Sunday, November 19

Technology Tools Part - #4: Communication and Pedagogy

WRITELY

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for Writely was 4.67.

" Writely is a website for both teaches and students. The site allows users to edit, publish and blog documents online. A user can share documents with others if they add them to their list of collaborators or others who can access the document. It is good for teachers and students to use because teachers can view their student’s work online and offer suggestions for revision. Also users are able to organize their documents on the site. This site can be very useful in English or Language arts courses".

This technology tool has been purchased by Google. Use of the Writely tool is obtained through a GMAIL account.

http://www.gmail.com


IMAGINE LEARNING

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for Imagine Learning was 3.89.

http://www.imaginelearning.com/

“This program is great for our student’s to use in the classroom and at home. It falls in line with the class that we are currently taking (ESL), thus, it has some activities for children to perform that correlates to the methodologies in which will assist in their developmental skills”.

“I think that this is an excellent student and teacher centered technology tool for Tutorial Learning, especially for the ESL students. It is able to individualize instruction for each student and it allows them to monitor their progress on lesson activities. I think it is also a good technology tool for Exploratory Learning because it allows learners to be self-directed and it allows them to manipulate their virtual environment. I think that it can be used as some sort of Application technology tool to complete assignments, but I am not sure if it can be used as a technology tool for Communications”.


BLOGGER

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for Blogger was 3.67.

This blogger website encourages communication with others to allow for dialogue and feedback on whatever the topic is. One could easily publish on the web a thought, comment or opinion that allows for feedback and dialogue, or post photos. It makes communication very convenient in that it allows you to be mobile and upload photos or text through your cell phone for later access. It is very student friendly and easy to use and navigate. Layout is simple to read and understand and great for ESL users”.


LEARN OUT LOUD

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for LearnOutLoud was 3.33.

http://www.learnoutloud.com/

“Learn out loud is a website where users are provided with both an audio and visual learning environment. Some of the features include educational audio books, MP3 downloads, podcasts, and DVD videos. Users can learn a foreign language, or even listen to classical music. The website has a directory of many different topics such as education, history, languages, travel, etc. For example, if a user wanted to learn more about Benjamin Franklin, he/she could easily download the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I enjoyed this website because it had a variety of many topics to choose from, and their resources were helpful and easily accessible”.

This software is like most search engines, it gives too many results and you have to be very specific about what you are looking for. This is supposed to be a tutorial software and that is exactly what it is and no more”.


HOT POTATOES

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for Hot Potatoes was 1.25.

http://hotpot.uvic.ca/

“The concept for Hot Potatoes is a very good one as it allows one to create learning exercises or quizzes to reinforce and check student learning, but it is very difficult to complete the exercise. There are tutorials and very detailed explanations about the design concepts with instructions, which I was initially excited about, but when I tried to navigate my way around to create a sample exercise, I kept getting stuck and couldn’t understand what I needed to do next after I completed the tutorial on a sample question using JMix. I think that the program design needs to be upgraded so that it is user friendly, efficient and easy to use. Also, it would be very useful for it to be flexible in hiding the correct answer or feedback section of the same exercise for the student’s edition and incorporating it for a teacher’s edition”.

Hot Potatoes appears to be intended for teacher construction of tests and other forms of assessment. However, the program may be difficult for people at first glance. Hot Potatoes really does not allow for web exploration. It is designed for document creation. Hot Potatoes assists teachers and students in developing several kinds of assessments. It may not be characterized as incorporating the best use of multimedia. It really does not allow for communication between students or teachers. It is really not designed for online direct communication”.

FREE Technology Tool - Stickam

STICKAM

This might be a FREE technology tool worth testing for classroom use. The Stickam website offers the following introductory information:

"Stickam™ allows you to easily place streaming video, slide show, music, and live video chat on your blog and/or web site. With Stickam™, you can instantly play your videos online using just your web browser. There is no software to download, you just copy and paste the Stickam™ Code into your web site or blog where you want it. Your video can be viewed by virtually anyone with no software to install and will play on any operating system including Linux, Windows and Mac".