Soungle

Ever tried looking for a sound file online, it's a big pain. And it's even more daunting when you want to make sure that the sound file you might eventually find will be one you will be able to use without worrying about copyright infringement.

Enter Soungle, a royalty free sound effects "search" engine. All you have to do is enter a search term. Your results will appear, you can preview the sound, and download it right from the search results. It couldn't be easier!

Wordle: Word Clouds

If you have yet to see Wordle in action you are missing out. It is an online tool that creates word clouds using text you input. For example, I copied the NETS for Students from iste.org and pasted them into the text field on the wordle website, and here is what was created.


The larger the word, the more prominence it had in the text you identified. Or in other words, the larger the word the more often it was found in the selection you chose. And what's nice is you can cut and paste a selection or you can direct the page to another URL that incorporates an RSS feed.

Tin Eye: Backward Image Search

Have you ever forgotten where an image you saved to your desktop came from. Or how about if a student forgot to site an image they used in a presentation. In the past, trying to tack down the rightful owner to give credit to the creator can be a daunting task. But now there is an awesome search tool that will allow you to do just that, simply and easily!

It is called TinEye, and it is a reverse image search engine. Basically, you can upload a file from your computer or give it a specific URL to check. It searches the web based on the pixels it finds in the image and then gives you a list of all websites that include that particular image or one very close to it. Of course the tool isn't perfect, it can at times falter in it's awesomeness and not find any results for a picture. But nothing is perfect, so I think we can look past that small flaw and enjoy our new found way of image identification.

Live Binders: Get Organized!

Remember the good old days of Trapper Keepers and Pee-Chee Folders. Sigh...life just isn't that easy to keep organized anymore. So this tool is for everyone looking for a way to keep their online life a little more organized. It's your online 3 ring notebook, tabs and all!

You have to create an account to use it, but the account is free. Binders can be made public or Private, so it's easy to share or keep things to yourself. And even if it is not shared with the world, you can share it out to your closest friends or colleagues. So it's the perfect way to organize websites and share them along with your thoughts to others, as each page allows for text boxes to be added.

There is even a tool that can be embedded into your browser for quick additions to your binders. SO take a minute and check it out here, LiveBinders

Google Forms: Survey, Poll, Quiz