NewsDesigns.com has a nice list of 15 free tools that aid in online storytelling. The list includes tools for data visualization, timelines, maps and images. Read the entire post, "15 free tools for better online storytelling" and check out the rest of the NewsDesigns.com blog as there are some other great posts.

NSPA recently announced its 2010 Online Pacemaker Finalists. For the first time the split schools into two divisions based on enrollment in grades 10-12. The NSPA press release can be found here and the list of Pacemaker finalists can be found here. Pacemaker winners will be announced in April at the JEA/NSPA Spring Convention in Portland.

Mitch Eden of Kirkwood High School passed this YouTube video along to me last week that he saw talked about on Dan Pink's blog. It's a demo of a digital version of Sports Illustrated and it's pretty sweet. Well worth the 3 minute time investment to watch.

Hilary Fosdal, Interactive Content Manager for Barrington Broadcasting, has created a nice step-by-step tutorial on how to create and embed a Google Map for your Web site. Google maps can be used in a variety of ways to enhance your site. The 2009 NSPA Multimedia Story of the Year included a google map as part of its story. Think about the stories you are putting online and which ones could be enhanced with a map.