10 Unexplored tools
Why unexplored tools?
I have looked at hundreds, probably thousands, of web 2.0 or social media applications and services that could contribute to our efforts to enhance teaching and learning. While I was particularly taken by the top 10 (and the next top 10), and have also listed some standard and intriguing tools, there were still many more that I wanted to publicise and provide some kind of commentary upon. Without the time to do them full justice, and not being sure if they were as good as they looked, I have listed what I consider to the ten tools that I would next choose to look at in detail.
What is included?
As you can see from the foldout menu for these 10 tools in the navigation bar at the top of this page, these tools cover a very wide range. Here is a brief overview:
- Cinch – audio messaging and podcasting
- Convore – group distributed realtime conversations
- Omeka – professional-quality online exhibition application
- Phile – creating communities based around knowledge
- Pearltrees – curation of online information resources
- Wikicards – collaborative or private information organiser
- Tadagraph – project management
- Penio – quick web publishing
- Keepstream – Twitter (and more) social media curation application
- Orbs – web publishing for complex websites
In each case, I provide a basic overview of the service, then provide some suggestions about what needs to be explored, before posing a pedagogic challenge. Where possible, I also list some alternatives and similar applications.
Overall…
These 10 applications show off the diversity of creative expression, information organisation and public communication available online. Some will only work for specific teaching situations; others might have broad appeal. The task is now to explore them for real, seeing what they can and can’t do and, while doing so, learning deeper lessons about the relationship between digital networks and education.
