Tools

=GoAnimate!= @http://goanimate.com is a website that allows you to create animations without drawing for free.

=iDVD= iDVD is part of Apple's iLife suite and you can use it to create professional-looking DVDs with animated menus and slide shows.

=Pages= Pages is a word processing application an part of Apple's iLife suite.

=Google Calendar= Google Calendar is an online calendaring tool that allows you to keep a public or private online calendar that is available on any computer and many smart phones. Google Calendar can be synced with Microsoft Exchange Calendar and Apple's iCal.

=Google Docs= Google Docs is an suite of office productivity applications that are internet based. Google Docs allow you to share your documents with others in a way that allows you and others to edit the same document while tracking changes. Below is a video that helps explain why Google Docs are so popular. media type="youtube" key="eRqUE6IHTEA" height="344" width="425"

=Comic Life= Comic Life is a tool that allows you to quickly create a comic on a PC or Mac and save it in a wide variety of formats. It can be a lot of fun for students to explain something in the form of a comic. Below are some instructions for using Comic Life.

=GarageBand= = = GarageBand is an application that comes with OS X and is part of the iLife suite. It includes a lot of features that make it easy for students to begin podcasting. Students can easily manipulate their voices and add jingles and stingers, that are included in the application, to their podcasts. When planning a podcasting project it is important to consider the time it will take students to complete the project. I generally plan to spend a class period talking about what makes and effective podcast. I often compare podcasts to radio programs for students that are unfamiliar with podcasts. We talk about developing a theme for the podcast and incorporating music into the recording. I spend the following day teaching students how to use the basic features of GarageBand. Students are then required to create a script that I review before they do any recording of audio. It is important that students understand that their podcast is not a live broadcast. One of the nice things about a podcast is that you can make a mistake and continue recording. Once they are done recording they can eliminate their mistakes. Below are some basic instructions for creating a podcast with GarageBand.

=iMovie= iMovie is an application that comes with OS X and is part of the iLife suite. The current version of iMovie is iMovie '09. A lot of people are still using the older iMovie HD, so I have included the instructions too. When using iMovie with students I generally plan to spend quite a bit of time planning with students prior to letting them start their projects. I usually have them create a proposal, storyboard, and script.

=iPhoto= iPhoto is a photo management application and is part of Apple’s iLife suite. Besides organizing your photos into albums, you can also use it to do basic edits on photos, such as getting rid of red eye and cropping your photos. I think everyone’s favorite feature of iPhoto is that it allows you to quickly create slides shows of your photos using music loops or music from your iTunes library.

=iTunes= iTunes is a free application for both PCs and Macs (http://apple.com/itunes) that allows you to copy music onto your computer from CDs and MP3s. You can also download music, TV shows, movies, and podcasts onto your computer for later use. One big misconception is that you need an iPod to use iTunes. You can use iTunes if you do not own a MP3 player. You can use iTunes to create audio CDs from the music you put on your computer so you can take it anywhere. One of my favorite features of iTunes is the built-in podcast directory. “A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers” (Wikipedia). Podcasts can be in the form of an audio track or a video (video podcast). Two of my longtime favorite podcasts are //History According to Bob//, which is an audio podcast about a variety of historical characters and events, and //Meet the Press//. //Meet the Press// is the actual television show that airs weekly on NBC. More recently I have become a fan of the new Channel 86 podcast.

=Keynote= Keynote is a presentation tool that is similar to Microsoft's PowerPoint. Keynote is part of the Apple's iWork Suite. I really like the ease of use of Keynote and the Transitions.

= Skype = Skype (__[|Skype.com]__) is an Instant Message/ Chat Client (up to 100 people) and a Voice Over IP (VOIP) Phone with Video (up to 5 people).There is both a free and paid version. The big difference is that with the free version you cannot call and receive calls from landlines and cell phones.This is a really great resource for us to communicate around the building/ world. You can also use it to transfer files that are too big for email (there is no size limit!). Below are step-by-step instructions for Skype.

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