My Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is made up of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) and the tools I use on the computer (mostly web-based). In other words, it is the people I learn from/with and the tools that I use to do so.
In a response to a Twitter question asking me to respond (max. 140 characters) with what my PLN means to me. I said, “The network is where my lifelong learning takes shape. People I respect help point me in directions I might not otherwise find, in real time”
NOTE: the Twitter Mosaic is currently unavailable. I’ll try to bring it back in the future.
Tools in my PLE Toolkit
I have an account to use each of the following web-based services. Some I use more than others, and some I use all the time. NOTE: at the bottom of the list I have added the non-web-based tools in a separate category. These are the tools that require a download and install, such as Audacity, Jing, Skype, and many others.
Web office collaboration tools:
- Zoho Writer
- Zoho Sheet
- Zoho Show
- Zoho Docs
- Google Docs and spreadsheets (now Google Drive)
- Writer (Bighugelabs)
Other Zoho Goodness
Other Google Goodness: (unless they become more evil)
- Google Analytics
- Google Calendar
- Google Voice
- Google Scholar
- Google Groups
- Google Buzz (Dead pool)
- Google Wave (Dead pool – April 2012)
- Google Notebook (Dead pool – July 2012)
Blogging Tools:
- WordPress
- Blogger
- Cover it Live
- Google Reader (Dead pool – July 2013 – Thanks Google!)
- Bloglines (dead pool, spring 2011 – then Resurrected)
- MyBlogLog (dead pool, April 2011)
- Blogflux
- Technorati
Communications tools:
- Twubs
- Twitterfall
- Tweetree (dead pool, as of Feb. 2012)
- Plurk
- Yammer
- Broadtexter (added July 2010, dead pool 2013)
- Meebo instant messenger (Dead pool – thanks Google!)
- MeeboMe widget (Dead pool – thanks Google!)
- Jott (no longer free)
- YackPack (no longer free) (apparently dead, as of Aug 2011)
- Disqus (added Jan. 2011)
- Gmail
- Yahoo mail
- Windows Live mail
Wikis:
- PBworks
- Wet Paint (now WikiFoundry)
- Zoho Wiki
- Wikispaces
- Google Sites
Web conferencing tools:
- Vyew (appears to be dead, Sept. 2016)
- DimDim (dead, spring 2011)
- WiZiQ
- Mikogo
- Zoho Meeting
- SlideShare Zipcast (dead pool, or so it seems as of 2016)
- Mingleverse (added Feb. 2011) (Apparently dead – May 2012)
Bookmarking tools:
- Delicious
- Diigo
- Evernote
- Postach.io (Added Nov. 2013 – based on Evernote)
- Second Brain (added Jan. 2011) (Dead pool, Sept. 2011)
- Furl (dead pool, April 2009)
Music tools:
- iMeem (now part of MySpace, rats!)
- AudioTool (added Feb. 2011 – create your own music in the browser)
- Pandora
- Seeqpod (alas, it appears to be in dead pool)
- Songza (dead pool, although it still helps run Google Play Music)
- Finetune Music
- Last.fm
Digital photo tools:
- Flickr
- Picmonkey
- Picnik (Dead pool – Aoril 2012 – thanks Google!!)
- BigHugeLabs
- Photobucket
- Fotoflexer
- Mixbook
- Dumpr (URL resolves to Picjoke.net as of Sept. 2016 test)
- flauntR (dead pool)
- Wylio (added March 2011)
- Aviary (added March 2011 – also a design and audio toolset)
- BeFunky
Video or similar tools:
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- Google Video (no more uploads)
- Blip.tv (dead pool)
- Animoto
- UStream.tv (live broadcast)
- Livestream (formerly Mogulus)
- Screencastle (added March ’09)
- Screenr (dead pool, as of Nov. 2015)
- Screencast-o-matic
- ScreenToaster (dead pool 2011)
- Screenjelly (added July 2009) (dead pool 2011)
- Screencast dot com (use with TechSmith/Jing)
- Eyejot
- EyeSpot (now in dead pool)
- TeacherTube
- StartYourTube (dead pool)
- Joost (on life support?)
- VodPod (dead pool, 2012)
- Vuvox (dead pool, as of Sept. 2013)
- TokBox
Slide Shows and Presentations Tools:
- SlideShare
- Prezi (added Jan. ’09)
- Spicynodes (added June 2011)
- Slide Rocket
- 280Slides (Dead pool – Dec. 2011)
- SplashCast (Dead pool, for quite some time I guess)
- Zentation
- Flowgram (Dead pool as of June 30, 2009)
- Slide (Dead pool – March 2012)
Social Networking:
Audio and podcasting:
- Audioboo (now Audioboom, which is different)
- Odeo (Dead pool – Aug. 2010)
- Internet Archive (store your audio there)
- Screencast (Part of TechSmith)
- PodcastPeople
- Voice Thread
- Pod-o-matic
- Gcast (Dead pool)
- ClickCaster (Dead pool)
- Evoca (dead pool)
- DivShare (dead pool, as of 2015 apparently)
Polling:
- Zoho Polls (Dead pool – Mar. 2012)
- Poll Everywhere
- Poll Daddy
- Vizu
- Neomyz (dead pool, as of Oct. 2014)
Start Pages and Organizers:
- Springpad (dead pool, as of June 2014)
- LiveBinders (added April 2011)
- Glide OS (dead pool)
- iGoogle (Dead pool – thanks Google!)
- Netvibes
- Padlet (formerly Wallwisher)
- Pageflakes (Dead pool – Jan. 2012)
- Protopage
- Symbaloo (added August 2010)
- Schmedley (dead pool)
- WidgetBox (dead pool)
- WebWag (added October 2010)
- Pindax (dead pool)
- Spaaze (added Aug. 2011)
- Corkboard.me (added Aug. 2011) (Now Noteapp)
- MyClusta (dead pool)
Mapping:
- Wayfaring
- Community Walk
- Google Maps
Scheduling and Organizing:
- Meeting Wizard
- Doodle (added Nov. 2009)
- Tripit (added June 2009)
- Remember the Milk
Documents and Storage:
Comics and Animations:
- Toondoo
- Pixton Comics (added March ’09)
- GoAnimate (added May 2011)
- Xtranormal (added May 2011) (Dead pool)
- Voki (added May 2011)
Mindmaps:
No time now to categorize the following:
- Creative Commons Search
- Second Brain (Dead pool Sep. 2011)
- UniFlip
- Gliffy
- Jooce (Dead pool June 2009)
- Scriblink (dead pool, collaborative whiteboard)
- Taskbarn (added April ’09) (Dead pool – 2011)
- Zamzar
- Voxopop (formerly Chinswing)
- Virtual Eternity (added Feb. 2011) (Dead pool?)
- Spoken Text
- Rondee (Dead pool – acquired by Yahoo)
- Bubble Comment (dead pool)
- Odiogo (dead pool)
- Vaestro (Dead pool?)
- eSnips (Dead pool)
- Stumble Upon
- Glogster
Non-web-based (client-based) Tools: (requires download and install)
- Skype
- Dropbox
- CamStudio
- Audacity
- iTunes
- GIMP
- Jing
- SecondLife
- Freepath
- Flypaper
- Wireshark
- Gong Project
- Yugma
- Google Earth
- Google Chrome
- FireFox
- Flock (Dead pool)
- Pogo browser (Dead pool)
- Maxthon
- Mozilla SeaMonkey
- Microsoft Live Mesh (now SkyDrive)
- Twhirl (Dead pool)
- TweetDeck
- Nambu (mac only) (Dead pool)
- AlertThingy (Dead pool?)
- FileZilla
- Pando (now a low rent “news” org)
[…] PLE […]
[…] PLE […]
[…] PLE […]
I just found this blog a while ago when a friend recommended it to me. I have been a regular reader ever since.
Hi. I wanted to thank you for the excellent data you have posted on your website. I will definitelycome back to check it out again and have subscribedto your RSS feed. Have an excellent day.
[…] PLE […]
Another mind map tool to mention is MindManager from Mindjet.com
Great list! Thanks for organizing this.
Might want to add Freemind as a client-side mind-mapping tool:
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
and Bubbl.us as a free online mind-mapping tool:
https://bubbl.us/
CMap is much more advanced, but perhaps better suited to academic research:
http://cmap.ihmc.us/
Be well,
Tom