Friday, December 14, 2012

Apps for the 12 Days of Christmas - Edcanvas


Edcanvas is an web service that allows users to drag and drop various content to a canvas and then easily share that canvas with students and other faculty.  Content can include PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, PDF's, images, and other content.  The service is currently in Beta and free for teachers to register.  If entire schools are interested there is an option for school wide implementation, and you can learn more about that HERE

Single users can currently sign up with a Google or Facebook account, or independently.  Edcanvas is not only for teachers.  It also provides students the ability to create a canvas as well.  This would be a great way for students to organize information for a project and present a project at its conclusion.  Students can also work together on a single canvas. 

As users add resources to the canvas, it allows the ability to comment on them as well, which could create active discussions about all the content from a unit.  You can also embed a canvas onto a website or blog or even into Edmodo.  Like a lot of educational technology websites out there, Edcanvas also allows you to view a previously created canvas.

To ensure that Edcanvas works properly, it is best to make sure that you are using Google Chrome or Firefox.  For easier usability, having a Dropbox or Google Drive account will be beneficial as well.  For more information, see the video below.