Tools for teachers - End-of-Semester round up of my favorite teaching tools!

Hi all!

I'm doing a "tool roundup" of current favorite web teaching & collaborating tools..

As a non-tenure track professor, I often feel I don't have the time to go and investigate new teaching tools.  The reward-benefit ratio felt unbalanced - especially if I was looking for something to quickly use in class.  However, taking this instructional design course has helped push me to learn new tools - to my delight, it hasn't been that hard* and actually really *fun* (a word I don't always associate with adjunct composition teaching :/  ).   Can't wait to think about how to integrate some of these into next year's classes!

 *I also learned that for almost any purpose, there is someone out there who has put together a pros/cons or top 10 list of tools JUST for that purpose!

Here's my current faves:

1.  Google docs suite
Why'd you use it: why wouldn't you?!
This free tool has a very simple, but very powerful conceit: create documents saved to the web; share them with others.    This means others can view your document in real time as you change or update it, but it also means that multiple people can edit documents together, as well as comment on a document.  Amazing for team work of almost any variety, plus I've used it for group annotation.   Available mobile (although to me, harder to use than desktop)


2. Screen-cast-o- Matic
Why you'd use it: make FREE short videos with voice recordings of you while the picture shows your screen.  Excellent for teaching any kind of technology, or giving feedback on someone's work in a video format.  Read my post about it!

3. Popplet
Why you'd use it: pleasantly designed & easy to use brainstorming app - with option for collaborating.  Again, it's a tool with a million possible uses.  Create a connected web of "popples" with text, pictures or video.  Option to collaborate so that a group can brainstorm together & share media.  A total joy to use on a mobile device - however, the full mobile app costs $5 (there is a free "lite" version), and collaboration needs to be initiated on the desktop version at this time (I think) http://popplet.com/

4. Google Hangouts On Air
Why you'd use it: a way of broadcasting and recording live chat sessions.  You can use it for an interactive broadcast, but I've used it to interview & record conversations with SMEs (and then upload to YouTube).  You need a Google login to use, but fairly easy.  Here's my tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2e0a3sTQrc

5. Hypothes.is
A kind of cool but esoteric tool - allows you to make annotations on live websites and share them (with others who have an account).  Lots of ways to use it for teaching (in terms of having a group of students annotating together) - also allows you to annotate with videos or images, which is cool.
More on hypothes.is here and a tutorial here.

6. Skype
OK, most people know what Skype is...but in terms of video conferencing, it's my current favorite.  Unlike Google hangouts, it does this cool thing where you can click on another app and still see that person's face in a little pop-up while you're working.  This is great for working together on a Google doc or some other shared program.   So this wins my current favorite.

Tools I want to try:

Haiku deck  (for creating presentations - mobile friendly)

Google Classroom (alternative LMS)

Other tools I've been using that are worth checking out:

Slack (group work/chat app)

Cluster (group photo-sharing - a kind of invite-only private instagram!)