TOP 10 TOOLS 2007
Michael McVey

Michael is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Michael's Top 10 Tools as at 8 August 2007

1. Eudora -  I filter, color code, and even set special audio announcements when new messages arrive from colleagues. I can even set it to read the subject lines aloud but that gets annoying

2. LogMeIn has saved me thousands of travel miles by simply logging onto my other machines (at home or office) remotely.

3. Audacity - A free tool from SourceForge.net, I use this to edit podcasts and convert audio files

4. WordPress is a very easy to use blogging tool with decent statistics reporting. I use this one and Blogger.

5. Picasa - This is a decent tool for storing, accessing, and modifying digital photos

6. Inspiration - the mind mapping tool my students simply love. Although FreeMind and other similar online tools are available, this concept-mapping tool is the best.

7. del.icio.us - I love this social bookmarking tool and use it when I am approaching a new research question.

8. Google Earth - This feeds my need to look around the world. I constantly reference Earth to provide background to stories and have added my own photos and links to the community.

9. Bloglines - This is my feedreader of choice, so far. I regularly monitor hundreds of blogs and this is the tool to keep me organized. If I want to find new blogs on a topic or theme then Technorati is the place for me.

10. Google Docs & Spreadsheets - This tool is certainly beginning to catch on among my colleagues as we develop articles, rewrite chapters, and draft policies.