8 FUN, USEFUL, TEchnoLogy Tools
1) MOODLE
Moodle is great tool for the classroom. It enables the teacher to create a site for the class. With MOODLE you can create an agenda, assignments, participants, and upcoming events. MOODLE allows students to view their grades, have chats with classmates and the teacher, view upcoming assignments, and submit assignments. Students can also create a profile and upload their picture along with changing their password. The only thing I thought that was a negative is that the dates for the upcoming events are mixed up. It is confusing to know when assignments are due and what is due in the future. I enjoy chatting with my classmates and having a website dedicated to Audio Visual. If I learned how to use this tool I would use it in my classroom for the parents. It would be a great way to showcase to the parents what lessons I will be teaching throughout the year and what assignments will be due. It is also a great way to know the parents because they can create a profile with their information and their child’s. Using MOODLE can also help me communicate with the parents by showing them the grades of the students and what they need to improve on. I give MOODLE 4 stars because, although it has many positives, I just wish the dates were correct and not confusing.
2) Delicious List
Delicious is an interesting website that allows people to save bookmarks online, share bookmarks with others, and see what other people are bookmarking. Delicious is a free tool that enables you to get bookmark using any computer because the bookmarks will be saved online. Organizing your bookmarks by using ‘tags’ lets it easy and convenient to find. Tags are words that describe your bookmark. For instance, if you have a website on educational games, your tag name could be games. Delicious also makes you share bookmarks with your friends by using the networking feature. All you simple do is add them to your network and you and friend can view each others bookmarks. You can also see the latest bookmarks created by other people. When you log in to your account the home page consists of the fresh bookmarks tab, popular bookmarks, and tags. It gives you options to see the many different bookmarks and you can save them too if you like it. Overall, I enjoy delicious because it let’s me save websites easily and I can use other computers and laptops to get them. It’s a great way to save information when I am a teacher. I can save lesson plan ideas, songs, and games. I give delicious 5 stars.
3) Firefox browser
Firefox browser is a fast and safe way to browse the World Wide Web. Firefox has amazing features such as one click bookmarking, tabs, session restore, customization, and anti-phising and anti-malware. It has a bar that recognizes previous websites that the user has used before. When bookmarking a page you can create a tag to find site easier when you want to look it up again. Last, Firefox has a search engine located at the top of the site and that enables users to type in key words and it will give you suggestions. It also has a find search located at the key stroke. Users can Search for a word or phrase on an open Web page and it will highlight the text you are looking for. I do not use firefox browswer anymore since I got a mac. I just use safari but I did use it before and I love it. I give Firefox five stars because it is a great browser that tells you which sites that may have a virus and its fast.
Firefox browser is a fast and safe way to browse the World Wide Web. Firefox has amazing features such as one click bookmarking, tabs, session restore, customization, and anti-phising and anti-malware. It has a bar that recognizes previous websites that the user has used before. When bookmarking a page you can create a tag to find site easier when you want to look it up again. Last, Firefox has a search engine located at the top of the site and that enables users to type in key words and it will give you suggestions. It also has a find search located at the key stroke. Users can Search for a word or phrase on an open Web page and it will highlight the text you are looking for. I do not use firefox browswer anymore since I got a mac. I just use safari but I did use it before and I love it. I give Firefox five stars because it is a great browser that tells you which sites that may have a virus and its fast.
4) Google Suite Apps (Applications)
Google Applications is a professional tool that enables users to communicate and organize files and events. Google Docs is a to create documents from scratch or use templates. Users can upload files such DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT. A great feature in Google Docs is that users can collaborate and share ideas with friends. Many people can view and edit your document at the same time. Google Calendar allows users to organize their schedules and keep track of events online. It enables users to share schedule with their friends and they can view their friends and family schedules to see when they are free. It also lets you sync your calendar with your mobile phone or if you have a iCal. Overall, I think Google Suite Applications is a great tool to use for school, work, family, and friends. I would use this tool to organize my events and communicate with group members using Google Docs. I give Google Suite Application a four because I still need to learn how to use the calendar and I think they can improve on giving simple and easy directions in learning the application.
5) Web-conferencing tool
Twiddla is an online association tool, which enables people to browse websites in a shared whiteboard, while marking them up, sharing files, and chatting along. There is no need for no plug-ins or downloads and firewalls. Twiddla has its positives, but it also has it negatives. For instance, it’s not free, no web video chatting, and voice audio is not clear.When you first go on Twiddla’s meetings you see a canvas and you immediately want to start painting. Twiddla’s features on its sandbox or meetings are painting, chatting, voice audio, insert text, grids, shapes, documents, and emails. One great concept about Twiddla is that you can web browse at the same time. Same goes with documents, if you insert it you are able to edit the documents together. Another great feature about Twiddla is the saving of files. You can upload as many images such as, .jpg, .gif, .png, etc. and documents These file can be shared within the meetings. When setting up a meeting you can invite people that do not have a Twiddla account by inviting them to be guest through email. Twiddla may have many features but it only comes with its downfalls. First of all, Twiddla is not free for everyone. It has a free 30 day trial,The more you upgrade the more features you will receive. Twiddla offers a free upgrade to their professional account if members send an email from an .edu address. I was disappointed that there was no web video chatting and you can not hear the person talking in the voice audio. I thought Twiddla was interesting and it opened my mind into possibilities of technology I did not know Twiddla has enabled me to explore all the other capabilities’ chatting has to offer. I hope to continue using Twiddla to communicate and express my ideas. I give Twiddla a three because it needs to provide more features and it needs to improve on its downfalls.
6) Ujiko
Ujiko is a very different search engine than the one’s I am use to. It took me awhile to figure out how it operates. I first thought it looked like a camera or a game. Ujiko is interesting because if you search for a topic for instance, “educational games” in the center it will give you other topics that associate with it. It also categorizes those topics into groups that share the same theme. So it will make it easier to find similar topics. Another fascinating point about Ujiko is that you can see the website before you go to it and it gives you a little sentence on what that site is about. So, instead of clicking on it right away you can read about it first and see if that looks appealing or not. However, I do not like how you have to earn points in order for you to gain certain features such as news, videos, and encyclopedia. I think that we shouldn’t need to visit the site a certain amount of times just to get those features. We should be able to get it right away. But I think it’s a strategy they use so that you can visit the site more often. Overall, it seems like an intriguing search engine that I will certainly be using. I give UJIKO a three stars because I am use to using google and safari. I think it needs to provide more searches.
7) Jing Project
Jing is a useful technology tool because it enables users to explain ideas, collaborate on projects, share information, and give feedback. With Jing you can capture images and videos on your screen. You can create a link to your picture and send it off to friends through email, chats, forums, facebook, myspace, etc… Jing lets you enhance the image by providing arrows, texts, and highlights. You can also create short video and add narrations to it. I would use Jing because it makes it easier to add text through images. They way I use to do that is through power point and instead of saving it as a document, I would save it as a picture (jpeg) file. Now, I can use Jing to add text to my images and it is faster and less complicated than power point. I would also use Jing to communicate with my friends and to be used in group projects. By using the text, highlight, and arrow options Jing provides it will enable me to get my point across to my friends and group members instead of how to explain it by typing it down in a document. Jing is a great tool to use personally and professionally. I give Jing four stars because it is a great tool for me to use as a teacher when I need to present a picture I can capture it and edit it to add arrows, and other effects.
8) Prezi
Prezi is an amazing presentation tool that allows users to create stunning presentations in one canvas. Prezi is a free tool that lets you download the presentation, post on blog, send through email, or present it online. It has amazing features such as zoom, overview, frame, line, and path. Users can upload images, videos, and PDF files. With the images you can write over it to put captions on it. With Prezi you can create lists, timelines, footnotes
I love prezi, I believe it is better than power point. Its fun, creative, and simple. I would use this tool in the classroom when teaching my students. I think they would enjoy learning in other way. I used Prezi for our online presentation and it was difficult at first to learn, but if you watch the tutorials, it makes it simple to learn. I enjoyed creating a presentation using Prezi because it was something different and fun. The only thing I did not like was that there is no spell check and you can not make the font bold, italize, or underline. Other than that I believe it is a great presentation tool that I will definitely use in the future. I give Prezi five stars because it is innovative and a new appealing and interesting way to present information and ideas.
