ALA+Best+Websites+for+Teaching+&+Learning

Taken from the AASL's Top 25 Websites for 2011 

=Best Websites for Teaching and Learning 2011=

Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning
The "Top 25" Websites foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.


 * * Media Sharing
 * Digital Storytelling
 * Manage and Organize
 * Social Networking and Communication
 * Content Collaboration
 * Curriculum Sharing
 * Content Resources: Lesson Plans and More || [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/bestlist/BLMedal11_150.png caption="Best Websites Medal 2011"]] ||

Media Sharing

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**

**Tagxedo**
 * **3.1.4** Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and und understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.
 * **3.3.4** Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context

Dazzle your project with these word clouds. Choose a picture or shape, then add your words and voila, a visually enticing display. Tagxedo can be used to demonstrate speeches, animal reports, or anything else you can imagine.

**Kerpoof**

Explore, create, and design at Kerpoof. Make a picture, a movie, a drawing or a card by selecting a background and then dragging and dropping your selected additions. There’s a host of activities that you can do at Kerpoof. **Aviary**

Create logos, web templates, screen captures, edit your photos and more at Aviary. This site is full of online creation tools, get ready to explore and create with these applications that can be used with your web browser. **Nota**

Connect, collaborate, and co-create in real time! Nota, a dynamic whiteboard wiki, allows multiple users to write and integrate text, paste photos and maps, add video and audio to make brainstorms, presentations, and scrapbooks in a snap.

Digital Storytelling
**PicLits**
 * //Standards for the 21st Century Learner//**
 * **4.1.7** Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information.
 * **4.1.8** Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.
 * **4.3.1** Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then let this site provide the picture to inspire your words. Choose a picture from the gallery, and add text. Word choices are available or use your own. There is also an introduction to writing poetry using this tool. **Zooburst**

Add a new dimension to storytelling, reports, and presentations with ZooBurst’s digital 3-D tool. In this safe and protected space, students create and customize pop-up stories; add their own voice to characters, upload artwork or items from a built-in database of over 10,000 free images and materials. **Myths and Legends**

A site for those who enjoy stories and storytelling. Read digital myths, folktales and legends about the British Isles. Students and teachers can add to the stories and there are thousands of stories to choose from.

Manage and Organize

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**

**Spicy Nodes**
 * **2.1.2** Organize knowledge so that it is useful.
 * **2.1.4** Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.
 * **3.1.4** Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.

Spicy Nodes is a concept map presentation tool that allows the users to link and embed pictures, websites, and more into the overall presentation. Easy to use and fun to show, Spicy Nodes is whole new way to present your information. **Conduit**

Enhance your online presence with a toolbar and/or apps. This intuitive website makes it easy and fun to create innovative ways to expand access to your materials from anywhere and on any device. **Symbaloo**

Customize your own online start page with Symbaloo. Organize and access favorite links and pages easily and quickly. Symbaloo is now offering SymbalooEDU, a visual bookmarking tool that allows teachers and students to curate, organize and share the best of the web. **iCyte**

Save all of your websites with iCyte. This Web 2.0 tool will keep all of your sites just as you found them. This is a research management tool that lets you save and annotate entire websites. It doesn't just bookmark, but lets you annotate parts of websites for your citations.

Social Networking and Communication
**3G Vision i-nigma**
 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * **3.1.2** Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.
 * **4.1.7** Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information.
 * **4.3.1** Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

i-nigma lets users create Quick Response barcodes that will link users to website links, encoded messages, contact information, or text messages. i-nigma also has a QR reader that users can download for their computer, i-pad or mobile device. i-nigma can be used by 400 different devices to read QR barcodes. **Microsoft Tag**

Create and scan Microsoft Tags from this site. Users can edit tags, create categories, view reports on the usage and statistics of each tag. Similar to QR barcodes, Microsoft created their own tag. Download the reader for mobile devices from this site as well. **You Are What you Read**

What five books have shaped your life? Who does your textual lineage connect you to? You Are What You Read brings readers together connecting Bookprints from around the world. Share your books, connect with other readers, build relationships through what you read. With this site you are what you read. **Edmodo**

Edmodo is a secure social learning network for teachers and students. Edmodo gives libraries and classrooms a safe and easy place online to connect and collaborate, offering a location to share ideas and content, as well as access homework, grades and school notices.

Content Collaboration
**Dipity**
 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * **1.3.4** Contribute to the exchange of ideas within a learning community.
 * **3.1.2** Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.

Dipity lets students and teachers create free interactive timelines. Dipity's mission is to organize the internet's data by date and time. Users can create their timelines and link video, images, audio, social media, and more. Creating timelines has never been more engaging or fun. **Edistorm**

Edistorm takes away the idea of sticky notes on a wall and makes it virtual. Brainstorm, think out ideas alone or with friends; plan out anything you like with Edistorm. Use virtual sticky notes in Edistorm to come up with a multitude of ideas all on one site. **iEARN**

Be a part of the network and join the global community! Through International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) and an Internet connection, students and teachers from over 130 countries can transcend linguistic, national, political, religious, and social borders to collaborate on meaningful educational projects in hopes of making a difference in the health and welfare of people and our planet.

Curriculum Sharing
**Yolink Education**
 * //Standards for the 21st Century Learner//**
 * **2.4.4** Develop directions for future investigations.
 * **3.1.4** Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.
 * **4.3.1** Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

Bring research into the 21st Century with Yolink Education by efficiently mining websites for information and enhancing the search experiences; cite resources seamlessly with Easybib; take notes and share with Google Docs. **Khan Academy**

This popular fast growing math library provides thousands of videos with alternative, engaging instruction in math, finance, and history. Constantly expanding and improving, this is a rich resource for instruction and learning. **Geocube**

Geocube calls itself the world of Geography at your fingertips. Geocube is based on the principle of the Rubiks Cube with six faces and 54 topics. Move the Geocube around with your mouse and explore the faces and topics. Learning about Geography has rarely been more fun.

Content Resources: Lesson Plans and More
**Lingt Language**
 * //Standards for 21st Century Learners//**
 * **2.1.4** Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.
 * **2.4.4** Develop directions for future investigations.
 * **3.1.2** Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.

Get your students speaking, in another language. Lingt Language allows students to practice their foreign language skills online by allowing teachers to build assignments online that use voice, video, images, and text with the Lingt online editor. Students can then interact with the assignments and respond. **Digital Vaults**

Photos, documents, and popular media from the National Archives provide resources and interactive opportunities for users to access materials on endless U.S. historical topics and themes. The user can then organize the resources in any number of ways to relate to our country's history and tell a story. **cK-12 FlexBooks**

CK-12 Flexbooks is an organization with the plan to reduce the cost of textbooks for the K-12 market in the U.S. and worldwide. Using an open-content, web-based collaborative model CK-12 plans to lead the way in the distribution of high quality educational content through online textbooks. **Exploratorium**

Dive into a unique exploration of science, art, and human perception in the Exploratorium. Watch, view, experience, learn and play using hundreds of web pages and activities. Take a gross-out walk, dissect a cow's eye, make your own petroglyph...the choices are endless.

=Best Websites for Teaching and Learning 2010=

2010
The "Top 25" Websites foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.
 * Media Sharing
 * Digital Storytelling
 * Manage and Organize
 * Social Networking and Communication
 * Curriculum Sharing
 * Content Resources: Lesson Plans and More
 * Content Collaboration

Media Sharing
//**Standards for the 21st-Century Learner**// **Glogster**
 * **2.1.4** - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and und understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.
 * **3.3.4** - Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context
 * **4.1.8** - Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning

Remember the old the poster board presentations? Well, they are now digital, motivating and very visually exciting. Use these digital posters to create a book review, an interactive front page for a wiki, an innovative topic exploration or any other demonstration of learning using video, graphics, text, etc. **Masher**

Are you a little hesitant to create videos? Masher makes it’s easy. You can "mix, mash, and share" video clips, audio files, and photos into polished movies. Students own content as well as media from the BBC Motion Gallery and Rip Curl free for the mashing, and can then be shared on social media sites or via email. **Prezi**

Getting tired of the old linear PowerPoint presentations? Then switch to Prezi and start to create fantastic, brain-friendly presentations. Use the "zebra wheel" to customize, non-linear creative presentations that can kept for online access or downloaded for personal or professional use. Include pictures, videos, and more. Free presentations for anyone and extended options for teachers and those in Education. **Professor Garfield**

Are you looking to engage kids in a safe online setting and provide 21st century learning opportunities? Professor Garfield provides an environment where children can safely create, interact, read, engage, and express themselves through a variety of innovative online tools including an e-book reader and comics lab. **SchoolTube**

This is the ideal place for teachers and students to share videos online. Create your own channel for your school or share videos with other students and educators. Instructions on how to load, create, and compress videos as well as how to create video contests and TV shows for your school. It's all here in SchoolTube.
 * Scratch** [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="this link goes to an external site"]]

Targeted to 8- to 16-year olds, Scratch allows students to create and share projects, presentations, stories and best of all – videos games! The emphasis is on multi-media and includes graphics, sound, music, and photos. Supported by National Science Foundation research, Scratch encourages creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration. **WatchKnow.org**

Don't let you students' videos languish on your computer's hard drive. WatchKnow is a free and easily accessible way to share educational videos with students and staff. Organized for easy searching, you can even search by age, and has the ability for you to download your own videos to share with others.

Digital Storytelling
**International Children's Digital Library**

The largest digital collections of children’s book, ICDL contains over 4,400 books in 54 languages representing 64 countries with applications for the iPhone and the new larger screen, iPad. **Jing**

Do you need to quickly snap a picture of your screen or record a video of an onscreen action? Jing is the solution; it's free software that adds visuals to your online conversations. Include it in an email, Website, or IM. **Storybird**

Do your students like to tell stories? Storybird will help them to create short, visual stories. You can save them, share them and (soon) print them. Use Storybird's beautiful watercolor illustrations to tell your story.

Manage and Organize
//**Standards for the 21st-Century Learner**// **Evernote**
 * **2.1.2** - Organize knowledge so that it is useful.
 * **2.1.4** - Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.
 * **3.1.4** - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.

Tired of trying to keep track or find your various notes on taken throughout the day and want to be able to organize your thoughts from a variety of sources? Evernote will do this and you can access it from anywhere, even your iPhone. **jogtheweb**

Do you want an easy and innovative way to guide students through the Internet? jogtheweb is a web-based tool that allows anyone to create a synchronous guide to a series of Websites. Its step-by-step approach of taking viewers through Websites allowing the author to annotate and ask guiding questions for each page is unique. Give it a try and start creating your own jogs. **Live Binders**

This fun and easy-to-use site makes it easy to organize and share sources. Teachers can use it as a presentation tool, plan an interactive lesson, or engage with students on the research process. **MuseumBox**

This site allows students to place items into virtual boxes; these items can include images, video, text, and sound. MuseumBox can be used across the curriculum and can help students to describe a person, place, thing, event, idea, or issue. The site facilitates description, debate, investigation, and exploration and development of ideas and issues. **Pageflakes**

Create your own personalized homepage with Pageflakes. You can include all of your favorite internet sites and arrange them as you wish on your page. The "flakes" - small versions of the web pages you prefer - could include sites that focus on a specific hobby or interest, a particular subject area, a classroom study topic or current events.
 * Weblist** [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="this link goes to an external site"]]

Weblist is a great way to gather and organize content based on a theme with the added feature of one URL. Your weblist can then be shared through social media networks or posted on a blog or Website. No time to make your own list, then search their playlist for subjects from music to science and everything in between.

Social Networking and Communication
**Creative Commons**
 * **3.1.2** - Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners
 * **4.1.7** - Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information
 * **4.3.1** - Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

Teach students and colleagues to collaborate as integral partners in the digital evolution as they discover and share content to use, re-purpose and remix with Creative Commons. Here you will find all the resources needed to learn appropriate use of Creative Commons licensing for written, graphic and multimedia content.
 * Learn Central** [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="this link goes to an external site"]]

Connect with Steve Hargadon and an ever-growing number of educators on Learn Central, the social network for professional development that is ready when you are. Join free webinars and discussions in real time or participate with members asynchronously. Host a group of up to three participants for free. Develop networks with colleagues across town or around the world. Lifelong learning is just a few clicks away!
 * TED** [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="this link goes to an external site"]]

TED is a remarkable Website sharing ideas from the world's most innovative thinkers and experts related to technology, entertainment, design, business, science, and global issues. Watch, listen to, learn, discuss and spread TED. Content Collaboration
 * **1.3.4** - Contribute to the exchange of ideas within a learning community.
 * **3.1.2** - Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.
 * debategraph** [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="this link goes to an external site"]]

Seeking diverse perspectives, interpretations or new understandings of topicsand issues impacting our world? Join debategraph, a browser based, wiki-style site, where students can synthesize, evaluate, expand, collaborate, contribute and substantiate their own thoughts and ideas to both sides of the issues. Debategraph utilizes visual depiction to deepen and enrich student understanding for a continuous and robust debate.
 * //Guidelines for School Library Programs//: Instructional Partner**

"The SLMS collaborates with classroom teachers to develop assignments that are matched to academic standards and include critical thinking skills, technology and information literacy skills, and core social skills and cultural competencies. The SLMS guides instructional design by working with the classroom teacher to establish learning objectives and goals, and by implementing assessment strategies before, during and after assigned units of study."

Curriculum Sharing
**Exploratree**

Create "thinking guides" using Exploratree's endless options. You can fill in the guides online or print them out for student use--both options offer the option to save your work for future use. Thinking guides are divided into five broad categories for use by educators and students: map your ideas, solve problems, explore, analyse (they're British!), and different perspectives.


 * The Jason Project** [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="this link goes to an external site"]]

Are you looking for a way to connect your students with great explorers and great events in Science? You do not have to look any further than The Jason Project! Their free online curriculum is designed primarily for the middle grades but can be adapted to fit any grade level. **National Science Digital Library**

The National Science Digital Library includes a variety of educational resources to further STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. Browse the science literacy maps, short science refreshers, free multimedia downloads, or subject area collections to find just what you need to enhance student learning!

Content Resources: Lesson Plans and More
**Edsitement**

Check out this site for great educational material -suggested Websites and lesson plans - in literature/language arts, art/culture, social studies/history and foreign language. **The National Archives' Digital Classroom**

The National Archives’ Digital Classroom offers a multitude of resources for the use of primary sources in the classroom. With access to copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teachers can develop their own activities and lesson plans that make historical periods come alive for their students or choose from dozens of resources that have already been developed and are featured here.

=Best Web sites for Teaching and Learning 2009=

2009
The "Top 25" Web sites foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.
 * Organizing and Managing
 * Content Collaboration
 * Curriculum Sharing
 * Media Sharing
 * Virtual Environments
 * Social Networking and Communication

Organizing and Managing

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * **2.1.2** - Organize knowledge so that it is useful.
 * **2.1.4** - Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.
 * **3.1.4** - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.

Diigo [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Need help in organizing your favorite websites? Diigo is a social bookmarking site that allows users to save websites, as well as tag them, add sticky notes and annotations, and share them with other users in various groups. Overwhelmed with all the information on the Internet? Google Reader is a tool for gathering, reading, and sharing all the relevant blogs and websites you read on the web. This easy-to-use tool constantly checks sites (blogs, news sites, and webpages) that have been selected by you, scans them for updates and new content, and then organizes them in the Reader for easy access. Reader is a great organization tool to keep current with educational trends, research and news!
 * Tip:** Sticky notes are an effective way to start a virtual conversation among teams of students on the merits of a website.
 * Google Reader [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]**
 * Tip:** This is a great organizational tool for students to keep current on their research topics.

Simply Box [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
If you’re a visual learner, then this is the tool for you! Simply Box is a tool that allows users to capture, share, and organize anything found on the web into an unlimited number of "boxes" and then share with friends, groups, students, or the world. However, rather than saving lists of bookmarks, it allows users to capture just a part of a webpage, whether it’s a headline, a paragraph, a photo, or a video. Items can be saved and organized. back to top
 * Tip:** As students collaborate on projects, this tool makes it easy to organize, cite and keep track of the individual resources culled from various websites.

Content Collaboration

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * **1.3.4** - Contribute to the exchange of ideas within a learning community.
 * **3.1.2** - Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.
 * **3.1.4** - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.

Mindmeister [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Be creative -- think maps! Mindmeister and Bubbl.us are both online mapping tools: Mindmeister is better for middle and high school students, while Bubbl.us is for younger students. Both websites allow users to think visually, collaborate, and share ideas through concept maps.
 * Tip:** Effective tools for teams of students to collaboratively brainstorm what they know about a subject and what questions they want to research.

Polleverywhere [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
If you want to get learners’ attention, then ask a provocative question. Poll Everywhere is a voting platform that can be used in classrooms and libraries to gather answers to a particular question. Participants vote by sending a text message via their cell phones or by voting on the web.
 * Tip:** Use this survey tool to involve and connect students to complex issues.

Wikispaces [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
This is the quintessential collaborative tool! This easy-to-use website allows anyone to write, edit and share content, depending on the permissions granted by the wiki owner.
 * Tip:** Students can use a wiki as a research journal, documenting their progress from beginning questions to finished products, as they receive feedback directly on the wiki from their classroom teacher and librarian.

Zoho [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Zoho offers an all-in-one online collaborative package; it provides online tools from mail and presentations to notebooks and wikis, with many tools in between. back to top
 * Tip:** Students can share their work and presentations on the web for fellow students, parents, administrators, and educators to view.

Curriculum Sharing

 * //Guidelines for School Library Programs: Instructional Partner//**

"The SLMS collaborates with classroom teachers to develop assignments that are matched to academic standards and include critical thinking skills, technology and information literacy skills, and core social skills and cultural competencies. The SLMS guides instructional design by working with the classroom teacher to establish learning objectives and goals, and by implementing assessment strategies before, during and after assigned units of study."

Curriki [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Seeking new teaching strategies? If you’ve got an old lesson that you want to breathe new life into, Curriki can help. It is a free member website where educators share ideas and hear from others in the profession.

====Partnership for 21st Century Skills ==== What skills will our students need to be successful in the 21st century? Partnership for the 21st Century offers educators information, resources, and tools to understand, identify and integrate the 21st century skills of creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving skills and communication and collaboration skills.
 * Tip:** If you have a lesson that you love to teach with your students, share it with others. Everyone can be successful if we all help each other to be better teachers.
 * Tip:** Here’s a great resource to help educators learn how to integrate 21st Century Skills into the curriculum.

Primary Access [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Capture your students' imagination with movie narratives based on primary sources. Primary Access is an online tool that allows students and teachers to combine text, visual, and sound elements, which are then combined to convey information about their chosen historical event or time frame. A library of Primary Access movies is available through a catalog by historical time period.
 * Tip:** Encourage active learning: have students choose a historical event or time frame to research and synthesize their information through a Primary Access movie.

SOS for Information Literacy [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Learn how to effectively incorporate information literacy into your lesson plans. S.O.S. for Information Literacy is a dynamic, collaborative web-based multimedia resource for educators, K to 16. This site links lesson plans and teaching ideas for information literacy through a comprehensive quality control system to ensure that lessons are high caliber. back to top
 * Tip:** Create an account and build your own lessons or activities.

Media Sharing

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * 2.1.4 - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and und understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.
 * 3.3.4 - Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context
 * 4.1.8 - Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning

Animoto [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Create a video in five minutes – no kidding! Using Animoto, educators and students can create videos that contain photos, graphics, music, text and more! It is only limited by your imagination.
 * Tip:** A great resource for visual learners! Instead of the typical book report, challenge your students to create a dynamic Animoto to capture the essence of their favorite books.

Our Story [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Create your story! Our Story permits users to develop and save collaborative timelines that can be personalized with annotations, photos, and videos. Stories (timelines) can be printed in book format, archived on DVD, or even sent as postcards.
 * Tip:** Teach your students to develop content-specific timelines that are linked to the teaching of research and information literacy skills.

Teacher Tube [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
What could be better? You Tube – just for teachers and students! Teacher Tube offers videos solely for the field of education. Videos are created by teachers and students to be shared with other teachers and students.
 * Tip:** A great way to have students share their work with parents and for teachers to share with other teachers, peers, and administrators, both on-campus and off.

VoiceThread [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
The end of the boring slide show! VoiceThread allows users to share images, documents, and videos with added narration by the authors and others. Do you like to play with words or create visual poems? A "Wordle" enables you to create a word "cloud," visually depicting the relationship between words based on their frequency of use. You can tweak your word "clouds" with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. back to top
 * Tip:** Bring oral history to life in the classroom, as students narrate a series of images that relate to the skills and ideas they have learned in a particular lesson.
 * Wordle [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]**
 * Tip:** Teach students to create a Wordle to express their reading interests or their favorite book.

Virtual Environments

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * **2.1.5** - Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems.
 * **3.1.2** - Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners
 * **4.3.1** - Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

RezED [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Learn about virtual worlds in a safe, supportive environment with other educators. RezED is the hub for learning about virtual worlds, providing practitioners with access to the highest quality resources and research in the field.
 * Tip:** Check out RezEd’s monthly podcasts, online webinars, virtual chats, and discussion groups.

Second Life [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Create an avatar and join other educators in Second Life to explore virtual reality, a world where you, the user, can participate in professional development, meet colleagues to explore and discover and create new understandings about learning in virtual worlds. back to top
 * Tip:** Meet with people from all over the world without having to leave your classroom, library, or home office.

Social Networking and Communication

 * //Standards for the 21st-Century Learner//**
 * **3.1.2** - Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners
 * **4.1.7** - Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information
 * **4.3.1** - Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.

Classroom 2.0 [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Do you find it difficult to keep up with the latest Web 2.0. technologies? Join Classroom 2.0 Ning, a social network for educators who are using or want to use Web 2.0 in their libraries and classrooms.
 * Tip:** Look at the Classroom 2.0 weekly webinars, featuring leading Web 2.0 educators - a great way to learn for both the novice and experienced educator.

Edublogs [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Do you want to blog? Edublogs, created especially for educators, is a resource where teachers and librarians can create their own blogs with templates and help from other educators.
 * Tip:** Blogging is a good strategy to help students develop their own voices in writing.

Facebook [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Facebook is a popular social networking site that allows users to share with friends and colleagues. The key is sharing information and Facebook allows you to set personal and professional limits on the information you share.
 * Tip:** Use Facebook to engage students and support the curriculum: a team of students are challenged to create a Facebook page for Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Good Reads [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
A social network for book lovers! Members can keep track of the books they have read, make recommendations to others, vote on book lists that are posted, see what their friends are reading and recommending, and form book groups.
 * Tip:** Teachers can develop a reading group for their students where discussions can develop, suggestions for new material can be found and lovers of particular genres can find each other.

Ning [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
Create your own social network for your classroom, your school group or your library. Share your ideas, pictures, and plans. Choose the features, a forum, a blog, members' pages, RSS feeds - whatever you would like to share and collaborate and control the membership.
 * Tip:** Classroom or library nings give students opportunities to learn how to effectively and safely be members of an online social network.

Skype [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
//Can you hear me?// Skype is a basic and easy-to-use service that offers free voice, video calls, conference calls, instant messaging and group instant messaging. Download the software; connect to the Internet and you're good to go.
 * Tip:** Invite an author or a content expert to Skype with your students.

Twitter [[image:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/img/external.gif width="11" height="11" caption="external link icon"]]
//What are you doing?// Twitter, a website for communication among friends and colleagues, is based on this question. Everyone who is connected to your account can know what you are doing at anytime, just send a "tweet." This is a way for everyone to keep track of everyone else.
 * Tip:** Students working in research teams, designate secretaries to keep the instructor and librarian up to date on how the group is doing throughout the project.