Week 10 Post

Using Animoto this week was a great experience.  Making a short 30 second video is sometimes just enough time to get a point across in a concise manner.  This week’s topic was on copyright and finding methods of downloading material from approved sources.  Not all original creators allow others to use their work for their own purposes.  Therefore it is important to research whether or not the source has provided approval before using it. 

In terms of using Animoto for educational purposes I do not think that I would be able to use this.  I see this program as more of a tool for personal use.  This is perfect for sending out a quick snap shot of a trip or event to friends and family. 

As for the other creative tools I did a little bit of research on them.  Prezi I have used before seeing it in this week’s lesson and I have a hard time with it.  I need to spend more time with this tool in order to make sure I fully understand how to make an effective presentation.  I have seen others use this tool and it can either be created magnificently or poorly.  It all depends on if the creator knows how the program works.  PowToon is another tool that I have started to see more and more in the classroom setting.  Prezi causes many in the audience to be left dizzy as the information is flying across the screen.  However PowToon provides another alternative to presenting information through the use of animation.

Animoto

This is my video made on Animoto to explain copyright.  All photos used in the video are from sources that allow others to use their pictures.


My Animoto Video

Week 9 Post

As mentioned in my VoiceThread post below if I were to add Voicethreads to my PLE I believe it would be under collaboration tools.  There are tools I like better than Voicethreads however I do see the benefits of it.  As mentioned before I believe that this tool is best used for a teaching method and not so much the creation of group presentations for class.  Google Docs has a better platform when creating a PowerPoint for a class as it is easily transferred from the cloud to a personal computer with no formatting errors. 

As for PollDaddy this is a great tool to facilitate discussion among a group.  Presenting a situation just like in this session to a group of people and having them select an answer without being influenced by the other answers provides an opportunity to answer truthfully.  Having the comment section once an answer is submitted offers the chance to explain your reasoning and how you came to your answer.  Although I do not think this tool would apply to my education at Brock, I do think it would be useful in the right circumstances like creating discussion.

Aside from this week’s tools, I came across an article that discusses another company being targeted by hackers to gain information.  A site called Electronic Arts was hacked and turned into a phishing site where users would login with their Apple ID.  Following a successful login, they would be asked for more personal information.  This is another example of how we all have to be careful and make ourselves aware of the potential threats out in the online world.

Technology Use Scenario

John and his friend Mike both camera phones.  Mike sits in the back of the class and uses his phone to photograph the test for John, who is taking the test that afternoon.  Mike then emails the photograph of the test to John’s phone.

In this situation the student is using technology inappropriately.  The actions that make this scenario inappropriate are the photos taken of the test and sending them to John.  This is a form of academic misconduct and would result in significant consequences if caught by a teacher or proctor.  According to Brock University’s academic misconduct policies, “the penalty imposed may range from zero for the exam or the piece of work to expulsion from the University” (Brock, 2014). 

I understand that cell phones are a growing concern in schools not only for academic misconduct but also for privacy violations and cyberbullying.  That being said I believe that cell phones should either be collected by the teacher before the test in a small setting (high school class for example) or they should be turned off and placed on the floor under the desk just like during Brock final exams.  A ringing cell phone during a test or exam is a distraction and can cause some students to lose focus on the task at hand.  By having the cell phones collected at the beginning of class there is no opportunity for the student to take a picture of the test before leaving the room.  Even having the phone out of arms reach, like under their desk, is also a good option as it’s visible to the proctor or teacher and inaccessible by the student.  The consequences of cheating are far too severe to be practising actions such as taking pictures of the exam while writing it. 

Another option for the teacher is to have multiple versions of each test that they give out that way the tests would not be the same between John and Mike’s classes.  However this path does not fix the issue of having cell phones in exam or test rooms.

Brock University. (2014). Academic Misconduct. Retrieved from http://brocku.ca/business/current/graduate/academic-policies/academic-misconduct 

VOICETHREAD

I believe that this is a tool to be used when putting a presentation or a slideshow together in a group setting.  Being able to add comments either through text, voice or video is an innovative way of explaining your thoughts.  By listening to someone explain their thoughts rather than read them, it becomes easier to understand the context.  Just like in Google Docs, someone can comment while everyone is online at the same time or if one person cannot make the meeting they can add their comments for everyone else to read at a later time.  Using this tool in a teaching setting would also be beneficial for students as it would be more engaging to go online and have an open discussion about a teacher’s lecture from earlier that week.  Also the comments would be a great way for teachers to give their students an opportunity to earn participation grades.  That element would be most effective if there are some more conservative students that are intimidated to participate in class.

If I were to add Voicethreads to my PLE I believe it would be under collaboration tools.  There are tools I like better than Voicethreads however I do see the benefits of it.  As mentioned before I believe that this tool is best used for a teaching method and not so much the creation of group presentations for class.  Google Docs has a better platform when creating a PowerPoint for a class as it is easily transferred from the cloud to a personal computer with no formatting errors.  

Week 8 Post

Wikis allow for ease of use and if used properly can be a great source of information.  A great feature of wikis is the version creation.  I really like the fact that when someone goes and edits a document, a new version is created and you can go back if need be.  Just as common craft explains in their video a wiki allows for collaboration among groups.  All someone has to do is create their wiki site and then begin writing their document.  Those with the link can then go online and edit the site.  Wikis seem very similar to Google Docs as it offers a space for information to shared and edited all in real time.  However I think for school group work I like Google Docs better as it provides the opportunity to have everyone online working on a single document all at once.  Therefore you can edit a paper together and see who is changing what.  Google Docs also supports programs such as Word and Excel which make it much easier when using that for collaborating. 

This week we also learned more about becoming a digital citizen and the rights and responsibilities of living in a digital society.  I feel the most essential parts to our rights and responsibilities are cyberbullying, reporting illegal forms of downloading and ethical use of other’s ideas.  Bullying is a form of abuse that is sometimes hard to detect in victims.  Being able to be behind a computer screen and make fun of others makes it that much easier for bullies to do damage to the victims.  That is why I considered cyberbullying essential under rights and responsibilities.  Illegally downloading or pirating information or copyrighted material is a growing concern for governments and many industries.  It is constantly being reviewed in courts and is an ongoing topic of discussion.  My final point goes to the ethical use of other’s ideas.  It is a student’s responsibility to understand when an idea is not their own and to give the credit to the original owner by citing.  The author of the idea has ownership over what they wrote and need to be recognized for that.

Week 7 Post

I have been using Google Docs for a little while now mainly for my school work.  This week allowed me to dive a little deeper into some of the features I had not discovered on my own.  One of the components of Google Docs that I have used before this course is the forms application.  For one of my courses I was required to create a survey in order to collect data.  Therefore once I had my questions and how I wanted the survey to look I was able to post everything onto my Google Form.  After I made the file live, it was very easy to then send out the link to participants to fill out.  The best feature about Google Forms is that once the data is collected, all of the information is transferred to an Excel file.  This makes it very easy to read and manage.

Another use for Google Docs within academics is working on a group assignment.  Whether the course calls for an essay, presentation or a financial model, everyone can work on the file at the exact same time.  Although it is sometimes easier to have everyone in the same room for a meeting it is not always possible.  Versions of the file are also kept so that changes can be tracked.  This helps when understanding who did what part of the assignment.

Google Docs can also be used in the professional world.  Sometimes when sending out emails with attachments, the files can be too large and the email will not send.  This is a great opportunity to use the sharing feature of Google Docs.  Once a file has been created or uploaded to the owner’s drive, it can then be shared with another email.  The owner can decide whether the recipient of the file can have access to edit or just view the file. 

I believe that Google Docs is a great tool to become familiar with as there are so many great features.  I no longer need to carry a USB stick or even my laptop to school as long as my files are saved to my Google Drive.  No matter where I am as long as I have access to a computer and the internet I can edit my current files and always create new ones.

Week 6 Post

This week I was introduced to a new online tool called Evernote.  Like many tools we are learning in this course I have never used Evernote before.  In order to gain a better understanding of what the website offers I had to do some external research from what the information provided on Sakai.  Evernote offers a variety of different features and even connects to other social media platforms such as Twitter.  Once I get a better grasp on this program I think it will definitely be a significant help with organization for my courses.  Taking notes in class on laptop is so convenient and now I know I can store them online but also view them on not only my laptop but any device that supports Evernote.  Being able to refresh my memory from that one term that slipped my mind is now easily found by searching Evernote on my phone.  Even my tablet has access to Evernote which makes studying a little more portable. 

In adding Evernote to my PLE, especially with connecting to Twitter, it would be connected to my social media tools as well as my schooling and organization.  This seems like such a great tool that is going to make my life that much easier as a student.  Even when I finish my studies knowing how to use a tool such as Evernote I think it will come in handy in the workforce and if not I will definitely maintain it for my personal use!

If anyone is interested I also found this link on my feedly account with some cool apps to enhance your Evernote experience!