A Few Free Tools That Every Techie Teacher Should Know About

Hello Everyone-

I wanted to take a minute to share a few tools that I have been using to help make flipped videos and enhance my classroom instruction in general.  These are must-haves for any tech-minded teacher.

1.  Windows Live Movie Maker

Windows Live Movie Maker is what I use to edit and put together my flipped videos.  It is free, easy to use, and will accept most file types.  It does have some limits in the editing department, but being free more than makes up for it.

Get It Here

2.  Any Video Converter 5

Any Video Converter 5 will convert most video files from one type to the next.  If you have a file online that won't cooperate with a specific editing program or won't upload to a site like youtube or schooltube, AVC5 will change it to a more common file type.  A more advanced tool, but a useful one.

Get It Here

3.  VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a very easy-to-use media player.  It handles most file types where a Windows Media Player or Quick Time will sometimes be stubborn.  Even better, VLC will turn the volume up to 200%, which can be great for playing videos in class when you don't have the best speakers.

Get It Here

4.  Google Chrome

Maybe I am biased, but I prefer it to IE or Firefox.  Just seems to be more useful.  Love searching directly in the URL address bar.

Get It Here

5.  Prezi

Prezi is an online presentation tool.  It's like PowePoint on steroids.  Videos, images, and text can be organized in an almost infinite workspace that can be customized in countless ways.  It takes a few minutes to learn, but is truly amazing.  Students and/or teachers can collaborate by editing and viewing the same Prezi at the same time.  Great for a distance learning environment, or for students who want to work on a project together from the comfort of their homes.  Teachers can sign up for a free educator license, giving them an even better product than the free version.

Use It Here

6.  Merge PDF

Ever wanted to scan documents and combine than into one PDF file?  Go to this website and you can!

Use It Here

More to come in the future!

See ya around,
Mr. J.