Tag Archives: Cloud

Tiki-Toki

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Tiki-Toki

taken from http://www.tiki-toki.com/

ABOUT:

Tiki-Toki is a sleak, easy-to-use, presentation friendly timeline software. It allows embedded photos and videos. Each panel is clickable, and enlarges to the screen, which makes this good for presentations as well. The application exists on the cloud, is visually driven, and is easy to use.

Supported

Mac, PC

Pros

  • Visually beautiful
  • Great for linear thinkers
  • Embeds a variety of media
  • Allows groups to edit one timeline together

Cons

  • You cannot store presentations. The free version only allows you to make one presentation – though you can erase that and create another, endlessly.
  • Unless you upgrade, you cannot embed content, or share with anything other than a link.
  • Easily invites over-design

EXAMPLES

Below is an example of a news story that was a current event at the time it was built. This tiki-toki was used as a short presentation. Click the image below to visit the example:

Tiki-Toki-example

 

Uses

Tiki-Toki can be used to present, or record events. You would likely use this in a History course, or any course where you need to create a historical record that features video, audio, or images.

YouTube

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YouTube

Taken from: http://xmorbid.blogspot.com/2014/10/logo-youtube.html

ABOUT:

YouTube is a video viewing, editing, and hosting platform. Many of us already use YouTube to watch music videos, commercials, and even whole television shows, but you can also use this great tool to host your own videos. What many people don’t know is that you can upload raw footage and use YouTube as an editing tool, which is pretty simple. YouTube also has a lot of social distribution features like tagging, labeling, and creating channels for specific topics.

Supported

Mac, PC, Tablet, Mobile

Pros

  • Extremely wide user base
  • lots of features
  • Editing tool availability

Cons

  • uploading takes a lot of time
  • storing footage to upload takes up a lot of space on your hard drive
  • student videos tend to be longer than most people want to watch (be careful of this)

EXAMPLES

The video below was created by 200 students at Kansas State University in 2007. It features real concerns by real students.

Uses

YouTube has a nearly endless set of uses: presentations, documentation, illustrations — pretty much any creative process that you could film.

iMovie

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iMovie

taken from macworld.com

ABOUT:

iMovie is simple video editing software for your Mac – in fact – it comes pre-installed on all Macintosh computers, except iPads. It is easy to use, though requires more training than Windows Movie Maker. It comes with simple transitions, effects, and labeling to enhance your footage. You can film right from your computer, import your own footage, stills or music to create a video for whatever your needs might be. Once your movie is created, you can export it in several ways, in a variety of qualities, including straight to youtube.

Supported

Mac, iPad only

Pros

  • Has lots of professional looking transitions and effects.
  • export to anywhere
  • Easy to learn using a tutorial

Cons

  • May be somewhat overwhelming for beginners
  • Videos take up lots of space on your hard drive

EXAMPLES


Because it is impossible to link to an example of a work in progress – or a dashboard, as iMovie actually is – the link above is a short tutorial put out by KingTutsPro that you can watch to see how someone might build a simple video.

Uses

Videos can be used for a variety of assignments, or to enhance a digital assignment. You can embed them into larger projects or use them all on their own. You can pretty much make a video for anything you might imagine.

Weebly

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Weebly

WeeblyScreenShot

ABOUT:

Weebly is a surprisingly easy way to create a unique website, blog or online store. It is a drag-and-drop system that allows you to chose from many templates, and plugins that will help you create your page. You can import images, video, and text to help you create your project and capture your audience. It’s so easy, you can even do it on your phone.

Supported

PC, Mac, Mobile

Pros

  • The drag and drop dashboard is so easy, even a first time web builder can do it, with no tutorial
  • The templates are versatile enough to create lots of types of sites
  • No coding needed. Ever.

Cons

  • Because of the ease of Weebly, it has less of a professional feel than many other site builders.
  • Because there is no coding involved, you are stuck with the offerings on Weebly

EXAMPLES

There are several examples of Weebly website online. Click on the image below to see a page where you can click on a bunch of different student examples:

taken from http://wefed.weebly.com/student-sites.html

Uses

You can use Weebly to complete several kinds of projects. It is a great place to keep a class blog, or to create a website for a presentation, or a digital portfolio.

WordPress

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WordPress

Taken from: http://www.sixsix8.com/2011/02/hi-resolution-social-media-logos/

ABOUT:

Many people use WordPress as either a blogging site, or a website. This is because WordPress is versatile and has many features to chose from, both free, and for a charge. First, the user must chose a ‘theme’ which makes up the look and feel of the blog site. The user must then clear the WordPress settings, like the “Hello World!” post that comes with each new site. Once you have chosen a theme and written the first post, there are a number of options you have, each specific to the theme you have chosen, including but not limited to – video streaming, media hosting, static pages, menus, and a variety of widget and plugins to enhance your site.

Supported

Mac, PC, Mobile, Tablet

Pros

  • Multi-Use tool
  • Easy to use and maintain once you get the hang of it
  • One user may host over 10 blogs using the same login

Cons

  • It takes a long time to design your blog or website, and this can be a difficult experience for new users.
  • Some themes will allow certain actions, while others will not – or will ask for them to be performed differently. This can be confusing and frustrating.

EXAMPLES

This blog won an award in 2012 for best student blog. Consider the layout, color choice and content arrangement as you look through the example. Click on the image below to be taken to the full site:

WordPress-2

 

Uses

Blogs can be used for any number of projects. A blog can be built to look like a website, or to keep a log of content like the example above.

You may be asked to keep a blog for a class, or you may elect to use the blog application to showcase a project, or keep your own personal record of your learning. The blog is only as limited as your imagination.

Toondoo

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Toondoo

taken from http://www.toondoo.com/

ABOUT:

Toondo is a free online software program that can turn your material into a comic strip that you design. Create yourself giving a presentation using images and text that create a comic-narrative. Toondo design has a lot of choices so you can create a lot of different looks for characters, backgrounds, and speech bubbles.

Supported

online software only for Mac and PC

Pros

  • lots of fun choices for comic creation
  • a fresh way to present a narrative

Cons

  • choices are limited to certain body types and skin colors
  • not all audiences know how to read frame-to-frame

EXAMPLES

Plessy v Ferguson

The above example is a simple 4 panel comic showing the Plessy v Ferguson trial in an easy to follow way. You could easily present the details not pictured on the cartoon and use something like this as your presentation visual cue.

Uses

Toondo is appropriate for presenting any material that flows in a linear style, including history narratives, book reports, or even scientific discoveries.

Timetoast

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Timetoast

TimetoastScreenShot 2

 

ABOUT:

Using Timetoast, you can create simple, clean timelines that are shareable, and presentable. The continuum of dates along the bottom of your timeline uses plot-points that can be inserted that enlarge when clicked. Each plotted point can be filled in with images and data specific to the history or narrative you want to convey to your audience.

Pros

  • Creators can easily insert media (video, photos, audio clips)
  • Viewers can interact with the timeline to learn more
  • Spans of time can be added along the bottom of the timeline
  • Can have multiple events at the same time

Cons

  • Must add specific day/month/year
  • Pop-up explanations can sometime be distracting
  • Not much customization with the look and feel in the free version
  • Does not print, can only be shown online

EXAMPLES

The example below incorporates images and text on specific events in the timeline and includes spans of time to show when movements began and ended.

TimelineIDTExample 2

Uses

Timetoast is a great tool to use when creating timelines for classes like History, Literature, or even a report on the background of your favorite politician or scientist, especially when you want to incorporate more than just text. It can be used as a presentation, or can be something you feature in a blog post or a group project on another site.

Prezi

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Prezi

PreziScreenShot

ABOUT:

Prezi is a free  presentation tool that allows you to zoom in and out of content so you can present with more than just flat slides. You can chose from a template, as you can see in the screen shot above, and insert your own text, video, photos, and more, or you can start from scratch and build your own presentation with a book cover backdrop, or a photo that correlates to your research. Prezi moves from frame to frame in a fun way that can make a viewer dizzy, so be careful, but Prezi also allows you to zoom in ways that can make a presentation on, say, the solar system, quite amazing.

Supported

Prezi operates on Mac, PC, iPad and iPhone

Pros

  • Interesting and exciting if designed well
  • Embedding capabilities allow you to be able to play youtube videos and other media right inside the presentation
  • Backgrounds and images are fully customizable

Cons

  • Can be too flashy and distracting if not designed well
  • Free Prezi version is always public

EXAMPLES


In the above post, the student used a template that goes along with her topic. She did alter the template a little, which Prezi allows the user to do. Also, because the free Prezi tool is public, the user can share her content anywhere on the web, which is how it is embedded here.


The above Prezi is a book recommendation presentation that plays with the zooming feature Prezi allows. This student chose to use Prezi in a way that would enhance his presentation and take advantage of the storyline featured in the book he talks about.

Uses

Prezi can be used to present information, an argument, or to give a proposal. It is best for shorter presentations, as your audience could easily get lost in Prezi’s frame-to-frame movement. You want to make sure that the Prezi you chose is designed well and correlates with your presentation. Don’t use Prezi just because you think it looks cool. Make sure you have a reason for using Prezi over another tool.

If you’re not sure if Prezi is right for your presentation, visit the website and take a look around. They have tutorials and examples in plenty.