(from google and yahoo and beyond)
Google Applications
http://www.google.com
I am old enough to remember the world before google took over dominance of the search engine world. What usually drives advancement and learning is need. If something works for you stay with it (If it ain't broke doen't fix it). Simply put google satisfies the basic need of a vast number of people. I never used gmail because when I first signed up for it there were significant problems when you linked it to your yahoo account. The google people have fixed that problem since then. Google has usefull features that have been right in front of my face but yet I never investigated them. For one to know what they want and need one has to know what is available.
Traditional collaboration falls short at work and in personal endeavors. Attachments can be too large, collaborators may have incompatible software and you can lose track of which version of a document is current. Google documents solves this problem. Google calendar is also a collaboration tool that can come in handy for organizations that want to know who is available and what activities are scheduled. Most people are still collaborating by sending way too many Emails but this can be avoided.
Picasa Web Albums is also a feature of google applications. There are already many social web sites that provide this function but if you are logged into google already it is nice to have this ability. One also often needs to find images and google makes this simple by providing Google Image Search. Another useful tool in google is the ability to keep track of Blogs that you are following.
Evaluation summary - for ease of use and functionality, simply put it works well. Google also has a new version called Google Chrome that is reviewed below.
Google Chrome Review
Rating =
http://www.tokbox.com/vm/4u8a67cuo2xv
Delicious
http//www.delio.us
I never thought I had a need for a bookmarking site before taking the Audio Visual Education class ED451-21. I either bookmarked sites that I liked with the web browser, memorized the URL, wrote down the URLs in a notebook or cut and pasted the URLs into a Word document for future reference. Now that I am becoming a Technological Proficient Professional I do have a need to keep track of more web sites than I can possibly remember. Delicious allows me to do this. I can also search for related sites by tags and share my list and view the bookmarks of others.
One main criticism I have of Delicious is the size of the functions to click on such as "new bookmark" Something that one has to click on often should be larger and stand out better.
Evaluation summary: Functional, easy to use
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xd2pC9EE7s
Rating = http://www.tokbox.com/Stephen794
Moodle
http:www.moodlerooms.com
http://www.campus.uogdistance.com
In the work place I have been sending and uploading documents to company and government sites for years. All my classroom experience required handing in hard copies of my assignments so I had to accept the paradigm change of going online for these activities. Welcome to the year 2009 and the distance learning concept. Moodlerooms is a good tool for educational institutions and just about any teacher. With this tool the instructor can keep you informed about assignments, deadlines and reference sites. Uploading completed assignments is easy and the pages are easy to navigate.
This Modular Object Oriented Digital Learning Environment is based on the concept of social constructionism. Learners and teachers can actively collaborate and share resources and artifacts. The moodle calendar is a useful tool as a quick visual reference so one can budget time throughout the course to meet deadlines. The grade book is also useful to keep track of a student's performance on assignments. Parents of students can log on and monitor their child's grades and assignments. "Jonny" will no longer be able to lie and say he has all his homework done just so he can go and hang out with his friends.
Evaluation summary: Easy to use, functional, organized, serves a specific purpose, not a fun site but it has a place in today's learning environment. There are many youtube based instructional videos to assist in learning how to use this tool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9XfwBzt1mY
Rating = http://www.tokbox.com/vm/0m8972vro8sa
Firefox
http://mozilla.com
I was first exposed to firefox when using a computer at a Department of Labor Career Center. They had a note on the screen instructing users to utilize Firefox as their web browser. I understood that firefox had more security features than Internet Explorer but that was not my concern since it was not my computer and I was on a "Mission" and did not want to spend time getting use to any new software. On my laptop, which is running Vista, Firefox would occasionally pop up when I was searching the web and since this was a nuisance I just shut it down. Vista was irritating enough with all the "allow access or deny" prompts without Firefox popping up when I did not request it.
Since I lacked the inclination to use a non-IE browser I did not revisit firefox until Audio Visual ED 451 class. From my research and experience with Firefox I now understand some advantages. Added security features is the main draw of Firefox. Firefox also uses less of a computer's memory and pages load faster. One can choose to view web pages without graphics for even greater speed on loading. The ability to pause a download and then resume it at a later time is both convenient and a time saver (especially after a system crash). Firefox also has live technical support which is becoming rare these days.
Evaluation summary: Easy to use, can be customized, increased security features are irritating at times. Internet explorer is still an old friend that works and I do not like to abandon my friends. I could not upload upload videos to Eblogger from my Real Player library without Firefox crashing so I had to revert to using IE to accomplish this task while I am running Vista.
Rating = http://www.tokbox.com/vm/7viy5lxn8bru
Tokbox
Tokbox.com
I have performed video conversations before using Yahoo Messenger but it constantly experienced glitches and was almost too frustrating to use. I was recently introduced to Tokbox and I am very impressed with the program. It always works and does just what I want. This program is absolutely free. You can talk through your browser and no chat client is needed. The videos can be embedded on social networks, blogs and web pages. If a contact is off line you can send them a video Email. If you are running Firefox you can download a plug-in so you can have video chats with your Facebook friends. Video conferencing is also possible and from what I have read it works well with up to 20 people. Another exciting function is the ability to conference, talk and be seen, while sharing a slide presentation from Slideshare.
Evaluation summary: The Tokbox program does not have many bells and whistles but sometimes simplicity is the virtue. I would recommend this to all my friends including those that can barely use Email. The controls are intuitively obvious.
Rating: =
http://www.tokbox.com/vm/ttxhgb3z6gdi
SynthaSite
syntasite.com
When I was completing my first lesson plan assignment I searched for a place where I could cut and past my Word document and keep the formatting. Eblogger destroyed my word formatting so I was not happy with that program at all. SynthaSite was a program that was simple and worked. Best of all most of the formatting that I created in Word stayed as designed when I used cut and paste. The graphical drag and drop user interface allows even the none computer geeks to create a nice looking web site. I believe SynthaSite can be the entry point for the masses to create web pages and blogs. Not everyone will be happy with SynthaSite as it now exists since it may not allow people to use all of their creative talents.
Evaluation summary: Simple to get a basic webpage up and online without any fuss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSsynvK7Iog
Rating: = http://www.tokbox.com/vm/6gxsbfs7i5hq
Slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net
Slideshare allows cooperative sharing of power point presentations. Viewing the Slide Shows of others is also a good learning tools and inspires ideas. If a person wants to share "how to" presentation Slideshare is an excellent place to do so. The slide shows can then be embedded in blogs for additional educational benefit. My exposure to Slideshare inspired me to learn how to download a Powerpoint presentation to my V-motion mp4 player. The download and conversion of a Powerpoint presentation to a format that was compatible with my player was extremely slow.
Evaluation summary: Easy to do the basics with. One of many tools available to accomplish the task of sharing slides.
Rating: = http://www.tokbox.com/vm/p6oxbxmor8pq
ToonDoo
Toondoo.com
This is a simple drag and drop cartoon strip creator. By the use of colorful and humorous characters the attention of students can be captured and maintained. The cartoon medium is also excellent for satirical presentations. With ToonDoo cartoons can be created, shared, and embedded in blogs and web pages.
Evaluation summary: Easy for someone with no artistic skill to create something that is attractive, interesting and has a feeling of fun.
Rating: = http://www.tokbox.com/vm/2sjwewnxde3f
Reviews from my island of Guam
