Flockdraw

FlockDraw is a simple but elegant sketching website which lets learners; draw, share and collaborate on freehand sketches and diagrams.

The simplicity of the tool makes it worth using. Just click 'start drawing' and users are presented with a blank canvas which has a url that can be easily shared (no sign up required). On the right hand side of the board are drawing tools that help you make a basic drawing – brush, text, line etc.

Currently you can embed the results of your sketch on a website or on a blog and the functionality to save your canvas will be coming soon.



However this would be fantastic used in an ICT classroom where learners can all access the same canvas and collaborate while viewing it on a projector as a class or on an interactive whiteboard.

Visit this nice drawing tool and have a play at www.flockdraw.com.

MagoFun

MagoFun serves a popular function, that of letting learners take any picture and have some fun with it. MagoFun allows users to upload a photograph and put it on the cover of a magazine. There are currently about 60 to choose from and once the cover is ready it can easily be published by the learner on websites, blogs or just included in a portfolio or used to start group discussions. The process is as easy as uploading the photo and selecting a cover from the many on offer and then download to your computer.

The nice thing about this website is learners need virtually no computer skills to use create a magazine cover like the example below.

Create your own fake mag cover at www.magofun.com.

Niceletter

Niceletter is a free letter wizard that will enable learners to construct a letter which complies with writing rules, simply by filling in text fields. No word editor is needed as the layout is handled automatically and the final draft can be saved as a PDF file or an RTF file.

Many sample letters are available such as; cover letters, thank you letters, complaint letters and business letters. Tutors can use these templates to discuss letter structure, content etc. with learners.

I created this letter in just 5 minutes. I didn't have to register with the website and the form used to enter the information was easy to use.

Find out more at www.niceletter.com.

Capture your screen and upload to the internet

This is brilliant. This could be used to create a 'how to' resource before a session, it could be used during a session for learners to evidence how they have performed a task or how they have located information from the internet, or it could be used in a session by a tutor and then annotated after the session and posted to learners as supplementary materials.

I created a 2 minute screencapture in a little over 5 minutes.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c6e10i1XD

1. Follow the link and click on the button to create a new screencast.
2. Resize the window around the part of the screen you want to capture.
3. Press the red record button.
4. Do what you want to do.
5. Press the red button to stop recording.
6. Upload to screencast-o-matic (SOM).
7. Add a title and a description.
8. Add some notes at specific times during the screencast
   (you can play the screencast, pause it and add a note at that point).
9. Save, register and upload it.
   

Alternatively use the link below and you won't have to register and it will go straight on to my Community Learning and Skills Development (CLSD) channel.