I recently read a list of Clarence Fisher’s top ten tech tools, which made me wonder a bit about my own. The list is very fluid and can change dramatically from one year to the next but here’s my list of current tech tools. Some of these are personal tools, some are work related and most of them are both since I find, and many other teachers have agreed with me, that my personal life and work life aren’t as distinct from each other as they should be. Here’s my list:
Firefox (sometimes Safari, and I’ve also been trying Chrome) – most of my tools are web based, so the browser is an important tool. I’ve been saying for a few years that my favourite OS is Firefox, because it supports a wide variety of plugins that are invaluable to me.
iGoogle – My internet dashboard. This is what I see when I start my web browser.
My portal to the webGoogle Docs – I use this for planning, for marking, for keeping track of student marks, etc. Anything I used to do with a word processor or spreadsheet on my hard drive, I now take care of using Google Docs. I’ve also used Google Docs as an indispensable tool for managing my online Computer Science 20 class. I’ve used the forms feature to collect information that I use for enrolling students in the Moodle installation that manages our online learning centre, and I store all the students’ assignments in Google Docs. It’s a process that I’d like to share in more detail sometime.
GDocsUploader – This is a Mac application, although similar Windows apps exist, that uploads documents to Google Docs (you had probably guessed that). I use this extensively with my online Computer Science class. For review questions, I have student’s submit their assignments in .doc or .odt format. When I download these assignments, I have it opened by GDocsUploader so the assignments are automagically sent to Google Docs. Once it is there, I save the assignment with the student’s name in the file name then move it to a folder of their assignments. Boom – instant e-portfolio.
Twitter – It might be true that this is sometimes a distraction, but it is also a source of valuable information and a way of connecting to others who are interested in the use of technology to enable learning.
WordPress – one of my most important tools. This is the main way that I share information with the world through this blog and through others that I use for my role as a teacher. WordPress can be used as a very effective content management system in many cases and doesn’t have the learning curve that Drupal does (or the power either, but that is the tradeoff for ease of use)
Jing – I think of Jing as guerilla screencasting. If you need a quickie screencast with no editing, Jing is the tool. It works on Mac and Windows. It also does still screen caps as well (like the above iGoogle shot).
Camtasia – When I need to get serious about screencasting, the tool of choice is Camtasia which, unfortunately, is only available for Windows. I teach online Computer Science classes, so sometimes I need the screencasts to be a little more polished than the quickie I can do with Jing. I know that there is a Mac app, Screenflow, which is very similar to Camtasia but I haven’t had the chance to try it out. If it works, my screencasting platform might move completely over to Mac.
Things – task management software – I just started using this with my Mac. It’s a Mac only task management application but the killer feature, for me, is that it syncs wirelessly with my iPod touch which is running its version of Touch. It is in beta right now but a full release should be available by the end of the year.
Wiretap Studio/GarageBand/Levelator - my tools of choice for creating the EdTech Posse podcast. I record Skype conversations and do some basic audio level adjustments via Wiretap Studio. Then I load it into GarageBand to add the introduction and ending for the podcast as well as some editing if absolutely necessary. The last step in production is to run the whole thing through the Levelator, which normalizes all the volume levels by some sort of voodoo.
And one more - I know this brings the total to eleven, but Quicksilver is something I use so often I forget that it’s not part of the Mac OS. I use it mainly as a launcher using keyboard shortcuts, but it can be used for other things like appending text to text files. It is a swiss army knife for the Mac OS, and all Mac owners should use it. (I’ve also heard good things about Sapiens, but QS is the one I keep coming back to).
So if Clarence did a list, and I did one too, does that make this a meme? N’ah, but if you decide to publish your own list, leave a comment or link back to here so I can find out what other tools are being used.
Rob,
Great list! Perhaps, I’ll use some of your ideas in my work.
As for the task management system, you will probably be interested in trying new service http://task2gather.com.
It works on desktop (via different browsres) and it has iPhone client as well. It performs greatly and has a hierarchical view that singles out this service among all the rest.
Rob,
Great list! Perhaps, I’ll use some of your ideas in my work.
As for the task management system, you will probably be interested in trying new service http://task2gather.com.
It works on desktop (via different browsres) and it has iPhone client as well. It performs greatly and has a hierarchical view that singles out this service among all the rest.
Thanks for your suggestion, Olga. It’s nice to know of alternatives. I’ll probably give your service a try and, if I can find the time, I might even give it a review. The inclusion of an iPhone client is, to my mind, what will make the difference between being a useful tool and a killer app. I often go places without my MacBook, but I am rarely without my iTouch.
Thanks for your suggestion, Olga. It’s nice to know of alternatives. I’ll probably give your service a try and, if I can find the time, I might even give it a review. The inclusion of an iPhone client is, to my mind, what will make the difference between being a useful tool and a killer app. I often go places without my MacBook, but I am rarely without my iTouch.
If you’d like a tool for managing your time and projects, you can use this application inspired by David Allen’s GTD:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage and prioritize your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.
If you’d like a tool for managing your time and projects, you can use this application inspired by David Allen’s GTD:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage and prioritize your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.
Very interesting! I’m surprised to find how little we have in common here. Most of the things you list, I don’t even use at all. You mention that,”my personal life and work life aren’t as distinct from each other as they should be.” Why do you think they should be distinct?
Very interesting! I’m surprised to find how little we have in common here. Most of the things you list, I don’t even use at all. You mention that,”my personal life and work life aren’t as distinct from each other as they should be.” Why do you think they should be distinct?
@Dan Thanks for the link. I might give it a try sometime. There certainly seem to be a glut of project/task managers available right now.
@Jen Fluid and dramatically changing are relative terms. The post started off being mainly about my tools for teaching and in that context changing from year to year is pretty fluid. Sometimes I’ll even change from one semester to the next, but once a semester has started I’ll usually stick with a tool to see how it fits in to what my needs are over the course of a semester.
Should my personal life and work life be distinct? It would probably keep me a little bit saner at some times. Also, I want to make sure that my family gets my time and attention. Sometimes the desire to find new ideas for class or play with my tech toys – uh, I mean tools – distracts me from being in the moment with them.
@Dan Thanks for the link. I might give it a try sometime. There certainly seem to be a glut of project/task managers available right now.
@Jen Fluid and dramatically changing are relative terms. The post started off being mainly about my tools for teaching and in that context changing from year to year is pretty fluid. Sometimes I’ll even change from one semester to the next, but once a semester has started I’ll usually stick with a tool to see how it fits in to what my needs are over the course of a semester.
Should my personal life and work life be distinct? It would probably keep me a little bit saner at some times. Also, I want to make sure that my family gets my time and attention. Sometimes the desire to find new ideas for class or play with my tech toys – uh, I mean tools – distracts me from being in the moment with them.
Hey Rob, I just came across your note about using Google forms + Docs with Moodle and that you’d “like to share in more detail sometime”. I’m busy seeking out examples of innovative uses of Moodle across Canada for the 2009 Moodle Moot to be held in Edmonton April 1-4. Our plan is to gather examples from teachers who might not be available to attend the conference in person and to present these cases on their behalf (always an issue with conferences — teachers are too busy to attend so we sometimes miss out on the REAL stuff!)
Are you interested?
Hey Rob, I just came across your note about using Google forms + Docs with Moodle and that you’d “like to share in more detail sometime”. I’m busy seeking out examples of innovative uses of Moodle across Canada for the 2009 Moodle Moot to be held in Edmonton April 1-4. Our plan is to gather examples from teachers who might not be available to attend the conference in person and to present these cases on their behalf (always an issue with conferences — teachers are too busy to attend so we sometimes miss out on the REAL stuff!)
Are you interested?
Definitely interested, Sylvia. The Moodle community has been such a great help to me that I’d welcome any opportunity to contribute back. I’ll get some more detailed information to you, and I might even be able to get to the Moodle Moot! I’m only 5 hours away, and we are using Moodle to power my school’s online learning centre. Sounds like a great opportunity to improve what we’re doing there.
Definitely interested, Sylvia. The Moodle community has been such a great help to me that I’d welcome any opportunity to contribute back. I’ll get some more detailed information to you, and I might even be able to get to the Moodle Moot! I’m only 5 hours away, and we are using Moodle to power my school’s online learning centre. Sounds like a great opportunity to improve what we’re doing there.