Ideas from the Google Apps for Education Summit App Slam

I'm lucky to be at the Ontario Google Apps for Education Summit (#gafesummit) this weekend, connecting with other educators who are using Google Apps.  One of the highlights for me has been the Demo Slam because I learned a few things and saw a couple of Chrome Extensions that could be very worthwhile in my work.  I haven't tried them all out yet, but recording them here might be a way of remembering to take a look at them.

Google Apps Training

Synergyse is a Chrome extension that provides training in the task you are interested in, when you're interested in learning it.  It looked pretty slick during the demo, but when I checked out the site, I saw that the free version limited you to 5 lessons.  After that, it was $10/year.

Ask the Gooru is a second Chrome extension that live in Gmail and provides access to training videos right on the Gmail desktop.  These quick and clear videos are also available on their site for Google Apps users who don't have Gmail access.

Tip Sheets

The folks at EdTechTeam who put the Summit together also have a great set of tip sheets on their website.

Free Alternatives

If you really like the iLife suite, aren't sure you would want to put out the extra money for a Mac computer, you might consider using the Chrome extensions Pixlr, uJam, and weVideo, along with Picasaweb to organize and share your photos.

Creativity

Docstorybuilder appears to be a skin that is layered over top of the Google Docs page and makes collaborative story writing more playful.  I can see it a means to engage teachers and younger students and make them think about getting started with Google Apps.