Microsoft are making a great effort nowadays and this free web site tool is little known but really quite good. In particular, at the time of writing they are offering free real addresses too - I got 1s6d.co.uk for example.

A simple way to publish on the web, but not now the simplest and you'll need to check whether you can use it at work. However, as a bonus you get an automatic news feed which can update VLE content or an institution's web site.

http://www.blogger.com/start

Add some simple javascript to your web pages to add a nice 'sleep' mode when pages are left open for a while. This should work on this page too (and others when I get round to it!)

An easy way (pb = peanut butter, as easy as a peanut butter sandwich!) to create a password-protected wiki that you can share with colleagues, students etc. A useful tool for collaborative work, reflective exercises, planning and running projects etc. Great free offers available for educators.

http://educators.pbwiki.com/PresenterPackInfo

Lefora
forums made easy

Unless you're a php geek the idea of setting up a forum and inviting members, building categories and linking to news etc. would probably never occur to you. Moodle's forum is a bit clunky and doesn't really cut it with the youngsters. This will. And it really is easy. Great tool! Just hope it stays free.

http://lefora.com

Brilliant tool to create polls in a variety of formats, including the difficult to do star ratings. I use this on this site.

Use Zoho Creator to create database-driven applications from scratch by defining form fields, by copying and modifying existing applications, or by importing data. Beats Access and php hands-down for many of the sort of tasks you'll need!

http://creator.zoho.com/

A very clear and easy-to-use blog tool which is up and running in seconds with RSS feed etc.

http://tumblr.com

Nice free way to create pages about your course or lessons with, and this is what makes it more than just a blog or web site, a simple system built in to enable you to create mailing lists and for others to apply to add themselves too. Options to upload documents, images and more. Looks good - the link below is a sample of how it might work:

review needed

http://www.schoolrack.com/johndoe/

Nice-looking on-line web site builder with easy-to-use text, photo and navigation controls.

review needed

Very smart web page creation tool with which you can quickly and easily share notes and links with others. Pages comprise panels that you just drag into position.

http://www.pageflakes.com/

Simple, maybe too simple for some, web page creation tool. Add links and build pages to display course materials which will be hosted by jottit. Quite fun in a way. Try it out and comment.

review needed

Have a collaborative blog and need to monitor it for changes? Researching a subject and need to follow a lot of weblogs regularly? Bloglines makes it simple to browse new articles on each blog you've subscribed to. Your subscription list can be organized into folders.

http://www.bloglines.com/

A major improvement on Google Page Creator and a simple way to create web pages. However, Microsoft product is far superior and free. Makes a change. Google Sites is likely to be further developed, though, so keep an eye on it.

http://sites.google.com

With Google's contribution to this sector you can create professional web sites with no special skills or publishing knowledge. The interface could do with some updating now, however, and may take some getting used to but it certainly beats traditional web design software.

http://pages.google.com

Eduspaces is an open source learning landscape platform, where you can using blogging tools, and interact with and learn from other learning professionals, swapping ideas, resources etc. Used to be called ELGG.

http://eduspaces.net

eXe is a simple, off-line authoring environment that enables you to make web content without the need to understand code. Content generated by eXe can be used inside any Learning Management System or as self-contained web sites. eXe enables users to select from predesigned instructional devices to create objectives, case studies, reading activities, etc.

http://exelearning.org

Here's another really simple web page creator - ideal for notes and images, drag what you want around the page, name it and it's there for all to see.

http://protopage.com

SiteKreator is a real site creation tool but dead easy to use with excellent templates to choose from and, again, all you need do is type and name your pages and links.

http://sitekreator.com

Take video, images, some text and add some music. Drag and drop the files into this remarkable application and it produces a professional show, host it for you and all you need to do is make a note of the address.

http://web.splashcast.net/console/

Select from a range of gadgets - from serious research tools to fun games - and these can be added to enhance your web log or VLE pages with minimal effort. Their radio tunes in to stations of your choice with much less fuss than more familiar players.

http://labpixies.com

CoffeeCup sell web design software but currently have an amazing offer that provides students with their complete range for use in institutions totally free. All students need is web space - which most of them have somewhere.

http://coffeecup.com

Now using this web application in place of the one below as it seems to work much more quickly and with nicer results.

If you have a web site and want to add news feeds then this application does all the hard work for you, providing a line of code to add to your page. You'll still need some editing skills, though, but for those that have this is a godsend.

http://www.rss-to-javascript.com

An interesting package that enables you to organise a group of people, send them e-mail 'blasts', record events and membership records. Wild Apricot is bullet-proof and so easy to master that even inexperienced volunteers can use it. Although designed for 'non-profits' it looks as though they'll be charging for the application now. I'll leave it here while I check but it may have to go. Their newsletter is, however, excellent and still worth subscribing to for updates in this field.

http://www.wildapricot.com

A development of tiddlywiki which looks a little less confusing to get started. You just sign in and type and there you have a web presence you can share. No download.

http://tiddlyspot.com/