Productivity Tools Assignment

I signed up with ThinkFree and immediately had a “Java” issue when I tried to edit one of my files. I had to download a “fix” and restart my computer. This alone created a bad taste in terms of using online productivity tools in place of installed versions. I switched to the ZohoWriter and had no issues that required that I download new files and prefered this over ThinkFree. In fact, I wrote this post using Zoho and I found nothing superior in the online tools over my installed versions. I found it didn’t highlight misspelled words as I typed. I really liked using Zoho and was impressed how easy it was to use. However, I would not give up my installed software for the online stuff because I would not want to be dependent on an internet connection to be able to get work done. I don’t feel schools and offices should abandon installed software for the same reason. However, the online productivity tool can be valuable to use in conjunction with the installed software.

Online Storage

The online storage tools are going to be a wonderful resource. I registered with the Yahoo Briefcase and had no difficulty transferring files. I have so many files on my flash drive that I seldom use but don’t want to delete or use up storage on my hard drive. However, I will not give up my flash drive. For the most part, these sites will be useful to back up my existing files and also make them accessible from remote locations. It would be a mistake for school to stop hosting student and employee files on our own locations. When internet connections become compromised, access to work files also becomes compromised and impact productivity. The only concerns I see for students posting files to these storage site is somehow losing access or, in the case of shared files, student using other’s work as their own.

Discussion Forums

Discussion forums are something with which I was already familiar and enjoy them very much. I also think they can be of significant value in reaching other points of view on any given topic. Often, others bring in a new slant or angle to a debate that I had never considered and I leave a more enlightened person. For this reason, they can be a very useful tool in the classroom. However, caution must be exercised as many people on some of these discussion forums can be rather caustic (particularly the political sites). When civil discussion is taking place and a student engaged in this activity is attacked and their arguments are characterized as meaningless or stupid, for some this could be devastating. In most cases a person needs to have a pretty thick skin to tread in these waters. Students must be forewarned about some of the volatile personalities they are likely to encounter and not take comments too personally. By the same token, there are many thoughtful and intelligent people to encounter. In my opinion, the positives outweigh the negative of these forums. This can be a wonderful tool for students to learn to debate and express their perspectives in a coherent and understandable manner without engaging in ad hominem attacks.

Twitter Assignment

Using Twitter was not the most fun I’ve had with an assignment. After I signed up, I had my son sign up too. I tried to explain to him that it is like text messaging, but you can have more people involved at one time. Although he created an account, he quickly lost interest. Maybe if more had been involved, he would have found it more compelling. I would have to say the same. I sent out some tweets, and also tried to engage others. It was kind of like fishing, except I did not get a single bite…maybe I just need more time with it. I was going to interface with the phone, but decided to wait and see if this is something I would use regularly. I know others who really like Twitter and are big fans. From and educational standpoint, I think there are more useful tool for student on the Web.

Digg and Buzz Assignment

Digg and Yahoo Buzz were interesting but not something I will utilize in my personal life. Although I found little difference between the two sites, I dug Digg the most. The concept reminded me of the old saw, “If everyone jumps off a cliff, will you jump off it too?” I found it compelling to see what was catching the attention of others on these sites, but I find that I’m more interested in what interests me. Moreover, I did not feel that my single Digg or Buzz really influenced what others read. Often, it seemed that very few votes separated stories that made the front page.

Skype Assignment

Registering on Skype was a painless and presented no problems. I made my test phone call and everything went fine. I even called my home phone, but quickly hung up when a message appeared that the cost is .21 cents per minute. I’m not sure how I would have been charged, but the phone rang and I hung up before anyone answered. I will most likely never use Skype. I find my cell phone covers all my communication needs and this would probably be a little redundant. For those who don’t have a cell phone, it would be a wonderful resource. There could be some classroom application by making contact with other students with accounts. For a foreign language class, you could invite native speakers of whichever language who are learning English. They sign up on the site and during class they could partner with other students who are learning that language. I think that you would want to structure the interaction with specific parameters so that the conversation does not devolve into meaningless chatter.

Social Maps and Site Meter

I registered my blog with clustermaps. It was easy to register and post the maps on my site. Although it would be interesting to see who visits your blog from around the world I agree that, aside from providing some familiarity with geography, there is little educational value for students. Site Meter was a little more involved as there were a few more steps involved; however, the directions were provided and made the setup quite easy. As with social maps, there is little educational value for students, but it make your blog look a little more snappy.

Animoto Assignment

The Animoto Assignment was a truly enjoyable activity and I will be visiting this site often. I loved the finished product and it made me appear extraordinarily creative. My kids were so impressed by my production at Animoto, that I just could not allow myself to tell them that all I did was upload the pictures and select the music. Like many of the other web based tools reviewed for this class, I think Animoto certainly has a place in the classroom. The site provides music that can be used in the presentation, so students avoid the possibility of inadvertently posting copy-rite material and getting themselves into trouble. Since Amimoto does so much of the creative work, it may circumvent that process student would normally engage that requires them to develop the higher order thinking processes…but it would allow them to focus more on content. I really like it!

SlideShare Assignment

I posted my slide share without audio and kind of like the presentation with just text for the view to ponder. Sometime, just a few words can speak volumes and allow the reader to wander farther than the spoken word will allow….but not always. I liked doing this PowerPoint without having any narration; it seemed more effective. As an educator, perhaps my only concern with students using SlideShare is the prospect of running into some objectionable content.

My Favorite Vaction Site

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: idaho family)

Slide Assignment

For my purposes slide.com would be a good way to share photos with friends and family online. I could not distinquish one advantage over the other when I used both flickr and slide. I thought it was much easier to post photos on my blog than flickr, but by the time I started using slide, I had more experience and that may account for my better luck. In terms of photo editing, flickr uses picnic and although I have my own photo editing software, I thought this was a wonderful tool. Overall, I guess I prefer flickr.