A Curated Collection of Tech Tools

Last Update: September 2022

(Tools don’t make the composition -- ideas do. Still … knowing where to find things can be helpful. These resources all came from the CLMOOC community, the National Writing Project community and other places and people. Many of these could easily jump into multiple categories but we tried to file them into the most pertinent headings.)

Art/Illustration

• GlowTxt -- makes animated text
• Sketchpad – pretty powerful art canvas
• Autodraw - AI is your partner here
• ScrapColoring – Upload an image and convert into a coloring page, and then color
• WOMBO - make art with the help of AI
• Kaleidoscope generator - name says it all

Animation/Stop Motion

• Cloud Stop Motion – browser-based, free accounts for students
• Stop Motion Animator - browser extension for Chrome
• Stick Figure Animation – browser-based
• Google Slides (see tutorial)
• FlipAnim – browser-based
• TextAnim - creates animated text
• Plotagon - Animation creation for iOS, Android, and Desktop apps

Annotation

• ThingLink: Picture-annotating website (and now video, too)
• Genius -- allows you to collaborate/annotate text w/multimedia – mostly used for song lyrics
• Hypothesis - another web-based annotation tool
• Perusall - Web-based annotation tool
• NowComment – Web-based annotation tool for text, image, etc.
• Memex - collaborative annotation and curation of content and links

Audio: Podcasting/Voice

• Sodaphonic – free web-based audio recorder
• Reverb – Online recorder/audio
• Vocaroo -- no registration required, just record and share
• Voxer -- Set up threaded audio discussions (app)
• SoundCloud - for hosting audio files
• Soundtrap -- for collaborative music and audio
• Twisted Wave -- audio editing freeware
• AudioBoom - Podcast creation tool
• Mote - Audio annotation
• Anchor.fm - Podcast hosting
• Robot voice generator - paste in text and generate a downloadable audio version

Audio: Music

• Roland50 – virtual instrumentation
• Langorhythm - turns text into music
• Chrome Song Maker – via Google
• Amped Studio Beat Maker
• Soundtrap – web-based, loops, recording platform
• Audacity - open source audio editor, free download
• Typatone – write and it makes music as you type
• JazzKeys – write and it makes jazz piano music as you type
• TwistedWave - free audio edutor

Collaborative Writing

• Edupad: Collaboration and other tools
• HackPad: Easy & quick collaboration site (part of Dropbox)
• Voicethread - Share presentations and images and allow for peer feedback
• Google Docs -- collaborative writing

Curation

• Symbaloo: Content Curation using icons (CLMOOC14 Webmix )
• EasyZoom – image and overlays
• Padlet – Digital walls of content, with different templates available
• Wakelet – A way to curate and share tweets and other media
• Pintrest - Image-based curation tool on the webb
• Blendspace: Easy way to curate materials and create lessons
• Flipboard -- curation into a magazine format (better as an app) -- allows for collaboration
• Diigo -- not just for bookmarking but also for annotation
• Weava - Document annotation (software download)
• LiveBinders - website creation, digital portfolio space
• Zotero - open-source reference management software
• EdPuzzle - video annotation and quizzing
• The Old Reader - RSS reader, looks like the old Google Reader
• Feedly  - RSS reader
• Inoreader - RSS reader
• Newsblur - RSS reader
• Tiki-Toki - Timeline creator
• Timeline.js - Timeline creator
• Omeka - Digital exhibit creator

Design: Presentation

• Canva: graphic design, presentation, posters, assorted other media
• Haiku Deck: simple presentation software with focus on images
• Draw.io -- for flowchart construction
• Slides -- allows for a cube-like presentation surface
• Smore -- design shareable internet flyers and newsletters
• Prezi – a presentation tool -- zoomable, with templates
• PearDeck - Presentation tool
• Buncee - Multimedia presentation, interactive lesson creator
• SlideShare - A tool for showing presentations on the web
• Google Slides - a tool for creating presentations on the web
• AhaSlides - interactive presentations
• S5 - Simple Presentation Creator
• Sutori - Interactive class presentations

Design: Infographics

• Piktochart:  easy way to make Infographic (i.e. charts, posters, etc.)
• Popplet - Diagramming tool
• Easel.ly -- infographic maker
• Visme.co - Infographic maker
• Venngage - Infographic maker
• Glogster - Digital poster creator

Digital Writing/Making

• Twine: Interactive prose storytelling tool (here’s a great tutorial)
• InkleWriter -- another web-based site for constructing interactive fiction
• Adobe Spark: Digital storytelling app (free)
• StoryBird -- picture book creator
• Steller -- App for digital story creation
• InferKit – Start some writing and let AI engine continue onwards
• Microsoft Sway - Digital storytelling and page layout
• Make Beliefs Comics – online, free but account required
• Storybird - Storytelling tool

Game Makers

• Gamestar Mechanic -- for making video games (now a free app download)
• Jeopardy Labs -- Build and share your own Jeopardy game
• Slopder - Games creator
• Kahoot -- make games for the classroom
• Pixel Press -- an app for designing and drawing a game that works in the iPad
• Roblox Studio – create games for the community
• Socrative  -  games and feedback
• NearPod - interactive lessons and gamification
• SoftChalk - Content Creation Tool

GIF Creation

• EZGif - for layering text on top of animated GIF files
• Giphy: animated images with stickers, filters, etc.
• Make a Gif -- creating animated GIF files from YouTube Videos

Maker Space

• eTextiles and wearable computing: embed circuits into clothing and more
• Makey Makey - using Raspberry Pi computing for cool projects
• Paper Circuitry – using kits, for notebooks and paper
• Squishy Circuits - fruit and food and other objects become programmable

Mapping

• Google MyMaps – make your own maps and share out, collaboration possibilities
• MapStack – interesting filters for artistic maps
• Storymap – create maps with text and media

Memes

• Frinkiac (Simpsons) and Morbotron (Futurama) – meme makers
• ImgFlip: meme maker
• Make a Meme - another meme maker

Mind Mapping

• Bubbl.us - Mind Mapping tool
• Mindmeister - Mind Mapping tool
• SpiderScribe - Mind Mapping tool
• Dotstorming - collaboration boards
• Neatboard - web curation tool
  

Photography/Image

• Wordfoto: iOS app for picture-based word clouds
• Online Image Editor - Another editor that allows adding text to animated gifs
• AudioPaint -- converts images into sound files (we know, what?) Windows App only
• Five Card Flickr -- random visual storytelling with images
• PicMonkey -- website for create image collages/editing
• Chatterpix -- app for adding to images
• Flickr - Image hosting/sharing
• Lunapic – variety of tools around images, from basics to advanced
• Pablo – layering text onto image
• GIMP - downloadable open source photo editing
• Inkscape - downloadable free vector image editor
• Smoothdraw -  downloadable painting and free-hand drawing software
• WordCloud Generator - web based word cloud generator
• Imgr - photo storage
• Five CArd Flickr Story - improv story creation using images from flickr
• WordFoto - Make images into words, iOS app

Platforms/LMS

• Blogger - Blogging tool
• theCN - Class Social Network too
• Edmodo - “LMS”, class social network
• Tumblr - Blogging tool that supports multimedia options
• Weebly - Website creation tool
• Wix - Website creation tool
• WordPress - Blogging tool
• ClassDojo - class social network and gamification
• Remind - Class reminders and community connection
• Slack - Class communications and community space
• Discord -  Class communications and community space
• Ning - White Label social network and community creator
• Google Sites - free webhosting

Poetry

• Visual Poetry -- Make your poems more visual, with design elements
• Verse by Verse – write poetry with help of AI
• 3D Poetry – downloadable software (note: not yet tried but looks fascinating)
• Blackout Poetry – via Glitch – add your own text
• Magnetic Poetry – moving words around
• Poem Generator - write poetry with the help of AI
• Open Street Haiku – more AI poetry, of place
• Poem Portrait - an AI-infused in which you donate a word to the collective writing

Screencasting / Screenshotting

• Screencastify - video of screen
• Screencast-o-matic -  video of screen
• Loom -  video of screen
• Camtasia - screen recorder and video editor (Mac and Windows)
• SnagIt - Screenshot tool (Mac and Windows)

Video/Digital Storytelling

• Lumen5 – powerful digital storytelling platform
• Pictory – AI-infused digital story platform
• Soundslides – easy to use for stories with audio and images (limited free account)
• Voki -- animated avatar maker
• Animoto -- makes music videos
• WeVideo - online video editor (web-based)
• Veed.io - video annotation tool (web-based)
• FlipGrid - video-based “discussion forum” (mobile app and web-based)
• PlayPosit - video annotation
• Kizoa - Video Creator
• YouTube - Video Hosting
• Vimeo - Video Hosting

Whiteboards

• Kami - Digital whiteboard, document annotation
• Miro - Digital whiteboard
• GoBoard - Virtual whiteboard
• Jamboard – via Google
• Mural - digital whiteboard with seemingly infinite edges
• Whiteboard.fi - whiteboard from the people who brough you Kahoot
• Lino - Virtual corkboard
• Twidlla - Whiteboard
• Easel.ly - virtual whiteboard

Coding & Wiring

• Ozobot - Coding
• Scratch - Programming language from MIT

Quizzing, Polls, & Feedback

• Blooket - engagement and gamification
• Quizlet - Quizzing app
• Ziplet - Quizzing app
• Quizizz - Quizzing app
• Classtime - Quizzing and classroom engagement
• Formative - Quizzing app
• Floop - Student Feedback tool
• PollEverywhere - online polling tool
• Showbie - Classroom collaboration and gamification
• Mentimeter - Polling
• Particify - Audience Response System, also available as open source
• Slido - Polls, wordclouds, quizzes, audience response
• Acadly - Class Engagement
• GoSoapBox - Audience response system

Messaging & Social Media

• Twitter - Social media microblog for phone, desktop, web
• Plurk - Social media microblog for phone, desktop, web
• Facebook - Social media for phone, desktop, web
• Viber - messenger which works on phone and desktop
• WhatsApp  - messenger which works on phone and desktop
• GoogleVoice - US Only, VoIP and SMS via web and app (useful when you don’t want to give out your phone, but still want to connect)
• Marco Polo - video messaging app
• Signal - encrypted messenger which works on phone and desktop
• Instagram - Photo-based social media & messaging app

3D/VR Environments

• Mozilla Hubs -- Meet, share and collaborate together in private 3D virtual spaces.
• Mozilla Spokes - Create 3D social scenes for Mozilla Hubs
• Vizor - WebVR-focused technology
• Babylon.js - WebVR-focused technology
• React VR - WebVR-focused technology
• Framvr.io - 3D meeting space

Other/Assorted

• Twchat -- website for participating/managing in twitter chats
• Gimkit - gamification
• Tinkercad - CAD for creating 3D printed designs
• PeerGrade - peer grading platform
• Gather Town - meeting space that looks like an old school, top down, RPG
• PhET  - STEM simulations
• ZeeMaps - Interactive map creator
• Genial.ly -Interactive content creator
• Storyjumper - story creator with multimedia content option
• Classkick - formative assessments
• GooseChase - Scavenger hunt creator
• Trello - to do list manager
• Toodledo - to do list manager
• Storyline.js - timeline tool with additional annotation
• SoundCite.js - audio annotation
• Juxtapose.js - frame-comparison tool
• Storymap.js - tell stories with maps
• Airtable -  online platform for creating and sharing relational databases.
• iSpring - eLearning software suite ($$$)
• Captivate - eLearning software suite by Adobe ($$$)
• Articulate - eLearning software suite ($$$)
• Lectora - eLearning software suite ($$$)
• H5P - HTML5 interactive experience creator
• WooClap - interaction, quiz, engagement

BIG NOTE: Things change all the time -- so what is free now might not be free later, and some tools may go extinct in a moment’s notice. If you are curious, here is one site documenting the graveyard of technology (thanks, Greg). Good luck with the technology you use! Go make something cool …. every day.