Free Pro Account with Realtime Board

I have previously wrote about Realtime Board which is a service that provides users the ability to collaborate online using a whiteboard like feature.  Recently it was announced that educators can get a FREE Pro Account by providing their school email and potentially providing further proof of being an educator.  The summer time is a great time to sign up and learn about Realtime Board and other programs so that once school starts back you are familiar with it and are able to share it with your students.

Flipboard Browser Bookmarklet Turns Reader into Magazines

Flipboard started as an iPad app that allowed users to take content from the web and turn that content into digital magazines for reading.  Users could select Twitter feeds, Facebook, RSS, and other methods of receiving content from the web.  Flipboard has made a bookmarklet available that allows users to create and edit magazines for the purpose of turning content into a digital magazine.  Users can have different magazines for different types of content and also import a magazine "cover" of their choice.

To learn more, check out the article on Make Use Of about the bookmarklet and how to set up a reader using the Flipboard service.

Favebucket - Bookmarking Your Favorites

Favebucket is similar to Pinterest in that it has a layout with boards (called buckets), the major difference is that sharing is a bit more individualized to certain content instead of everything.  Users can pick and choose what they want to share.  Signing up requires Facebook, Twitter, Google, or an email address and then users will want to install the bookmarklet in order to gather content from the web.  After creating an account users will have an existing lists of buckets and tags.  Currently there is no renaming feature (you can create new ones), but that is in the works.

http://www.frankwatching.com/gespot/favebucket-2/

Users can views their "Faveboard" in various ways and from an available menu access their inbox, favorite and private links, and more.  To save a link or create a bucket users must utilize the bookmarklet.  There is currently no feature that allows users to save from within the website.  Creating a new link allows users to select a bucket, enter a description and add tags on your own or from a suggested list.  Each link can then be viewed, shared, and organized to fit your bookmarking needs.  Favebucket would be a valuable tool for students doing research projects or teachers organizing resources for lessons.

See the video below for more information.

5 Easy Tips for Educators to Increase Twitter Followers and Interactions

When I first started blogging Twitter was a great avenue for me to share what I was writing while also providing me with ways to discover and interact with other bloggers and educators from around the globe.  Over time with different jobs (from TIS, to Classroom Teacher, to Curriculum Coordinator) and two kids, my influence and use of Twitter has not been as professionally oriented as I would like, but has still provided me with a method of staying connected to educators and education resources.  Below are some tips that I have learned that help me continue to gain followers and grow my PLN.

1.) Use a service like Twitterfeed or IFTTT (If This Then That) to automatically tweet blog posts from your favorite bloggers.  You can copy their RSS feed and add a mention and hashtag (the hashtag is the important addition).  Anytime they create a new post you will automatically tweet their blog post.  I have gained several followers through using these services.  One person did this for my blog when I was more active on Twitter and with my blog; often times her tweet would go out before my own.

2.) Blogging services often allow users to log in to comment on blog posts using their Twitter account information.  When commenting on blogs, utilize your Twitter account; then when comments appear on those blogs, readers will be able to connect with you.

3.) While working as a TIS I participated more often in #edchats on Twitter.  Following and commenting on this chat is a great way to connect with other educators.  It is also a simple and most likely a common way to gain followers and also discover other people to follow

4.) Search for hashtags and chats in your selected area of expertise, follow those chats, and then start participating in the discussions.  This is a valuable way to not only gain followers and discover new people to follow, but it also helps you easily find people who share the same interest as you.  You can find a chat for different levels of education, different subjects, for administrators, coaches, etc.  When I went back to the classroom for a year I found myself looking at the Social Studies (#sschat) feed daily to discover the newest resources.  I highly reccomend viewing the Index of Education Chats Google Doc to learn more.

5.) Twitter allows users to create lists.  If you create a public list and add people to it, Twitter notifies users when they are added to a list.  Lists are also a great way to organize who you are following and also lets other users know that you value their tweets enough to add them to a list so they don't get lost in the Twitter feed.  This notification might be enough to encourage someone to follow you back.

If you are transitioning or utilizing Google+, Tip 1 and 2 would apply as well.  

Remind 101 Gets a Makeover

Remind 101 is a service for educators that allows users to SMS students, parents, players, community members, etc about what is going on in their classroom.  I have written about the service before and have used it myself with my classroom.  On their blog they announced today some changes to their website and service.

Through discussions with teachers and users, as well as from their own ideas, the creators of Remind 101 have worked to make some great improvements to their product.  From those discussions they realized the need for improvement for tablet use on the website, messaging to multiple classes, improving sign up process, and improving scheduling of SMS messages.

To learn more about the redesign, see the video below.