If you have some data that you want to convey and are searching for an original way to present it, I'd suggest trying out Daytum.

Daytum is a free, customizable web page that allows users to display facts and figures in a newspaper style outlay.

I've had a play, which you can see at http://www.daytum.com/acljohn; by displaying tags from posts during 2011, users can see the comparative frequency of "blog inclusion" and, when links are clicked the dates of the blogs when they were inclu...

SignApp Now is a simple way of creating sign up sheets. It's so simple users don't need to register to use it.

Just...

• create a sign up sheet and
  
• email its unique link (URL) to everyone you'd like to sign up.
  
• They just need to visit the link and
  
• sign up.
  

Why not use SignApp Now instead of using email to get sign ups.

Users can download the sign up list in Excel format after the sign up period remo...

Skype is a free (for most purposes) service that learning providers and their practitioners are using to connect stakeholders across the town/city/region/country/globe. It's not surprising therefore that an increasing number of learning providers are using Skype for..

• Learner /Employer/Stakeholder Voice;

• Remote assessments - Job Knowledge Questions/Interviews, ITQ & other ICT/IT observations etc.;

• Delivery of "course elements" to learners based over a large area;

...and so much m...

nooCard is quite possibly the easiest mobile webpage users can create.

Simply...

• sign up;
• create; and
  
• publish the resulting nooCard url publicly on the internet.
  

Anyone with a mobile browser will be able to instantly see the nooCard. There is nothing to install.

Visit http://www.noocard.com/.

My nooCard is available at http://noocard.com/u/acljohn/.

SpeakingImage is an application for creating interactive images and share them with others.

Along with textual annotations, users can add different coloured layers specifying certain parts of the image.

The annotations and layers are all interactive i.e. labels are displayed when visitors place the mouse pointer on them. Moreover visitors can choose which layers to view and which to hide. All these features work together and create images that "say" a lot more.

Currently Speaking Im...

Many Learners, Employers, and Learning Providers use social media. Each time they log into Facebook, they see a clutter of links, videos, and photographs their "friends" have either posted or liked.

The given filters from Facebook do not satisfy all its users. For a better and cleaner filtering interface Facebook users should pay a visit to PostPost.

PostPost is their personal social newspaper. It compiles all the links, videos and pictures your friends post on Facebook into a real-ti...

The icebreakers website features instructions to several "playtested", high quality free icebreakers, fun games, and team building activities - perfect for...

• group facilitation;

• the first day of class (teaching);

• training; and
  

• icebreakers for 'meetings of all kinds'.

To achieve good group dynamics or just for fun, these free icebreaker games can be useful as...

• learner group activities;
  

• business and corporate training activities;

• learning provider group activ...

Visible Tweets is a visualisation of Twitter messages designed for display in public spaces.

Visit http://visibletweets.com/ to try it out.

• Just enter the tweets do you want to visualise; users can use all Twitter search operators shown at http://search.twitter.com/operators; and
• Choose the type of animation you wish to display...
  • Letter by letter;
  • Rotation; or
  • Tag Cloud.

An ideal tool to display tweets at workshops, conferences etc., in the learning environment and I'...

Communication via social networks - twitter, facebook etc. - where only authorized users will be able to read.

I haven't got my head around this resource and its full potential within the learning environment but, being able to communicate via social networks with a degree of privacy, has to be attractive.

How does it work:

1. Type your text (or copy-paste)

2. Set user name/password pair for the note

3. Get the software generated short link for the note

4. Send the link (...

Annotated Links lets users enter links (URLs), one per line, and a sticky note with instructions, questions, annotations etc.

Clicking the Submit button creates a URL that can then be posted via social networks, email, VLEs etc.

Again this has a lot of potential within teaching and learning.

Try it out at http://linkstore.ru/al/.

Dr. Rankin, professor of History at UT Dallas, a forward-thinking professor open to the intelligent use of new media...

• wanted to know how to reach more students and involve more people in class discussions both in and out of the classroom;

• had heard of Twitter...

• collaborated with the UT Dallas, Arts and Technology - Emerging Media and Communications (EMAC) http://www.emac.utdallas.edu faculty

Watch the interesting video clip that was created at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WPVW...

alertful...

• is completely free;
• reminds users (and others) of important events by email;
• doesn't require registration

Note: At the moment there is no way to stop a reminder. Once sent it's gone, just like any email; if however upon receipt of an alertful email, sent on a recurring basis, such as a personal development review (pdr) once a year, by clicking "Unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email, users will receiving these email sequences.

Visit http://www.alertful.com/ to try it o...

pdfs are one of the most popular document formats as, regardless of platform (apple, windows, lynux etc.), they can be accessed using free pdf readers.

However securing pdfs is not that easy. Learning providers (especially smaller ones), practitioners and learners alike, won't want to purchase the relatively expensive Adobe Acrobat software just to encrypt their documents; so this is where PDFProtect comes in.

PDFProtect is a free online tool that lets users easily password protect PDF...

Ontext, a Russian online tool, is intended to provide a communication channel for rapid publication of textual materials onto the Web.

Why use Ontext?

• Publish text to the Web quickly;
  

• To overcome the limitation of Twitter and other similar communication channels;
  

• Save text on the Web by hiding it with a password;

• Run a simple text blog/reflection journal with an RSS-channel;

• Get access to stored data from anywhere on the Internet or via a mobile phone

To use Ontext...

Using mozaiq practitioners and learners can hide secret, encrypted messages inside an image that will be invisible to the naked eye and undetectable to everything but careful mathematical analysis.

Even if detected, the message will be...

• stored encrypted using a password of your choice;
• all but impossible to read!

Hiding a message like this is known as steganography; part art form, part science and many different methods to do it. The Wikipedia article on steganography provid...

Thanks to Paul Mckean for flagging this "Tool"...

Thousands of practitioners are already working with Symbaloo using it as the PLE (Personal Learning Environment) tool for their learners.

The embedded video below can be watched at http://vimeo.com/15069068...

Symbaloo EDU screencast from symbaloo on Vimeo.

Practitioners currently use Symbaloo to...

• Organise course resources all in one place;
• improve peer communication; or
  
• promote innovation while m...

Hollur...

• provides users with a different take on microsharing;
• lets people socialize around short audio clips, "bits", that are uploaded and categorized for users to find people who have similar interests; they can't be longer than 20 seconds; the same as the 140 characters when tweeting.

My colleagues and I are blown away with the potential educational uses for wagwire; if nothing else have the 15 day trial for evaluation.

Learner and employer voice is an important part of the common inspection framework, as is Inclusion. Wagwire could help learning providers in both these areas as well as saving time, reducing travel, and saving money in assessment of work-based learners etc.

Wagwire provides...

• a Mailbox that allows users to...
  • receive;
  • send;
  • reply;...

This is the result of TAT's Open Innovation experiment. It is an experience video showing the future of screen technology with stretchable screens, transparent screens and e-ink displays, to name a few.

Now I would like most of those!

Also view at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7_mOdi3O5E.

Yet another reason, perhaps, that YouTube and Facebook shouldn't be blocked!

The YouTube Social website lets practitioners and remote learners watch YouTube in a truly collective way.

On the YouTube Social website...

• practitioners can create "viewing parties" by merely adding the word "social" to any YouTube URL that they want to watch with their learners...
• Upon doing so, a new URL is generated, and...
• this URL can then be sent to invite learners to the "viewing party".

When invited le...

Recently I included an article about paper.li, a service that lets users create a Daily Twitter newspaper from the tweets of those they are following.

MyTweetMag, takes a different approach; it lets a user (the Editor) and up to 5 Co-Editors create a Twitter magazine from their own (selected) tweets.

If you decide to give it a try then you can...

• Join with your twitter-account;
• Start your own magazine...
  • give it a name and ...

Death by PowerPoint - get rid of the endless bullet points!

This and many other 'audience led campaigns' have gained ground in recent years and now, Olivia Mitchell, and other like thinkers, are beginning at last to provide a backlash.

With the adoption of pecha-kucha and more thought about their audiences, I have seen more great presentations in the past year than in the past 6 that I've been with the Regional Support Centre. Put together and they have made a positive difference...

• mo...

Skype has released a Beta update for Windows. The second beta of Skype 5.0 brings a number of changes both outside and in – most importantly, users can now make group video calls with up to 10 people.

It also welcomes in a fresh new look, as well as increased stability and better quality when making group video calls.

Note: everyone in a group video call now needs to be running this new version, so if learners, colleagues, friends or family are using other versions, they'll have to up...

At last, thanks to Hilary Thomas, I have some tools for you, SAP Web 2.0 FREE PowerPoint Twitter Tools, that may convince colleagues that Twitter is after all a useful tool!

Sometimes the practitioner/administrator/manager/etc., delivering a presentation, are the only one(s) who don't know what their audience is thinking – because everybody else is viewing a Twitter stream.

These new prototypes fix that problem, allowing users to deliver presentations in web 2.0 style, with the comments...

With Shelf by Issuu users can instantly publish a collection of their magazines, course outlines and other publications directly to their website, VLE, Blog, Wiki etc.

Keeping a Shelf updated is fast and easy. It's perfect for practitioners, managers, administrators, learners, and anyone else who relies on posting timely and accurate information to their website etc.

Any publication found on Issuu can be added to a Shelf; including those on my shelf found at http://www.acljohn.com/e...

The cost of audience response systems, for many learning providers, can be a barrier and for those who have them, many sit in cupboards because 'users' are unsure how they work/they are linked into presentation software/etc.

Let's Vote Now is an online voting tool that lets those engaged in teaching & learning to vote on any topic without any hassle.

Start by...

• entering a topic to voting on (this will appear in the Subject of an email), then
• choose the vote type...
  • a simple "...

Many learners use Facebook and I'm sure as Learning Providers, every effort is made to ensure they know how to keep safe.

Not so long ago Facebook was subjected to a lot of press over privacy issues and many, engaged in education, still harbor "anti-facebook" feelings.  These and many others may find a social site like Buddify worth a closer look, and even try it out.

Buddify is a new social network which places a lot of emphasis on giving users full control over their privacy, to the ...

The Sneffel website will let users create a virtual whiteboard that can be used for the free flow and sharing of ideas with learners and/or colleagues.

The virtual whiteboards go by the names of "SneffelBoards", and they can be created for free.

By default, a board is active for 24 hours and will be able to be presented and/or replayed five times.

If users don't want them to expire they are able to extend its life by buying either credits ("SneffelCredits") or adding replays (which ...

Would you like to collaborate and share Office documents, PowerPoint presentations, and more with your learners and colleagues?

Well I'm using the new Office Web Apps with my Facebook friends via http://Docs.com.

I included the new Office Web Apps on SkyDrive in a recent blog, and was excited over the features it had but wished it could do more. One major problem, with the Office Web Apps is that few learners and/or colleagues use Windows Live SkyDrive on a daily basis. This means that...

AnswerGarden is a minimalistic feedback tool.

Learning Providers can...

• use it for online brainstorming;
  
• embed it in...
  • website or
    
  • blog or
  • VLE or
  • Wiki or
  • Social Network page or
    
  • eXe document etc.
• use it as a...
  • poll or
    
  • guest book or
  • reflective feedback etc.
• post the URL by email to stakeholders.

I'm sure there are many other uses that you will come up with. As your Answer Garden(s) draws attention, more and more will start posting their answers to your question(s) either by... ...

and have it shared with others instantly, and it's FREE!

Documents can be shared in two different ways:...

• publicly: - great for sharing press releases, flyers and promotional materials of every kind; and
  
• privately: - the one that people who have to collaborate on sensitive files will use.
  • the actual privacy of a file is ensured by a refined encryption process that guarantees prying eyes wo...

With VanityVid's Browser plugin, those who use Facebook and or Twitter can make their profile picture come alive.

Provide short video clips/thoughts for the day etc., where visitors will, with the FireFox Browser add-in, also be able to see you move and hear you talking, and get a better feeling of who you are and what you're like.

The add-on is available from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/162157/ (this will allow you to see those Facebook and Twitter users who use Van...

Fur.ly is a really useful URL shortener that combines multiple URL's into a single link.

Here's how it works...

• Users can add links one after other;
• As they are added a new text box, to add further URLs, is added automatically;
• Once users click "Go", Fur.ly combines all of them into one link;
• That link can be shared with colleagues or learners or other individuals/groups; and
  
• When they click on that link, it opens the first webpage with a horizontal orange-colored bar on the top that lets ...

There are more ways than one for Learning Providers to keep visitors to their website/blog/wiki/VLE etc., engaged, and one that has always proven to do well is adding a chat.

Many practitioners feel that chat rooms have become obsolete now that IM applications are so widespread but, chat rooms can still pack quite a punch if implemented correctly, and that is what plugChat.in will enable users to do.

Just copy and paste three lines of code and a chat bar is added into the chosen 's...

Bounce could be an excellent tool for...

• sharing comments about the design elements of websites;
• highlighting graphics on a website; or
• sharing comments about articles with learners and/or colleagues.

Bounce not only allows users to make annotated screen captures of websites but also allows them to instantly share those screen captures with others.

To use Bounce...

• type in the url of any website;
• click "Bounce"
  Bounce creates an image of that website on which users can...
  • draw ...

Teenagers, and some older learners, use (and abuse) acronyms when they are chatting and understanding what they are actually saying can be tricky.

Teen Chat Decoder has come up with a service that aims to shed some light onto the subject. It is comparable to an online translation tool that will let you input any acronym and have it expanded into 'Plain English'.

The ones that will benefit the most from something like this, apart from parents (who are understandably baffled by the things ...

MySkwitter: - A Twitter Status Update tool for Skype.

Do you...

• Skype as frequently as you Twitter?
  
• have a 'Work Skype' Communication Channel, separate from your personal account?

MySkwitter, updates the Skype Mood Text with a users latest Tweet, so that contacts/learners/stakeholders on Skype can see what they have twittered.

This is another communication channel worth considering...

Download and/or find out more at https://extras.skype.com/2157.

Am I tempted enough to use this resource instead of only2clicks?

LiveBinders is dedicated to helping users empower others with the information that they collect.

For many it's hard to put a group of links together in any meaningful format. And sharing a group of URLs can be cumbersome for many - both senders and the receivers.

LiveBinders enables users to work with digital information in the same way as they do with papers on their desk - organize them into nice containers - ...

This is probably for those of you who are fans of Wordle the tag generator; namely a new website/web application called Tagxedo.

Tagxedo allows users to turn words -- famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters -- into a visually stunning tag cloud, words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text. A visual representation of a document.

Visit  http://www.tagxedo.com/ to find out more.

Many Chat Tools have the ability for users to add emoticons and, as long as they are not over used, enhance communication.

Tweets with a lot of text can be boring and for some hard to read. One way to make them more enjoyable is also to use emoticons and other symbols to enhance them.

JoyLy is a free service that lets you insert over 100 Unicode characters into your tweets with a single click.

Simply click on the character you want to include and it will show up in the tweet. Users can ...

Create a widget for a blog that consists of little more than a short clip of code that’s very easy to share and distribute.

The process to create your blog widget is surprisingly fast and simple. The Blidget wizard makes the procedure painless. You can use either...

• a link to your blog's feed; or
• the blog URL.

Either will work.

• once the wizard has your default widget ready, it's time to customize the widget.

Note: - There are many more features available if you purchase the pro ve...

Relive one of its most-enduring pop culture elements of the classic TV show "Mission: Impossible". What worries me is the large number of you who have no idea what I'm talking about!

Named "This Message Will Self Destruct", this website empowers users to send out an eMail messages that will be deleted upon being delivered and read just once by the recipient.

Further safety is ensured by the fact that...

• messages are actually encrypted before they are sent; and
• messages can be prot...

Fotobabble offers a different way to share photographs/images with learners and/or link aural questions to images.

The basic premise is that of adding an audio track to whatever image users are sharing.

Simply...

• upload a photograph;
• record the (voiced) message/question/instruction etc. that users want to add.

Fotobabble also lends itself to the marketing and the promotion of any course/workshop/event/etc. Granted, it is not as striking as a video but there are some things that do not...

Are you a fan of "Dragons Den"? If so then the Pitch School pages on the FastPitches Website may be of interest to you and or your learners...

These pages have CPD resources on...

• crafting pitches step-by-step

• recording pitches on video

• uploading pitches and

• mark...

If your learners are in the habit of emailing...

• essays;

• slideshows;

• digital evidence (audio, video and/or photographs) and other creations to their assessors/tutors/trainers etc., you will know how quickly inboxes can get crowded.

One way to address that problem is to get all of the learners using Google Docs. But if Google Docs isn't an option for your learners because of organisational policy; (yes, some learning providers discourage the use of Google Docs) or other issues,
Dro...

If managers, administrators, mentors, practitioners, assessors etc., ever need a quick way to chat with someone without registering or giving away any personal information, then NeatChat offers a solution.

Neat Chat is a free browser-based chat website that lets users create chat rooms quickly.

Neat Chat is the easiest and fastest way to have an online conversation with a group of friends or colleagues. No signups or software installs are required. You simply use a web browser to commun...

All people on my mailing lists will have had an invite to this Q & A Website. (Sadly some email set-ups will have sent the invite to spam) I hope that this Q&A website will be used by the wider community to communicate with & support each other - no sectors barred.

A Q&A website for the community...

Don't forget to make it one of your favourites... http://acljohn.qhub.com/.

Need help figuring out what Google Buzz is? Maybe these two video clips can help!

One from Google at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi50KlsCBio&hl=en. 

And one from DemoGirl at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdSky2bkwvc.

With meetog, simple mini blogging, users can share...

• photos,
  
• thoughts,
  
• videos
  

...with people they choose.

Users can stay anonymous or they can create a profile that will allow them to edit or delete their content or to follow others.

Apparently users can also sign in with Twitter and post their articles directly to it. Do let me know if you try it.

This could be an excellent tool for learners to use as ePDP Portfolios (Personal Development & Planning)

Another tool to empower your learners to provide assessment evidence in an appropriate format.

Vidinotes is a web based tool that helps users create a printable summary of a video

Vidinotes does this by allowing users to...

• take several 'snapshots' from the video
• add a title and description to each snapshot
• print out or downloaded the summary as a PDF file.

Downside: Videos must be FLV video format only (That is Oxelon Media Converter where comes in to its own: mentioned in an earlier...

Screencast-O-Matic was one of the original free and easy ways to create a video recording of your screen (screencast) that I included in a 2008 eMagazine; these screencasts could be uploaded for free hosting all from your browser with no install and for FREE!

Well during January I revisited Screencast-o-Matic and was impressed by...

• the improved quality of capture
• the addition of audio (need a microphone of course)
• the ability to add screen subtitles/notes
• the ease of download and/or posting...

Synchtube is a new web-service for watching video clips and chatting about them at the same time.

Just...

• find the url of an appropriate YouTube video,
• copy that url into Synchtube, and
• begin chatting with your colleagues/learners/etc., while the video is playing.

Users can comment on the video and share thoughts inspired by the video while watching. At the moment Synchtube is in beta and currently only four people can chat at once; hopefully that limit will be increased in the future....

Scriblink is an online white board with an integrated IMS (instant messaging system).

Scriblink users can...

• draw,
• type, or
• edit images on a white board.

Users have the option of...

• sharing their white board with others and
• allowing other users to collaborate on the white board.

There is no need to set up an account or register in order to use the white board.

Users can take advantage of all kinds of useful features, such as...

• Privacy: the board is all yours, open only to the p...

Just over a month ago my Dad had a fall and broke his hip. What has that to do with you? Well he used Morse Code to communicate with ‘next door’ to call for help (I bet they wondered what the annoying banging was). If, like my Dad, you have a thing for Morse Code, Qbit Labs’ Morse Code Translator is free Morse Code software online that can help users quench their thirst without having to spend too much of your time trying to learn the code.

Go enter the text that you want to hear (or...

Getting in touch with staff, managers, administrators, learners etc., who are scattered around the campus, region, globe becomes a need which is catered for by endless applications.

SendShots is one such tool, as it will let you...

• record a video message and
• send it to whomever you like.

This service is a free one, and all you need in order to set going is a web camera and microphone to record the message. Once you have done so, you simply...

• choose the recipient(s) and
• send the video ...

ShopTalk is an application that aims to make professional collaboration an easier task.

ShopTalk lets different members of a team chat with each other in a setting which is both private and secure.

One of the best aspects of the whole service is that it enables users to employ tabbed chat rooms. i.e. a person who is in more than one department/curriculum area/faculty etc., within the same organisation will be able to take part in different chat rooms at the same time should that be neces...

Familiar with Maslow's hierarchy of needs? YES, then you will instantly recognize where this came from.

The Hierarchy of Digital Distractions maps the various distractions of the digital age in accordance to their importance and attention they receive.

It takes a few moments to understand what’s happening in the pyramid. There are at least 9 columns within the pyramid, starting from Flickr/LinkedIn, Google, on the left and ending at eBay on the right.

Entries at the top of the pyra...

BeQRious is a unique online service which can generate QR codes from any...

• web URL,
• email address,
• phone number,
• text message,
• social networking profile or
• pictures.

QR or Quick Response codes are two dimensional bar codes which are designed in a way that they can be instantly decoded, especially by devices like cellphones.

For more information about QR codes, visit this article – What Are QR Codes? Digitize your World & Back Again <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/qr-codes-can-digitize...

Shortology provides a way for users, administrators-managers-practitioners-learners etc., to voice their opinion or promote a website, resource or course that they render in just Seven bullet points.

The idea is to concentrate the mind, as users need to formulate their opinion in 7 “bullets” and publish it. This makes all users put their thoughts/arguments across more effectively.

Think about it...

• what is the attention span of a regular reader?
• how does that translate into the In...