Web 2.0 Applications for Educators

Tired of the same old software on your computer? Think beyond powerpoint, and check out these great Web 2.0 applications. NOTE: included description of most sites is from the site itself.

Audio, Photo and Video Resources

• Yotophoto is the first internet search engine for finding free-to-use photographs and images. Now indexing over a quarter million Creative Commons, Public Domain, GNU FDL, and various other ‘copyleft’ images.
• everystockphoto.com is a search engine for creative commons photos, located in Vancouver, BC. We aim to be a community for designers, developers, photographers and other media publishers who want better, easier access to license-specific media on the web.
• Edit pictures online with Pixoh
• Google SketchUp is a simple but powerful tool for quickly and easily creating, viewing and modifying your 3D ideas.
• YackPack allows you to create online voice messages (“yacks”) and share those messages with private or public groups (“packs”)
• Video Resources, Reviewed by DEN member dalebasler
  

Office Productivity

• Free Web Office Suite at gOffice.com
• With Writely (now owned by Google) you can share documents instantly & collaborate real-time. Pick exactly who can access your documents, Edit your documents from anywhere, Store your documents securely online.
• Create your own fonts!
• Free Online storage, Free File Back up, Free File sharing with Orbitfiles.com

Collaborations

• Over 150,000 people use Backpack to… Organize to do lists, notes, images, and photos, Plan a personal or business trip, Keep track of what your competitors are doing, Plan a home improvement project, Collaborate on a new business idea, Keep track of houses you’re considering buying, Gather information for a research project, Keep a list of gift ideas for friends, Build a For Sale page, Organize and plan a wedding or event, etc.
• Basecamp is a unique project collaboration tool. Projects don’t fail from a lack of charts, graphs, or reports – they fail from a lack of communication and collaboration. Basecamp makes it simple to communicate and collaborate on projects. It’s elegant, easy, and web-based. You don’t need to download, install, or configure anything (no IT department required!). All you need is a web browser and an internet connection.
• Elgg is a new breed of learning environment based around choice, flexibility and openness: a Personal Learning Landscape that firmly places individuals at the centre of their learning. With the freedom to incorporate all of your favorite tools within one environment, Elgg allows you to showcase your best work with as many or as few people as you choose.