Dan Dolce ETC BLOG

BP5_2010052_Web2.0Tool#2

8:32 PM
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Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Animoto.com is a very cool web tool that I have recently discovered in my research. It is an online automated video presentation maker. This web 2.0 tool is a great way for students to create video presentations, and slide shows for visual implementation in projects and classes.

In many cases compiling a video presentation or slide show for classes is very time consuming. Animoto allows student upload their information, such as graphics, pictures and or video clips and animoto analyzes the information and processes it into a online video presentation with exciting transitions and visual effects.

With Animoto a person can also add preloaded music or their own music from their personal libraries to add a flare to their presentation.

What I like about this tool is that it is a time saving online web 2.0 tool. All the time it takes to create visually appealing presentations is cut in half with this tool. The site creates the order, and edits it for the user. It saves the presentation so that the user can add, subtract, and make other changes that they would like. This gives way to the flow of creativity.

There are a few drawbacks with animoto though. One drawback is that the free registration only comes with thirty second presentations that have limited designs and the customization is restricted.

Other than the drawbacks as a web 2.0 tool it has many of the familiar features that most of them carry such as sharing, embedding, commenting, and connecting.

Without paying for a full subscription you can not get the full experience of the site, but for the free version you can still expect to be wowed.

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Wylie, Â. (n.d.). How to Create an Animoto Class Project: Online Slideshows for Your Students. Find Health, Education, Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub - Apply To Be A Writer Today!. Retrieved May 17, 2010, from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/reviews/57062.aspx

BP4_2010051_Web2.0Tool#1

5:05 PM
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In my first course at Full Sail University online I had the opportunity to use a Web 2.0 tool by the name of Google Docs. I was a bit confused when one of my group members told me to add my input to the group presentation. So I went to the link she sent to me and added my input and then downloaded the document and asked her where she wanted it emailed to. I was so surprised when she told me that she already had it and liked my comments. I had no idea that Google Docs was a real time online editable document. The thought of being able to collaborate, edit, and work on a document with other people in real time boggled my mind.

In this Emergent Technologies in Collaborative Culture course I have been able to explore this web 2.0 tool a bit more.

In doing some research I went straight to the source. The Google docs website gave simple and clear information about the purpose of using Google docs and how to use each type of documents in the tool.

Google Docs allows its users to make a word processing document, spread sheet, power point and many other information files so that its users have a secure place to store the files, and allow others to view, add and collaborate information. Before this tool, many people would have to place the work on one person who had the computer, or the internet connection to do the work. With Google Docs everyone in a group can have a part to play with the project assignment, and can work all at once or when they have time. With Google Docs the work and be split up equally, and everyone can share the work load.

This Google Docs web 2.0 tools is an ideal device for group projects in education. I plan on teaching students how to use this device and implement them in my classes. Once they learn how to use this Google Docs, I will be creating more projects and written work linking these wonderful web 2.0 tools.

As an example I am adding the link Google Docs and this actual blog entry that I did in Google Docs. It won’t be editable because I’m just going to allow everyone to view it, but it is just an example of how the document works.

Google Docs Page

http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

My Google Docs Blog

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfpb3dmz_5gwk5vfgq
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References

Google Docs Tour. (n.d.). Google. Retrieved May 9, 2010, from http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

BP3_2010051_RSSFeeds

10:00 AM
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RSS FEEDS

Really Simple Syndications commonly referred to as RSS Feeds are a fairly new internet tool to me. I have heard about them and even seen them being used but it did not interest me much until I was forced to actually work with them.

I have learned as a professional that in order to be the best in your field you must utilize all the resources available to you. I have now seen the value of RSS feeds, and in this blog I will explain their value to me as a professional and educator through five RSS feeds that I have chosen to follow.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA)

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/

I have chosen to follow the TEA because they are part of my states governing board along with the state board of education (SBOE). This feed provides me with the up-to-date information about what is going on in the state school systems, and it provides resources for educators.

Today's Middle Level Educator (Podcast)

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/TodaysMiddleLevelEducator/tabid/1409/Default.aspx

This is a RSS podcast I discovered on the National Middle School Association Website. It provides speeches, discussions, debates, and information for middle school level educators to use for their class. I like this RSS podcast particularly because I can listen to them as I do other work. I think that it is a valuable resource for middle school teachers because, I am a middle school teacher. and its is good to hear, and learn about what others are doing around the country.

Best Content In Classroom 2.0

http://www.classroom20.com/

This feed is the full of content that K-12 educators use across the country to share ideas lessons and with other teachers. I will be utilizing this website a lot because I do sometimes run out of different ways to teach content.

University Interscholastic League Texas (UIL Texas)

http://www.uil.utexas.edu/

This feed is very important to my career as an athletic coach in the public school system.

I choose this because it provides the updated information about what is going on in the governing body of the athletic system in Texas. It provides rule changes, scores, and other information that is a coach and even athlete would need to know. Many of the feeds are short and to-the-point so that the time scarce coaches can get in, read it, and get out.

CNET News.com

http://news.cnet.com/

This is my favorite feed out of the five I have chosen to write about because it deals with electronic technology; which I love! All the breaking information from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, Verizon, Sony, etc, can pops up right in my RSS reader and I am overjoyed. It provides reviews and questions answered. This is particularly helpful to me not only as an educator of media but also a small media technology business owner. It is imperative that I know whats going on in the world of technology, so that I can keep my students, and my customers informed.

Now that I have discovered the value of these RSS feeds I will be searching for more to feed my quest for information, and I will also be looking for some RSS feeds just for my enjoyment.

BP2_2010051_Educational/Professional Uses for Blogs

9:52 AM
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Many thoughts, many opinions, many entries have been written down in the journals, diaries, and notebooks of children, teens, and adults through out time. Some of these entries have been kept secret, some have been published, and some have been disregarded, but the common denominator is that they have all been documented, expressed and personalized. In recent days the internet has been used in the same way. With the creation of the web-log or “Blog” many of these same people have been given an outlet to write their thoughts, opinions, and entries and do with them what they will. This has been a particularly useful tool in the world of education. “Blogging has the potential to be a transformational technology for teaching and learning” (Jacobs, Williams, 2004 ). Potential is having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future. Blogging in recent years has reached the place it was suggested to be going and is continuing on track to become even more.

As an educator I have just recently turned to blogging for educational purposes. Although I have not implemented them in my lessons, i feel that they are a very important tool for students and teachers to utilize. Much can come from blogging. For instance, teachers can create a blog for students to access online for information about class, posting assignments and student work. They can also communicate with parents to update them about whats going on in class. Students creating their own blogs have great opportunities to do excellent work in a structured digital environment with endless boundaries.

Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios (Crie, 2006). In doing online portfolios it allows for multiple types of learners to be assessed and graded, and it give the student a sense of completion and pride that their work is being exhibited or published online.

In retrospect, I don't think that people really understood how valuable and powerful the use of blogs would be in society and education. As it is now, blogs still have almost a limitless potential for educational uses.

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Crie, M. (2006, February 20). Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom, Education Up Close, Teaching Today, Glencoe Online. Glencoe.com. Retrieved May 8, 2010, from http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47

Williams, J. B., Jacobs, J. (n.d.). AJET 20(2) Williams and Jacobs (2004) - exploring blogs as learning spaces in higher education. ascilite - Home. Retrieved May 8, 2010, from http://ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet20/williams.html

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