Course: Exploring Web 2.0 - SWheeler: "Blogs and Blogging
Wiki Webpages
Basic HTML
RSS - Real Simple Syndication
Blogrolls
Blog Searching
Tagging
Choosing Your Favorite Blogging Software
Social Bookmarks
Image Tools
Podcasting
Video and Slide Tools
Personal Learning Communities
Online Storage and Productivity Tools
Skype
Social Maps"
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Online Productivity Tools
I tried the three online productivity products and found that Google Docs was my favorite due to its variety of content [calendars, docs, presentations, etc] and ease of use. I felt like it was very Office-like. Zoho Writer was my next choice and I found the editing and creating of new documents very easy and innovative on this site. Think Free was my least favorite and I will least likely return to it.
I really liked the fact that you can use tags to label your documents and find them in a variety of folders without having to save them in multiple locations.
I would not be willing to give up Microsoft Office for one of these tools YET – but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.
I also don’t think schools and businesses should abandon installed versions of these productivity tools for the online version I do think there is a possibility that these types of products will continue to improve and challenge the purchased programs to constantly improve to remain competitive.
At this point, I am still more comfortable using the installed productivity tools without regard to the cost and would choose them over the free tools but I do think there are some really wonderful aspects to consider for their future success.
I really liked the fact that you can use tags to label your documents and find them in a variety of folders without having to save them in multiple locations.
I would not be willing to give up Microsoft Office for one of these tools YET – but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.
I also don’t think schools and businesses should abandon installed versions of these productivity tools for the online version I do think there is a possibility that these types of products will continue to improve and challenge the purchased programs to constantly improve to remain competitive.
At this point, I am still more comfortable using the installed productivity tools without regard to the cost and would choose them over the free tools but I do think there are some really wonderful aspects to consider for their future success.
Online Storage Sites
I see a great amount of value in these online storage sites and I will definitely use them in the future. What a great way to not only store and back up but to have access to your documents you may need when you are not on your own computer or your school server. You can actually sign in from any where [that has internet access] and have the ability to see and use documents you may need at that time.
I think I would give up my thumb drive to use these accounts. There is always that worry in the back of my mind that, “Oh! What if their internet access is down and I can’t sign in to the online storage site?” These kinds of things keep me up at night! How about you, Shawn?
I don’t think schools should abandon their own student and staff servers. I think this only because we would lose a lot of the control we have right now. Oh! As I write this I can’t believe I’m saying it! Do we NEED to control everything? Hmmmm
As always, there is concern when students are on the World Wide Web. I think there is always a need for teacher and parental supervision and guidance. This type of site is not all that bad in that the students are saving their own content online but there is always that worry of what if….
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Online Discussion Forums
I started off searching for young adult book authors, quilters, readers, tennis players and found, of course, more than a myriad of information on anything you could want!! My husband was having some issues with our Fifth Wheel and he even found a discussion forum that helped him solve his problem, too. Discussion forums are extremely helpful when you have questions.
Anything having to do with communication on the internet is and will be a concern for us as advocates for our students. There are always those people out there that don’t believe rules are made for them. There are negatives but the positive aspect of discussion forums far outweighs them!
Anything having to do with communication on the internet is and will be a concern for us as advocates for our students. There are always those people out there that don’t believe rules are made for them. There are negatives but the positive aspect of discussion forums far outweighs them!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Digg and Yahoo Buzz
I created accounts in both Digg and Yahoo Buzz. If I had to choose one, I would definitely pick Digg. Personally, though, I will not continue using either one. There are so many superior ways to access information that I feel these don't warrant the time it takes to continue to use them.
I would be very hesitant to use these in the classroom. There are so many ways for students to access excellent information without having to weed through a lot of questionable information that I would not suggest these two sites in an educational setting.
I see a problem with language and reasoning within these types of sites. I feel that could be cyber-bullying could take place and that we should just not go there and save a lot of headaches for our classroom teachers and administrators!
I would be very hesitant to use these in the classroom. There are so many ways for students to access excellent information without having to weed through a lot of questionable information that I would not suggest these two sites in an educational setting.
I see a problem with language and reasoning within these types of sites. I feel that could be cyber-bullying could take place and that we should just not go there and save a lot of headaches for our classroom teachers and administrators!
I found using Twitter very fun and easy. Only two of the original five people I chose to follow were actually using it, so I searched for more and found several people from our class that were actively using Twitter on a daily basis. I thought it was interesting and could be useful in communicating. I didn’t think the site was as in-depth as, say, Facebook though so probably will not continue using it in my personal life.
I don’t see a lot of use other than superficial communications as far as an educational use. Any teacher could use it in planning and make it a tool for their class communications. Beyond that, I don’t see any many other benefits.
The fact students could user Twitter from their computer or cell phone causes me to consider some of the negative aspects of it but overall does not cause that much concern. Technology is developing every minute and there will be so much available on CPU and/or Cell phone very soon. I really think it’s a fact of life and we do not want to go backward – but rather forward.
I would tell my family that Twitter was a communication tool to use similar to instant messaging – rather one dimensional.
I don’t see a lot of use other than superficial communications as far as an educational use. Any teacher could use it in planning and make it a tool for their class communications. Beyond that, I don’t see any many other benefits.
The fact students could user Twitter from their computer or cell phone causes me to consider some of the negative aspects of it but overall does not cause that much concern. Technology is developing every minute and there will be so much available on CPU and/or Cell phone very soon. I really think it’s a fact of life and we do not want to go backward – but rather forward.
I would tell my family that Twitter was a communication tool to use similar to instant messaging – rather one dimensional.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Skype Assignment
I installed Skype without incident and found it to be fairly easy to use! What a cool tool! If anything ever happened to my cell phone, this would be definitely worth having. Until that time, the cell is definitely my phone of preference! I don’t know of anyone else using Skype – other than peers also using it for this class.
Skype would be a great tool if students were to make calls to another school in a different state. Club or Student Council officers could use this to get tips and ideas from each other. This could introduce them to networking – something that will be important to them in their post high school future!
The video aspect would be fabulous for students to have that “visual” aspect of talking to someone in another state. If students were exchanging ideas, they could use the camera to actually show the product to the calling student[s].
Of course, adult supervision should always be first and foremost any time students are making calls on behalf of a class project. There are always those problem children or problem adults who think the rules of etiquette don’t apply to them!!
Skype would be a great tool if students were to make calls to another school in a different state. Club or Student Council officers could use this to get tips and ideas from each other. This could introduce them to networking – something that will be important to them in their post high school future!
The video aspect would be fabulous for students to have that “visual” aspect of talking to someone in another state. If students were exchanging ideas, they could use the camera to actually show the product to the calling student[s].
Of course, adult supervision should always be first and foremost any time students are making calls on behalf of a class project. There are always those problem children or problem adults who think the rules of etiquette don’t apply to them!!
Stats Assignment
I setup an account with www.sitemeter.com because I liked the way the results were shown better than the other statistic site. I placed the counter at the bottom of my blog site using the directions they gave on their page. That simple step-by-step directions on how to add to blogger really simplified finding where to position it – very nice! It will be very interesting to see how many people access the site and where they are from.
Once again, I disagree with your view that there is no value in these stats to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. I think that using this tool with students gives them some real world interest. It may just provide enough interest to one student that reaches them - - when no other could! Never under estimate thechnology OR statistics!
Once again, I disagree with your view that there is no value in these stats to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. I think that using this tool with students gives them some real world interest. It may just provide enough interest to one student that reaches them - - when no other could! Never under estimate thechnology OR statistics!
Map Assignment
I took a look at both of the Social Map sites but didn’t spend too much time dwelling on them. Adding the Cluster map was very straight forward and not difficult at all. I will be anxious to see those hits start happening on my map!
I disagree with your statement that there is no value in these maps to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. First of all, you are tweaking the interest of KIDS looking at MAPS and helping them discover there are people all over the world doing the same thing they are doing on a COMPUTER! Any tool using technology that allows students to discover things about their world is of great value in my book!
I disagree with your statement that there is no value in these maps to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. First of all, you are tweaking the interest of KIDS looking at MAPS and helping them discover there are people all over the world doing the same thing they are doing on a COMPUTER! Any tool using technology that allows students to discover things about their world is of great value in my book!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Animoto
I look forward to using Animoto in my personal life to share pictures and videos with friends. I think I will have to consider buying the longer version as I uploaded about 15 pictures and due to the size only about 3 or 4 pictures show in the 30 second video.
Animoto will be a great tool to use with kids once again as a final product for a class assignment. One concern would be the quality of photographs the students would have available to them.
Animoto will be a great tool to use with kids once again as a final product for a class assignment. One concern would be the quality of photographs the students would have available to them.
Slideshare.net
Slideshare.net could be added as a terrific final product for a research project that would take the PowerPoint presentation to another level! I think audio enhances any presentation and would allow the viewer to “hear” the presenter’s findings – but many times pictures say it all and audio is not necessary.
Slideshare.net could be used for products that were purely informational or even those that are supporting opinions on topics. Any curricular area would be able to use this in so many different ways.
As always, inappropriate content would be the major concern for use with students. There is always the issue of it being accessible on the school web as well – is the firewall going to block it? I think this is a really great tool and will be back to use it again. I used a font in the title that they do not support as it was skewed when uploaded – oh, well.
Slideshare.net could be used for products that were purely informational or even those that are supporting opinions on topics. Any curricular area would be able to use this in so many different ways.
As always, inappropriate content would be the major concern for use with students. There is always the issue of it being accessible on the school web as well – is the firewall going to block it? I think this is a really great tool and will be back to use it again. I used a font in the title that they do not support as it was skewed when uploaded – oh, well.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Slide.com
There are so many uses for Slide.com in the classroom. Students could use it for projects, admin could use it on the portal page for school events, and teachers could use it for demonstrations about their curriculum area. I thought it was very user-friendly and easy to create. I will have to use both Slide and Flickr more before choosing between the two – they are both very attractive tools. Flickr might have more to offer. I will definitely be doing some more searching on both of these sites. There are so many advantages to storing photographs on someone else’s server space!! :>)
YouTube, TeacherTube, etc...
I had seen the Did You Know videos previously on YouTube – pretty amazing stuff! I really like the remix he did – I think it improved with every version. He started with a lot of text and added more visuals each time. There are so many of “us” that like to see the picture of what the text represents!!
There are so many good things that take place on YouTube that would be terrific to use in the educational setting. Of course, there is a lot of inappropriate content on it as well, so discretion has to be of the utmost importance. Students run across inappropriate content in books and have to make that judgment call so why shouldn’t it happen on the internet, too? Students self censor when reading text in books – they will have to become quick to censor their internet use, too. Of course, parents will be concerned – I would be, too. Our district firewall will protect them while at school and parents have to help them when at home.
There is definite value in TeacherTube due to it being created specifically for an educational setting. The speed will be an issue, but the fact that it is geared to students is huge. It would be fun to post some of the library How To documents and send the teachers and students there! Then we wouldn’t sound like a broken record all the time! :>)
I would love to have students create a video on what the library means to them – then post it on TeacherTube. That would be a great tool to have running during specific times to peak student interest!!
I would definitely tell the parent that I understand their concern and would be totally up front about the student AUP and that they share in the responsibility of content used at school.
There are so many good things that take place on YouTube that would be terrific to use in the educational setting. Of course, there is a lot of inappropriate content on it as well, so discretion has to be of the utmost importance. Students run across inappropriate content in books and have to make that judgment call so why shouldn’t it happen on the internet, too? Students self censor when reading text in books – they will have to become quick to censor their internet use, too. Of course, parents will be concerned – I would be, too. Our district firewall will protect them while at school and parents have to help them when at home.
There is definite value in TeacherTube due to it being created specifically for an educational setting. The speed will be an issue, but the fact that it is geared to students is huge. It would be fun to post some of the library How To documents and send the teachers and students there! Then we wouldn’t sound like a broken record all the time! :>)
I would love to have students create a video on what the library means to them – then post it on TeacherTube. That would be a great tool to have running during specific times to peak student interest!!
I would definitely tell the parent that I understand their concern and would be totally up front about the student AUP and that they share in the responsibility of content used at school.
Podcasting
The names of the podcast shows for which I subscribed are:
1 ITunes presents Meet the Author -
2 Cook’s Illustrated Video Podcast –
3 Grey’s Anatomy Official Podcast –
The topics of the shows were: 1 Miranda July – writer of short fiction; 2 Purchasing and Searing Steaks; 3 Betsy & Shawnda talk about Grey’s show. The format of the first podcast was an Audio interview of the author; the second had video that showed you how to sear the steak as well as how to purchase and cut a rib eye. The Grey’s Anatomy podcast was an audio discussion between two people. The quality of the content was very good in all three podcasts. I enjoyed the dialogue between the author and interviewer especially well! I would definitely listen to them all again and have them downloading to my IPod now.
I think this would be a GREAT tool for students that are sick or missing school due to activities, etc. They would be able to hear what they missed during the class period. I definitely think I would use Podcasting in the classroom. I really like the idea of communicating with parents through Podcasting rather than boring newsletters or a million and one emails!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Voice Thread
Kids [most of them] absolutely hate to stand up in front of the class for presentations. I can see someone getting this started and running with it! Little shy Susi would just have to record her voice in the privacy of her home OR type in her text. That is one thought and is just beginning to scratch the surface of all the tools that will soon be available [and old hat] to our student population!
The students would be able to use this when peer teaching – why not solve problems in math and talk or type the answers? I can see this as an across the board tool! Very nice!
There will always be a concern of inappropriateness but I think we could use peer pressure to help curb that. Most students follow the guidelines – and those that don’t would be doing the same thing in some other way without technology!
http://voicethread.com/share/300218/
The students would be able to use this when peer teaching – why not solve problems in math and talk or type the answers? I can see this as an across the board tool! Very nice!
There will always be a concern of inappropriateness but I think we could use peer pressure to help curb that. Most students follow the guidelines – and those that don’t would be doing the same thing in some other way without technology!
http://voicethread.com/share/300218/
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Bubble Guru
I think Bubble Guru could be absolutely awesome when used correctly! We could use it in much the same way podcasts are used to help assist when accessing web sites or instruction pages. It is a perfect tool to inform students and teachers how to utilize our digital tools, too. I think it would be worth having on our website. I looked at the cost and it did not seem prohibitive.
I think we should buy it on a school by school basis – not a flat purchase for the entire district. I know some may or may not use it and others would use it daily!!
I think a less expensive way to add instructions would be to use our podcasts. The video is great for those visual learners that need to see it to really comprehend. I think it makes a real difference, adds value to our projects and I can’t wait to utilize it further.
I think we should buy it on a school by school basis – not a flat purchase for the entire district. I know some may or may not use it and others would use it daily!!
I think a less expensive way to add instructions would be to use our podcasts. The video is great for those visual learners that need to see it to really comprehend. I think it makes a real difference, adds value to our projects and I can’t wait to utilize it further.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
