The 21st Century Principal

OpenEd is a free service that offers users what it terms "the largest educational resource catalog with over a quarter of a million Common Core-aligned videos, games, and assessments." Users can do anyone of the following:

• Search for video and games by keyword or directory subject.
• Create online courses, allowing for class management, and OpenEd provides resource recommendations according to topics.
• Browse Common Core resources and resources for other standards.
• Create playlists of videos and other resources for easier access later.

OpenEd Website

ScribeFire is a simple-to-use blog editor that you can use right within your Chrome, FoxFire or Opera Web browser. So far my testing shows that it works more smoothly than other editors I have used, even Windows Live Writer. Often, when I've used Windows Live Writer, I've lost format selections and media inserts when I posted to the web. ScribeFire has some features that make it much easier to user for administrators who want to wade into blogging. For the educator looking for a way to edit blog posts, ScribeFire is a simple, free blog editor.

Here's an overview of some of its main features:

• Publish to multiple blogs at once: This feature allows you to post an blog entry to multiple blogs at once.
• Edit and update existing posts: It is quite simple to edit and update existing posts using ScribeFire.
• Schedule posts for the future: If you would like to schedule a post to go out at a later time, ScribeFire allows you to schedule those posts.
• Categorize your posts using tags: Using tags to categorize your blog posts is easy within ScribeFire.
• Upload images: This feature works only with images posted on the web.
• Available for Chrome, FireFox, and Opera users: You can use ScribeFire with all three of these browsers.

ScribeFire Screenshot

RockMelt is a Web Browser for educators and others who want to blend their Web reading and social media sharing into a seamless combination. It is relatively easy to use and even offers some of the same customization features found in Chrome.

This week, I decided to take some time and really work with the browser.  Here’s some features I have found interesting and most useful.

• It is very similar to Google Chrome, my usual browser of choice. This is not surprising since it is based on Google's Chromium. As an experienced Chrome user, this has meant that I had little difficulty getting accustomed to RockMelt.  Everything is Chrome. If you are a Chrome user, RockMelt is familiar. In some ways, it looks like and functions as a customized version of Chrome, optimized for social media.
• Users can still download and use favorite Chrome extensions. RockMelt allows users to install and use Chrome extensions, though users may have to use short-cut keys to access those extensions. For example, Evernote’s Clearly extension is one of my Chrome favorites. I installed it in RockMelt, but it does not install a toolbar button. Instead of this, I have to press CTRL+ALT+Right Arrow to activate Clearly.
• Posting to Facebook and Twitter is as easy as clicking on a single button. Also, the share button means I can easily share out something from the web. RockMelt is built for sharing. This feature alone makes it the way to go if you are always sharing things from the Web.
• The Apps give users quick access to favorite sites and alllow quick sharing through social networks. Using the icons on the right-hand side of the browser interface by clicking on them, I can preview headlines from these selected sites, and click to load the full article or share it from that window.

RockMelt Screenshot with Twitter Pop-Up Notification Box

RockMelt is certainly not a browser for everyone, but it might be the Web browser for the educator who wants to be connected to social media networks just a bit more seamlessly. To read about and download RockMelt, check out their web site. It’s free.

All of the resources I've shared in the past on this blog have involved some kind of educational value. During the Holiday shopping season, we all find ourselves looking for tools to help us make the best decisions regarding which products to buy. Recently, someone shared an interesting consumer tool called "Find the Best."