BP13_2010044_CommentonAnother'sBlog#5

Here is my link to my comment on Paul Devoto's blogpost.

BP12_2010043_OneMinuteMessage#2

(photo taken by Jeffrey Gordon)

One Minute Message for Betterme.com

BP11_2010043_LinktoCommentonAnothersBlog#4

(Screenshot taken from Bill Carrigan's website)

Link to my comment on Bill Carrigan's blog.

BP10_2010043_LinktoCommentonAnothersBlog#3

(Screenshot from Josh's site)

Here is the link to my comment on Josh Randolph's post:

Comment on Josh Randolph's post about Ning.

BP9_2010043_Web2.0Tools#3_Betterme

Betterme.com is a Web 2.0 tool that allows anonymous feedback to be given. This tool can be used to get honest opinions from students or co-workers without them feeling like they will be scrutinized because of their opinion.

Betterme.com is very simple to use. You can give feedback, get feedback, or ask for feedback by simply filling out the forms under each category. Once the form as been completed, it is submitted via email to your intended audience. After the feedback has been submitted, a rating is given to the person who asked for feedback. This rating helps to identify the usefulness or ineffectiveness of what was being given feedback.

Perhaps the one thing I do not like about betterme.com is the delivery method. When asking for feedback, you are asked to submit email addresses to deliver the feedback form. I would prefer this form generates a link that could then posted on a website, or emailed out to people. Having to import individual emails addresses seems a bit primitive in a web 2.0 tool.

This tool could be very beneficial for my AR project if my surveys don’t get the results I am looking for. I could use this as a supplemental way to measure the successfulness of the video messages we are implementing as a form of communication. I am very interested to see the feedback that we will get using video messages as new forms of communication. We have too many people that will be viewing the video messages to get individual responses, so a tool like betterme.com could be just what we are looking for.

BP8_2010042_OneMinuteMessage#1

(Photo taken by Jeffrey Gordon)

My one minute message promoting onetruemedia.com.

BP7_2010042_LinkCommentonAnothersBlogPost2

I commented on Allison Sheridan's blog post for the Web 2.0 Tool Create a Graph. The link to her post and my comment is below:

http://asheridan08.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp52010042web20tool2createagraph.html

BP6_2010042_LinkCommentonAnothersBlogPost

I commented on Sally's Web 2.0 tool Voki. Here is the link:

http://sallylanius.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp52010042web20tool2.html

BP5_2010042_Web2.0Tools2OneTrueMedia

Onetruemedia is a Web 2.0 that allows anyone to create video montage that can then be shared by embed codes, links, or even DVD’s. I chose this site because I have clients that have asked me to create video montages for weddings, birthdays and anniversaries in the past. I always knew how easy it was to create these montages and now, with a site like onetruemedia.com, anyone can do it with ease.

Onetruemedia allows the user to upload photos or videos, or link to external sites, such as flickr to access media. The user then chooses a style they would like their montage to follow. Popular models are scrapbook, graduations, first love, etc. After choosing a style, the user can then add special effects, transitions, captions, and music.

After the user has created the montage they like, they can share it with who ever they desire. Onetruemedia offers multiple ways to share your montage. The easiest way is to create a link to your montage that you can share with people. Another way to share your montage is by embedding it into your website or blog using the embed code created by onetruemedia. Another way to share your montage, and perhaps the way that would prevent me from gaining any more clients, is by DVD. Onetruemedia will create a high quality DVD of your montage that you can purchase.

This tool is great for people to use media to tell their stories. I will share this newly discovered Web 2.0 with my friends and family because I know they will love to create their own montages….and stop expecting me to do it for every occasion! Great tool!

Here is an example of a montage that you might enjoy.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

BP4_2010041_Web2.0Tools

Slowly paddling towards Web 2.o's power. (Photo taken by Jeffrey Gordon)

Overview

Since this whole Web 2.0 thing is new to me, I wasn’t sure which tool to choose to implement in my work, so I didn’t go that that direction. I decided on a tool that could help my friends and I find something to do on a Saturday night. The tool I came across is gigzee. This site allows you to search your area for live local music. It let’s you know what band is playing, where, what time, and in some cases even let’s you buy tickets. So if you are looking for something to do tonight, go to gigzee and maybe it can help you out.

Review of this site

Overall, I found this site pretty helpful to find local music in my area. There where quite a few options found in Boston, which is 45 minutes away, but the options where limited in Worcester, MA which is just 15 minutes away. Worcester is the third largest city in New England so you would think more information would be on the site. I did compare Worcester to Providence, RI (45 minutes apart from each other, and approximately the same size city) and did find Providence to have some more options. Because of this, I would recommend this site to anyone who is looking to find live local music in a big city, but would hesitate to recommend it to anyone in smaller cities. Of course this is based on the cities in my area. You might find different results in your area.

BP2_2010041_EdUsesForBlogs

There are numerous tracks to get us to our destination, but they will all get us there. (Photo by Jeffrey Gordon)

Since there are hundreds of educational uses for blogs, let’s focus on how blogs are used in technology education. The Learning Master Blog (2010) released its Top 50 Educational Technology Blogs on March 5. This list contains blogs with numerous topics such as new philosophies, new tools, new methods, and teaching experiences and all bloggers are teachers (The Learning Master Blog, 2010). What better to spread educational information than by teachers and trainers.

Since technology is changing so rapidly and new tools are being developed almost daily, it’s extremely difficult to keep up with these changes without tapping into other people’s research. Kim Cofino (2010), author of “always learning”, gives a breakdown of a new system K12.com may be implementing for online learning in grades k-12. It is an intriguing idea that all learning could be done online in the future, and a great idea at that. Schools interested in this method could go to K12.com and learn how to proceed in that venture. Ewan McIntosh’s edu.blogs.com has been focusing recently on learning and gaming. McIntosh (2010) states “Gaming, and specifically play, make up a large part of our understanding of media literacy, and engaging the senses on more fronts would make for some fascinating transmedia learning experiences” (para. 8). McIntosh includes examples of game ideas, as well as a concept model to follow when creating educational games. Anyone looking to create a game could go here to learn the basics of how to do so. The Whiteboard Blog created by Danny Nicholson goes into great detail on the different ways to use a whiteboard in the classroom. Nicholson’s (2010) self-proclaimed specialty is whiteboards, but there are other technologies for people to learn how to use at this blog.

These are just a few examples of how blogs are used in educational technology. Imagine how many blogs are out there for anything you may want to learn. The resources seem endless from people with first hand knowledge and experience.

I’ve enjoyed researching into this, I honestly did not know there were this many blogs out there.

References

Cofino, K. (2010). International Schools and the Rise of Online Learning. Retrieved from http://kimcofino.com/blog/

McIntosh, E. (2010). Game-Based Living: The Core of New Media Literacies [Part 1]. Retrieved from http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2010/03/gamebased-living-the-core-of-new-media-literacies.html

Nicholson, D. (2010). The Whiteboard Blog: Interactive Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.whiteboardblog.co.uk/about/

The Learning Master. (2010). Top 50 Education Technology Blogs. Retrieved from http://bestonlinemastersdegrees.com/2010/top-50-education-technology-blogs/

BP3_2010041_RSSFeeds

RSS Feeds are like footprints left on our iGoogle page. Photo taken by Jeffrey Gordon

I chose 5 feeds that will keep me informed on industry news and releases that my company could benefit from.

1.) Adobe Blogs - We use Adobe CS4 Production Premium for all production so knowing what is new with Adobe, especially new products and upgrades, will help keep our software up to date.

2.) CNET News - This will help us stay up to date with all the latest news and new products in the video industry.

3.) Creative Cow Blogs - I use Creativecow.net for online tutorials and forums when looking to solve a problem or learn how to do something video related.

4.) DV Magazine - You can never have enough knowledge about new techniques and products when it comes to video.

5.) Lynda.com Blog - I've really enjoyed our gift from Full Sail, so why not take advantage of all Lynda.com has to offer by receiving there latest news and releases.

BP1_2010041_iGoogleScreenShots

Here are the screen shots for my iGoogle page. I really am impressed by the power of Google!

1.)WGO Tab

2.) FSO Tab

3.) AR/CBL Tab

4.) ETC Tab