Video Conferencing!

Alright, so this week we explore the phenomenon that is video conferencing.  First off, I consider it important to remember that "video conferencing" is a relatively new concept can be stretched from four college friends "Skypeing" in during the summer months to several multimillionaires discussing their next business move over the most sophisticated Cisco communications network.  When you break it down to the most basic bits, the process and idea is the same, but for some reason there can be a glamor associated with some products as opposed to others.  With that in mind, let's look over the ones that were provided for us this week:

Software/Website	Pros	Cons
Skype	·         Available on all major platforms ·         Free ·         Easily accessible ·         Well-known ·         Instant messaging ·         Recordable	·         No co-browsing; could prove difficult to lead a webinar when everyone has to find their own pages.
Connect Now	·         Available on all major platforms ·         Part of the Adobe line, close tie-in with Acrobat and Reader ·         Whiteboard features for multiple contribution and feedback	·         License purchase necessary ·         There doesn’t seem to be a way to upload documents and make them easily sharable, which I would assume an Adobe product would be able to do.
Tiny Chat	·         Quick and easy video chatrooms ·         Free ·         No downloads required.	·         Anyone else think this seems like a really sketchy website?  Could be all too easy to stumble upon something undesired.
Meeting Burner	·         Has a free option for up to 10 participants and e-mail support. ·         Screen sharing helps with partial co-browing that programs such as Skype do not allow.	·         Requires a purchase to increase functionality. ·         Recordings are not free.
Go To Meeting	·         Webinar and Training options for increased interaction among participants. ·         Mobile support.	·         Holy expensive packages Batman! ·         Some features not available across all platforms
Yugma	·         Skype add-on ·         Allows collaboration ·         Presenter/audience differentiation with ability to change presenters	·         Not available across all platforms ·         Not free
Webex	·         Part of the aforementioned Cisco machine. ·         HD video! Great for those multimillion dollar conferences!!!	·         Expensive ·

Most of these I never foresee myself using, as they have features that are in my opinion more for business-y settings that I will ever experience.  At one point in my senior year of undergrad I believe I participated in a Go To Meeting seminar as part of a experimental observation procedure for New York State education (I dropped put because my student teaching placement was a nightmare).  I particularly enjoy how Yugma is available as an add-on to Skype, increasing the functionality of an application that many college students already will have installed on their computers;  reaching the masses and the typical computer user is a great product model, so in regards to the collaboration aspect Yugma comes out on top for me.  On a last note, I'm going to avoid Tinychat like the plague....

Web 2.0 and Search Engines

I recently have become aware of the multiple systems and websites that can be collected under the "Web 2.0" umbrella and the many factors that come into play when a user beings heavily utilizing Web 2.0 tools.  While Web 2.0 sites are usually conceived as strictly "social networking" sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest (I guess MySpace can be included too, but I'm not sure how extensively that's used anymore), there is a whole system of sharing of ideas and concepts that can be listed as a Web 2.0 feature. 

The blog, for instance, is a method for me to record my thoughts on a given topic and share them with others.  Hosts such as Blogspot, Blogger, Wordpress, and Gawker are ways that users can share content with each other in a variety of ways, be it in the form or text, pictures, video, long prose or short and sweet quips.  If you can think of a topic there's probably a blog about it, and then there's likely a whole other selection of blogs and written shared works about the things in our world you've never heard of. 

Take into account the website Reddit, in which users posts items that they have found on the Internet or items that they have produced themselves.  These posts are then voted positive or negative, with the posts receiving the most positive votes being listed as the "most popular" and being displayed on the website's front page for all users to enjoy.  In addition these posts can be sorted into a variety of "sub-Reddits" based on different topics or categories whether broad or extremely specific.  Users can then subscribe to sub-Reddits in order to instantly receive the best voted content relevant to the topics they are interested in.  My personal Reddit subscriptions include Teaching, the Yankees, Survivor, swimming, Marvel Comics, and a general category of "Books."  All of this content is sorted for me to peruse at my convenience and communicate with others in a message board style setting.

The idea of setting aside content leads me to the next topic, search engines.  I admit, I can be very lazy when I need to look something up on a specific site, but just Google the site name and the topic instead (example: Reddit Survivor; the sub-Reddit I already mentioned and one of my topics).  Search engines can be very valuable and very dangerous at the same time.  Working in a classroom, students can find anything they need online with just a simple Google search as well as ANYTHING that they don't need or don't need to see.  Even with firewalls in place at school it seems that students are able to have inappropriate content sneak through to their searches inadvertently without a simple and precise method of sorting content. 

Google is the undisputed king of search engines at this point, but I personally think it's absurd I can't just block off Google Image on some devices without blocking Google altogether or having to contact the district technology head (Hey Google, seeing as you host Blogger maybe you can help me out with this?  I'm sure you can read this post if you so choose...)  I actually made a very lengthy journal entry regarding this during my observations, that by making the Internet easier and more accessible do search engines in turn make it harder to discover (or avoid) knowledge on one's own?

As for our list of search engines, for the most part I wasn't particularly impressed or distraught by anything specific I came up with on any of them.  As a history major in undergrad I especially value the Library of Congress and the National Archives, while Google Scholar and Infotopia (powered by Google, so the same thing?) seem like reliable database as well.  My personal favorite database in Academic Search Elite, which was not included on our list but has been my go-to database research wise since high school.  I can't remember the last time I did a paper without checking on at least one article from the database, and will continue to do so beyond my graduate work. 

Wordle, Animoto, and VoiceThread

I feel like it's been forever since I've written a blog, but in reality it's only been two weeks.  Very strange.  My thought will be brief this week as part of my functionality is limited on these applications.

VoiceThread:   The link to my thread is below. I wish I could've used VoiceThread to its optimal potential; I really enjoy the "narration over pictures" concept as well as the ability to embed videos.  It's like making a brief, more customizable Powerpoint that can be easily saved to the Internet.  Not requiring an account to view them makes the application a great tool for a classroom, as students can just "click and go."
My practice thread: voicethread.com/share/5067191/.

Animoto serves as almost an upgrade to VoiceThread, allowing for opportunities for students to create small videos to present to each other.  It serves the same purpose as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, but is more concise and takes less time create, meaning that students at a lower level or teachers with less time to contribute to a certain subject than they'd like can use it for easily accessible outside the classroom work.

Wordle is something I first encountered during my undergrad practicum.  My cooperating teacher was big into technology and graphic design (he actually took a full time graphic design job the next year) and had several Wordles posted in his classroom.  In the classroom I currently work in I have created a Wordle of our classroom "Dead Words," which i developed by checking our students' writing samples and picking out words that we wanted students to stop using.  The most commonly used (and therefore, biggest) word? "Stuff."  The Wordle I created is based from the famous "V word" monologue from my all time favorite movie, V for Vendetta.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villian by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.  The only verdict is vengence; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V. (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7216537/V)

Access=Anger

The aforementioned undergraduate class I took had me work with all aspects of Microsoft Office, including my archenemy in the Office Suite: Access.  I never understood Access then, and I still don't understand it now, so you can imagine my delight when I noticed this week's assignment was to create an Access database. 

I understand the benefits of creating an Access database and the organizational systems that the program includes for ease of access (oh, there's the namesake of the program.  Clever Microsoft.) in organizing that data and referencing it, but I've always been more of a "pen and paper" or "table in Word" guy for some reason.  I love my technolgoy and I love the different things I can do with it, but for some reason I just don't see the need to ever use such an extensive database in my future career.

I suppose the only use I could think of is for coaching swimming, in which I could input my athletes' times in each event and sort them based off of how fast or slow each time is.  The problem with that is the specialized software that exists just for that purpose. 

Perhaps my biggest problem with Access is beyond two tutorial sessions and two brief assignments I've never had the NEED to use the program.  I suppose forcing myself to practice it more could help develop my schema, but I just don't see a need for it at this point.  No harm in trying though. 

Online/Web Based Tools

I consider myself to be fairly in tune with all of the different resources that are available on the Internet for educators to use.  A few of my cooperating teachers during undergraduate field placements were what I would consider to be "technologically-savvy," as they could solve most of their computer issues on their own and integrated several different programs and services into their daily classroom procedures instead of just tacking them on just to get some 21st-century tools in.

But of course, just as last week I find myself looking at an extensive list of online tools that can be used in a variety of ways and for a variety of activities and I haven't heard of a good 80% of them.  That is the way of the Internet though; with billions of pages across the countries of the globe there's a pretty good chance I haven't heard of the vast majority (as in 99.9%) of the entire network.  In terms of this list, I actually like this one better than last week's.  The organization of sites into each requested activity puts this one ahead for me. *goes to bookmark page*

I've decided to pick out a few standouts I noticed and discuss my thoughts on a few of the topics and ideas listed.  In general I tend to lean more towards sites that do not require registration in order to be used in a classroom setting.  This allows students to explore each concept and tool without having to learn (or for me, to create) another username or password.  I do recognize the value of students being able to save their work and come back to it later and in some cases I also recognize that this is necessary.  Just as we are currently doing with these tools, my main focus with students is exploration first.

TIMELINES-Instantly going against my words on "no registration is better" I find Timeglider to be capable of creating the most detailed and organized timelines.  Setting up pictures to display key events, assigning an icon to individuals to sort out and work on a specific thread at a time, and also allowing for consistent and scaled placing of events across days, months, years, or even centuries.  It looks great, is set up well, and is a great tool for upper level students across any subject.

MIND MAPS-Text2MindMap is a simple tool for planning out mind maps without the use of pen and paper.  Students take a major idea, indent, and then input their smaller details.  Mind Maps can be saved using a simple e-mail, so whatever students complete in a given time can be saved and sent to the teacher for assessment (now that I think of it, this makes a great assessment procedure!).  This also allows students to make a "rough draft" before moving onto more sophisticated programs such as Inspiration.

DOCUMENTS-I'm becoming more and more attached to the idea of online document editing, allowing multiple individuals to collaborate and make edits to the same document.  I've used a number of these services trying to find the best one, and I can't find one better than Google Docs.  The ability to create the same type of documents available in Microsoft Office (word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, drawings) and (in my experience) easily convert Google files into software is an incredible tool.  The cloud based system is extremely useful for editing wherever there is Internet access and lessens the need for a flash drive to be carried around.  I sound like a Google employee, but you get my drift.

DISCUSSION-Chatzy is exactly what I would look for in a chat room service.  You start the conversation, so no one else outside can have access.  Only those with a link can access it, and the room disappears after a certain amount of time.  Access is restricted to passwords as well, so no one outside of who should join the class conversation can get in.  I do like Google Moderator as well for its voting system that is similar to sites like Reddit, putting the most liked ideas closer to the top.

AUDIO-Audacity is a longtime favorite of mine as a PC user.  It has a bit of a learning curve, so it might be better suited for teachers instead of students.  This past summer I had to work exclusively on a Mac for grad school and did a project with Garage Band.  I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of which I learned to program, and would recommend it to those who have access to Macs and wish to integrate audio projects into their classrooms.

COMICS-I have never used or heard of any of the web applications listed in comic book creation, but I am aware of the effectiveness of comics in classrooms.  In my own experience, the students I work with on a day-to-day basis enjoy reading and creating their own comics.  A few of them struggle with drawing and this can lead to frustration that their comic "isn't good enough," so an online generator and creation application can help out those who struggle with the drawing aspect of comics.  Add in audio recording and students can even create and narrate their own comic book!

Again, these are just some of my observations on the tools listed, but I am becoming increasingly aware of the multiple applications that are out there to be used.  With the vast selection and the "pick-up-and-go" ease of some of these applications there are many ways that such resources can be easily integrated into any classroom.

Web Tools

I admit, I spend way too much time on the Internet.  My mother has told me that I'm an information junkie; I love the "paper" trail that can be followed from web page to web page in order to explore the vast sea of knowledge I am not familiar with.  I even catch myself reading up on things I have an abundance of knowledge about already just to see if I missed even the smallest detail.  Seriously, I might have a real problem.

That all being said, I was surprised with how few of these tools I had already worked with.  Perhaps I had only worked a "general" tool that does not go as in-depth as something listed (i.e., a specific blog site versus the concept of a blog overall).  That being said, here are the 5 tools I found most interesting or intriguing (in no particular order).

ClassDojo-I could use this in the classroom I work in as a reminder for students AND as a set of evidence for their behaviors. Since I work in a classroom for students with emotional disabilities and lacking social skills, interruptions and disruptions of the class work are sadly the norm for some students instead of the exception.  While the total scores would likely not phase students (for example, telling one student he had -10 points for a class), displaying data of every interruption would prove effective in demonstrating to what extent a student disrupts the learning of others in the room (and on the flip side, demonstrate to another student how much he is actively contributing to the learning of others).

• Pro-Accountability and data.  Demonstrates concrete proof to each student how they are contributing in class.
• Con-I could see this tool being retired if a particular student took pride in having "red" items on his record.  I'm not sure of the long term effectiveness of this tool.
  

Screencast-I find this to be similar to Dropbox, except instead of having to supply a password for the account for students to access it content can be posted for students to view individually.  I especially like how in the note the teacher mentioned taking a video of checking over student papers, allowing for proofreading beyond the physical walls of the school.

• Pro-Allows individual or grouped viewing, students can interact with select content as designated by teacher.
• Con-A pay-for service.  There is certainly a great deal of available space, but depending on what content is being uploaded those 2 GB could be gone fast.

Adobe Education Exchange-Self-explanatory; a sharing of resources across all grade levels and curriculums.  Allows teachers to explore each other's work and display their best lesson ideas.

• Pro-A vast selection of resources.  If you can think of it you can probably find it.
• Con-Too vast.  It would be all to easy to skip over a lesson or resource because you are not looking close enough.  If something is not specific enough by the time you adjust it to your needs you may have been better off writing a lesson yourself.

Poll Anywhere-Allows students to answer quick polls in class.  Teachers can quickly develop polls, allowing modifications to lesson on the fly.

• Pro-Easy to set-up, instant assessment.  Can be used as a quiz or information gathering prior to a unit.
• Con-Requires the use of an electronic device.  Could lead to problems of cell phone usage in class.  Also may restrict the number of classrooms that can use this tool.

Typing Adventure-Online game used to teach typing technique.

•  Pro-Gives students a chance to practice proper typing technique outside of school.
• Con-Has no record if students are using technique or are "hunting and pecking" (like I do!)

Microsoft Excel

Excel is a mystery to me.  I've never really seen a need for me to use it, as I associate it with number crunching and calculation and other things that I didn't need to do very often.  I did see it as a way to organize contacts and text (such as in the mail merge function), but that was just putting things into a grid.  In the undergraduate class I mentioned last week, I used Excel more than in the past. 

The class was built on developing our own business, products, and sales and then tracking the imaginary data we came up with.  My business was a pet shop that sold dinosaurs exclusively, using technology that was present in Jurassic Park (hey, the professor said we could do whatever we wanted as long as it was appropriate).  In the end this made the project more difficult for me, as my imaginary products were in the thousands of dollars for one unit (it was a dinosaur egg after all), making my calculations all the more difficult to do.

This project taught me that Excel was more than just a fancy calculator due to the number of formulas and procedures that can be included into a spreadsheet.  As a requirement for the project I had to develop charts, graphs, and "future" business projections based on the data I had created.  All that being done and said, I STILL didn't have any use for Excel besides a fancy calculator to crunch some numbers and then make a pie chart off of those numbers.  It can serve as a useful tool in a classroom for student expectations (at one point last year I was tempted to make a pie chart of assignments completed versus assignments incomplete for a particular student in order to show him how little homework he had done, but my better judgement decided against it), but again, besides numbers Excel meant nothing to me.

The crossword assignment this week adjusted my thoughts somewhat.  I am starting to see Excel as less of a fancy calculator or just as a simple grid and more so as a grid with hundreds of little boxes that I can manipulate to perform whichever task I can come up with.  It could be a color by number to develop math facts or a word search generator.  I'm still extremely unfamiliar with all of the potential functions of the program (and honestly, a bit intimidated too, look at everything in the "formulas" ribbon!), but I'm hooping this course and the development of this webquest can help me get a better understanding.