Useful Tech Tools

10 TOOLS FOR CREATING INFOGRAPHICS AND VISUALIZATIONS
https://moz.com/blog/10-tools-for-creating-infographics-visualizations
This blog article provides a list of tools that can be used to create visualizations and infographics.

AI TECHNOLOGY FOR MAKING MUSIC AND SOUND
https://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2023/01/31/exploring-aspects-of-ai-music-generation/
In this blog article Kevin Hodgson reviews some AI sites he has explored.  Many of Kevin's blog articles share useful tools for teaching, learning and creating.

AI TECH TOOLS LIST
https://supertools.therundown.ai/
This site provides a huge list of AI resources".  Take a look. 


AI TOOLS FOR EDUCATORS, STUDENTS, AND THE REST OF US
Control Alt Achieve - https://www.controlaltachieve.com/search/label/artificial%20intelligence
AI for educators - Larry Ferlazzo's blog - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/category/ai/
Claude - a family of AI models - https://www.anthropic.com/claude
These are blogs that are aggregating links to AI tools that can be used by any of us.


ALTERNATIVES TO SKYPE - 2020 INFO
https://www.onmsft.com/feature/teams-zoom-slack-and-more-these-are-the-top-teleconference-solutions-to-consider-in-the-wake-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak
Many are looking for free alternatives to Skype. This article points to a few.

20 FREE TOOLS FOR NONPROFITS DURING COVID-19 (AND BEYOND)
https://www.soapboxengage.com/blog/1893-free-tools-for-nonprofits
This articvle shows some of the best free or inexpensive software available to help fundraisers and development professionals.

ANTHONY MOSER'S LIST OF PUBLIC DATA TOOLS
http://publicdatatools.com/
This is a list of resources that can be used to build dashboards and make public data more available. Focus is on Chicago.  

APPS AND TECH TOOLS FOR NONPROFITS
https://www.nptechforgood.com/2021/06/29/74-free-or-low-cost-tools-and-resources-for-nonprofits/
This list on the NonProfit Tech for Good site offers a number of low-cost or free apps and online tools available to nonprofits. The web page says "Provided you set aside the time to explore and experiment, your nonprofit can use the apps and tools listed below to significantly improve your web, email, social media, and visual content.

ARCHIVE TWEETS, AROUND A SEARCH TERM OR HASHTAG
https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/save-that-hashtag-twitter-recorder
This article provides some tips and suggested tools to archive Twitter tweets focused on specific searches or #hashtags. Seems  useful

BUNCEE - A CREATIVE AND PRESENTATION TOOL FOR TEACHERS
https://app.edu.buncee.com/
Here's how Buncee is described on their web site: "A creation and presentation tool for students and educators to create interactive classroom content, allowing learners of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively." This link points to a page showing projects completed by students using Buncee. 

CALAMEO - DOCUMENT PUBLISHING
https://en.calameo.com/features
Calaméo is an online document publishing company. Visit this link to see the range of services they offer.

CAMSTUDIO- FREE SCREEN CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY
https://camstudio.org/
From the web site:  "CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)"   Note: Tutor/Mentor Connection has used this to create videos explaining information we share.  

COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY TOOLS - WIKI LIST OF BRIAN G. DOWLING
http://newcommunityparadigms.pbworks.com/w/page/44762412/Community%20Tech%20Tools
Brian's been keeping a list of  useful technology on his wiki for many years. Take some time to brows the list and see if any will be useful t you in your work.

LEARNING & TEACHING RESOURCES FROM BLACKBOARD
https://www.blackboard.com/teaching-learning
From the web site:  "Blackboard’s mission is to advance learning with the world's education community, so that all learners, educators and institutions can realize their goals today and prepare for tomorrow."

CREATE E-BOOKS FROM BLOG ARTICLES, PDFS, ETC.
https://designrr.io/
If you write a lot of blog articles and have wanted to format them into pdfs and other types of publications this is a tool you might use. It does have a monthly fee.  

DIGITAL ARTIFACT TOOLS - COMPILED THROUGH ETMOOC 2013
https://gatherwithpurpose.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/digital-artifact-tools/
The Gather with Purpose blog has created an extensive list of tools that can be used for digital story telling and digital learning.

DIGITAL CAMERAS - EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW
http://www.jeffcurto.com/digital/index.html
From the web site: "For many consumers, though, the range of choices in today's camera market is so large that making an informed decision about what camera to buy is often difficult. Combine that with the impact of having to learn new terminology and new technology and moving to digital photography can look like a daunting task."  This page is intended to give you some resources to help you make informed choices both before and after you buy a camera. 

DIGITAL STORY TELLING RESOURCES AND SCRATCH ANIMATION
http://shegstrom.blogspot.com/2013/02/digital-storytelling-resources-and.html
This blog article points to several applications that can be used to create digital stories. 

DOODLE - ELIMINATES THE CHAOS OF SCHEDULING
https://doodle.com/en/
From the web site: "Doodle radically simplifies the process of scheduling events, whether they’re board or team meetings, dinners with friends, reunions, weekend trips, or anything else."

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS - BUCKET LIST - 2013 ARTICLE
http://cyber-kap.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-bucket-list.html
On this 2013 blog article,  David Kapuler has an extensive list of education technology tools.

FEDICA - MAP TWITTER NETWORK
https://fedica.com/blog/tweepsmap-rebrands-as-fedica/
This used to be "Tweetsmap".  It has re-branded and expanded its analytics to include Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon.  From the web site: "With these capabilities, you're able to measure your engagement insights from X, Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon."

FEEDLY - RSS READER
https://feedly.com/i/welcome
This site helps you aggregate articles and videos from various sources all on one page.

FLIPSNACK - ONLINE FLIPPING BOOK SOFTWARE
https://www.flipsnack.com/
From the web site: "FlipSnack is an online flipping book software that allows you to convert PDF documents into Flash page flip digital publications." Getting started is Free. 

FOTOJET - TURN YOUR PHOTOS INTO ART (FREE)
https://www.fotojet.com/
FotoJet offers "an all-in-one free online tool for photo editing, graphic design and photo collages."

FREE COURSES TO LEARN HOW TO USE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA
https://techboomers.com/
From the web site: "TechBoomers offers free articles that teach people how to use technology to make their lives easier (and more fun!)." Browse the site to see all that they offer.

FREE AND EASY-TO-USE STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY RESOURCE SITE PLUS "HOW TO" START A NON-PROFIT, AN LLC, ETC.
https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/findaphoto/
If you're creating a presentation and want to find free graphics, this site looks like a useful resource.  Furthermore, the site has many "how to" pages, such as "how to start a non profit", "how to start a LLC", etc.  

GEPHI - VISUALIZATION PLATFORM
https://gephi.org/
From the web site: "Gephi is the leading visualization and exploration software for all kinds of graphs and networks. Gephi is open-source and free. Runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Note: in 2020 I'm seeing many using Gephi with NodeXL, to create network visualizations. Follow them on Twitter.

GLITCH - HELPS EVERYONE BUILD WEB PAGES
https://glitch.com/
From the web site: "Glitch is a simple tool for making web aps. It's a community. It's a company that aims to push the tech world to do better."

GLOGSTER.COM - CREATE ONLINE POSTERS, OR "GLOGS"
https://edu.glogster.com/
From the web site:  "Glogster is a cloud-based (SaaS) platform for presentation and interactive learning. It allows users to mix all kinds of media on a virtual canvas to create multimedia posters, and access a library of engaging educational content created by students and educators worldwide. Glogster encourages interactive, collaborative education and digital literacy."

GOOGLE TRANSLATOR - CONVERTS CONVERSATION FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER
https://translate.google.com/?hl=en#
This is one of the most useful tools I've discovered. Type in your message in your own language and you can have it immediately translated to another language.

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR TWITTER BACKGROUND
https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/how-to-make-a-twitter-background/
If you want to create a new Twitter background this article provides "how to" steps to follow.

INSIGHT MAKER - COMMUNICATE IDEAS VISUALLY
https://insightmaker.com/
From the web site: "Insight Maker lets you express your thoughts using rich pictures and causal loop diagrams. It then lets you turn these diagrams into powerful simulation models. All this happens right in your browser, for free. No download needed, just sign up for a free account and get started now."  Here's a video showing updates to the Insight Maker site for 2023 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGXfV691QfQ

KNOW YOUR IP ADDRESS
https://www.whatismyip.com/ip-address-lookup/
From the web site: "WhatIsMyIP.com® is the industry leader in providing IP address information. We provide IP address tools that allow users to perform an Internet Speed Test, IP address lookup, proxy detection, IP Whois Lookup, and more."

LEARN ABOUT VIRTUAL WHITEBOARDING AND HOW IT'S A TOOL TO SUPPORT REMOTE TEAMS
https://www.kumospace.com/blog/virtual-whiteboarding
This is a blog article showing ways to use virtual whiteboards for visual thinking, collaborative learning, brainstorming, feedback, etc.  There's a free version for small teams. 

MAP A LIST - VISUALIZE YOUR INFORMATION ON GOOGLE MAP
https://mapalist.com/
This site offers "a wizard for creating and managing customized Google maps of address lists". Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC started using the FREE version in 2016 to create a  map showing tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago region. In 2020 the site started charging a monthly fee. We still use it. 

MAP YOUR TWITTER OR FACEBOOK NETWORK - USING NODE XL
https://www.smrfoundation.org/
From the website: “A growing number of academics, market strategists and social media managers from around the world make use of this easy-to-handle tool.  You can, too! If you can make a pie chart, you can now make a network map!“


MIRO - ONLINE WHITEBOARD FOR VISUAL COLLABORATION AND IMAGINING THE FUTURE
https://miro.com/
The site describes itself as "A whiteboard, but better. Where teams get work done. Together, online."  There's a free version that that help organizations to understand the critical emerging issues impacting their sector, and to develop viable and powerful new visions and pathways. It's a new (2020) product. Jump in and bring your friends. 

PADLET - CREATE AND COLLABORATE WITH THE WORLD
https://padlet.com/
This application enables one to create on-ling bulletin boards for idea sharing, brainstorming, making list, keep notes, plan events, etc. Take a look.  This is an example of the application in use: http://padlet.com/wall/etmoocstory

PIXABAY - FREE IMAGES AND VIDEOS YOU CAN USE ANYWHERE
https://pixabay.com/
This web site has a library of images that can be freely used in blogs, web sites, letters, etc.

PIXLR - FREE IMAGE EDITING TOOLS
https://pixlr.com/editor/
Includes free web-based photo editor makes editing photos easy.

REAL-TIME POLLING TOOLS - A LIST OF RESOURCES
https://impedagogy.com/wp/blog/2020/07/31/online-interact/
This link points to a blog article of Terry Elliott, a college professor in Kentucky. There has used Wakelet to aggregate a list of polling tools that anyone could use to create a shared  understanding among people in a classroom or remote conversation.  He even invites people to add to his list.

RECLIPPED- HIGHLIGHT ONLINE VIDEOS TO SHARE
https://www.reclipped.com/
This looks like a useful tool. Web site says "Annotate, collect, and share parts of online videos  Share anywhere, LEGALLY. No downloading or screen-recording involved."

RSS FEED READERS HELP YOU KEEP UP WITH YOUR NEWS FEEDS - TOP FIVE (2024)
https://www.theverge.com/24036427/rss-feed-reader-best
This article explains what a RSS Feed Reader is and lists five sites, with a description of the free and paid versions for each.  The Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC uses Inoreader.com 

SCRATCH - HELPS CREATE STORIES, ANIMATION, ETC.
https://scratch.mit.edu/about
From the web site: "With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share your creations with others in the online community. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century.  Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is provided free of charge."

SCREEN RECORDING AND SCREEN CAPTURE SOFTWARE- TECH SMITH
https://www.techsmith.com/
From the web site: "TechSmith has helped millions of first-time digital content creators create and share images and videos across corporate and academic settings. Learn how to incorporate screenshots and screen recordings into your communication workflows so you can maintain business and academic continuity.”

SCRIBBLAR - ON-LINE COLLABORATION TOOL
https://www.scribblar.com/
Scribblar is a browser based whiteboard and collaboration platform. Looks like you need to sign  up for an account and log in to learn what it's offering and how to use it.

SOCIAL VIZ - MAP YOUR TWITTER NETWORK
https://socioviz.net/
You can map your Twitter  (x) network using this tool, but the free version is very limited. Set up a free account and see if it works for you.

TAGS EXPLORER - NETWORK ANALYSIS "HOW TO" ARTICLE
https://hawksey.info/blog/2011/11/twitter-how-to-archive-event-hashtags-and-visualize-conversation/
This article shows "How to archive Twitter event hashtags and create an interactive visualization of the conversation."

TECHNOLOGY LEARNING TOOLS LIST - CREATED BY CLMOOC - 2 022 update
click here
The Making Learning Connected MOOC at http://clmooc.educatorinnovator.org/2014/ has nearly 1000 participants. This Google doc is a list of tech tools that members have shared.

TELL A STORY USING STORY MAPS
https://storymap.knightlab.com/
From the web site: "StoryMapJS is a free tool to help you tell stories on the web that highlight the locations of a series of events." 
Here's a story created using StoryMap.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/36b2e13a657d0dff7d3ca18e1dd0dac1/curiouscolab/index.html

TEXT ANIMATION TOOL - EASY TO USE
https://textanim.com/
This site is a fun, easy tool that can be used to animate short text phrases. Put in your organization name, Twitter handle, etc. and create an image you can share on social media.

THE FABULOUS REMIXER MACHINE - A VISUAL VOICE
https://remixer.visualthinkery.com/a/toptrump
Here's a cool tool to use to create visuals for your blogs, Tweets and FB posts. The intro says, "The Remixer Machine is a web app that aims to provide people with a visual voice, especially to those who might not consider themselves “arty” - or who don’t have the graphical tools to create. It uses an SVG template that allows certain parts of the SVG to be modified. SVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics) describe an image by using markup language. This means that they provide the ability for someone to very simply change a discrete part of the image. In short, they provide the perfect scaffold for visual remixing."  The link points to a collection of cards created using the app. 

USE #TAGS TO UNDERSTAND TWITTER INTERACTIONS
https://tags.hawksey.info/
From the web site: "TAGS is a free Google Sheet template which lets you setup and run automated collection of search results from Twitter."

USER VOICE - CUSTOMER FEEDBACK TOOL
https://uservoice.com/
From the web site: "Product management has always been more art than science, and we’re here to change that by transforming how companies gather and analyze product feedback. We automate the collection and management of product feedback and enrich it with quantitative customer data. By bringing science to the art of listening, we’re helping product managers prioritize feature requests to drive strategic product decisions."

VIDEOSCRIBE - CREATE WHITEBOARD-STYLE ANIMATED VIDEOS
https://www.videoscribe.co/en/?utm_source=Sparkol&utm_campaign=menu-link&utm_content=vs_homepage
From the web site: "Create your own Stunning, high-definition, whiteboard-style animation videos with no design or technical know-how."

WAKELET – USE TO ARCHIVE TWITTER #CHATS
https://wakelet.com/wake/170671fc-aa3a-4c93-9197-d12fafb1f511
This link points to posts I've made on Twitter, using hashtag #tutor #mentor #learning. I used the Wakelet tool to do this. If you have used Storify in pre 2018 archives, this serves as a replacement. In this blog article you can see other uses for Wakelet. https://impedagogy.com/wp/blog/2021/10/11/minimum-viable-university-universal-universities-collaborative-shared-public-private/

WRITE A LETTER TO YOURSELF, TO BE DELIVERED A YEAR FROM NOW
https://www.futureme.org/
The "FutureMe" web page opens to an email form, which you can fill in to send yourself an email that will be delivered to your in box in one year. What would you write now that you want to read a year from now? Try it.  It's free, but the site seeks a small donation once you verify the email. 

ZAHMOO, TOOL FOR DIGITAL STORY TELLING
http://www.zahmoo.com/
From the web site: "Before Zahmoo, stories remained in our heads or were stored in a variety of documents and spreadsheets on any number of computers. Finding a story was virtually impossible. Zahmoo stores all your stories centrally so you can find and use a story when you want. It’s password protected and is super easy to use."

 
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