etc. In our class we play a game called “Splat” where there are a lot of words on the board and the students come up two at a time and use fly swatters to “splat” the word/answer based on the clue given by the teacher. This would make for a great game of Splat. One problem I had was that when I typed in a name it separated the first and last name instead of leaving them together.
Time Toast was a neat idea. It allows you to enter information so that it can be put into word bubbles and placed on a timeline. I wasn’t super impressed with Time Toast. I would like to customize the dates on the timeline a little more so that date bubbles could be space further apart.
Quizlet is a site that allows you to make virtual flashcards for a subject. The basic format is that you need to be able to enter a word and definition. Once you enter in the words and definitions the site quizzes you using a variety of test questions and games. It gives feedback on what you answered correctly and what you got wrong. It is a little time consuming at first to enter in all the information. Another good aspect is that you can share your flashcards with friends for their use, as well.
Dumpr was a fun site where you can choose a visual effect like – pencil sketch, rubix cube, billboard, etc. and then upload your own picture to be shown in that effect. I can see how the kids would get a kick out of using their photo and customizing it using one of the effects. It could then be used for a creative writing assignment. I did not like being redirected several times and having to get back to the main page over and over.
Glogster is an online multimedia poster. I have to say I got chills when I saw this and started learning more about what it is. Students can make a glogster to post on a website, wiki, class blog, etc. Students can use glogster to make posters about a topic being studied, as a class display project of choice, or as a star student presentation (instead of using a traditional display posterboard).
MixBook is a site where you can take your photos and use them to create a photo book. There are editing tools available as well as backgrounds, texts, and stickers. This seems similar to some other photo book sites (i.e. Shutterfly), but it seems a little more complex with more ability to customize. Books can be made and shared online or purchased in hardcopy. I can see my students putting together a book with pictures and text from a fieldtrip.
Blabberize is a cute idea. You upload a picture and make it talk by recording a voice and setting where the mouth would be to open and close on the picture. It was a little tricky to work with. I had a problem with the exact location of the mouth placement. The kids would get a kick out of it when seeing the animal or selected image talk and/or creating one themselves. Their image could make a class presentation for them. Not sure of how long you can record, so that would be something to look at.
I love the look of pikistrips. You load your photos in a type of comic strip format and type the text into the white comic bubbles. It’s a great visual and I think students would really have fun putting these together to share. If you use one of the photo sites to make your pictures look like a drawing, you have a double comic strip effect.
This was another fun site that allows you to upload a picture and edit it to change effects, add borders and frames, add text, and add other “goodies” to your photo. I enjoyed playing with my pictures and can see how students would like using it too. Pictures can then be saved and used and inserted in other creations.
Toon Doo allows you to create cartoon figures that can be used in pages or even in a book you can create. You can also upload pics and add toon features to it. Another fun site, but this is another one that you have to create a username and password to sign in each time. So if you have not already signed in to a ton of other sites, this may be one you’d like to explore.
Gliffy is a site where you can create charts – flow charts, venn diagrams, SWOT, floorplans, etc. You can use templates that have already been created or you can choose a blank page and add your own word bubbles, arrows, etc. It’s a good site for helping organize, but I feel that it is not too much different from how we use Inspiration. It seems like a good site to be used for high school or college age students.
I use Picnik all the time to edit my photos. There is no need to sign in. You can upload a photo and use the editing tools available to crop, add effects, add texts, borders, etc. I am familiar with this editing site, but even when I first discovered it, I felt that it was a site that was very easy to use. Students could use it like the other editing sites to work on pictures that could then be saved to use in other settings and projects.
