Tech Treasures

What is my favorite tool I’ve learned about in class so far from Steve Katz? 

My first thought when I read today’s assignment was: “ Oh, my gosh, where should I start?!”  I have found this course to be so rich, informative, useful, practical, “take it and use it”-style, and I am just so grateful I was able to learn this much, that I simply can’t choose only one. 
Instead, I am going to make a prioritized list of the tools I found most useful (I tried to prioritize, but they’re all great!).  I didn’t want to keep them all to myself, because they’re way too valuable, so here they are:

1. Creating my blog/digital portfolio/website (this was my first inspiration as the course started and I am looking forward to turning it into a strong digital presence indicator)
2. Keynote (Such a great tool, so versatile, with very cute themes but also many professional ones, so many possibilities! Alternative to PPT, Prezi etc.)
3. www.clippingmagic.com (It makes your pictures look so much more professional – although it can take a lot of time.)
4. www.creativecommons.com (Common sense knowledge I’ve been lacking up until now. I know, I know… Never too late, though!)
5. www.goanimate.com (Relatively easy to use do-it-yourself animation movies.)
6. www.slidebean.com (Very user-friendly presentation tool, an alternative to PowerPoint, Keynote or Prezi)
7. www.symbaloo.com (Great tool to keep you organized. It helps you keep track of all those websites you accessed once, you liked, but you forgot.)
8. www.myinternationaleducator.com (The free alternative to www.internationalschoolsreview.com.)
9. Using the Newsletter format in Word (and all the other options) (Enhances the professionalism of your communication and of your image.)
10. www.sweetsearch.com and www.instagrok.com (Great search engines for schools.)
11. www.soundcloud.com (~Facebook for audio.)
12. www.tineye.com (Upload an image and find its source.)
13.  www.thenounproject.com (“Creative commons” for icons.)
14. www.slideshare.com (Share your presentations with the world.)
15. www.twitter.com (I was a non-believer, but I am slowly starting to see its pros.)
16. GarageBand (I know, I’m late…)
17. QuickTime Player (Same as above, however, again, it’s never too late.)

To paraphrase a Romanian proverb: “You only live as long as you learn”.

Thank you for helping us stay alive and and up-to-date, professor Steve!