8 Cool Online Tools for School

Click on each picture to go to its corresponding website!

Each online tool is given a rating from 1 to 5 (1 = lousy; 2 = fairly lousy; 3 = average; 4 = great; 5 = incredible).

1. MOODLE







Features:

• Blog
• Post and submit assignments
• View recent activity
• Chat in real time with other participants
• Send messages to other participants
• Group participants for cooperative learning
• Access assignment grades and attendance grades
• Organize assignments by week to ensure
• Easily download and view handouts
• Links can be accessed as pop-ups
• Advanced formatting tools (links, HTML, emoticons, images, etc.)
• Post announcements to all participants

Pros:

• Organized, simple interface
• An online classroom
• Password protected
• Environmentally friendly
• Can go back and edit submissions

Cons:

• Only as active as its participants
• Can sometimes seem impersonal

Rating: 4


2. Firefox




Features:

• Customizable interface
• Downloads manager
• Organized history
• Advanced keyboard shortcuts
• Tabbed browsing
• Open new windows from tabs
• Bookmarks and Bookmarks Toolbar
• Predictive browser and search bars

Pros:

• Restore recently closed tabs and windows
• Arguably faster than other browsers
• Personalization
• Warning messages, advanced security, and pop-up blocker

Cons:

• Cannot restore all the tabs and windows from a previous session
• Pop-up blocker cannot be as easily turned off
• Takes a lot of memory to run and sometimes freezes when running multiple applications

Rating: 4



3. Google Apps






Features:

• Extensive search engine
• Wonder wheel for graphically organized search topics
• Search images (with advanced search preferences and mouseover enlarges the image for preview)
• Search videos (with advanced search preferences and preview clips with a mouseover)
• Maps feature for paperless traveling and reference
• Latitude feature for sharing your location with friends and seeing your friends' locations, updated in real time
• Gmail for free email services with more than 7 GB of free storage
• Translate words and phrases in numerous languages with Google Translate
• Search and preview books with Google Books
• Find periodicals and scholarly articles with Google Scholar
• Free blogs with Blogger
• Upload videos to Youtube
• Store, edit, and share documents, presentations, and spreadsheets with Google Docs
• Create and share a free website with customizable templates from Google Sites
• Share and post online discussions in Google Groups
• Google Mobile brings the Google Apps to your smartphone
• Instant Messaging with Google Talk
• Customizable homepage with iGoogle

Pros:

• Extensive apps - for free!
• Advanced mobile capabilities
• Access numerous features using one account
• Personalization

Cons:

• Cannot use more than one account at a time (uses cookies for identification)
• Search engine can be exhaustive, and not as specific (too many results to realistically sift through)

Rating: 5



4. Screencast-o-matic






Features:

• Create screencasts online
• Like recording your online activity, in real time!
• Add commentary with a microphone
• Opens a transparent window that can be resized and placed anywhere in the window
• Cursor works as a circle indicator
• Clicks add emphasis with a glow burst
• Completely mimics online activity, including audio, video, etc.

Pros:

• Completely free
• Incredibly easy to use
• No need to create an account
• No software to download
• Save file to your computer
• Better than screenshots
• Does not slow down browser
• Progress is automatically saved until published

Cons:

• Long download time
• Feedback from microphone, if not adjusted
• Can only work on one screencast at a time (previous files must be deleted from the website to create a new one)
• Sometimes freezes

Rating: 4



5. Eyejot







Features:

• Send video messages quickly and easily via email
• Create a widget that can be embedded on a blog or website
• Visitors to a blog or website can send video responses through the widget
• Videos can be played and viewed from email

Pros:

• Completely free
• Fast and easy to use
• Widget is free, a personal video can be added, and anonymous responses can be enabled or disabled
• Video responses are simple to access
• Send one video message to multiple recipients
• Preview video messages

Cons:

• Recording time is limited to one minute
• Discrepancies with recording time
• Recipient of a video message must create an account to respond to a video message sent via email
• Recording must be perfected in one shot (no editing at different points)

Rating: 3



6. Poll Everywhere





Features:

• Create multiple choice polls, free text polls, or goal polls
• Audiences can respond via text or online using a smartphone
• Results are displayed in real time and charts are updated live
• See results graphically displayed using bar graphs
• Results can be embedded and shared in a Keynote or Powerpoint presentation, website, or spreadsheet
• Responses can be moderated
• Customizable prompts

Pros:

• Great way to engage an audience
• Responses can be reported and displayed instantaneously
• Various means of sharing results
• Responses can be given via text message, for non-smartphones
• Responses can also be given online, for non-texters
• Unlimited number of polls

Cons:

• Limited free features
• Only 30 responses per poll for free users
• Paid features are necessary for larger audiences

Rating: 4



7. Glogster





Features:

• Create an online, interactive, multimedia poster online
• Text, image, clipart, audio, and video capabilities
• Share your Glogster poster by publishing it or embedding it
• Customizable templates
• Drag-and-drop elements
• Automatic scrollbars to accommodate for longer information

Pros:

• Absolutely free
• No software to download
• Simple and easy to use
• Beautiful, media rich presentations
• Great, environmentally-friendly alternative
• Easily navigable and only one page (information at a glance)
• Video and audio can be uploaded and played within the Glogster
• Glogster EDU is designed specifically for education and offers subscriptions for schools and classrooms, making collaboration simpler

Cons:

• Not effective for vast amounts of information that require more than one page and greater organization
• Cannot insert hyperlinks
• Most educational features are not free

Rating: 4



8. Wordle







Features:

• Create word clouds using any text
• Makes visual art out of paragraphs
• Emphasizes important words
• Great visual display
• Customizable themes and colors

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use
• Can be used by students for projects and presentations
• Printable
• Easily shared
• Fast

Cons:

• No multimedia
• No animation

Rating: 3

Images

All images are screenshots, taken by me.

"Exploring the Solar System in Cyberspace"

Upon embarking on the Group's Multimedia Lesson Plan, I was excited with the numerous possibilities of enhancing students' understanding of the solar system through technology. Because studying the planets involves such abstract ideas, I felt as though technology could provide the supplementary resources necessary to comprehend its vastness and complexity. Within cyberspace, the solar system can be easily accessed and explored by students.


Therefore, of the NETS*T Standards listed in the ED 271 Course Syllabus, I felt as though NETS*T Standard 3C greatly applied to this assignment:
"Apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity" (Cyrus, 2011).
In Bloom's Taxonomy, application, and analysis and synthesis are considered higher order thinking skills (University of Wisconsin Whitewater, 2009). These skills are greatly emphasized throughout this lesson plan. With regard to application, students research information relevant to them and present information that they personally find particularly interesting or useful. Because the elements of the solar system cannot be tangibly explored, students must find alternative ways to "experience" it. Thus, when viewing information about the planets through a song and video, online games, and websites designed specifically for kids, information such as vast distances and foreign compositions are described in terms more understandable to students, using a variety of media. With regard to analysis, students are asked to compare and contrast the different planets. Within the online games, students are given statements about each planet and must analyze the information they have obtained, in order to differentiate between them. They must be discerning and carefully analyze the information they research on the planets, using the provided website links. Lastly, with regard to synthesis, all the information that students have obtained throughout the lesson, using the various resources, culminates in an online poster, through which they can also express themselves creativity. Such creative expression is also indicated in NETS*S Standard 3C. The Glogster EDU poster allows for different types of media (pictures, text, audio, etc.) to be manipulated, in order to sufficiently display the information obtained. Moreover, students are further challenged to synthesize all information learned into a brief reflection, recorded via Eyejot video. The various components of the Multimedia Lesson Plan require higher order thinking skills and creativity to be used by students, in order to successfully complete their tasks.


Although this lesson plan requires higher order thinking skills, technology can be especially helpful in making the accommodations necessary for students with disabilities. Within our lesson plan, one of the students is identified as having visual impairment. However, through the use of technology such as text-to-speech software and text/video enlargement capabilities, information can be more readily accessed. However, further revisions could be made, such as the creation of a separate website that contains modifications for students with disabilities. Moreover, further opportunities for cooperative learning could help students with disabilities learn from and receive assistance from their peers, . It would also be helpful for students with disabilities to access a computer with other assistive technology features (e.g. larger keyboard, joystick, etc.).

In addition to modifications and accommodations for students with disabilities, there are also numerous opportunities to make this lesson plan more challenging. For instance, just as the students listened to a song about the planets, they could also create a song about their planet, record it, and insert the audio file into their Glogster poster. Another additional challenge would be to allow students to discuss one another's Glogster posters through the comment module, under the "Share" tab. Because the lesson plan requires that all the Glogster URLs be published, students can then choose 2-3 of their classmates' posters and publish their comments for the rest of the class to see. Lastly, a challenge could also involve utilizing online games about the solar system that involve points. Teams could then compete for the highest score, adding an additional incentive to learn from and do well in the online games.


In creating this lesson plan, I enjoyed exploring the different technological resources that can be used to accomplish the various tasks within the lesson plan. I enjoyed synthesizing all of the resources into one website, making them more easily accessible. This also allows students to work at their own pace, since all the resources and directions are provided. Although, despite the excitement of exploring and combining the different resources, it was quite time consuming. The HTML editor on the Wix website creator is still in beta, and thus it did not always work as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I enjoyed creating this Multimedia Lesson Plan and observing it come into fruition. I look forward to conducting this lesson in my future classroom.

References

Cyrus, Jacqui. (2011). ED 271: Applications of Technology in Education Aligned Syllabus. Retrieved from http://campus.uogdistance.com/mod/resource/view.php?id=15589

University of Wisconsin Whitewater. (2009). Higher Order Reflection. Retrieved from http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/higherorderreflection.php

Images

All images are screenshots of the Multimedia Lesson Plan, personally taken by me.
Click on any image to access the Multimedia Lesson Plan.

Digital Safety Issues: Group Presentation

Mouseover the Glogster Logo and select the "View Full Size" option.

Online Game Presentation

Group Presentation #1, in which we reviewed "My Reading Tools," can be viewed below:

Online Game Review: "My Reading Tools" from Tabitha Espina on Vimeo.

Keeping Kids Connected: Providing a Lifeline through Assistive Technology

The Enabling Dreams Video begins with a powerful and thought-provoking statement: “For disabled students, like Susanna Martini, technology is all of those things [allowing students to research, explore and create] and much more. It is a lifeline” (The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2005). The profundity and ramifications of such a statement remain immense, especially for educators. By utilizing assistive technology in the classroom, teachers ensure that students with disabilities are given the opportunity to interact and learn, just as their non-disabled peers do.

When a lesson plan is revised to include opportunities for students with disabilities to become successful participants, it entails proper consideration of the specific needs of each student. The Disabled Students’ Program at the University of California at Berkeley suggests that teachers “[g]et more disability information” and ask the students themselves how they learn best (University of California at Berkeley, 1999). I believe that a thorough student profile is essential to a revised lesson plan, as it helps guide and direct the means of accommodation. Just as instruction throughout the lesson must reflect accommodations for students with disabilities, assessments must also be appropriate. Alternate assessments are necessary for students who are unable to participate in regular assessments and ensure educational accountability for all students (National Center on Educational Outcomes [NCEO], 2010). These alternate assessments can then be used for diagnosis to improve instruction or as culminating evaluations of students’ understanding. Alternate assessments can also utilize technology, in order to be more appropriate for students with disabilities.

I have witnessed – and even executed – lesson plans that did not consider the needs of students with disabilities and did not provide accommodations. The result was that some students remained uninvolved in the learning process and are, therefore, unable to fully benefit from the lesson. Moreover, when alternate assessments are not used, students who have difficulty with regular assessments tend to do poorly and their results may not be an accurate reflection of their understanding. When students with disabilities feel marginalized, it inhibits their learning and can be detrimental to their overall self-worth. Although providing accommodations requires additional effort and careful consideration, it remains an important responsibility of an educator.

Activities that use assistive technology can include media and devices that allow for students with disabilities to better process information, as well as better express themselves. Technology can be advantageous for both students with disabilities and those without, so by incorporating technology, digital media/devices, and Internet resources within a lesson, teachers are broadening the ways in which all students can learn. For instance, activities that require reading and discussion can use Text-to-Voice software and all students can benefit from the use of supplementary pictures or video.

Because the task of creating an appropriate learning environment for diverse learners with diverse needs can seem daunting, Carol Ann Tomlinson, one of the world’s most renowned experts in differentiated learning research, has enumerated six assumptions to consider when designing or planning activities:

1. Instructional design (“One size” does not necessarily fit all.);

2. Good teaching;

3. Time on task;

4. Flexibility;

5. Different ways to learn;

6. Culturally relevant and important (Pittman, 2008).

Adherence to these considerations can ensure that a teacher thoroughly evaluates if the lesson is conducive for all types of learners.

Therefore, assistive technology provides a gateway and connection to a world of information and learning that may have otherwise remained undiscovered. Conversely, if teachers do not take advantage of available assistive technology, students with disabilities may be deprived of learning opportunities, isolated without a connection, and detached without this lifeline. As an educator, it is therefore imperative that our lessons and instruction accommodate for the diversity of learners present within the classroom to ensure that every person is connected, involved, and has their needs provided for. Students with disabilities should be participants who actively contribute to and benefit from the learning process. When evaluating the effectiveness of a revised lesson plan, educators can assess if each student’s needs have been met and if each student was able to succeed because he or she was given the opportunity to do so. Just as learning is a unique experience for each student, the methods of teaching should also be unique and diversified to ensure that each student is provided a quality education. Assistive technology can provide that unique, individualized means that connects a student to others, as well to the world around them.

References

The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2005, February 02). Assistive-Technology: Enabling Dreams [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video

National Center on Educational Outcomes [NCEO]. (2010, November 29). Alternate Assessments for Students with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/TopicAreas/AlternateAssessments/altAssessFAQ.htm#why

Pittman, Joyce. (2008, May). Meeting Needs of Diverse Learners with Technology. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from Didactics World website: http://www.didacticsworld.com/feature/index.php?pid=010804

University of California at Berkeley. (1999, August 30). Disabled Students' Program - Teaching Students with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://dsp.berkeley.edu/teachstudentswithdisab.html#5

Images (All photos are screenshots from:)

The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2005, February 02). Assistive-Technology: Enabling Dreams [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video

Online Game Rubric: "My Reading Tools"

Please select the "Toggle fullscreen" icon at the bottom right of the SlideShare window to properly view the presentation.

Building Solid Foundations for "Guam's Next Rock-Star"

Storytelling has been a versatile tool used for centuries – from ancient civilizations recounting their history and transmitting their culture through oral tradition, to today’s teachers sharing anecdotes or allegories to inspire interest in a lesson. With the innovations of technology and the development of diverse methods of media and communication, the ways in which stories are told have also evolved through the years. I believe that the utilization of technology to tell stories through digital storytelling is one of the most significant contributions of technology to the classroom.

Upon embarking on this particular assignment, the concept of digital storytelling was quite familiar to me, as I had created several digital stories in the past, as well as attended a conference session on digital storytelling. Therefore, my challenges involved ensuring that I developed my skills in digital storytelling, progressed in my understanding of its uses, and explored different media tools that I had not used prior. I wanted to ensure that the digital story that I created for this course indicated improvement and progression - not simply convenience.

At the beginning of the process, I benefited greatly from dissecting Christine Borja Mallari’s digital story on S-Q-3-R, prior to creating my own story (Mallari, 2010). I was able to gain a better sense of organization, as well as explore the different ways in which voices can be portrayed. It also inspired me to see the various possibilities of using fictional characters to relay factual information. With a newfound sense of clarity, I decided to create my digital story on the three different types of rocks, entitled "Guam's Next Rock-Star" (Espina, 2011).

However, my biggest difficulty was that I also had to be acutely aware of my timing. Although timing may seem like a tedious detail, it proved to be one of the most difficult aspects in my digital storytelling process. Timing pervaded my thoughts at the beginning when formulating my storyline, and it remained a driving force at the end while I did the final editing. I had to consider the appropriate amount of information and detail for three minutes and decide if time was better spent in a transition or in teaching content. Needless to say, I obsessed over every second.

Once I was able to decide upon my topic, consider my timing, and formulate a storyline, the actual process of creating the digital story began. Quite honestly, although the video was only three minutes, the amount of thought required was exhausting. I had to first research my topic and ensure the accuracy of my information. I then had to creatively transform these facts into an entertaining story and simplify scientific concepts. Therefore, by working so closely with this information, I was able to learn more about my topic of rock composition and formation. Additionally, because I also had to ensure the appropriateness of my information and make certain that it would be understandable for young students, it was also necessary that I reviewed teaching pedagogy and exercise metacognition. I gained a better understanding of how to embed information into a story to make it more comprehensible and memorable for students.

When considering the various options of tools and resources, I knew that I wanted my digital story to resemble an actual television show as closely as possible. I needed a tool that could incorporate perspectives, transitions, and zooming, so that my digital story would not simply look like a slideshow. Moreover, the deciding factor in my use of iMovie was its extensive audio capabilities (Apple, Inc., 2011). Because music was such an integral part of my digital story, it was imperative that I maintained critical control of the audio.

If I were to adapt this digital storytelling assignment for my future classroom, I would need to further simplify the requirements for elementary students. Because the amount of available digital storytelling mediums can be overwhelming – even for an adult – I would probably only indicate one specific tool to use and would conduct an extensive class tutorial on how to use it. Although I would allow them creativity in choosing a topic for their story, I would guide my students through the process of writing their story. I would offer suggestions as they brainstorm ideas, assist them in creating a storyboard with detailed written descriptions, and help them review and revise their drafts. I would also greatly assist them in their timing and transitions. Such a project would require a considerable amount of time but would be an effective form of assessment, for instance at the culmination of a unit.

Thus, the use of digital storytelling in the classroom revolutionizes the ways in which educators describe information and broadens the ways in which students process information. Incorporating digital storytelling into teaching pedagogy can prove highly effective, as "people of all ages find it easier to remember information when it is encoded in a story" (Campbell, Campbell, & Dickinson, 2004, p.9). Overall, digital storytelling extends creativity and ingenuity by incorporating technology and enables students to create meaningful learning experiences.

References

Apple Inc. (2011). iLife - iMovie - Learn about movie trailers and more new features. Retrieved from

http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/

Campbell, L.,Campbell B., & Dickinson, D. (2004). Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Espina, Tabitha. (2011, February 21). Guam's Next Rock-Star

[Video file]. Retrieved from http://http://vimeo.com/20199229

Mallari, Christine. (2010, December 17).

Easy as S-Q-3-R (with music)

[Video File].

Retrieved from http://prezi.com/wpfjieqju5zk/easy-as-s-q-3-r-with-music/

Images

All images used are original images taken by me, Tabitha Espina.

Test

See my other blog at tabithanipse.blogspot.com Uog