Five reasons to use RefWorks

I have been experimenting with an online animation tool, called PowToon. There are lots of preset templates aimed at schools and education contexts. These can be easily edited and the whole system is web-based so you don't need to install software or anything. It is very simple; this one took me 55 minutes originally and another 5 to tweak after feedback from colleagues.

The only downsides are the logo (but I gather, like Prezi, if you upgrade you can remove the branding) and that as a Flash-file it doesn't play on iPads. There are some lovely, imaginative examples on the site. Great for introducing topics in a Primary classroom or getting kids to put together their own presentations.

Copyright-free images: finding and acknowledging

To find content you can share, use and remix online look materials which have been stamped with 'Creative Commons' licenses. There are options for this within a lot of online media sites (like Flickr or YouTube) but you may need to dig to find the search filter. It is much easier to go to the Creative Commons search hub where you can search all the main media sites from one place: http://search.creativecommons.org/.

Then you can paste or insert CC license buttons (which are little thumbnail images) to indicate what kind of resource you're using or remixing. The CC license buttons can be downloaded from the CC website.

It gives different file-type options, for whether you're producing a print or digital publication. So, if I'm putting together a Powerpoint presentation, I insert the 'png' version (using Insert>Picture) and re-size (as necessary) within the slide. The 'Bring to Front' and 'Send to Back' (accessible from your right-click) help you to layer the original image and the buttons.