The Quick Dev Tools block is useful for those within an unfamiliar environment and require access to media building tools or for those who simply cannot afford multimedia development tools. This page provide links as well as details about these resources. Below are descriptions of each resource, the a direct link to the resource and a quick-start sheet. As the Quick Development Tools is an evolving resource there may be a slight lag for some resources.
 Edit Audio with Audio Expert is an online resource that allows a developer to upload an audio file and manipulate it and export it in eleven file formats for their productions! (merge clips, edit or cut clips or convert clips and even edit metadata) It also has a very functional Flash based audio recorder. Try the lesson |
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 Use Bitly to shorten your web addresses or URLs so that they can be more easily posted on social media resources such as Twitter. Try the lesson |
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 At Icon Finder , a materials developer can locate icons for use in their projects. Licensing varies of course, but there are enough free icons to get through the simple worksheets or presentations that teachers encounter on a frequent basis. There are four filtering options for each search: icons to display; size of icons; licensing; background colour/opacity. Try the lesson |
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 Blindtextgenerator (snippets) Use BlindTextGenerator’s HTML Snippets to help you quickly create basic HTML. Try the lesson |
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 Thesaurus.com has many bells and whistles such as games, but use it here for mixing up your vocabulary to make your projects slightly more interesting. Try the lesson |
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 Lorem Ipsum, www.lipsum.com, is a text generator for typesetting. In layout programs such as Quark, Pages, InDesign, Microsoft Publisher or even Microsoft Word, this text can be created and placed in the mock up document prior to the actual writing of a media project. Try the lesson |
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 There are many times when a teacher needs a tool to optimize pictures so they will fit into a worksheet, digital resource, poster or a video. In order to cover all of the possibilities one would have to take a diploma in graphic design. However, Pixlr, www.pixlr.com, offers the essential tools required to manipulate images. Commonly there are five alterations to enable teachers to have control over images before inserting them into learning media. There are some easy but professional special effects also in this activity. Try the lesson |
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 Colour picker quickly assists in locating colour codes in HEX, RGB or HSB colour models. These codes can make your digital spaces more uniform and professional in appearance. Try the lesson |
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 If you are at a strange workstation or even at your own and need to resize an image quickly try Web resizer. It also allows you to rotate at the speed of light as well as other basic functions including adding a customized border your images. Try the lesson |
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 At Lexipedia, word connections and categorization come to life in smooth flowing animated charts. These might be useful in creating language activities. In the past, many of us laboured over concordanced output, but now relations are easier to read at this resource. Try the lesson |
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 At times, material developers require special fonts or letter shape sets to create an impression or the illusion of an event or concept. The web resource Dafont offers this option to educators at www.dafont.com. Dafont is a repository of fonts. The font categories range from Holiday to Fancy. Most personal computers have an office suite that includes an overabundance of fonts. However, the font sets at Dafont provide variations that inspire. Try the lesson |
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 Flash Kit has been an essential tool kit for multimedia producers – providing audio, animations, images, scripts and tutorials. With Web 2.0 tools I have found that the 7000+ sound effects help me produce more realistic learning objects. For example an old typewriter. Try the lesson |
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 Vector Magic, converts Bitmap (raster, pixelated) images to vector format. That is, file types like JPEGs, GIFs and PNGs to scalable vector art of EPS, SVG, and PDF with auto-tracing software. Great for logos, illustrations, cartoons or very simple images. Try the lesson |
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 Wireframes are images and place holders that appear, generally, with an outline and no background filling. Gomockingbird is effective for planning for a visual or a media presentation. This resource will help you digitally sketch out wireframes for the purpose of meetings or enhanced collaboration. Students may be encouraged to use for the purposes of planning a project. |
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 Use Screencast-o-matic to capture a sample from the computer screen. These are great for instructional assistance projects. |
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 Video editing might be a stretch, but if you do not have the funds and want a simple video editing tool that is social network friendly, then try this Pixorial. |
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 Free images/photos can be found for your use at Morgue File. Copyright issues are often confusing for teachers and stock images are costly. You may use services like Morgue File as a first stop before looking at fee based options. |
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 If your image needs a slight tweak to match your media or if you wish to stylize an image, use the filters at Picful to easily get fast results. Try the lesson |
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 “Brainstorming made simple” is the Bubbl.us claim to fame. Easy to learn and use, this tool is a friendly and visual means of collecting the thoughts of group members. Try the lesson |
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 Converting files from one format to the other sometimes save a great deal of time and effort. An example is converting a WAV audio fie to an Mp3 so that the audio can be used on a web based quiz. Zamzar is a dependable service for online conversion of files to different formats. Try the lesson |
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 Slideshows of your lectures or tutorials can be hosted for private or public use at SlideShare. Try the lesson |
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 Voki is an avatar creator. With audio capabilities it can be used as an instructional prompt or guide. Try the lesson |
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 Icon Maker is a free online tool that allows anyone to make original icons from photos or other images. |
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 Embed Videos is sometimes a tricky task. At Free Video Codes this job is made easy with two steps. |
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 Word Clouds can be easily made using Wordle. Word clouds can be used for introducing vocabulary or putting a concept or work into a visual representation. |
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 A complete online word processor can be found at Zoho Writer. If Microsoft Office is out of your budget but you require an online solution this is a free and useful tool. |
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 Spell Checking is an essential feature of most authoring systems. If you find yourself in an unfamiliar environment or resource, it might be prudent to use this simple widget, Free Online Spell Checker, to ensure your spelling is correct. |
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 HTML editing can be accomplished online at Quackit. HTML editing is not for everyone but for quick jobs it is a great place to paste and modify HTML code for quick turn around jobs such as resizing multimedia quizzes. |
