8 FREE AND EASY WAYS TO BEGIN EDUCATING INNOVATIVELY

The following tools are all free and easy to use. This means there’s no cost, nothing to download, no CDs, no manuals, and no training. Additionally, for students there is no email required, no registration, and no log in.

1 STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM: POLL EVERYWHERE
Poll Everywhere allows teachers to collect up to 32 responses per poll. Students can respond either by texting their answer to 99503, tweeting their answer to @poll, navigating to poll4.com on a smartphone, or simply clicking on their answer on the teacher’s online space i.e. blog, wiki, website.

2 WRITING-LEVEL TOOLS: READINGLEVEL CHECK IN GOOGLE DOCS
Google Docs provides three indicators of the reading level of the document you’re creating. They calculate the Flesch Reading Ease, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and the Automatic Readability Index.

3 READING-LEVEL TOOLS: LEXILE FIND A BOOK
This free tool allows users to type in any book and find the reading level of that book, or type in their reading level and interest and build a custom reading list for that subject.

4 INTERACTIVE-WHITEBOARD ALTERNATIVE: PROJECTOR ONLY
Use a laptop and projector to mimic the benefits of an interactive whiteboard.

5 VIDEO/AUDIO CONFERENCING: TINYCHAT
Tinychat is a free service that provides text-, audio-, and video-chat rooms. Users don’t need special software to join in, don’t need and email, and do not need to register. The teacher selects the url, provides it to students who can type it in and instantly enter the room.

6 ONLINE BULLETIN BOARD: WALLWISHER
Wallwisher allows you to leave virtual sticky notes in one place on the Web. Participants don’t need to register or join to participate. Unlike physical sticky notes, on Wallwisher, you can embed hyperlinks, pictures, and video.

7 SCREEN-CAPTURE RECORDING: SCREENJELLY
ScreenJelly is a free tool that enables you to record your screen activity with your voice, so you can spread it instantly by sharing a url, tweeting, or sharing on Facebook. You begin recording with one click of a mouse.

8 TALKING AVATARS: VOKI
Voki is a terrific tool that enables students to share a message using an animated avatar that talks created using either their writing or their own voice recorded right from their laptop or phone. Students design their avatar’s appearance, add their voice, and can
pop it into any web2.0 compatible site—Lisa Nielsen, The Innovative Educator http://TheInnovativeEducator.blogspot.com


Source of Information : Tech and Learning February 2010