Skitch for Science

In an earlier post, I mentioned a free App for the iPad called Skitch.  I thought I might share a way that Skitch can be used in the classroom.  Students can use a picture of an item, and label it's parts.  I will use a picture of a frog that I obtained from Flickr.  The picture will be loaded into the photo library on the iPad.  Students will open the image in Skitch and label the known parts of the frog.

The picture below will be the Skitch markup with parts of the frog labeled.

So, very quickly, you can have a picture labeled by the students to illustrate the parts they know, or show the parts they don't.  Skitch allows for easy annotation of a picture or document, as well as easy saving of the new and marked up diagram.

Another way Skitch could be used is by having your students take pictures of an experiment to document the process.  They could open the pictures in Skitch to label and document the what the picture is showing.  Once all of the pictures are marked up and completed, the students could use them in some other program to report out their findings - like a word processor or presentation software.  Skitch would allow the student to explain the picture in detail, right on the picture.

Online Stopwatch and Timer

Teachers are frequently looking for a way to keep track of time.  Online stopwatch is a free and easy online tool that can be projected onto a screen or just utilized on your computer.  Whether you want a stopwatch, or a countdown clock, this is an outstanding site to visit.  It can be used in many ways,, provides multiple different formats, and because it is web-based, can be accessed on many different devices.  I know teachers that have used it for timing standardized assessments, timing speeches, and for many other activities.  If you want to keep track of time, this is for you.  Give it a try, it is one bookmark you'll want to save.  Check out the chart below for other ways this free tool can be used.

Skitch

Skitch is an awesome iPad annotation application. It allows you to mark up and save pictures, add text, take pictures, and add voice. It is so easy to use, and so flexible, you'll absolutely love it. You can bring your picture in from just about anywhere - your photos, the camera, the web, a map, etc.

One of the other features that I just love, is that Skitch was purchased by Evernote. Evernote is one of my favorite applications and Skitch will save directly into your Evernote account. Skitch also sends to Twitter, an email, or into your photos folder. Take a picture, mark it up, and send it to a friend or your students.

In the photo collage below, you will see many different features right at your fingertips.

WeVideo

WeVideo is an online video editing program. It allows users to do their editing online, without having to own a video editing software. It also allows multiple users to edit the same file. It is used in a browser, so it is not necessary for all editors to have the same type of computer or software.

WeVideo allows for many different types of videos to be uploaded for editing. It also works well with wireless uploads. Google Drive integrates well with storage. You can bring in music and effects, or use what is there. When you are finished, you can share your project to many social media sites.

So, if you have a few people working on a video project, create it in WeVideo and invite your co-workers to help. It seems like a great option for creating, editing, and sharing video projects.

Dublin Leadership Academy

Today starts two days of Dublin teachers getting together to learn and prepare for the new school year. What an exciting couple of days. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share a presentation with them. Here is the presentation containing the Web 2.0 Tools that I recommend for teachers to use, professionaly and with their students.

Dublin Leadership Conference 2012 from Scott Sibberson

Hilliard OILE Conference

I have the opportunity to present at the Ohio Innovative Learning Environments Conference in Hilliard this week.  I get to share Web 2.0 Tools with teachers from the area.  This is my slideshare for the conference.

Hilliard OILE Conference 2012 from Scott Sibberson

Online Storage

It's the end of the year, and you need to back up your files.  You don't want to burn CDs or DVDs.  You want to have easy access to the files at home or on your iPad or phone.  You don't have a USB Flash drive handy.  What do you do?

I would suggest getting an account on one of these 5 services.  They provide easy access and secure storage of your files.  They have applications to allow you to easily move files from your desktop computer to online storage to your laptop or mobile device.  Most of these services will give you around 5 GB of free storage, which is enough for the average user.  People run into storage size issues if they save a lot of videos and pictures, but for word processing files, and spreadsheets, and databases, this seems to be plenty.

These services also allow you to purchase more storage, if needed, but usually their free amount is enough. Here are the ones that I have used and found easy.


 Google Drive

 Sky Drive

 Dropbox

 Box

4 Sync