Majelika

• OpenCourseWare and Open Educational Resources 
• 101 Free Learning Tools
• Printer-Friendly Version

I want a FREE:

1. Easy-to-use and secure Internet browser? Firefox or Chrome
2. e-Mail system? Gmail
3. RSS reader? Google Reader
4. Social bookmarking tool? del.icio.us
5. Social bookmarking tool with collaborative learning features (groups, forums, etc.)? Diigo
6. Social bookmarking tool that allows members to "pin" images, videos and links (URLs) to my pinboard(s)? Pinterest
7. Social curation tool that also suggests content? Scoop.it
8. Tool that helps me tell stories by curating social media? Storify
9. Tool that summarizes my social news feeds (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader)? Summify
10. Tool that enables me to capture, visualize, organize and share my bookmarks? SimplyBox
11. Tool to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform? Evernote
12. Tool to save pages for later? ReadItLater
    
13. Tool to translate text or a webpage? Google Language Tools
14. Online Calendar? Google Calendar
15. Tool to aggregate all my resources, mail, RSS feeds, etc, in one place? Netvibes, iGoogle or Pageflakes
16. Platform to incorporate all my favorite tools within one environment? Elgg
17. fully featured electronic portfolio tool? Mahara
    
18. Learning Management System (LMS)? Moodle
19. Hosted LMS? Click Here!
20. LMS that looks and feels like Facebook? Edmodo
21. Tool to assist me in evaluating and selecting a LMS? EduTools
22. Learning Activity Management System? LAMS
23. Communication and collaboration tool for my University/College/School? Google Apps
24. Social Networking tool? Facebook or Google+
25. Professional social network? LinkedIn
26. Microblogging tool? Twitter
27. Twitter client? Tweetdeck
28. Micro-blogging platform for my company? Yammer
29. Social media dashboard? HootSuite
30. Turn Twitter, Facebook and RSS feeds into online newspapers? Paper.li
31. Tool to organize, share my online life and discover that of others? Symbaloo
    
32. Tool to create study groups and manage group projects? GroupTable
33. Tool to keep track of my schoolwork (assignments)? Soshiku
34. 3D online virtual world where I can socialize, connect and learn? Second Life
35. Tool to create my own website? Google Sites
36. Content Management System (CMS)? Joomla
37. Tool to conduct webinars (Web Conferencing)? WiZiQ or BigBlueButton
38. Tool to broadcast myself to the world? USTREAM
39. Tool to make calls from my computer? Skype
40. Videoconferencing chat service? Vawkr
41. Content authoring tool? How about two? eXe & CourseLab
42. Alternative to Microsoft Office? OpenOffice
43. Online suite of office tools? Google Docs or Zoho
44. Collaborative course authoring tool? Udutu
45. Tool to create and share great video lessons with my iPad? Educreations or ShowMe
46. Tool that accurately converts my PowerPoint to Flash (including animations)? iSpring Free
47. Tool to share my slides? SlideShare, SlideBoom or authorSTREAM
48. Presentation tool to create zooming (and awesome) presentations? Prezi
    
49. Web authoring tool alternative to FrontPage and Dreamweaver? NvU or KompoZer
50. Personal online notebook? Google Notebook
51. Blogging tool? Blogger or WordPress
52. WordPress-powered social network tool? BuddyPress
53. Blogging tool for educators? Edublogs
54. Directory of edubloggers from around the world? International Edubloggers Directory
55. Wiki tool? Wikispaces, Wetpaint or Google Sites
56. Encyclopedia, which I can add to or edit? Wikipedia
57. Community dedicated to collaborative development of free content? WikiEducator
58. Tool to transform media into collaborative spaces with video, voice and text commenting? VoiceThread
59. Tool for storytelling? Here are 50!
60. Tool for Collaborative Storytelling? Storybird
    
61. Screencasting (recording) tool? Wink
62. Hosted screencasting tool (more options)? Screenr, Jing or Screencast-0-matic
63. Mindmapping tool? FreeMind
64. Tool to brainstorm and create mindmaps online? Bubbl.us or MindMeister
65. Easy-to-learn 3D authoring software tool? Google SketchUp
66. Alternative to 3D Studio Max? Blender
67. tool to make 3D models? Sculptris
    
68. Tool to create comics and cartoons? ToonDoo
69. Tool to create animations? GoAnimate
70. Revolutionary real-time movie making software? xtranormal
71. Audio recording tool? Audacity
72. Tool to broadcast from any phone to the Internet live? ipadio
73. Tool to create my own Internet Talk Radio Show? Blog Talk Radio
    
74. Tool using my real voice to discuss my interests and passions with anyone? Voxopop
    
75. Tool to record and host my audio recordings online? Odeo Studio
76. Tool to convert text to speech? vozMe or iSpeech
77. Tool for real-time spelling and translation? eType
    
78. Tool to create personalized speaking avatars? Voki
    
79. Photo/image editing tool? GIMP or Picasa
80. Tool that turns my photos/video clips into professional video slideshows in minutes? Animoto
    
81. Exciting word cloud generator? Wordle
82. Tool to make an interactive poster? Glogster
    
83. Online photo/image editing tool? Splashup
84. Tool to create cool personalized images? Custom Sign Generator Widgets
85. Image Resizer? Dosize
86. Watermarking tool? uMark
87. Screen Color Picker? ColorSchemer
88. Tool to highlight text in a webpage? The Awesome Highlighter
89. Tool to create flowcharts, diagrams, technical drawings? Gliffy
90. Tool to make screenshots from different browsers with one click? Browsershots
91. Tool to create PDFs from any Windows program? PDFCreator
92. Tool to convert PDF to Word? PDF2Word Online
93. Online file conversion tool (e.g. Word >PDF>PowerPoint)? Zamzar
94. Online OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool? Free OCR
95. QR Code, Semacode and Data Matrix Barcode Generator? QR Code Generator
    
96. Tool to share my videos? YouTube, TeacherTube or Vimeo
    
97. Tool to share any type of file with unlimited storage capacity? Internet Archive
98. Online noticeboard? Padlet
99. Online science research sharing portal? SciVee
100. Online community to share and discuss instructional teacher videos? TeacherTube
101. Online community to share, discuss and learn about the uses of educational technology? EdTechTalk
102. Online community to test my big ideas? Big Think
103. Service for engaging in conversation about news, thoughts and ideas people share? Amplify
104. Tool to download videos from any video sharing site (YouTube, Metacafe, etc.)? ClipNabber
105. Self-publishing tool (books, papers, articles, etc)? Scribd or Issuu
     
106. Tool to share my pictures? Are you joking! Flickr
107. Space to upload and share my files? eSnips
108. File hosting solution to share huge files up? FileCrunch
109. Tool to sync files online and across computers? Dropbox
110. Tool for real-time file sharing and collaboration? drop.io
111. Tool to save pages from my computer or phone for later readings? ReadItLater
112. 3-ring binder for the Web? Livebinders
     
113. URL shortener and tracker? bit.ly
     
114. Online quiz tool? ClassMarker
115. Tool to create interactive quizzes and puzzles? Hot Potatoes
116. Tool to create quizzes with videos? ESL Video
     
117. Tool to create web and print-based crossword puzzles? EclipseCrossword
118. Inquiry-oriented lesson tool? WebQuest
119. Multimedia flashcard tool? Quizlet or MemoryLifter
120. Online survey tool? Click here to choose!
121. Online polling tool with a bit of fizzle? Polldaddy
122. Student Response System (SRS) that uses smartphones, laptops, and tablets and the web? Poll Everywhere or Socrative
123. Tool to test which sites loads faster in my browser? Which Loads Faster?
     
124. Tool to create Flash games (templates)? ClassTools.net
125. Investment Simulation Game? Virtual Trader
126. Interactive 3D business simulator? INNOV8
127. Game to understand cancer better? Re-Mission
128. Game to understand the scientific method and 21st Century Skills? River City
129. Game to understand variable manipulations for urban management? SimCity
130. Game to understand social studies better? Quest Atlantis
131. Game to understand world hunger and efforts to alleviate it? WFP Foodforce
132. Game to learn more vocabulary and help hungry people? Seriously! FreeRice
133. List of at least 100 free juicy learning games to spice up my course(s)? Click Here!
     
134. Range of interactive tools to help me understand maths concepts? Shodor Interactivate
135. Collection of video tutorials (and assessment) to learn maths? Khan Academy 
136. Step-by-step math problem solver? Mathway
137. Tool to publish my data online and create comparison tables? Tablefy
138. Tool to create my own search engine tailored to my needs? Google Custom Search Engine
139. Personalized search world? Historius
     
140. Human-powered search engine? Mahalo
141. Metasearch engine with visual display interfaces? What! Here is KartOO!
142. Search tool presenting results from a large number of websites in different visual ways? Spezify
     
143. Search engine that groups the results by topic via automated clustering technology? Vivisimo
144. Science-specific search engine? Scirus
145. All-in-one research search tool? Schoolr
146. Tool to search query and then select a credible resource? SearchCredible
     
147. Tool to help me collect, manage, and cite my research sources? Zotero
148. Tool that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to my website? Google Analytics
149. Tool to search, discover, rank and compare different sites around the world? Alexa
150. Tool to search the full text of books? Google Book Search
151. Tool to search for scholarly literature? Google Scholar
152. Tool to search for patents? Google Patent Search
153. Tool that sends me email updates of the latest relevant Google results (e.g. e-Learning)? Google Alerts
154. Sticky and canvas service (post it)? Lino
155. Energy saving search engine? Blackle
156. Online visual dictionary and thesaurus? Visuwords
157. World digital library? World Digital Library
158. Tool to build and distribute my own digital library? Greenstone
159. Site to find and search across all OpenCourseWare (OCW) courses? OpenCourseWare Consortium
160. Repository and learning network of Open Educational Resources (OER)? OER Commons
161. Site to get the latest updates on OER and OCW? OER Blogs
162. Site to get access to thousands of free lectures? Academic Earth, iTunes U or YouTube EDU
     
163. Portal to non-formal OER and training resources? Open Training Platform
164. Encyclopedia of video tutorials to help me learn any software? Edumax or Wikivid
165. Site to practice speaking English while I watch great videos? EnglishCentral
     
166. e-Book to learn more about e-learning 2.0? Learning 2.0 eBook
167. Site to learn more about rapid e-learning? The Rapid e-Learning Blog
168. Site to learn more about Online Course Development? Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development
169. Crash course in learning theory? Click here!
170. Database of Learning Theories? Click here & here!
171. Tool to help me understand and use learning styles effectively? Learning Styles Online.com
172. Repository of creative and critical thinking tools? Mycoted to the rescue!
173. Route to learn more about the 21st century skills? Route 21
174. Repository of how everything works? HowStuffWorks
175. Repository of lectures from the worlds top scientists? Videolectures.NET
176. Repository of resources and simulation tools to learn more about nanotechnology? The nanoHUB
     
177. Directory of academic open access repositories? OpenDOAR
178. Site covering todays top social, political, and tech issues? FORA.tv
179. Site to improve my learning skills? Study Guides & Strategies
180. Gaming tool to help me learn ICT? ReviseICT.co.uk
181. Tool to improve my typing skills? Peters Online Typing Course
182. Tool to improve my reading skills? ZAP Reader
183. Interactive courseware to improve my workplace skills? ALISON
184. Multimedia site that enhance our understanding of war and its history? Maps-of-War
185. 3D human anatomy visualization tool? Visible Body
186. Site to learn languages? Free Language
187. Tool to explore the World? Google Earth
188. Tool to search and zoom maps of any country? Google Maps
     
189. Tool to explore the Universe? WorldWide Telescope
190. Tool to visualize human development? Gapminder
191. Tool to answer all my questions? Wolfram|Alpha, Google Squared or Answer.com
     
192. Site with talks by the worlds greatest thinkers and doers? TED is a good starting point!
193. Article to reveal the secrets of the super-learners? Click here!
194. Link to the most innovative web 2.0 (and 3.0) lab in the world? Google Labs
195. Tool to stumble upon and discover great websites, videos, photos, etc. ? StumbleUpon
196. Daily newsletter that keeps me updated with the latest news on online learning? Stephens OLDaily
197. Site where I can learn more about social media and social learning? Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies
     
198. Site dedicated to tracking the changes occurring in education today? Open Education
199. Site to update me on the latest free instructional resources for Higher Education? Educational Technology
200. Tool to track plagiarism? Plagium, Viper and more...
201. Site to discover delicious free tools, resources, and sites? ZaidLearns Del.icio.us Discoveries
202. Bla, Bla...
     

Link to the new EDUCAUSE ebook
"The Net Generation has grown up with information technology. The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised?one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up.

This collection explores the Net Gen and the implications for institutions in areas such as teaching, service, learning space design, faculty development, and curriculum. Contributions by educators and students are included..."

Click here to download the entire book (4,45 MB PDF). To download individual chapters visit the EDUCAUSE site.

Wow! After discovering that my visualization of the No. 1 Musketeer has become a big hit on SlideShare, I simply had to take a break from my non-blogging vacation to blog about it and share some more learning juice. Since the 14th of August (until now), the 101 Free Learning Tools presentation has been featured on the SlideShare homepage, viewed 6000+ times, downloaded 1900+ times, favorited 100+ times, and embedded into 30+ sites. And more importantly, I have received a lot of great feedback, which has nourished my learning and knowledge sharing ego to new heights!

In the graphic above you can see some more SlideShare achievements, which makes me kind of happy. I really enjoy sharing learning resources in creative ways, but of course when there is a growing receiving end with hoops of appreciation, it just makes learning and sharing even more fun.

In addition, my new eBook 69 Learning Adventures in 6 Galaxies has also received some good reviews (Jane Park, Joseph Hart, Jeff Cobb, Bryan Chapman and Tom Hanson) and has been viewed 2800+ times until now. Not great, but acceptable :)

In short, it is more fun to share knowledge when you can feel the excitement from the receiving end. So, should I be happy and proud? No way! Until I have reached Olga Potty in Zukiland, I will hopefully continue my quest to share great learning resources and explore new ways to facilitate effective learning. Why? One reason is because I learn faster and more effectively that way. Another reason is that via my blog, I am increasingly able to connect and communicate with great educators and people around globe. Sharing knowledge is power! Who doesnt like to connect and communicate with a person that loves learning and sharing? I arrest my case!

To be honest, I prefer long lists of resources and tools in text format (efficient to access and explore), but I suppose not all share that opinion. But then again, sometimes we need to visualize and engage to excite the learner to explore further. So, I have decided to visualize the other two Musketeers, starting with 101 Free EduGames below. The great thing about it, is that when I conduct workshops from now on, participants will probably get learning orgasms with all the free learning juice blitzed during the sessions in a visually stimulating manner. Now, lets enjoy 101 free EduGames:

PART I (1-50)

PART II (51-101)

• Click here to download the PDF version (93 MB).
• Click here to view the updated text-based Delicious EduGames collection (My favorite!).
  

As for the remaining Musketeer (101 Free OER), you will probably have to wait at least another two weeks, as I will be returning to my non-blogging vacation for a while. The 101 Free OER presentation will be tricky, as I am planning to extract my favorite 101 out of more than 250 sites. For those that want the full list of OER/OCW can simply click here :)

"The purpose of this site is to help promote the use of free and open source resources and to share my discoveries with as many people as possible" - Patricia Donaghy

This very useful blog started recently on the 4th of January, 2008 (based on the first post). Although, this blog is kind of new, you can already find more than three dozen free learning tools to explore. Even more important, resources are continually being added to the site. At least one per day for every day of the year! In other words, by the end of 2008, we can expect to find more than 360 free tools shared and organized in this useful database blog (refer to the Labels)!).

In addition, I like this blogs approach and design, whereby you have a bit of visual stimulation (screenshot or logo of the tool), a super brief summary (one paragraph!) , and of course a link to get you to the free tool. In addition, one question is asked for every tool, which anyone can comment: What do you think of _______?. I think the idea behind your blog is great :)

Actually, this new database blog reminds me a bit of Janes E-Learning Pick of the Day blog, which then stocks up the discovered tools in an amazing Directory of Learning Tools (including about 1,500 free ones!). Though, while Jane focuses on both commercial and free tools, Patricia focuses exclusively on free software and resources (So, no false hope!). So, if you ask me, I would recommend using both these Toolicious sites to explore and discover new free learning tools and resources. By doing so, I am pretty sure we will not miss out on all the juicy free learning tools available to us today.

In addition, Patricia is also creating an International Edubloggers Directory (Check it out!). Finally, she already has a wonderful Using ICT in Further Education blog, which discusses free resources (including some of the interesting tools posted in her Database blog), but also adds tips particularly relevant to education (value added!).

Now that Patricia has 3 blogs (and perhaps others?) to multi-task and maintain, I suppose she will be very busy in the coming days, weeks, months, etc. But then again, embarking on these noble initiatives should provide the sparks, energy and motivation to succeed. Patricia, you certainly have my vote of support (Obama, sorry!) :)