Week One:
Twitter is what I consider a type of “instant messaging.” It is a group (network) of people who basically follow each other. The idea is sending messages to your followers in 140 characters or less. I had used Twitter in a prior course that I took through the Educational Department so was familiar with what it was about and had some idea of how to use it. My pre-impression was that twitter was used mainly by people in the entertainment industry. Now after I have had the opportunity to use it can see where it could have its benefits. It’s useful to keep in touch, it’s free and it can be quite entertaining. After these classes that I am taking I do not see me personally using Twitter. I do see its benefits though in using this professionally with my students either for the EMS Club or for clinical. I also see the benefit it has to “Brand”. What I found most engaging is the fact that you can tweet something and everyone gets to see it. As far as its most aggravating feature is learning all the shortcuts and the 140 character max doesn’t leave much room for comments. I have heard that this features makes people write better. A comparable tool that I will probably stick with is texting, at least for now. It seems so much easier.
https://twitter.com/
Wordle is a tool for generating “word clouds” from the text that you provide. You can have the program switch around your words to see different fonts, layouts and color schemes. I had seen and heard of Wordle but had not used it prior to this class. My pre-impression was that it would be something fun to use to decorate webpages and give maybe an introduction to something or someone. It looked pretty easy to use as you simply just type in the words you would like to use and the program does the rest. My post-impression was the same as my pre-impression. I don’t see myself personally using this web 2.0 tool however I might see using this as a class introduction. I can have each student bring in their Wordle of 20 things to describe themselves. It’s most engaging feature it the different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. I also like the fact that it creates these colorful schemes for you and you can print them out or save them to post on other sites. I didn’t see an aggravating feature. When I was asked to create one my difficultly was in finding the words I wanted to use. I have not seen a comparable tool I like better yet. I am sure they are out there. I just have not had the opportunity to explore them just yet.
http://www.wordle.net/
Wallwisher is a place (wall) where you can post information for anyone or your friends to see. Prior to this class I had not used or heard of Wallwisher. My pre-impression is that it was going to be fairly easy to use and my post-impression was the same. As far as possible personal use I don’t see myself using it. I do see the possibly with professional use though. It would be a great place to post links and information to students. You could also assign student project’s and they could design their own wall about it such as a summer vacation trip or what they would like to do when they graduate from school. It could be used to create a classroom wall as well. I think the most engaging feature is that it is fun and colorful. I enjoyed visiting my classmate’s walls and posting comments. Out of all the projects we had to do for week one I liked this one a lot. I didn’t see an aggravating feature. A comparable tool could be Stixy. Stixy allows for a few more options and I think after creating my project for week three I enjoyed that tool (stixy) as well.
http://wallwisher.com/
Creative Commons allows people to issue creative works under licenses that allow flexibility. Prior to this course I had never heard or used this before. The readings were very informative and I was able to learn about the different copyright licenses that are available and how they apply. I am glad that this was included in the class projects as I have learned how to use the different licenses and how it defines work that is used beyond fair use. This is something that I will be using both personally and professionally. There is not an aggravating feature.
http://creativecommons.org/
Week Two:
SlideShare is a website where people can upload slide presentations on any topic. Prior to this class I had not used it. I was very interested in learning more about it and in the readings. Slideshare lets you browse through all kinds of presentations and also lets you upload videos and presentations with audio. I personally will not use this but will professionally I will as I see this useful in the program that I teach in. One of the most engaging features it that people put a lot of great information on there. I think SlideShare does for PowerPoint what YouTube does for video. It transforms your powerpoints. I didn’t see anything I didn’t like. I would compare it to YouTube but I wouldn’t say it’s better. It’s just another great option to use.
http://www.slideshare.net/
Blogger is basically a place to share your thoughts. I had used Blogger in a prior course that I took. After I read more about it I think it is a great tool. It offers an area for both casual and semi-professional bloggers on numerous topics. It gives people access to Google Ads as well. I thought that it was very easy to use and it gave you the option to customize it to your own personality. Personally I will not use this not because I don’t feel as if it’s a useful tool but because I would find it difficult to keep it updated and fresh. As far as professionally, I think it’s a great tool something that works well in college level courses. I have done many reflection papers throughout this degree program and it would be a great tool (hosting site) to use for that. As far a anything negative it may take a beginner a little while to figure everything out. When I first started using it I would get lost sometimes and not see how to get back to certain areas of the blog or I couldn't figure out little features that seem basic now. I would like to see more options for customization and maybe a few more features. I don’t know what I would compare it. All these tools have similar features and overall, it’s a great tool.
www.blogger.com/
Flickr is a popular place for photo sharing. Almost everyone I know uses this to upload pictures mainly to share them with family and friends. I have also seen it used for professional photographers to display their photos (the camera's used to take the pictures) and allows for comments on others work. Prior to this I knew of Flickr and have been on the site but had never signed up for an account until now. What is great about it is it’s free it gives you a place to store your pictures and allows for comments to be made similar to Facebook. It also allows you to connect to other social networks and access to photo editing software. My pre and post impressions were the same. I think it’s an excellent tool to use both personally and professionally. One of the most engaging features is that it allows you to have all your photos in one place. I don’t see an aggravating feature as of yet. I know some people dislike the fact that people can use the pictures for other things and not all the pictures people load are good pictures. I would compare it to Facebook in the sense that people can post pictures and anyone can comment about them. I was glad to be able to use the creative common licenses here and will now use them in the future.
www.flickr.com/
Prezi is a type of presentation software similar to whiteboards. It has a canvas that allows the user to zoom in to create visually appealing presentations. From the readings and the examples shown it looked somewhat challenging. As I begun working on mine and afterwards I felt that it wasn’t too difficult to learn. It is easy to get caught up in all the stuff that you can do. Personally I will not use this but professionally it would be get to use for presentations as it allows you to organize your information across a map and put emphasis on certain points using their unique fly-by visuals. Its most engaging feature is it produces some beautiful visuals. The only drawback not necessarily an aggravating feature is it might fail to communicate effectively if not done correctly. All the turning and zooming can be distracting to some students. As I viewed some of the examples I was more interested in what I saw visually rather that what the message was that they were trying to get across. I have yet to see another tool to compare it to.
http://prezi.com/
Glogster is a tool used to create posters. It allows you to use links, images, text, videos and even music. I had used Glogster in a prior course that I took and in educational telecommunications I submitted a proposal on the benefits and its capabilities for use in the classroom. I had done quite a bit of research on this tool so my pre-impression and post-impression where the same as I had created a few glogs prior. I do not see a possible personal use but as far as professionally Glogster gives students the tools needed to demonstrate learning and the freedom of choice for expression. It challenges the students and allows for communication with peers and teachers with the use of modern technology. The most engaging feature is that the paper pencil projects can be a thing of the past. Glogster has so many unlimited possibilities. I like the idea of being able to add music. I didn’t see any negatives. I like how the tool is set up separately for educational purposes (Glogster.EDU) this could be compared to Stixy and Wallwisher but think overall this one would come out on top.
http://www.glogster.com/
Week Three:
VoiceThread is a group blog (audio/text) that allows collaboration between people all over the world. It is free (mostly). As far as my prior experience I had never used or heard of voice thread prior to this class. My pre-impression after I read the links provided was that I thought it was going to be really complicated. I think that one of the reasons people tend to not use these tools is that they can be intimidating but after my review of the readings and watching the “how to” videos it didn’t seem that complicated at all. I was able to create one in a matter of minutes. My post-impression after I completed my assignment was that it was pretty easy to create a voice thread. I was also able to comment both through voice and text with one of my classmates. I would like to go back and use this tool in the future when I have more time to be a little more creative. I do see its possibilities but don’t think I would be using it for personal use. I do see the possibilities for professional use. This along with all the other tools we have been using would be great to use in an academic setting. I like how the images stored come from libraries to help with copyright laws. The feature I found most engaging was the idea of the user ID pictures. It allows you to not only see who commented on your voice thread but hear them as well. I really didn’t see an aggravating feature except maybe the fact that in order to use all the features you have to pay. But other than that the application is easy to learn and use. I think voice thread is similar to slide share minus the voice feature. It was simple to upload a PowerPoint and shares it in a similar fashion but I would say Voice Thread would be my choice between those two.
http://voicethread.com/
Stixy is an online bulletin board. Stixy can help users organize their information in one place. Prior to this course I had never used or heard of Stixy. My pre-impression was that it was going to be similar to glogster. After I started creating my board saw that users can create tasks and appointments. You can also upload files, photos and notes as well as bookmarks. Personally I would not use this tool however it is a great educational one. Students could create these stixyboards and share them with friends, family, and classmates. It could also be used in the classroom to have a collaborative space for students the effectively communicate with their peers. Professionally and one of the engaging features is that stixy can be shared with others to create a common workplace in where multiple people can work at the same time. I didn’t see an aggravating feature. Like most of these tools it just takes a bit of practice. I think this is similar to Glogster in that it allows you to create a space and there are other tools similar but stixy has more collaborative features and allows for more creative liberties.
http://www.stixy.com/
Vimeo is a site where you can share or watch videos. Prior to this class I had never used or heard of Vimeo. When I began reading I like most of these tools we are using thought that I may be difficult but it wasn’t. I was able to create a short one minute video and within minutes had uploaded it on to the Vimeo site. Personally I will not use the site. As far as professionally it could be a great research tool and it is entertaining. One of the most engaging features is that it has expanded the social network of video sharing and provides other options besides YouTube. The only aggravating feature that I have heard about it is that it limits the amount of video that you can upload on a weekly basis on the free accounts. It can be compared to YouTube as it’s the same general concept however from the readings is a little more controlled on what videos you can upload and commericals shown.
http://vimeo.com/
