There are heaps of great Web 2.0 Tools that make life as a campus minister so much easier and interesting! Here are my top 7:
7. Block Posters
This website allows you to make large posters made up of multiple A4 sheets of paper. It's great for decorating a prayer space or class room. We used the one below to raise excitement about our upcoming Walk For Change fundraiser. Easy to use - simply upload a picture file, choose your size and print away!
TIP: Make sure you number the pages somehow or your work of art will become a puzzle! (I may or may not have learned this by experience...)
TIP: Make sure you number the pages somehow or your work of art will become a puzzle! (I may or may not have learned this by experience...)
6. 1001 Free Fonts
A great way to liven up a presentation, booklet or poster is to include some new and creative fonts. There are lots of free font websites out there but 1001 Free Fonts is my favourite.
TIP: Download all the fonts you like and then install them all at once to save time.
TIP: Download all the fonts you like and then install them all at once to save time.
5. Muvizu
Free 3D animation software! You can create characters, sets and animate scenes. It took me a while to learn how to use it, but there are lots of tutorials available. We also used this to advertise our Walk for Change fundraiser. I created the animation and our drama students voiced the characters - they loved being involved.
4. Weebly
I find Weebly such a useful tool to create my own website! It allows me to store and share wonderful resources that I find in a free, easy-to use way. As well as setting up pages with links to resources, I have been able to write up blogs to help teachers prepare for assembly prayer liturgies. Very handy!
3. Safe Share
Ever shown a YouTube clip only to find some inappropriate 'related' videos pop up after the clip? Safe Share is a fantastic way to share YouTube clips without needing to worry about dodgy pictures or ads. Simply put your YouTube link into safeshare.tv and view it from there. All YouTube video links on my website go through Safe Share.
Tagxedo helps you to create world clouds with different colours and shapes. It is useful for creating bookmarks, PowerPoint slides and other word pictures. I created the picture below for World Teacher's Day this year. I have also created some with the names of our staff and students to make personalised images (e.g. senior names in the shape of 2013, staff names in the shape of our school logo, etc).
TIP: The default setting doesn't include hyphens.
TIP: The default setting doesn't include hyphens.
and now my favorite...
1. Animoto
This wonderful site helps you to turn picture slideshows into stunning videos. It's very easy to use and it's free for educators. There's lots of beautiful and fun background 'styles' to choose from. You can even download the video files that you create and choose your own songs.
Animoto turns making a photo slideshow into a quick and easy, and it ends up looking way more impressive that its alternatives (PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, Movie Maker Live, etc).
TIP: It's a bit of a maze to sign up as an educator initially... so here's how to do it:
Animoto turns making a photo slideshow into a quick and easy, and it ends up looking way more impressive that its alternatives (PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, Movie Maker Live, etc).
TIP: It's a bit of a maze to sign up as an educator initially... so here's how to do it:
- Go straight to the eduction section
- Click on the 'Apply Now' button
- Fill in your school details (including your school email address) and click 'sign up'
- You will then be given a code. You will either be asked for this code or you will be accepted straight away!
- It says that it gives you access for 6 months, but mine lasted a year. Once it expires, go through the same process to renew your educator account.
If you think I've missed an awesome Web Tool, please let me know in the comments!