Technology Assesment #3

Firefox:
Firefox [www.firefox.com] more commonly known as Mozilla Firefox, is an internet browser that allows its users to browse multiple web pages simultaneously and compare information or just enjoy numerous subjects and web-sites at once. Another important feature is Firefox's virus protection system. It is particularly popular with users of Windows XP Professional, but it is a cross platform web-browser and can be with Mac OS X and Linux. Truthfully, it is my internet browser of choice, and I am a little put out when I must use a computer that does not have Firefox installed on it. I give Mozilla Firefox a 4 out of a scale of 0-4.

MOODLE:
The first online tool that I have chosen to assess is MOODLE, http://www.moodle.com, the online software that is used by Dr. J. Cyrus in her ED 451 class. MOODLE is designed to be used by institutions of higher learning and by large corporations to train and educate students and employees either in a long-distance setting or as a supplement to traditional classroom setting. With MOODLE a teacher or corporate instructor can assign tasks, set up chat-rooms and forums, and accept online submissions of assignments. The teacher is also able to post syllabi and set deadlines for the submission of said assignments. Furthermore, MOODLE's homepage allows the user to inform the authors and webmasters in Australia of any concerns or problems that arise during the use of MOODLE for its intended purpose. As either a strictly online education format or as a supplemental tool for in-class instruction MOODLE is invaluable to ED 451, and could be so for ther courses and classes. I find MOODLE very easy to use. On a scale of 0-4, I would give this tool a score of 4. I have never encountered any problems whiel using it and it has never caused me any heartache or grief.

Google Pages:
Google Pages is a web-creation tool that allows individuals to design and create web-pages and publish and post to the Internet. I enjoy using this tool a great deal. I have used it many times and I still find new uses for it every time I do.

Google Pages gets a 5 out of 5.

NiceNet:
NiceNet is a threaded-message board that allows students to communicate in real time over Internet. It is ideal for distance learning and is used by many teachers around the country to keep in contact with their students and to promote learning.

I have never been a fan of real time chat. I don’t know why, seeing as you can’t shut me up when I am speaking with someone. But as real-time thread tool go, I think that this is about as good as it gets. As a matter of fact, I think that it is superior to MOODLE’s real-time chat feature.

4 out of 5.

Del.icio.us:
Del.icio.us is a social book marking webpage that allows users to not only keep book marks, similar to iKeepbookmarks, but to share these with other users on your friends list. In many ways del.icio.us is a combination of Myspace and iKeepbookmarks. It can be an invaluable tool. If there is a drawback to this tool it’s that you may have too many bookmarks and that a user that is not technologically savvy may not be able to navigate the site capably.

Still, I give del.icio.us a 4.5 out of 5.

www.math.com:
www.math.com is an online tutorial service that provides students with extra help regarding their math classes. It is a well laid out website and it presents its content in a relatively straight forward manner. Wile it may lack a lot of "whistles and bells", it does what it is sets out to do: provide extra instruction for students who are having trouble with math. The range of topics is broad, running from fractions, to square roots, to decimals, to calculus and other advanced math topics. Of course, one does not need to be math deficient to benefit for Math.com. Math comes down to practice, and there is practice aplenty at Math.com. It allows those who access it an opportunity to hone rough areas in their knowledge and grow as arithmeticians. I would try to use it as a tool to construct examples and lesson plans. I could also design quizzes using the examples provided on the website. Finally, it would be easier for me to exaplain concepts to students who have problems with the lesson by following Math.com's lead.
I struggled with math when I was a boy, so I almost wish that this had been around when I was a boy. But at least others who have had problems similar to mine can have the chance to benefit from it's use. www.math.com receives a full score of 4 out of 4. Good job, Math.com!

Hot Potato:
The concept behind Hot Potatoes is a very good one: teachers and educators of all kinds can either share completed quizzes and in-class exercises with other teachers via file-sharing, or teachers can use the software available on the sire to create various quizzes and exercises of their own. As I stated before, this is admirable. However, for those among us that are not computer literate or at ease with technology in general and digital media in particular, this set up is very intimidating and can be a bit confusing. While the website was not terribly difficult to navigate, the construction of exercises was a bit intimidating and difficult. The creation of the game was troubled and I constantly had to back-track in order to come up with something coherent. I n the end I simply threw my hands in the air. Perhaps if Dr. Cyrus perched on my shoulder and guided me step-by-step through this process I could have created something usable and interesting. As is, it was kind of a bust. Hot Potatoes gets a 2 out of a possible score of 4 from this reviewer.

Google Scholar:
In the world of academia, finding the right sources for research papers, masters thesis, and other such projects can surely be an intimidating task to say the least. While there is always the traditional route of paper-bound journals, magazines, newspapers, and leather-bound volumes, this is the world of tomorrow. In other words, the computer and electronic media reign supreme. So electronic sources have risen as the choice of many students, both young and old. But the Internet is full of poorly researched articles, and down right false articles as well. One cannot rely on Wikipedia as a credible source for a paper. And while some colleges and universities subscribe to various electronic data banks of scholarly material, what about distance learners and those without a great deal of time to get to a library on campus? This is where Goolge Scholar arrives to rescue. Google Scholar is an electronic database, ran by Google, that allows users to search for reliable scholarly journal articles online, regardless of where the student is. The subject list is wide and varied. And seeing as these sources are peer reviewed, that ensures the validity and reliability of sources that are chosen for research projects. Definitely a valuable tool to students, or to teachers in search of new material to enhance their already sizable bank of knowledge. Google Scholar receives a full score of 4 out of four.

Tripod:
I couldn't think of a funny or interesting pun to go with Tripod. At least nothing that you could repeat or see here without getting me expelled. :-) In a nutshell, Tripod is a web hosting service. It is owned and operated by Lycos, a broadband entertainment company. Users of the Internet who are so inclined can create web pages and electronic portfolios with the help of Lycos. The service is free and is available to the general public. Apparently it was initially intended to be a web browser of sorts and morphed into a HTML resume builder as well as a web page creator. Perhaps an educator could be able to create a website that would allow them to pass on information and knowledge to their students. Personally, I find Tripod to be extremely frustrating. I have numerous problems logging on the website and find the navigation to be annoyingly difficult. Website building also is a task and a chore. I constantly was stumped and annoyed in my attempts to create something interesting and fun; something that I, and others, would enjoy visiting and browsing. In short, I am not a fan of this online tool. I give Tripod a 2 out of 4, simply because I realize that my problems with Tripod may lie with me and not with the tool itself.

Briefcase:
Yahoo Briefcase [http://briefcase.yahoo.com] is an online file storage device that allows individuals to store drafts of Microsoft Word documents and Microsoft Excel documents as well as other forms of digital files. It is not the same as storage on a hard drive, a thumb drive, or a floppy disk. I found that storing, retrieving, and editing files was a bit more complicated than using a thumb drive, hard drive, or other such storage device to perform the same functions. I would mostly use Briefcase as an "ace in the hole", so to speak. For example, when I had a problem with my thumb-drive and I lost all of the files which I had stored on it, I was able to retrieve some of the earlier drafts of my lost files and was consequently able turn in my assignments on time. This was very convenient. I am really not sure how I would incorporate this tool into my lesson plans, but I know that as a student I would find it a life-saver to be sure. And I don't mean Pep-o-mint. I give Yahoo Briefcase a score of 3 out of a possible 4.

IKeepbookmarks:
Many people today in the academic and business worlds are busy and on the go. They are barraged on all sides by information and if something is forgotten at a vital time, then all could be lost, so to speak. Therefore, a bookmark manager is what is needed. iKeepbookmarks is the bookmark manager that I chose to assess. A bookmark manager is a convenient way in which users of the internet can create and manage website database from either the user's specifically owned computer, such as with Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, or from any computer that has access to the Internet. iKeepbookmarks falls into the later category. If iKeepbookmarks has an Achilles heel it's that it isn't always available when one needs it. I have had problems trying to access the web-page. As a matter of fact, while writing this assessment I had numerous problems trying to log onto the website. This problem is a big one because it hearkens back to the reason why a user would want and need to use a bookmark manager. So this flaw is nothing short of fatal. iKeepbookmarks gets a score of 1 out of a possible score of 4. It does the user no good if he or she is unable to find the websites that they are in dire need of referencing.

Reflection Paper #2

William Sullivan
ED 355
Dr. Jaqui Cyrus
Lesson #2 Reflection
This lesson again presented a great many difficulties for me. I don’t like having to create multimedia projects because I don’t feel that I am able to create product that is enjoyable or passable. But one has to do what on has to do.
The NETS*T standard that best applies to the lesson that I created was III.C: apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity (http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html). The act of creating a Google Group helps the students learn how to navigate technology and develop an understanding of the various kinds of technology available to them over the internet, for free in fact. Also having the students use Audacity shows them that multimedia is not tied to the computer but that it can be used in many different environments.
In relation to Lesson Plan #1, the biggest difference was that this was an individual effort. I wasn’t able to lean on any of my classmates for any assistance, but at the same time I wasn’t held back by any of my classmates opinions or interests either. If the project worked, it would be because of what I did, and if it failed it would be because of me and me alone. I could not hide behind anyone or blame anyone either.
I am not sure exactly how I would make this lesson plan more challenging other than making the posting of a video recording of the students’ relatives telling their respective folktales a mandatory part of the lesson. The fact the students needed to step outside of their comfort is stressful and painful enough. It is necessary to expose students to different ideas.
In regards to what I liked best about this assignment, I enjoyed using an all-audio tool, Audacity. This is new to me and very interesting. I also like how the students have to not only work in groups, but how they must put in their own individual input. What I disliked the most about this assignment was how the students were not necessarily given an adequate amount of time to complete their assignments. If I could complete this assignment all over again I would have them take longer to present their findings to the class.

Works Cited

NETS*T Standards. Education Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers. Retrieved November 17, 2007 from National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers.