BrightStorm has launched a new online learning network for teenagers with video-based courses lead by experienced instructors. The concept is rather clever as they use the tools that teens use everyday such as online videos to deliver training and instructional materials in a very familiar format. This makes otherwise dull and tedious learning sessions more fun and enjoyable for the teen students which means they will be inclined to view more courses and take more classes.

The courses are presented in short entertaining ways with young attractive teachers (usually). This is another brilliant move because teens today have the attention span of a gibbon. This means that BrightStorm needs to present their material in a brisk and entertaining manner. They also infuse their videos with some levels of levity and humor which makes their material feel even less scholastic than they actually are.

Here are just some of the courses that teen can take: SAT Geometry | Algebra II | SAT Writing | SAT Math | AP U.S. History | AP U.S. Government | Writing | SAT Critical Reading | U.S. History.

The teachers are an integral part of the site, of course. Sure, some of them are young and highly photogenic, but don’t be fooled. There are plenty of good old-fashioned instructors on the site as well. While they understand that their videos have to be a little more hip and cool than what a traditional school would produce, they know they still need professional teachers that know how to teach whether it’s in a classroom or online via video.

BrightStorm has a Challenges section which allows teens to compete in fun contests every week and actually win prizes. It also allows them to see the work of their fellow online classmates and if nothing else lets them express themselves in these multimedia projects. For example, in one challenge called “Music to My Eyes”, they are asked to create a music based slide.com presentation.

In the shows area, there are many more viral like videos that also provide some level of information or educational material in an enjoyable format. For example, here’s “One Minute Hamlet” which shows a Shakespearean troupe rapping Hamlet in sixty seconds.

BrightStorm does a good job presenting course materials in a format that most teens will find pleasant and possibly enjoyable. More importantly, they can actually learn from these video courses which is obviously the primary goal of the service. One thing is certain, BrightStorm clearly demonstrates that educational videos can also be entertaining.

If you’re looking to stream your iTunes collection to up to 30 friends, a new app called SimplifyMedia from a company of the same name will let you do just that.

According to the company, SimplifyMedia will let Mac, Linux, and Microsoft users take all their songs and playlists from their iPhone or iPod Touch and stream it over a broadband connection to 30 preset friends.  Even better, it’ll work over WiFi, 2G and 3G.

SimplifyMedia claims its new software is legal because songs are only streamed and not sent out to the entire population, but just a group of 30 friends.  To further cover itself, it claims the app will not stream DRM-protected iTunes purchases.

But just because SimplifyMedia thinks it won’t need to worry about Apple or any other App Store headache, is that necessarily true?

There has been a glaring gray area so far with the App Store and developers and consumers alike have wondered how Apple decides which apps will stay and those that will not.  The company has already removed NullRiver’s NetShare without giving any reason and BoxOffice was mysteriously removed, then replaced on the App Store with nary a mention from the Apple camp.

And although SimplifyMedia looks to be one of those apps that a slew of people will want to use, it doesn’t strike me as one that Apple will allow.  Sure, it only streams songs that aren’t copy-protected, but it does so to 30 friends, and chances are, the music industry and even Apple won’t be too happy about that if there isn’t a limit to the number of times a song can be streamed.

Regardless, we’ve once again hit a wall in the face of the App Store.  What will Apple allow and what will it not?  What is fine and what is not?  We just don’t know.

And that needs to change.  Immediately.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:World’s Simplest iPhone AppiPhone to Launch in Germany on T-Mobile3G iPhone Confirmed for 2008Mundu Optimizes Multi-Client Chat Tool for the iPhoneApple Making a Directory for iPhone Apps?European iPhone to be Offered on Multiple CarriersiPhone. Europe. September.

Source:Mashable!

With the summer nearing its end and the school year almost upon us, teachers, tutors and students have a lot to prepare for. As with just about any profession nowadays, there all kinds of tools that can help you do most of your planning from your computer keyboard. We’ve put together a list of 35 tools to help you get your school year started right.

Here you’ll find resources for learning management systems, social networking communities for students and teachers, tutoring services and more. 

Grading Tools

Engrade.com - Allows teachers of any subject, for any grade, anywhere to keep a free grade book, attendance chart and more that can be accessed by students, parents and administrators.

GradeNetwork.com - Another online grade book that really emphasizes the ability for parents and teachers to stay in touch with each other by allowing parents to see grades at a glance and message teachers.

MyGradeBook.com - Features grade books, attendance records, ability for parents and students to log in to check progress and more.  Offers a free 30-day trial and then changes over to a cost per-license that gets discounted with the more licenses you purchase.

OnlineSchoolReports.com - OnlineSchoolReports allows parents to log in each day and see how their child/children are doing in school. They can use the internal messaging system to talk about any concerns they may have with the teacher.  Currently the service is free of charge.

SnapGrades.net - Offers free and premium versions of a grade book that can include things like parent and student access, generating reports, Spanish translation and more.  Also features scalability from a single teacher up to an entire school district.

Miscellaneous Tools

4Teachers.org - Offers multiple free tools for the use of teachers and students alike, such as online quiz generators, grading guidelines, educational video games and much more.

Blackboard.com - Pretty much a complete educational system that allows you to stay in touch with students, run tests, leave voicemails for students and much, much more.

TheClassConnection.com - Allows high school and college students to set up communities based around their classes to create flash cards, share information, message one another and more.

Digication.com - Teachers, students and administrators can set up e-portfolios to display work, assignments, resumes and more.

Haikuls.com - An online learning management system that allows you to create lessons for your class or eclass. Also allows embedding of major services such as YouTube and Zoho.

KEEP Toolkit - Teachers and students can set up visual representations of their work to share with others, entice new students, put them up for peer review, and more.

Moodle.org - An open source solution for a course management system that can be scaled from a single instructor to an entire institution.

Studeous.com - Allows you to set up extended learning with notes, messages, podcasts and more that lets the learning continue well beyond the classroom.

TeacherTube.com - An educationally focused alternative to YouTube for teachers and students to post videos and share them worldwide with other classes and instructors.

WiZiQ.com - A white board system that allows you to teach long distance with video and voice support that can be recorded for later playback.

Social Networks

Classroom20.com - A social network for teachers interested in using collaborative tools in their profession.

Classroomn.com - Use it to connect with other teachers, create a network for your class or even their parents.

HotChalk.com - A mixture of a learning management system and a social network where teachers can share lesson plans with one another and interact with parents and students.  Be sure to check out HotChalk on an episode of Mashable Conversations.

TeachAde.com - Besides giving teachers a social network, you can also set up a blog and site about yourself to share with others.

TeacherEvents.com - A social network for teachers that also focuses on allowing teachers to discover who is going to be at upcoming teacher conferences so that they can connect while there.

Teachers.Yahoo.com - Not yet completed, Teachers.Yahoo.com will allow teachers from all over the world to save lesson plans and share them with other teachers, saving all those involved a lot of preliminary legwork.

Teaching & Tutoring Jobs

AtoZTutoring.com - An in-home tutoring referral service which focuses exclusively on bringing tutors into students homes.

Jobs4Tutors.com - As the name implies, it is a service for tutors to find work and for parents to find tutors that suit their childrens’ needs.

SeriousTeachers.com - Locates jobs around the world for teachers who specialize in ESL (English as a Second Language).

TeachStreet.com - A way for local teachers and students to connect to find tutors and tutoring jobs, as well as things like musical lessons and more.

TutorLinker.com - A place for tutors and students to locate each other, available in multiple countries such as the USA, UK, New Zeland and more.

TutorNation.com - A tutor referral service that also provides training and certification for their tutors.

Tutorz.com - A site with the goal of building a national network of tutors in the United States. It currently allows tutors to register for free.

Teaching & Tutoring Jobs - Online

Aim4a.com - A company that provides online tutoring opportunities. It uses services such as Skype to allow you to tutor anyone, anywhere from the comfort of your home.

BuddySchool.com - Set your own payment level, methods of payment, form of teaching and more with this online tutoring platform.

Educate-Online.com - The popular service has gone online with tutoring options at their Educate-Online site.

GlobalScholar.com - Students can ask questions or take full classes. Tutors’ level of involvement is flexible as well.

OnlineLearning.net - Allows you to teach full online courses in a variety of subjects.

Tutor.com - Provides 24/7 online tutoring that even records the session so you can review what you went over with the tutor while engaged with them.  Offers things such as proof reading of papers, help with math and more at all hours of the day or night.

TutorVista.com - Allows you to work four hours a day. Students can request sessions with you as they build a relationship with you.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:WizIQ Is Guru for TutorsTalkBean Launches Language Tutor Site without a CommunityLookabee’s Facebook Apps for TeachersSclipoLive Uses Webcam for Online Tutoring NetworkPageflakes Targets the Education Market TooYahoo Teachers: Social Network for TeachersTutorom is a Free E-learning Community

If you’re educator near the middle of the K-12 curriculum, and you’re feeling a bit lacking in terms of online tools available to help increase your own efficiency in the case of schoolwork, this item may be worth a look. It’s called Lesson Writer, and it’s something that can aid you in cranking out a basic lesson (and plan) for particular course on a given day. If you’re short for time, or consider the lesson-creation element of your workflow best left up to a series of code to piece together, Lesson Writer may go far in getting you to crunch through your own set of tasks outside the classroom more quickly.

There isn’t too much that needs explaining about Lesson Writer. If you stumble across a website whose content you’d like to include in an agenda for a future day (or perhaps the very same school session that happens to call you to two or more places at once and leaves you with little time to manufacture papers for class), you can select any interesting text and paste it into a draft page for a new lesson. Once you’ve submitted said text to the Lesson Writer engine, you’re taken through a process of choosing any that Lesson Writer deems pertinent. This goes for things like vocabulary, grammar and so forth. You can add your own custom critical thinking queries for students at the final step.

There’s certainly a limit to what you can accomplish through Lesson Writer. Complex algebraic problems aren’t part of the package. The extent to Lesson Writer’s powers seems to be very plainly hinted in its title. It seems only some elementary Language Arts and perhaps some History and Civics lessons can be assembled through the service. And if you prefer to interact with lessons created by other teachers in well-engineered environment, you might do well to consult with the Yahoo Teachers beta program.

Yet, if you’re tasked with managing a variety of subjects in a given day as instructor/disciplinarian/mediator/etc., and are wanting terribly for a quick and easy backup lesson solution, and don’t happen have your own personal living and breathing teaching assistant, Lesson Writer could very well work to complement your grind if/when the moment requires it.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Windows Live Writer Launches Beta 2Yahoo Teachers: Social Network for TeachersLearn Foreign Language for Free with MangoHow to Use YouTube to Learn English: FunTalkZoho Writer Gets Thesaurus And File Export UpgradesThe Del.icio.us Lesson - Putting Personal Value Before Network ValueZoho Writer Gets More Professional