Tackk

Tackk - Quickly Create Simple Webpages

Tackk is a free service that you can use to quickly create simple webpages. Using Tackk you can create a page to announce an important event, to advertise an event, or to show off your best digital works.

To create a Tackk page you do not need to register for an account, but unregistered Tackk pages expire after seven days. If you register for the service your Tackk pages stay up indefinitely. I registered for the service before creating my first Tackk page. Creating my Tackk was a simple matter of uploading an image then adding text in the customizable fields above and below my image. Tackk pages can accommodate videos, audio files,  and maps, but I did not include those items in my first Tackk page.

Applications for Education
Tackk could be a good tool for students to use to quickly create a page to show off some of their digital photography, video creation projects, or audio files. Student groups looking to create a landing page for a fundraising event may want to give Tackk a try too.

Realtime Board

Realtime Board - Collaborative Online Brainstorming

Realtime Board is a new online tool for hosting online, collaborative brainstorming sessions. Realtime Board provides a blank grid on which you can type, draw, and post pictures. You can connect elements on your boards through a simple linking tool. The boards that you create on Realtime Board can be shared publicly or privately. To help you communicate with your collaborators Realtime Board has a chat function built into every board.

Just Beam It

Quickly Share Large Files Through Just Beam It

Just Beam It is a free service for quickly sharing files up to 2GB in size. To transfer a file to someone else just drag a file from your desktop to Just Beam It in your browser. After dragging and dropping your file Just Beam It will generate a link to it that you can share with anyone.  The two most important updates are support for all modern browsers and support for multiple file uploads. If you upload multiple files, Just Beam It will zip them together on the fly for your convenience.

Commom Curriculum

Common Curriculum Helps You Create Common Core Lesson Plans

Common Curriculum is a new online lesson planning resource that aims to help you align your lessons to Common Core standards. In Common Curriculum you can enter your courses and write your lesson plans. After you enter a lesson plan into your Common Curriculum planner you can click "search for standard" to have Common Curriculum search for Common Core standards that might match your lesson plan. The more text that you include in your lesson plan the more likely Common Curriculum is to find Common Core standards that match your lesson plans.

Beyond the standards search, Common Curriculum has a couple of helpful tools for you. If your lessons tend to follow a particular pattern you can create a lesson plan template that you reuse across your schedule. If you don't have a blog or aren't consistently using a blog to publish information about your courses, Common Curriculum has you covered. Each lesson plan that you write in Common Curriculum can be published to a blog with just one click.

SpringPad

Springpad - Create Beautiful Notebooks of Your Favorite Resources

Springpad just launched a new set of bookmarking tools that strikes me as being part Pinterest and part Livebinders with more functions and better aesthetics than both of those services.

In Springpad you organize your bookmarks, notes, and files into notebooks. You can make as many notebooks as you like in your Springpad account. Each notebook can be made public or kept private. Springpad notebooks can be constructed collaboratively if you invite others to work on them with you. You can add content to your notebooks by clicking the "new spring" button in your notebook or by using the Springpad browser bookmarklet.

Text 2 Mind Map

Text 2 Mind Map - Type to Create a Mind Map

Text 2 Mind Map offers a great way to turn your typed outlines into mind maps. To create a mind map on Text 2 Mind Map type out an outline in the text box. After typing your outline click "draw mind map" to have your mind map created for you. If after creating your mind map you need to add more elements to just add them into your outline and click "draw mind map" again. Your mind map can be downloaded as a PDF or PNG file. The mind maps that you create on Text 2 Mind Map can also be shared via email, Facebook, or Twitter.

Video Star

Create a Video Star on Your iPad

Video Star is a free music video creation app that I had a little fun trying out on my iPad today. To create a music video on Video Star just select a song that you have stored on your iPad then start shooting live video. The music will play for as long as you record or until the end of the song. You can also import images from your iPad to create your video. Video Star also lets you apply special effects to your video. Some of the effects that you can apply include text boxes, title boxes, frames around images, transitions, and split screens.

Applications for Education
Video Star could be a great app for students to use to create short videos. The app is designed for fun music video projects, but it could be used for creating short documentary videos too. Have students record their own narrations and use them in Video Star with pictures about their chosen topics. 

Silk Slides

Silk Slides - An Easy Way to Share & Discuss Slides

Silk Slides is a new service for easily sharing and discussing slideshows. It is very easy to use the service. To get started just upload your slides (Keynote files didn't work for me) then enter your email address. When your upload is complete you can share your slides by sending the URL assigned to your slides to anyone you like.

Silk Slides allows commenting on each slide in your slideshow. To post a comment you have to enter your name (or nickname) and an email address.

Jump Share

Jump Share - Simple Drag and Drop File Sharing

Jumpshare is a free service that anyone can use to quickly send files to another person. To use Jumpshare just visit the site and drag a file from your desktop onto the Jumpshare site. After you drag in your file Jumpshare will create a link to your file that you can send to anyone via email, Twitter, or Google+