There are several tools available for the same purpose, however, each of them offer different features that can meet your specific needs at different moments. The ideal thing is to ask yourself what you would like the tool to do for you and then see which one meets your need.For the next posts, I'll be arranging different tools according to categories: such as: interactive boards, poster, wordcloud, podcast, image editing, video editing, slideshow,  presentation, screencast and  taking screenshots.NOTICEBOARDSVIRTUAL POSTERS

For this post, I'll be sharing sites with which you can create podcasts and different wordclouds.It's always nice to know different alternatives for a tool you use a lot. Say, the tool you're planning to use is not working properly on the day you need it. Then it's time to look for similar tools. PODCASTING                WORDCLOUDS                       

I always face everything in life as a learning experience. I've just finished a webinar hosted by Camila Sousa with some teachers from Chicago and loved the chance to put together many different ideas we 've had .Camila Sousa , who is responsible for helping teachers  (Lincoln School in Chicago) integrate technology to their classes, invited me to present a webinar about webtools and the projects I've been developing.Teachers had to enroll for the session online at their school site and then were hosted by Camila Sousa in a certain classroom at the school in the U.S. First, we thought of presenting using skype and sharing the presentation file, but then we ended up choosing WIZIQ instead. Using wiziq, the presentation would be recorded automatically and other teachers from the online course I facilitate would have the chance to attend as well.Organizing a webinar is not an easy task, specially because you're dealing with technology. You have to foresee several technical problems that can happen. We tested our equipment (microphone, webcam, internet connection), a few days before the presentation and little by little we came up with solutions for the little problems we imagined. First, we tested different microphones, which one was clearer? Then, as I intended participants to see and hear examples of the project I was talking about, instead of screensharing which sometimes produces lots of delays and bad images, I created a LIVEBINDER which would be used to show the examples using THEIR computer.This would be the scenario: we would meet in skype a few minutes before the session, test our webcams and microphones one more time and I would set up a classroom at wiziq. Then, I would send the link to Camila Sousa to join the classroom. We would have two kinds of participants: some teachers in one specific classroom in Chicago, watching the presentation on a big screen and participating with a microphone attached to Camila's laptop and teachers from different parts of Brazil participating online via the chat in the wiziq classroom. Participants would be invited to contribute with ideas at different moments. Camila would mediate the participation in Chicago and I would mediate the discussion with participants online.AND HOW DID IT GO?Well, everything went just fine.The equipments ran smoothly.The platform worked beautifully. I only ended up forgetting to pause the recording while we were organizing the room (first 7 mins).People participated giving suggestions.The livebinder idea proved to be a very good one as they could hear the recorded examples perfectly.Although I was a bit tense with the whole thing and worried about observing what was going on, checking the chat area , my slides and my presentation, it was ok.Presenting online, has its advantages, you present from your own space (your bedroom, your office), you don't have to face a huge crowd even if you have 300 people participating from different places, and can always rely on your notes. A big disadvantage I still find is missing the reaction of the audience. You can't make eye contact with anyone and have to rely on the webcam to get a hint of what's going on at "the other end of the line". I'd like to thank my dear friend, Camila Sousa, for the invitation and the opportunity to learn a bit more about presenting online.  I'll be sharing the recording of the presentation as soon as it becomes available.

These are the recordings of the Webinar I presented to teachers in Chicago. I used screencast-o-matic to split the recording into 3 parts.PART 1 - Developing the 4 Skills PART 2 - The 10 Tasks ChallengeTo see the examples I mentioned throghout the talk, click on the LIVEBINDER below:http://livebinders.com/play/play/181930This is "The 10 tasks Challenge" WIKI where you can find explanations, examples, links and tutorials.

I've just discovered via @dkapuler a post from the fantastic blog Free Technology for Teachers a site which allows you to transform a pdf file into a slideshow which can be embedded online.SPEAKERDECK - http://speakerdeck.comWe use the Promethean E-board at the school where I teach and a way to share the files we use during our lessons would be to export it as a pdf. The possibility to turn it into a slideshow is more visually appealing, I guess.* I still haven't found a way to diminish the size of the player.

I've always dreamed of watching a performance of Cirque du Soleil. What I like about it? I love the way they have turned the circus into a stage of pure ART, full of enchantment, wonderful music and jaw-dropping performances.Next week, it is my birthday and last week I got the BEST PRESENT EVER. Guess what?Yes, a ticket to see the show Varekai from Cirque du Soleil in São Paulo. Although, I could not take pictures during the show (it's forbidden), let me share a bit of one of the most poetic moments.THANK YOU, MOM!

Although the site is still in its beta version and an invite is needed to join it, we can already imagine its potential in education. The site allows you to create online flyers and posters by adding text, images, videos, gallery of photos, map, testimonials, events and so on.http://www.smorepages.com/A Cupcake Story from Smore on Vimeo.How can we  use it with students?create online flyers for school events. Or even better, ask students to create different flyers for the same school event.students can create posters about topics they are researching about.students can create posters about different celebrations throughout the school year.Via Free Technology for Teachers.

I've started an M. A. in Applied Linguistics this year and have been struggling to reemerge among all these books and articles I have to read. This is the reason for the few posts in 2011. :)For my future theses, I've been trying to figure out how technology has influenced my life as a teacher.What movements has it brought about? And the concept of presence, how do I make myself present digitally and how does the digital presence or "lack of physical presence" of others influence my learning path? As to teacher resistance to technology, how have my own resistance barriers been broken and beliefs transformed?As suggested by my tutor Dilma Mello,I've started reading about the concept of Presencehttp://distanciaproximidade.wikispaces.com/homehttp://www.360doc.com/content/07/0525/12/18017_519886.shtmlhttp://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue2/lombard.htmlTeacher Resistancehttp://eprints.usq.edu.au/2101/1/Albion_Ertmer.pdfNew Literacies (Diana Brydon)http://dianabrydon.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/teacher-education-in-the-theories-of-new-literacies-and-multiliteracies/I'll be investigating my own path as a teacher and teacher educator using Narrative Inquiry which will allow me to relive my experience and this way build new meanings as I retell and listen to my lived stories.Narrative Inquiryhttp://www.jstor.org/pss/1176100

I've posted about TOKBOX many times before, and it used to be my favourite site for video messaging. However, with the changes that happened to the site and their choice to focus on the chat feature, I ended up giving it up, at least for teaching purposes.This afternoon, I invited some teachers from CULTURA EDTECH (online course I facilitate) and a couple of friends from facebook to join me in a new trial.The site we tried was TUBEIT . It allows you to create an instant chat room where participants have access to their webcam and microphones and also watch a selected YOUTUBE video chosen by the person who sets up the room.Today, I chose a video interview with Marc Prensky, where he discusses about the ROLE OF TEACHERS TODAY.I guess there's a limit of participants for the session (I"m not sure) as I could see the possibility of 7 webcams in the room. It's extremely easy to use. You just go to http://tubeit.opentok.com/ write your name, paste the video URL (from Youtube), grab the link to the room in TUBEIT, share with invitees via twitter, facebook or e-mail and start your discussion.This is how I planned it:1. I greeted participants.2. Participants had the chance to introduce themselves (webcam)3. Pre-question to start the discussion. ("What's the role of teachers?")4. Participants gave their opinion.5. We watched the video interview.6. Used quotes from the interview to promote discussion.Problems: well, the sound wasn't 100% (some speech breakdowns) but we managed to develop a discussion.These are the screenshots I took of the session with Roberta Righetto (Mato Grosso), Gildeta (Campinas), Ana Lucas (Uberlandia), Nina (Ukraine),  Angeles Berman (Mexico?).

Inspired by Salman Khan's presentation at TED, I thought of how to help my students get ready for their final English tests and I humbly created some GRAMMAR VIDEO LESSONS.Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education | Video on TED.com via kwoutAlthough our main focus is not grammar, something my EFL students  always complain about is UNDERSTANDING how to use grammar. Many of them only have a chance to listen to an explanation once in class and others who have missed that specific class feel totally lost. This is the reason behind these videos. I tried to make the explanations simple / short and give them examples.PASSIVE VOICEREPORTED SPEECHRELATIVE CLAUSESThe idea Khan presented of maybe flipping the things around in the classroom made me think.What if we offered grammar explanations via video and used the time in class to learn how to use it in practice? Well, let's see if they find it helpful.Oh, to create the slides, two programs were used: Powerpoint or ActivInspire. Then, I used http://screencast-o-matic.com/ to record my voice while explaining the topic.