Purcell et al.
(2013) state, “A survey of 2,462 Advanced Placement (AP) and National Writing
Project (NWP) teachers finds that digital technologies have helped them in
teaching their middle school and high school students in many ways.” Because
educators should embrace 21st century learning, it is important to
discover and evaluate technology tools that could be incorporated into the
classroom. I would be assessing eight technology tools based on my personal
experience.
Rating Scale:
1 - Do not use!
2 - Not recommended
3 - Neutral
4 - Somewhat recommended
5 - Highly recommended
As a college
student, I favor MOODLE, because it is a useful resource. It has features such
as calendar to remind what assignments are due and specific breakdown of the
grades. I am able to obtain brief description of the weekly lesson depending on
the professor. If the professors provide materials or resources for the
students, they have the option of exploring and even downloading it. It also
helps maintain communication with the professors, which I believe is more
effective than obtaining individual email like some professors do. When
submitting assignments, MOODLE will send a confirmation email. In the past, I
have experienced problems regarding communication and submission, because they
never received my email. MOODLE is more reliable, but it has its flaws. At
first, MOODLE was difficult to use and it has its glitch. Also it lacks
creativity, because it does not give much option to modify settings.
Michael Muchmore
(2014) states “Firefox remains a favorite among the browsing cognoscenti for
its leading customization possibilities, attractive design, and open-source
provenance.” I started using
Firefox for ED-271 class, but I am not crazy about it. I do like the simplicity
of Firefox. It is also safe and customizable, but from personal experience, it
is slow. I downloaded Firefox on my MacBook Pro to test it, but it takes a
while for a page to load in comparison to other browsers such as Safari and
Chrome.
I believe LiveBinders is a great resource for both students and professionals to reference from based on other’s experiences and opinions. LiveBinders is user friendly and auto saves frequently. When I made my account, I did not have any difficulty making and editing my binder. I am able to insert videos and websites, so viewers can see without having to click on the link. One downfall would be that not all websites and resources could be presented. LiveBinders is meant to simply display the URL or HTML that is inserted. LiveBinders can resize an image that was inserted, but other than that there is no feature to edit images or do voice over. User would have to utilize other technology tools to create videos and avatars.
Google apps have various features that
attract variety of people. Google apps include YouTube and BlogSpot, which are
popular to many young people. I thought Google was simply just a search engine,
but as I began to explore it features, I was dumbfounded. Google drive allows
the user to save important files online such as spreadsheets, documents, and
PowerPoint. Users can share the file to anyone who has an email account even from
different providers. But only a Gmail user can edit the files upon creator’s
approval. As a college student, Google drive has helped group members to work
effectively together at the same time without having to physically meet. The
only problem I have with Google apps is that loading takes a bit of time in
comparison to using Hotmail.
PowToon is free and easy to use with
various animations to choose from. The only limitations with the free version are
that some sounds and animations cannot be utilized. I believe those that are
provided for the free version are good enough. It has various backgrounds,
transitions, and text animations. Also users have the option of uploading their
own music and images. In PowToon, users can record their own voices and music.
It provides options to search images based on approval from creators, so
there’s no fear of running into copyright issues. The downfall is that once the
user uploads an image, user can no longer edit it.
Joomag
is a free eBook creator that can be used for various purposes such as promoting
businesses or raising awareness. Although I love the appearance of the eBook, I
had difficulty using the website. Because Joomag lacks essential directions to
utilize this website, I was lost. I had to learn through many trials and errors,
which was time consuming. It was a hassle to even add a page on Joomag, because
I could not directly do it while I was editing. I originally thought Joomag was
not capable of inserting HTML, but with research, I realized I could through
the hotspot feature. Joomag allows user to add videos and images. I appreciated
that Wix had variety of editing options, but Joomag only has the option to add
effects to text and images. In comparison to other technology tools, Joomag was
limiting.
Masher is a free tool to create video mash-ups. Signing up for Masher is easy to do. Users can upload images and video clips. Users can add texts as well. The process of creating video mash-ups is easy, but there are huge limitations. The options are very limited regarding themes. The site states that there are more themes coming soon, but as of now, there are only four themes. Users are unable to do any voice over or recording directly from the site. Also users cannot edit video clips that were uploaded.
Wix is a free website builder that is
easy to use. With Wix, anyone can showcase their creativity to their maximum
potential. There are 280 beautiful templates, but once the user selects a
template, there is no way to change it. Even in the free version, users are
able to access all tools, so the limitations are bearable. I enjoy features
such as the editing tools to fix and enhance uploaded images, which was one
component that a lot of technology tools lacked.
Muchmore, M. (2014, March 12). Firefox 27. PCMAG. Retrieved from
Purcell,
K., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., & Friedrich, L. (2013). How Teachers Are Using
Technology at
Home and in Their Classrooms. Pew Research Centers Internet
American Life Project RSS.