Hi, my name is Mary Howard and I am a sixth grade teacher in Grand Island, New York. In my building, I serve as a Technology Integration Facilitator whereby I assist other classroom teachers in integrating technology but my primary role is as a classroom teacher in the content areas of ELA and Social Studies. I am also participating under a grant through New York State to Enhancing Education Through Technology with a focus on introducing Web 2.0 tools to teachers and students. I currently write a blog, Your Smarticles, where I've shared many of my experiences and lessons using technology with students.

Mary's Top 10 Tools as at 10 August 2009

1. Twitter - I use Twitter as a Personal Learning Network. I share daily information on resources and tools that I have found, and I select networks of people to follow that provide me with their tips, guidelines and tools that they have found. You can follow me on twitter at @mrshoward118.
2. Del.icio.us - Every new site or tool that I find I tag through del.icio.us. I use it to catalog resources and to help me keep track of things that I have found.
3. Etherpad -  My students LOVED using etherpad for collaborative editing activities. I have blogged a lesson in which I used this tool at yoursmarticles.blogspot.com/2009/05/collaborative-editing-through-etherpad.html . Students uploaded a writing assignment that they were working on and collaboratively edited with another classroom in this virtual space. Etherpad also allowed me to have guest editors participate in the process.
4. Slideshare - This is a great way to share student work on a webspace.
5. Wikispaces - Every student in my class gets their own wikispace and are taught how to embed code, widgets, pictures, etc. Our literature circles utilize a wikispace for homework assignments with students being provided a 'menu' of web 2.0 choices for each homework assignment that they can complete and place on their wikispace. This project is also blogged at yoursmarticles.blogspot.com/2009/04/wiki-lesson-for-literature-circles.html
6. Bubbl.us - There are MANY available mind-mapping tools, but in my district I found bubbl.us useful due to the fact that it is not blocked by our administrators and does not require a registration in order to use it. Mind mapping is useful when working with vocabulary as well as when flowcharting work or creating a graphic organizer for writing assignments.
7. Audacity the highlight of of my year is working with students in creating visual podcast to represent a year in review. This I've blogged as well. yoursmarticles.blogspot.com/2009/05/podcast-year-in-review-project.html
8. Flickr and Picasa I use both photo sharing options routinely in both a personal or professional manner. Flickr is a wonderful tool to find images to enhance instruction, however, it is blocked in my district to my use is primarily at home when searching for images that I then save onto a jump drive for sharing with my students. I've used picasa in school to share photos (albums) that I put together to supplement different aspects of my curriculum.
10. Googleearth - I am extraordinarily excited about the possibility of creating lit trips via Google earth. I've previously used this application for sharing settings in stories or for looking at the geography of areas that we are studying in school. I hope to allow my students to read a novel and create their own lit trip about the novel through googleearth.