An overview of social media and online tools, with a particular view to using pedagogically. Based on a document created by Bex Lewis & adapted for the project.

1. FASTECH: Overview of digital tools for education
Adobe Connect
What is it? Software used to create information and general presentations, online training materials,
web conferencing, virtual classrooms, learning modules, and user desktop sharing.
What are its particular uses? Opportunities to bring in external speakers without necessity for
physical presence, allowing wider choice as to who can be brought in for teaching sessions. Staff/
students who are physically immobilised/weather-bound can join in live. Recorded sessions can
be played back by students for revision purposes, particularly valued by international and dyslexic
students.
Similar software: Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Wimba/Elluminate), Big Blue Button, Microsoft
Lync
Audioboo
What is it? A web and mobile based audio option that allows quick and simple (maximum 5 minute)
recordings whilst on the move, whilst adding useful data such as photos, tags and location.
What are its particular uses? In a world of written words and video, audio often gets left behind. It
offers the opportunity to grab online responses quickly, and share immediately online. Some, who are
not comfortable on camera, are on audio.
Blogger
What is it? A blogging site owned by Google, which makes it easy for Bath Spa folk to embed in other
places and share with others in the organisation.
What are its particular uses? For personal reflections (you can keep it private if you like),
professional discoveries, sharing thoughts with your community of practice, assessment of students’
learning journey.
Clickers/PRS
What are they? Clickers (personal response systems) are the tool commonly uses on ‘Who Wants to
be a Millionaire’
What are its particular uses? Within a classroom, they offer opportunities for in-class surveys,
revision of previous topics, and for triggering discussion between students.
Delicious
What is it? A social-bookmarking site, allowing users to tag, save, manage and share webpages
from a centralised page. Each ‘bookmark’ can be tagged with freely chosen index terms, and cross-
referenced with other links tagged with the same term.
What are its particular uses? Classes can share, and comment, on the benefits or otherwise of links
upon the web, building up a collection of useful online information relating to a topic.
Digg
1
with special thanks to Dr Bex Lewis

2. What is it? A social news website, where users can submit links and stories and share with others.
Users can vote and comment on submitted links and stories. A story that is voted up is ‘digged’, a
story that is voted down is ‘buried’.
What are its particular uses? Relaunced September 2010, with a simpler interface, students can
build a collection of interesting links around a topic, and comment on others links.
Dropbox
What is it? A cloud-storage solution for sharing (large) files online.
What are its particular uses? Large files can be stored online (no need to drive back for that paper
file you’ve forgotten), although it shouldn’t be used for data covered by the Data Protection Act.
Facebook
What is it? THE most well known social networking site, with nearly 1 billion users. The vast majority
of students, and many staff, are already on Facebook (although most view it as their ‘personal space’).
What are its particular uses? The creation of group and fan pages allows contact with students
without the requirement to be ‘friends’. Great for ensuring students feel involved before they arrive/
throughout the course. Also continue contact with connections made at conferences.
Flickr
What is it? An image and video hosting website, widely used by bloggers to host images that they
embed in blogs and social media. Photo storage, tagging, photo-favourites, group photo pools and
ratings.
What are its particular uses? Access a great pool of images, with the ability to use those
tagged ‘Creative Commons’ legally (with attribution) in presentations. Upload images for dissemination
to a wider audience.
GoogleApps for Education
What is it? Bath Spa University has subscribed to this suite of tools. This means that all BSU email
is Gmail and all staff and students have free access to collaborative and publishing tools such as
GoogleDocs, Blogger, Google Hangouts, etc.
GoogleDocs
What is it? You can create documents and share with other people so that you can update together in
real time. You can share word-processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more.
What are its particular uses? Collaborating with people across various sites, sharing information
with a team, managing projects. Students can use this for developing collaborative projects.
Google Hangouts in Google+
What is it? Google Hangouts lets you chat in real time with a group of people, using webcams and
internet connection.
What are its particular uses? Great for running meetings or seminars when people are dispersed
across sites. Google Hangouts Air now lets you stream your event straight to YouTube and saves a
copy of your video on your YouTube site.
Humbox
2
with special thanks to Dr Bex Lewis

3. What is it? The HumBox project aims to publish a bank of good quality humanities resources online
for free download and sharing.
What are its particular uses? Creating a community of Humanities specialists who are willing
to share their teaching materials and collaborate with others to peer review and enhance existing
resources.
PebblePad
What is it? A online e-portfolio which is has a user group of over 500,000 across 100 HEI’s in Britain.
PebblePad is external which makes the e-portfolio the user’s individual and private space.
What are its particular uses? There are multiple functions including CV building application,
reflection on tasks/assignments, Webfolio, blogs, forward planning facilities and a central information
bank. With the users permission, assets created on PebblePad can be shared with Staff and peers.
Picasa
What is it? Google’s image hosting website. Photo storage, tagging, photo-favourites, create albums
which can be shared more widely online.
What are its particular uses? Access collections of images provided by other users, with the ability
to use those to which permission is given (with attribution) in presentations/websites. Upload images
for dissemination to a wider audience.
Pinterest
What is it? Working rather like pictorial bookmarking, it offers a ‘virtual’ pinboard social photo sharing
website. Users to create and manage theme-based image collections, collecting materials from across
the internet, or ‘re-pinning’ images (including videos) from other collections. Pinterest's mission is
to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting"
What are its particular uses? A way of bookmarking images you may want to use in teaching, ideas
you may want to share with your community of practice (e.g. http://pinterest.com/drbexl/education/), or
use as a collection of visual bookmarks (e.g. links to materials on an e-reading list).
Podcast
What is it? A podcast is a digital audio or video file that is: episodic, downloadable, programme-
driven, mainly with a host and/or theme, and convenient, usually via an automated feed with computer
software. [University of Austin, Texas]
What are its particular uses? Regular audio files prepared for distribution over the semester.
Software required? Programmes such as Audacity (editable).
Prezi
What is it? A flash-based presentation tool, hosted online, allowing multiple authors to contribute (no
need to be emailing files to each other).
What are its particular uses? Considered by many as the next step on from PowerPoint (but is in
fact just another tool), Prezi ‘allows the speaker to encourage a dialogue, and visualise ideas as if you
were drawing a mind map for your audience’.
Skype
3
with special thanks to Dr Bex Lewis

4. What is it? A widely used instant messaging service that allows conversations by voice, video, and
chat. Phone calls may be placed to recipients on the traditional telephone networks. Calls to other
users within the Skype service are free of charge, while calls to landline telephones and mobile
phones are chargeable.
What are its particular uses? Great for conversations with peers for collaboration on research, and
with students (particularly tutorials with research students). Conversations can be recorded (with
permission) using software such as Pamela for Skype. Instructions for setting up an account.
Similar software: Windows Messenger
Slideshare
What is it? An online document hosting service, particularly known for PowerPoint uploads: upload,
view, be inspired, comment & share.
What are its particular values? With awareness of intellectual property issues, documents can be
uploaded to share with a wider audience, encouraging contact with interest groups. Slideshares can
be embedded into blogs.
Similar software: Scribd (particularly known for document uploads)
SnagIt
What is it? A screen-casting system which allows you to capture anything you see on your computer
screen, as an image or (max 5 minute) video, then lets you share it, e.g. via YouTube. (Formerly
known as Jing, and part of the Camtasia family, around £36 to purchase).
What are its particular uses? See what is going on on screen without having to ‘explain’ via multiple
screenshots. Comment on a piece of work with audio. Collaborate when creating a piece of work.
Similar Software: Screenr, Camtasia
Storify
What is it? A social media curation tool. Select tweets, videos, links, etc. from across the web, add
further explanation as desired, and provide a curated story-line for others to read.
What are its particular uses? Great to give an overview of a particular topic (to/from students), and
regularly used to feedback from conferences.
Survey Monkey
What is it? A ‘freemium’ (i.e. the free version allows 10 questions of 100 users) online questionnaire
software. LTDU has a Pro licence, please email ltdu@winchester.ac.uk if you’re interested in knowing
more.
What are its particular uses? End of module questionnaires, surveys, project/research work. A good
return rate has been received through distributing the URL on the portal, emails, and/or through social
networking (and the students like it).
Similar Software: Bristol Online Surveys
Turnitin
What is it? An online plagiarism detection software funded and endorsed by JISC, which checks the
originality of a piece of work submitted for an assignment.
4
with special thanks to Dr Bex Lewis

5. What are its particular uses? The software scans websites, publications and work submitted to
Turnitin for originality, highlighting sections which appear similar to others work. Turnitin also provides
online marking/grading and the ability to peer review.
Twitter
What is it? The most famous form of micro-blogging. Tweets are limited to 140 characters and shared
amongst followers. Few rules, but clear etiquette.
What are its particular uses? Making and maintaining contacts with others with similar interest
(particularly around #hashtags), especially pre/at/post conferences (as the conversation has already
started). Raising your public profile. Twitter works particularly well if the ‘Twitterer’ has access to a
smartphone.
Vimeo
What is it? A high-quality video-sharing site, comprised of a ‘community of creative people who are
passionate about sharing the videos they make’.
What are its particular uses? Videos tend to be more professional than those on YouTube, but have
similar benefits: viewed, shared, and embedded. Videos can be commented upon and links made with
producers.
WordPress
What is it? The most popular open-source ‘CMS’ at present: for blogging/websites. Either a simple
online version, or a more complex downloadable version.
What are its particular uses? Reputation building for academics. Encourage students to blog
(reflection, participation) to gain public feedback on their work, and build their online confidence. Has
an extra benefit of providing ‘link-juice’ to the University.
Similar software: Blogger, Tumblr, Posterous
YouTube
What is it? A video-sharing website on which users can upload and share videos (usually amateur
videos by individuals), and create themed playlists of favourite saved videos.
What are its particular uses? With careful thought, use within lectures. View, share, embed, and
comment upon. The interface continues to change, bringing with it new functionality. Playlists can be
embedded on the Learning Network (removing some distractions)
5
with special thanks to Dr Bex Lewis