Going down technology memory lane can be painful....

Yesterday, I was searching for a website I used last year to create an online button/logo and couldn't for the life of me remember what it was.  So I used the good ole standby website Delicious.  And I was virtually slapped in the face....

There used to be a time when I was excited about the newest and best out there, using the programs and huge creativity of people's minds to share web 2.0 content and how it could be utilized.  But then the inevitable happened - I began to focus on what could be used in the classroom and library and the edges got blurry.  No longer did I need to know more, I needed to use more of what I already knew!

And the pool of web content and tools for the classroom began to grow stagnant.  It was a slow and gradual process until I looked down one day and saw the green and realized I needed some chlorine....fast!  My Delicious pool is getting green!!

So, what are those websites I focused on to create that stagnancy?  You know them....Prezi, Animoto, Voicethread, Glogster, Wix, Weebly.  The bookends of excellent educational technology, as well they should be.  They've earned the right to be there.  But what do I have between those bookends that I can pull from and train, teach and expand student engagement and teacher knowledge? 

So I went  to get the best of the best for web tools, and here are some sites I'll be using that showcase those sites on the cusp of grandeur:

AASL Top Twenty Five Best Websites:
http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/bestlist/bestwebsitestop25

Larry Ferlazzo's Best Web Apps in 2012:
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/07/10/the-best-web-2-0-applications-for-education-in-2012-%E2%80%94-so-far/

Digital Goonies: Creative, outside of the box thinkers on web tools:
http://digitalgoonies.com/

I need to fill in the bookends with new ideas and technologies to pull, learn and teach the campus I work with so I don't have to sit and watch the millionth Animoto or the two millionth Prezi....know what I mean?

And thank you Kristin Fontinchiaro for reminding me:  It's about focus and balance, not about creativity and a project done.  Educational technology should showcase the learning, not the product.

Sites I'm really enjoying right now?  Tripline, Symbaloo, Jux, Haiku Deck....:)
And yeah, I'm reading some good YA novels too!!