Technology Assessment

 I found firefox very appealing because it is fast, reliable, and excellent for social websites such as facebook, msn, gmsil and many more. I am more convenient with using this browser than any other browser such as internet explorer or google chrome because if your computer crashes from a power outage it gives you an option of restoring the last session you were working on. This is a benefit to educators and their students because with computers crashing or shutting down out of the blue, students or teachers can log back on to their computers and still go back to their previous session since it is saved. From a scale of 1 to 10, I give firefox a 10.

I was introduce to moodle on my first year of college and from then on I've been using moodle for all my online classes because UOG uses the tool. Moodle is a useful tool and I haven't had much problem with this tool since I was introduce to it. You can easily navigate throughout the page without encountering a problem. It is a great tool for teachers and students to keep updated on assignments, class discussions, and quizzes. From my opinion, moodle deserves a 10.

One of the most useful tool I found very appealing to me was the Google apps. Throughout my 12 years of school, I never knew that Google can do so much more such as emailing, instant messaging, Google hangouts, and Google docs through Gmail. All of these great apps were only introduced to me this semester and I've come to find it very useful for a student who doesn't have the latest word document on her PC or any of the following that Google has. Future educators can use this tool to share documents with other teachers to collaborate on lesson plans and have group meetings through Google hangout about what they can do to enhance student learning within the classroom. Again, I give this app a 10/10.

LiveBinder was very new to me so I had to familiarize myself with how to use it. So far I've been using this tool to help me get organized with my assignment, chapter lessons, and useful resources that I can refer to for future purposes. As an educator, I would use this tool to keep lesson plans, resources, and activities saved. Teachers can have their students create their own live binders online to organize their classwork, notes, and study tips to practice going green within the learning environment. It is also easy to navigate thourgh so I give it a 10/10.

Prezi! My first presentation tool that I strongly recommend for students who bore themselves with powerpoint. Prezi is the best tool to use for presentation because it is convenient and user-friendly. Students can be working on the presentation at the same time without meeting face to face. Another great about Prezi is that it has more graphic designs to choose from than powerpoint. Unlike powerpoint, Prezi can zoom in on one topic of the slide in order not to strain the eyes of the audience. My group and I used Prezi for our first presentation and it was amazing. Prezi is a perfect 10! No doubt about that.

 This site allows one to create their very own website and blog all for FREE! My group and I used this tool to create our website on sexting and textual harassment. It is pretty easy to use and very user friendly. There is no need for fancy HTML codes to help build this site. The steps are easy, convenient and self explanatory, which is why I would recommend it to first time website creators such as myself. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Weebly a 9. 

Wix is another website creator but at a much more professional level compared to Weebly. This tool was probably the first trouble I encountered this semester. It was my first time using this tool and it was unappealing. I found it very challenging to navigate through the presentation while in edit mode. There is no way we can have other group members to edit the presentation the same time you were logged in so it was a struggle. The graphics and design were awesome but this tool was definitely not user-friendly. Unlike Prezi and Weebly where you can navigate through the presentation without anything being changed or not saved, Wix did exactly that. I honestly wouldn't recommend this tool for first-time users because it'll drive you crazy. However, I strongly recommend this tool for businessmen and women.

 WebEx! This fascinating tool allows people to have general meetings through video chat with so many sub-tools provided during the meeting such as the white board, writing utensils, uploading documents and being able to share it with everyone in the meeting. My group and I used this tool to elaborate more on the topics that we are to present for our presentation and the meeting was successful.This app is available on mobile devices such as Android and Apple. Teachers and students can use this app to schedule group meetings while at home, work, or school. You can get things done online without having to waste gas and that is a great way to go green! Although the tool isn't free after the 14- day free trial, I would pay for this app any day and use it rather than Wiggio. 10/10 for this awesome tool.

References:

Accounts.google.com (2013). Gmail. [online] Retrieved from: https://accounts.google.com  /ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=http://mail.google.com/mail/&scc=1&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&emr=1 [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


Google.com (2013). Google. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


Livebinders.com (2013). Organize your resources in an online binder - LiveBinders. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.livebinders.com/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


Moodle.com (2013). Moodle.com - We give you powerful free toolsto help you educate the world. [online] Retrieved from: http://moodle.com/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


prezi.com (2013). Prezi - Ideas matter.. [online] Retrieved from: http://prezi.com/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


Webex.com (2013). Cisco WebEx Web Conferencing, Online Meetings, Desktop Sharing, Video Conferencing. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.webex.com/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


Weebly.com (2013). Weebly is the easiest way to create a website or blog. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.weebly.com/# [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].


Wix.com (2013). Wix Free Website Builder | Wix.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.wix.com/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].

Greetings to Viewers

Did you ever feel like you're running out of tools or resources to use online that you become bore with the same old tool because you weren't lucky enough to be introduce to a whole wide world of reliable apps, tools, and resources that can be used for educational purposes or even personal uses? Well now you can! This binder is specifically dedicated to providing you with some of the common and most used tools that I found very resourceful. 

TAKE A TOUR OF THIS BINDER ABUNDANT IN RESOURCES TO HELP YOU SUCCEED IN THIS HIGH TECH WORLD AND UPDATED WITH TODAY'S GENERATION.

Sexting & Textual Harassment Reflection

           Our topic was on sexting and textual harassment with the combination of digital safety and privacy. It was a very interesting topic for us to discuss and elaborate on due to the many incidents that happen worldwide with this issue. The topics we covered in our presentation are congruent to educational purposes due to the use of Internet at school for learning purposes. When on school property, teachers can block specific websites that are not age appropriate for students and avoid sites that may be harmful to students by having anti-virus programs or software that avoids these types of unwanted predators. All the presentations that were discussed are information that teachers can use for future classes with Internet access for better use of the networking environment. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” (Mandela)

          Teachers should have a lesson plan that educates the students on networking the safe way. Most students are not aware of what they post, what sites they visit and what information that site can use against their will or without even knowing. If I had to create a lesson plan for how to use the Internet safely, I would have my students create a 15-minute video about one of the four topics that our class had presented on. Students will have the chance to show their creativity in making this film and for each member in the group to join. Lesson plans should always have that creativity for students to test and show off their talents.

          Our group used google hangout for communication because Wiggio didn’t work out for us. Our WebEx 14-day free trial expired so we were left with google hangout. It was successful compared to wiggio. I don’t recommend wiggio because there were too many errors and difficulties that we came across. If our WebEx 14-day free trial didn’t expire then it would’ve been the tool to use for this project because it doesn’t have much installation to it and we had successful meetings through the tool unlike wiggio.

          The assignment was very helpful for future references. Not only did we educate our audience but we had also educated ourselves, which I am very aware of and happy about. I wouldn’t change this assignment even if I have the chance. It’s fun, informative, and creative. Many professors should never forget to input creativity into their lesson plans and I very much love the fact that Dr. Cyrus encourages us all to bring out creative sides.

References:

Wiggio.com (2013). Wiggio - Makes it easy to work in groups.. [online] Retrieved from: http://wiggio.com [Accessed: 21 Nov 2013].

Webex.com (2013). Cisco WebEx Web Conferencing, Online Meetings, Desktop Sharing, Video Conferencing. [online] Retrieved from: http://webex.com [Accessed: 21 Nov 2013].

Goodreads.com (2013). Quotes About Education (1558 quotes). [online] Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/education [Accessed: 21 Nov 2013].

Assistive Technology: A Life Changing Experience

Most teachers who assist or deal with students with disabilities know little of assistive technologies that could help their students enhance their education and be more prepared on the content area. In this video, technology plays an essential role to these students’ participation and success story. Achievements are possible for these students with the help of technology such as Lukas Bratcher, who sets a great example of determination without letting his disability degrade him for the goals he wants to reach. “Assistive technology is the major foundation of my life.” (Sweeney-Martini) Susanna made it through life and education with the help of technology. Mobility, completing tasks, and communication are all dependents of technology in Susanna’s case. Susanna uses voice activated software to complete written assignments.

Having a student who has a disability brings you to revising and bending the lesson for everyone to participate in. Creating a lesson plan for a diverse classroom takes creativity, passion, and always having the proper technology present in order for the lesson plan to be successful. After completing your lesson plan, you should have colleagues or professionals of your content area review and critique what you have provided. Teachers can assess if the student’s needs have been met and completed successfully in order to see if a lesson plan is being effective.

 I have a cousin who’s partially blind and technology plays a big role in her life because she uses a device called VisionBook that helps zoom in on documents for her to easily read without straining her eyes. This helps her complete class assignments and homework within the time period given for the assignment. 

Therefore, assistive technology opens up a gateway of connection to a world of information that may have remained in silence. On the other hand, if teachers don’t have assistive technology within their class activities or lesson plan, students with disabilities may have troubles learning, feel isolated from the class, and fail academically. As an educator, it is important that our classroom structure, lesson plans, and activities meet the necessities of our students, whether disabled or not to guarantee that every student is participating and has their needs provided for.

References

The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2005, February 02). Assistive-Technology: Enabling Dreams [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video

Educational Game Online Reflection

           The task that I found most challenging for creating the rubric for our game was the clarity of the rules because the game only provides a narrative story. The rules were within the story line because it is simple. It goes along with the story before you play the game. All you have to do in the game is solve the given problem in order to kill the aliens from taking over your planet. This educational game is suitable for students within the elementary level of math especially 5th graders. My content of area is special education with no emphasis on any subject. However I could use the educational game to get my students participating in the lesson particularly math. Kids with disabilities have a hard time coping with lessons that are bore so with Math Apocalypse's excellent graphics and design of the game, it would catch students’ attention and lure them into playing while not knowing that they are solving math problems. Sometimes the best way to learn is by having fun and not having to worry all the time. "Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.'' (Jordan) 

           In order to establish the understanding of the educational game, I will revise the rubric grading on the rules. Instead of keeping the rules hidden in the narration and hoping that they will figure it out on their own. "You have to learn the rules of the game and then you have to play better than anyone else."(Einstein) You should always make it clear to your students what the rules are. Otherwise they will be left behind. 
          
        Our group used wiggio to communicate with each other when we were unable to make it to our meetings and whenever one is absent we would use wiggio to update each other on the project and what parts we are assigned to for the game. It was a successful communication tool for us and we will be using this for our upcoming projects and presentations.

References:

Albert Einstein. (n.d) BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from BrainyQuote.com Website: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins386089.html Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/citation/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins386089.html#DUD032kXvkU00IoM.99

Michael Jordan. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/michaeljor163540.html Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/citation/quotes/quotes/m/michaeljor163540.html#uPlpi1kSMwBGTjzm.99

VOKI

Beautiful Day

It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university. It is a beautiful day at the university.