Diigo - Revisited

I originally visited and used Diigo in September 2007 and used it to deliver a presentation to teachers at a small, local teachers' conference. It worked wonderfully; but I did not use it again.

I have selected to use the software with my undergraduate students in a class for integrating technology into the curriculum. The following tutorial video will be of great assistance.

Social Bookmarking: Making the Web Work for You

SlideShare

SlideShare software is a good way to share presentations with others. This software offers the opportunity share publicly or privately.

Take a look at the final course presentation for Patti Rodriguez in the technology course for the School of Education, ED 451. Not only is it creative, but she actually delivered this presentation in the required 5-minute allotment.

With your updated browser, access the BLOG for Ms. Rodriguez at the following link:

http://shepatte.blogspot.com/2008/05/when-technology-student-collide.html

I encourage you to give her feedback on her efforts to continually upgrade her technology skills. If you have a GMAIL account, please leave her a message by clicking on the “Post a comment” button. She deserves a pat on the back.

Browser Wars - Again

“People in the industry foresee a time in which for many people, the only thing they’ll need on a computer is a browser,” said Mitch Kapor, the software pioneer who now sits on the board of the Mozilla Foundation and has created a start-up, FoxMarks, that is developing a tool to synchronize bookmarks between computers. “The browser is just extraordinarily strategic.”

That notion has helped to rekindle the browser wars and has resulted in the latest wave of innovation. Firefox 3.0, for example, runs more than twice as fast as the previous version while using less memory, Mozilla says.

The browser is also smarter and maintains three months of a user’s browsing history to try to predict what site he or she may want to visit. Typing the word “football” into the browser, for example, quickly generates a list of all the sites visited with “football” in the name or description.

Firefox has named this new tool the “awesome bar” and says it could replace the need for people to maintain long and messy lists of bookmarks. It will also personalize the browser an individual user.

Internet Explorer 8, from Microsoft, promises its own set of tricks. One new tool, Web slices, allows a user to bookmark a dynamic piece of a Web site, like an online auction or a sports score, and save it in the margin of the browser, where the user can watch as it changes.

Another new feature, called activities, allows users to highlight text on a page, click on it, then instantly send it to another site, like a mapping, e-mail or blogging service.

His group (Firefox) will have one other company besides Mozilla to keep its eye on: Apple’s Safari Web browser has a little over 5 percent of the market, according to Net Applications, and subsists mostly on the loyalty of devoted Mac and iPhone owners.

Shawn Hardin, chief executive of Flock, which is developing a browser that helps users
share photos, videos and blog entries more easily, said consumers would ultimately benefit from the new browser battle.

“We are seeing choice in the browser market really emerge as a significant force for the first time in a while,” Mr. Hardin said.

Excerpts from: Browsers Are a Battleground Once Again
By BRAD STONE
Published: May 26, 2008
New York Times

Del.icio.us -- Revisited

I tried out my brand new ‘del.icio.us’ list during the Spring 2007 semester [http://del.icio.us/jcyrus]. I was initially intrigued by the ability to have online access to my coveted bookmarked sites via any Internet-connected computer. In addition, I could have access to other lists via the tags that are used to categorize (or bundle) various groups of posts.

Now, my undergraduate students are required to have a del.icio.us list as an assignment. In the Fall 2007 semester, the pre-service teachers taking the required “Integrating Technology” course were required to have a ‘del.icio.us’ list with 35 posts, a network of 3, notes on all posts and bundles. Below are a few of the more engaging and interesting lists from that semester – several of which are still being used and updated.

Fall ‘07
http://del.icio.us/8stanley
http://del.icio.us/chatrekay
http://del.icio.us/joleengay
http://del.icio.us/luwainajoyce
http://del.icio.us/normajean71
http://del.icio.us/sgcruz

For the Spring 2008 semester, the pre-service teachers enrolled in the required ‘Integrating Technology’ course were tasked to produce 50 posts in addition to networking with 3 to 5 others and organizing the posts with appropriate tags and bundles.

The course for ‘Integrating Technology,’ entitled Education 451: Audio/Video Education, is a required course for elementary and secondary perspective teachers within the School of Education. The educational value for these beginning teachers spans several areas: information, communication, connection and collaboration. Del.icio.us users can gather information about a specific topic and keep the links in one place. For group projects, learners can communicate, connect and collaborate using the links in several ways, such as subscribing to each others’ lists. The beauty of connecting and gathering information is that one can access other del.icio.us lists to expand the area of research and fact gathering.

It’s a wonderful tool [http://del.icio.us/ed.tech] that can be used for a wonderful classroom activity and course requirement.

Spring ‘08

http://del.icio.us/jonilinlsn2
http://del.icio.us/kelliemeno
http://del.icio.us/mbolivarez (categorized posts in bundles according to courses)
http://del.icio.us/mfranquez86
http://del.icio.us/rita_rose_hualde
http://del.icio.us/sonyadahill2

There are many possibilities in which a 'del.icio.us' list assignment can be included into the pre-service curricula.

Social Bookmarking in Plain English - Leelefever

Diigo Slide Show

Initially, I was a bit skeptical of the slide show using only website screen shots, an offering from Diigo:

http://slides.diigo.com/

The site claims that the new user will be able to turn

bookmarks and feeds into interactive slideshows…

The instructions are not very direct or clear, but with a bit of perseverance, one can create a slide slow, create a group (which I haven't done yet), and email the URL.

I have chosen to use this new tool to deliver a mini-discussion session to Guam members of PDK (Phi Delta Kappa), an educational service organization.

Del.icio.us Links

I have found a convenient way to host my web links, put them into categories that fit my needs, and have access to them from any Internet-connected computer. This wonderful little tool is called, Del.icio.us -- a nice play on words and Internet domain names.

The additional delight is that when I link a site, I can instantly see how many others have also included the site on their Del.icio.us list. If I choose one of those sites, I can, then, see what another person has linked to her/his sites. It's a nice, unobtrusive way of networking.

Teacher Tube

I have become acquainted recently with a technology tool that I believe will have a great impact on my pedagogy for teacher candidates, TeacherTube.

This site sports a YouTube look-alike interface, but is devoted exclusively to educational videos. Teachers can use the site to upload professional development videos and projects created in their classes, as well as to view, download, and comment on other educators' videos. Like most "Web 2.0" technology tools, the underlying premise of this site is for social networking and cooperation. The expectation is that noneducational and inappropriate videos will be "flagged" by users and removed from the site. You can view other educational videos; and, unlike its doppleganger, it's mostly likely not to be blocked by an educational institution.

Its success will depend on whether it can attract a critical mass of educators as users. Here's a chance for education to lead the way, for a change.

Additional educational technology comments and links can be viewed at BlendedEdu.Com.

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".

Technology Tools - Part #3: Online Utilities

iKEEPBOOKMARKS

“iKeepBookmarks.com [http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com] allows you to upload, and keep, your bookmarks on the web for free. You can access them at any time, from any computer… anywhere!”

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for iKEEPBOOKMARKS was 3.45.

“iKeepBookmarks is a very helpful site for both teachers and students. Users can keep useful bookmarks of websites that they find very useful on this website so that they do not have to keep searching for it again on a search engine. Users can manipulate their environment on the site by describing the types of websites they decide to bookmark. Users can also put their bookmarks into folders. This website is very helpful for many different types of interests from education, gaming or shopping”.

“Although ikeepBookmarks does not do much to help students with work, it does help students remember all of their favorite sites, their user names, and passwords for each site, alongside websites recommended by the teachers”.

YAHOO BRIEFCASE
Yahoo! Briefcase [http://www.briefcase.yahoo.com] is a tool that allows you to store files online and then access them from anywhere. “You can easily access, edit, share and modify your files anywhere you can access the Internet just by uploading and downloading files through virtually any web browser on any web connection.”

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for YAHOO BRIEFCASE was 3.46.

“Yahoo Briefcase is very easy to navigate and use. It is very self-explanatory (so) that no manual is required. I believe that ESL students could easily use the program without difficulty, provided they are self-directed computer users. Yahoo Briefcase is an extremely practical tool for students to consolidate all the work on the web, allowing them to retrieve and/or edit files anywhere they have access to the computer and the internet. However, it only simply allows one to input, retrieve and edit files and nothing else, like enable it to be multimedia.

TRIPOD

Tripod [http://www.tripod.lycos.com] on Lycos, established in 1994, is one of the leading personal publishing communities on the Web. Tripod makes it easy for members to create their own web site. With 20MB of web space for your web site, you can have a BLOG and a photo album along with your web site. Tripod also has clip art you can use on your web pages.

No rating available.

Technology Tools - Part #2

FIREFOX
Firefox [http://www.firefox.com/] was the web browser of choice for the computer lab using Windows XP operating systems because the technicians and original grant writers felt Firefox provided a safer environment and reduced the number of transmitted computer viruses. Originally, only 2 students claimed to have used a browser other than Microsoft Internet Explorer to access the World-wide Web.

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for Firefox was 4.41.

“As a browser that enables one to access the internet, f(F)irefox is quite efficient. Processing times are relatively fast and it is easy to navigate. There is also a guide to assist in using the application. There is also a “live bookmarks” feature that allows one to bookmark favorite websites and it updates it automatically for news and events. Because firefox is an efficient browser to access various internet sites, I see it as a technology that supports communication and connection with a variety of people or sources to enhance personal experience and learning as well.“

“It is also an excellent exploratory tool that offers minimal virus and pop up problems.”

MOODLE
This specific content management system, MoodleRooms [http://moodlerooms.com/], was designed for teaching, learning and communication events. “Moodle is web-based software that helps instructors create online activities for their students with the aim of fostering rich collaborations between participants.”

On a scale from ‘0’ to ‘5,’ the mean rating for MOODLE was 4.00.

“The MOODLE contains no manual or guide for how to use the site and all its available features. Student has to be directed by teacher for its use. It is easy to navigate and easy to read. Calendar, news and events are all on one page so there is no flipping between pages and layout is very organized. The MOODLE conveniently and efficiently allows students a centralized area for teacher and student communication on assignments, submitting assignments and monitoring feedback and progress on lesson activities. It allows teacher to use links for assignments for efficiency in student obtaining information. The MOODLE is also great as a communication tool, as it allows for chats and discussion forums among all classmates and teacher. However, student is not able to manipulate calendar of events to tailor it for their personal use as well.”

“Moodle … allows students to view, at anytime all the assignments and activities that will be covered in class. Students are also able to monitor their progress by checking their grades on the site. Students and teachers are also able to communicate through forums. This is a very helpful tool for any level of education from intermediate, secondary to the college level.”

“I enjoyed utilizing this on-line assignment organizer. The only disadvantage though is that there were some incidents where I had trouble accessing it from time to time. However, I liked the fact that our professor provided the requirements of each assignment on the page where we upload our files”.

“Students are able to access the website to check their grades, assignments they need to turn in, and participate in forum discussions. We are able to monitor our progress in terms of grades and assignments that we have submitted, as well as upcoming assignments/activities that we will need to start working on. It allows us to be independent and in control of our virtual environment, as well as communicate with our peers and professors.”

“As a technology tool for Exploratory Learning and aside from the links, I do not feel that it (MOODLE) is able to allow learners to be self-directed and to discover facts and at least for me, it is not able to allow learners to manipulate their virtual environment. As a technology tool for Applications, I feel that it was more an informant of assignments and I do not feel that it is able to assist students to incorporate multimedia into their projects. The one thing I do believe that it was really good for is a technology tool for Communications. I think that it is able to support an educational philosophy that values connection, communication, and personal experience as a means of learning.”

Technology Tools - Introduction

For this assignment, students were required to write one short paragraph each for 8 technology tools and assess them for educational purposes. In previous assignments, students practiced in class and then wrote a final draft of their evaluations for educational games and a critical analysis of selected web sites. They were given a rubric of 4 questions to think about when assessing the 5 required technology tools and the 3 tools of their choice from a given resource list. They were prepared, therefore, to write an assessment of specified technology tools. Additional, the instructor requested that they give a rating for each tool of 0 to 5, from poor to excellent. All students were required to write their assessments on the same 5 technology tools that were used for final projects and homework. These tools were as follows: Firefox (the browser of choice), MOODLE (content management system), iKeepbookmarks (bookmark management), Yahoo Briefcase (online file storage), and Tripod (our web server of choice). Students were given a list (with URLs) of approximately 45 other sources from which to choose 1 from each of 3 categories - Communication, Pedagogy, and Miscellaneous. As an entire group, the students completed writing an assessment in class of MOODLE.

Here is a little information on the courses using these technology tools. The undergraduate courses were: ED 451 - Audio Visual Education is the required class for all education majors. ED 481 - Second Language Teaching Methods is a methods class for teachers of second-language learners. The graduate courses were: ED 664 - Bilingual Education: Theory and Practice, and ED 647 - Special Topics in Literacy Education. All courses were taught in computer labs using either the Windows XP operating system or the Macintosh (OS 9.2) operating system.

In this multi-part BLOG, I will share the comments, recommendations and assessments submitted by my students. This first installment will relay the information about 2 of the 5 required tools for assessment: MOODLE and Foxfire. The second installment will relay the information from 3 of the 5 required tools for assessment: Yahoo Briefcase, Tripod and iKeepbookmarks. The third part of this installment will present comments about other tools, such as Writely, Learn Out Loud, and Hot Potatoes.

It is possible that you might be introduced to a new tool or a new way of using a familiar technology tool. There were surprises for me, and I plan to adjust my resource list for next semester accordingly.

Share with me, if you wish, your comments and reactions to my students� assessments of their experiences using technology tools for the Spring 2006 education courses that integrated instructional technology elements. This un-scientific sampling is from 2 sections of ED 451 and one section each of the other 3 courses. For these technology ratings, the n = 20.

Introducing Technology Tools for Pre-Service Teachers

Pre-service teachers in the School of Education at the University of Guam are required to enroll and complete a one-semester course for learning how to integrate technology into their content areas. During the course of the Fall 2005 semester, my first semester as Assistant Professor, the students were introduced to MOODLE. I used the MOODLE software, hosted on a server on Hawaii, to manage the class and provide a small modicum of interaction. The MOODLE of choice for the Spring 2006 semester was hosted in Nebraska, I think.

Creating 2 new classes for the first time, called ‘new preps’ and moving 7,000 miles, required me to wear several different hats, besides just teacher and course administrator. So, I didn’t introduce the students to very many new options for viewing and assessing new technology tools.

However, during the Spring 2006 semester, both my secondary elementary and TESOL students were introduced to several technology tools to use and to review and assess for education purposes within their content areas. In addition to giving my .02 cents worth, I will also give my students’ assssments and feedback about the technology tools that they used for class assignments and those they viewed for possible adoption for themselves.

This BLOG will serve to communicate my ideas and those of my students about easily accessible tools, and especially those that are FREE or of low cost to educators.