Open+Source+Alternatives

= Web 2.0 Hot Spot =

Open Source Alternatives
** Google Docs ** [|www.google.com] Google is not just a search engine. It has much more to offer educators. Google offers many tools for users in one location. Some of the tools include web mail, calendars, blogs, videos, images, maps, photos, news, etc.

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 * Google Docs--In Plain English**


 * Using Google Docs by Google** ([])

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IGoogle is a personal start page. You can personalize your page with news, weather, google docs, maps, etc. Google sites is Google's wiki app. Google forms is a great way to get information from your students or parents. Why not create a form to get contact information from parents and create a link to your form on your Edline Courses site. Other examples to use Google forms could be quizzes, surveys, or student logs.

[|About Google Docs with student applications] [|Ways to use Google Docs in the classroom]

[|http://www.buzzword.acrobat.com]
 * Buzzword **

Buzzword is an Acrobat application to create documents online and then share them. With Adobe Buzzword you can create a document, share it with colleagues, and review and revise it collaboratively on the web. Buzzword runs from Adobe secure servers, and your documents are stored there, so they are always available on the web. Buzzword is more for creating a file online then printing it. The application allows you to organize, edit and collaborate with other editors. Only one user can edit a document at a time (Google Docs allows up to 50 people to edit at one time). Buzzword users can take the role of author, co-author, reviewer, or reader. Adobe also has an application called ConnectNow that allows users to meet collaborately much like WizIQ. ConnectNow can be accessed through Buzzword once you have an account.

http://www.bubbl.us/ Bubbl.us is an online version of Inspiration that allows you to easily create graphic organizers. It is very easy for a young student to learn. You can share the maps or save the map as a graphic. You can click the Start Brainstorming button to immediately start to create an organizer.
 * Bubbl.us **
 * Create colorful mind maps online
 * Share and work with friends
 * Embed your mind map in your blog or website
 * Email and print your mind map
 * Save your mind map as an image

** Mind Meister ** http://www.mindmeister.com/ Mind Meister is another online graphic organizer. MindMeister brings the concept of mind mapping to the web, using its facilities for real-time collaboration to allow global brainstorming sessions. Users can create, manage and share mind maps online and access them anytime, from anywhere. In brainstorming mode, fellow MindMeisters can simultaneously work on the same mind map and see each other's changes as they happen.

** MyWebspiration ** http://www.mywebspiration.com/ This is the online version of Inspiration--for free! Webspiration is the new online visual thinking tool that helps you capture ideas, organize information, diagram processes and create clear, concise written documents whether working individually or collaboratively. With integrated diagram and outline views you can think visually, structure your work effectively and express your ideas in the ways that communicate best. This is a great tool if your student computers do not have the program, Inspiration. Use Webspiration's diagramming environment to create bubble diagrams, flow charts, concept maps, process flows and other visual representations that stimulate and reflect your thinking. Webspiration has basically the same interface as Inspiration.

** Blist ** [|www.blist.com] Blist is a new online database tool. This site allows you to create simple databases. Blist databases are live on the Web so you can share them with others quite easily. Blist's standard view looks similar to a spreadsheet. In fact, you can import an Excel sheet to make it into a database. Blist has a social feel to it also. You can add a blist into a blog or a Facebook page. The tool is free and currently in beta.

"Whether you use Excel or a database today, blist is the best choice for easily creating and sharing lists on the web. With the drag-and-drop simplicity of blist, you’ll be able to organize the information that’s important to you, from making a personal to-do list to building a sophisticated business database. With blist, your list is visual, interactive, and always neat and tidy." (http://www.blist.com/what-is-blist)