My Web Daily

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Tes.co.uk

There are countless places online where you can hook up with other teachers to share resources, lesson plans & materials. One of the panels I was on last weekend was chaired by Ann Mroz, who shared her organisation's great website with me, TES, with 2 million teacher members, over 437,000 teaching resources (about 70% UGC and 30% partner resources) and 2.5 million downloads a week. The vieo on the homepage will tell you all you need to know (sadly I cannot embed it here!).They have also just launched in the US with ShareMyLesson. 

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Doctor Who, Worlds in Time

 

user: katejustkate@hotmail.com

connected through FB

(OOV)

I’ve always wanted to be Dr Who’s side-kick, and thanks to a new browser-based multiplayer roleplaying game, Dr Who, Worlds in Time, I can be. You create a character, make friends, join a guild & battle all of the Doctor’s favourite enemies. The mini games are simple but fun & as you level up you can kit out your avatar & room with upgrades. Or you can pay real cash for credits that let you jump ahead – but I kind of like running around in my PJs.

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Join.me

Collaborating just got a whole to lot simpler, thanks to Join.me – a browser based screen-sharing tool from the development team who made LogMeIn. There’s no sign up required for the simple free sharing service, which involves downloading a tiny temporary application & then giving the 9 digit code it generates to anyone who you want to be able to see your screen up to a maximum of 250 viewers.

The free service even allows you to hand over control of your desktop, or have a text conversation and send files to anyone logged in as a viewer. This could be a great way to work on a creative project with distant colleagues, or get tech support from your nephew who’s an absolute whizz with computers. And if all that isn’t enough, there are free viewer apps for iPhone, iPad & Android – so now no-one has an excuse not to join in.

 

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Whishin

I have to admit I'm a bit of a 'lists' person, so I like sites like whishin.com; a free social bookmarking tool designed to help people collaborate on wish-lists… It's the perfect way to let people know what you want for your birthday or wedding presents without tying them to a particular retail outlet. It’s also a really good way to share ideas on buying something big with other people, like a holiday, as you can discuss, add items, rate & decide together online.

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Pixorial

I'll let you into a secret. You don't need an expensive editing suite to put together a pro looking video. Just visit pixorial.com. There are a few free editing tools out at the moment, but this browser based application is really easy to use – and with your video being stored online it opens up some interesting options when it comes to sharing. Plus you can work on your project from whereever you like. Storage for the free account is 10 gig – with of course a premium option if you want more.

Truth be told it's not a particularly sophisticated tool... well what did you expect for free from the web? Just simple cuts and transitions, upload some music or use one of the 1600 tracks the site has in its library, tweak the audio levels, then just ass Titles and post your movie to the many integrated services on offer.

But what really sets this browser-based tool apart from the crowd is the ability to invite friends and families to collaborate on a project – a great idea for group events like weddings & sporting occasions. It is worth noting you'll have to get out your credit card if you want the option to make a DVD or high-res download – but the free version should work perfectly well for most uses.

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Aviary

When creativity strikes you need the right tools to take advantage of it – and at aviary.com you’ll find a whole flock of artistic apps to bring creativity to the cloud. This suite provides tools for working with photos, graphics & sound – all named after different types of bird.

This is a great suite of tools for anyone who is in a creative business and wants to share and collaborate in the cloud. The applications look good and are easy to use, with a great range of features to help you make something beautiful. The only slight downside is the amount of time it takes to save large files – but that’s working in the cloud for you. With a range of mobile apps to boast about as well, it seems hard to believe that such powerful creative tools are offered on this website free of charge.

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Wreckamovie

These days you don’t have to be a big Hollywood mogul to get involved with a movie, as crowd-sourcing collaboration website WreckaMovie has shown. Here you can browse through a multitude of creative projects, or even start one yourself, ranging from short films & animations to full feature-length films. Everyone is welcome, both amateur and professional – just take a look at the Tasks tab for a project that interests you then tell the leader why you want to join & what skills you could bring to the table. It could be in graphics, script writing, promotion or as a composer. You’d be surprised how many jobs there are when you get down to the nuts & bolts of a film.

This community was created by the people who reportedly made the world’s first feature-length collaborative Internet film, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, which has had more than 8 million downloads - I've embedded the trailer above. It’s been said that collaboration projects like this could save the indie film industry, and there are some pretty amazing productions going on right now - like this production, Iron Sky.

Who knows, you could be part of the next big online sensation – just make sure you send me the link if you are.

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Pearl Trees

There is something for everyone on the web. Finding that special something can be another matter entirely though. Pearltrees.com provides an elegant solution by letting you organise your online finds, such as websites, RSS feeds & video feeds, into interest groups, using a circular expanding tree structure to make it super easy to navigate. It’s neat, very flexible, and if you’re fairly new to the web & tend to get lost wandering through the mesh of links people leave behind like breadcrumb trails, this is a good place to discover new content without getting horribly confused. The curated content is public, so there are lots of trees made by others for you to explore as well. Hover over a pearl and you see a preview pane then click it to open website within a frame, so it’s quick & easy to find your way home or click through to the next pearl. If you find a tree you really like and think you can contribute, send a request to team up with its creator. Your account can be linked to your social networks to automate posting & content collection – and there is a handy embed feature to share your trees through your website or blog.

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Stroome

The web is great for collaborating with distant friends and relatives, and there are some funky tools to help you do this if you look around – like Stroome, a cloud editing package for video, photos & audio. After uploading your content or pulling down some of the content uploaded by existing users, use the basic interface to just drag & drop bits & bobs, linking with transitions & adding a music track. Once you’ve built your timeline you can then share it with other Stroome users and they can remix your work to their heart’s content – great for making collaborative slide shows of a wedding or family party. This site is perfect for simple drag and drop collaborating, but there are much better tools out there for the advanced user. 

.@MyWebDaily reviews: Muvizu

Muvizu is an old favourite of mine. I made the intro video for KateRussell.co.uk with it (see below) and have had loads of fun creating random stuff late into the evening.

This free download lets you build animated 3D sets and models and record the action in layers of expression, dialogue, effects and camera moves etc. to create a movie. You can write and record your own script, or upload an existing audio file (like a family video), and the software lip-syncs it to the animated characters... I've seen one guy using it to create music videos of his friend's gigs.

The idea is to gradually layer your finished production, adding a character, or things like expressions & movement with each new recording pass. This way it's really easy to craft your animation, even if you're a total beginner. The project system lets you invite others to collaborate, voicing scripts or building sets, before you stitch all the scenes together to make a finished film.

If you're already familiar with editing software (like Movie Maker, FCP or Avid etc.), you will pick this up in no time as the interface style is very familiar for the genre. Complete beginners will find it confusing if they steam straight in without watching any tutorials. I can highly recommend them by the way, for the gorgeous Scottish accent alone.