Adrian Jarratt's Weblog

Resizr.com

2009-10-10T01:32:00.004+01:00

It is so frustrating when a webpage loads slowly and often it is because of images that appear on the page and their download size. It is a recurring Learning Platform problem in schools because when teachers upload images they don't have the expertise (or the time!) to bother to reduce the image's size.
Finally, help is at hand! Read what Resizr have to say about this most useful web application:
Power users and graphic design professionals alike find image manipulation to be easy. However, for the vast majority of folks, it's not. You have to find (and usually pay) for a program, download and install it, then, you have to figure out how to USE that program. On top of all that, you have to be intimately familiar with how to use your operating system's file system. Saving files, copying files, multiple versions of files -- it's all complicated stuff for all but the most sophisticated users.

Crazy Talk

2009-07-27T20:54:00.002+01:00

CrazyTalk is a revolutionary tool for creating sophisticated, zaney or dramatic talking characters for unique digital content. Simply import an image and CrazyTalk guides you through the process to bring it to life with wizard-like menus for beginners and in-depth power editors for pros. Excellent tool for engaing learners and bringing on-line environments to life.

Xtranormal

2009-07-27T20:44:00.001+01:00

Xtranormal’s mission is to bring movie-making to the people. Everyone watches movies and they believe everyone can make movies. Movie-making, short and long, online and on-screen, private and public, will be the most important communications process of the 21st century.

Their revolutionary approach to movie-making builds on an almost universally held skill—typing. You type something; they turn it into a movie. On the web and on the desktop.

Zoomerang

2009-04-29T11:13:00.003+01:00

Create online surveys with advanced reporting, PowerPoint charts, skip logic, custom branding and more.

Wallwisher

2009-04-27T10:22:00.003+01:00

Wallwisher is an online notice board maker. It can be used for making announcements or keeping notes. It work on the same principle as Post-It notes. It has the potential for use in education for sharing and developing ideas. Registration is free and you can make the "walls" either public or private.

Photosynth

2009-04-07T10:04:00.005+01:00

I came across this at a the recent NAACE conference and thought it would be worth sharing - it takes the principle of the panorama one step further.
Imagine being able to share the places and things you love using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world. With nothing more than a bunch of photos, Photosynth creates an amazing new experience.

AccessApps

2009-01-06T09:53:00.003Z

AccessApps is an initiative developed by the Scottish JISC Regional Support Centres in cooperation with JISC TechDis. It consists of over 50 open source and freeware assistive technology applications which can be entirely used from a USB stick on a Windows computer

Glogster

2008-12-09T20:54:00.002Z

Glogster is a great tool for creating personalised, professional looking online posters. Add images, videos and tesxt to impressive looking "Glogsters".

Cueprompter - The online teleprompter

2008-11-12T13:36:00.004Z

One of the problems when creating interesting podcasts is creating a script that is easy to follow and read. I have discovered this free service that enables you to create an easy to read script that appears like an autocue:

CuePrompter is a free teleprompter/autocue service. Your browser works like a teleprompter -no extra software needed.Bookmark this site and come again when ever you need teleprompter services. Free for any use (both commercial and non-commercial).

Fuse Creator

2008-10-10T15:44:00.004+01:00

Want to create high-quality, interactive activities for your students, but don't have a degree in computer programming? Well, now you don't need one.
Fuse Creator will help you to create engaging interactive content, quickly and easily, which you can use over and over on your school or personal computers, websites and VLEs.

Game Maker

2008-10-10T15:33:00.004+01:00

Do you want to develop computer games without spending countless hours learning how to become a programmer? Game Maker allows you to make exciting computer games, without the need to write a single line of code.
Using easy to learn drag-and-drop actions, you can create professional looking games within very little time. There is a built-in programming language, for more experienced users, which gives you the full flexibility of creating games with Game Maker. Game Maker is available free of charge. Making games with Game Maker is a lot of fun.

I-Tech's Virtual Keyboard

2008-09-22T15:51:00.003+01:00

This device will save space on your desktop and enable you to type into small mobile devices with a reasonable sized keyboard.
In the size of a Zipo lighter and in an outer spaced "enterprise" style, it uses a laser beam to generate a full-size perfectly operating laser keyboard that smoothly connects to MAC's, Smart Phones, the new Blackberry and Any kind of PC and Most of the handheld devices (PDA's, tablet PC's).

Jing

2008-09-22T15:41:00.004+01:00

The concept of Jing is the always-ready program that instantly captures and shares images and video…from your computer to anywhere.

A really good resource for developing online environments, this web application can be used to capture anything on your PC screen or record video and upload it to the web.

Bubbl.Us - Free Mindmapping Software

2008-09-22T15:30:00.004+01:00

Bubbl.us
Excellent and free mindmapping software. Mindmaps can be created, shared and printed from this online web application.

Learn Scratch

2008-07-24T06:25:00.002+01:00

“As more and more people start using Scratch, there is a great need for more tutorials and support materials. This site is a great example of how members of the Scratch community can contribute back to the community."
Mitchel Resnick, Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Research Group and the Scratch Team, MIT.

Animator vs Animation

2008-06-22T22:34:00.002+01:00

A fun animation - very inspiring for students wanting to produce their own Pivot Stickfigure Animator animations.

Click here to view the animation

Copyright and Creative Commons

2008-06-04T14:25:00.006+01:00

Get Creative - Video
This is a an informative video about how Creative Commons copyright works and how it enables people to give permission for their work to be shared by others without infringement of copyright law.

Click on the Creative commons image to find out more:

Stats4Schools

2008-06-04T08:38:00.004+01:00

Looking for large data sets? Stats4schools is managed by the independent Offcie for National Statistics and contains thousands of records and data. Following the launch of the NS Renewed Framework for ICT and the change of emphasis in some of the Programmes of Study, in particular "Exploring Ideas and manipulating information"- "manipulating and processing large quantities of data efficiently" ICT teachers are starting to look for a source of "large data sets", the "stats4schools" site is an excellent place to start!

TxtTools

2008-04-05T08:03:00.005+01:00

txttools - SMS communication for education, health and business. I saw this demonstrated by Stephen Heppell at a conference recently - very cool!

Photosoup

2008-03-03T16:24:00.004Z

PhotoSoup is a visual word puzzle generator that allows users to create word search puzzles with tag-photo pairs taken from Flickr. The tag is hidden in the puzzle, and only the associated photo is shown as a clue. The objective is to find all hidden tags in the puzzle before you run out of time.

Splashup - Online Photo Editing

2008-02-05T18:18:00.002Z

Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager. With all the features professionals use and novices want, it's easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once. Splashup runs in all browsers, integrates seamlessly with top photosharing sites, and even has its own file format so you can save your work in progress.
Great for anyone who wants to edit images but doesn't have expensive image manipulation software on their PC - access to the Internet required!

Bebo Safety

2008-02-01T11:54:00.001Z

Bebo Safety is designed to help educate young people, parents and teachers about the safe and positive use of Bebo.

http://www.bebo.com/Safety.jsp

This site is an excellent resource for teaching e-safety. It provides links to a wide variety of resources including vidoes that seek to address many of the issues around safe use of the Internet:
CyberBullying
Personal Data
Uploading/Sharing Content Safely

Ironically Bebo websites are often on the list of banned websites inside school so you may not be able to view these resources unless you are on a computer outside a school network. Not very helpful I know but it does illustrate why, if teachers are going to use these motivating and engaging tools like Bebo, e-safety needs to be addressed in school!

Hyperwords

2008-01-19T13:38:00.001Z

Hyperwords is a small (free) software application that will make any text viewed in a web browser interactive. Select any word on any page and choose a command; search, translate, reference, email, look up on a map etc. A very useful application but currently only availabe for Firefox and Flock with an IE version likely to be availabe later in the year. Have a look: http://www.hyperwords.net/

Stone UMPC

2008-01-16T08:35:00.002Z

Stone UMPC
Originally uploaded by landhere

I saw this device for the first time at BETT 08. The Stone UMPC is a small laptop with a design that mirrors the Asus Eee PC and RM miniBook, and adds the killer feature of Bluetooth connectivity. It is a little more expensive than the Eee PC but has more functionality.
Stone Computers

Hand-held Keyboard with SMS Text Translation and Predictive text software

2008-01-16T08:07:00.001Z

Introducing cre8txt keyboard from cre8txt limited. This keyboard is suitable for people who have already learnt to enter text on their mobile phones and want the same speed and experience when writing on a computer.
This is an excellent device for typing fast onto a computer, utilising SMS abbreviations and the advanced word prediction tool you can really achieve remarkable speeds with the cre8txt keyboard.
To find out more about it Click Here