Top Ten Tools Summary

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been posting my top ten tools list. Here a summary of my top ten tools:

Delicious
YouTube
Blogger.com
PowerPoint
Google Calender
Zotero
Wisemapping
Many Eyes
Ning
Periodic Table of Videos

Top Ten Tools: Periodic Table of Videos

My last tool I chose, not because I use it in my teaching, but because I just love it! For me, the Periodic Table of Videos is a fascinating tool that should be used as an ideal example of good use of e-learning. Using the periodic table as an index, video shorts (2-12 minutes long) explain each of the elements in very engaging ways. In addition to the "facts" about the elements, the element itself is shown, its properties are demonstrated using lab experiments, and the importance of the element is placed into every day context. The energy and excitement of the scientists in the video shorts makes this very engaging.

Affordances

I could see this as a prototype for many other similar interactive sites. For example, a company could have small videos of personnel explaining what their jobs were linked to an organizational chart. A complex product or service could have components linked to it's blueprint or brochure, giving more indepth information about the product and its use. A complex model could be used to introduce the application in different contexts. Another possibility would be to use a map with the various subsidiaries or offices, along with a video about that locations' culture and practices, and the perception of where they fit into the organization.

Top Ten Tools: Ning

This year, I have not used Ning as an instructor but rather as a student. I have participated in the work literacy course and the Corporate Learning Trends and Innovations 2008online conference.

Ning is a very powerful and flexible environment in which social networking, resource sharing, and forums can all be included in one location. An individual can start a Ning (for free), then invite members into the Ning. There are different levels of privacy, but, like facebook, a member needs to ask for membership to enter the Ning.

How it works

I am not familiar with the set up of Nings, although those that used it have said it is easy to do so. A person must first register with the site. As a participant and member, I have the option to create a profile with as much or little information as I want, including a picture, location, profession, and gender. This is done very simply by answering questions after you have registered for a Ning. This profile can be modified (adding more information, changing pictures, etc...)at any time.

I would log into the home page of the Ning in which I was participating. Although this page may vary depending on who is managing the Ning, usually there was a menu which included announcements, new posts to discussion forums, and new additions to the membership, resources, and video section. There are tabs at the top of the homepage which allows you to go to your own home page and have "private" conversations (not broadcasted to the group at large, but still viewable to your "friends"), access uploaded videos, review the forum discussions (including identifying new posts), seeing the newest tweets or other feeds, or even blogging within the site.

Affordances

This is a social networking site that allows for participants to create their own space within the Ning. Those that prefer to learn through discussion forums, can do so. Those that want to blog to learn, can do so. There is also great opportunity for collaboration and sharing of resources, all within on area.

However, for the Ning to work and be sustained, there does need to be a facilitator who will facilitate communication both within and outside of the ning to maintain interest. This might include e-mail updates to members (which the Ning has the ability to do), creating and organizing some structure for discussion forums, and maintaining social protocols to ensure group interaction.

Top Ten Tools: Many Eyes

This year I have tried to include the importance of visualization in my teaching. One of the most powerful tools to teach this concept has been ManyEyes. This site allows you to import data to create different visuals. By using the same data, my students are able to see the impact that different types of visuals have. It is an especially strong tool to use in teaching visual rhetoric.

How it works

I would suggest that you register for the site as you can upload data and save different visualizations. Once you have registered, I would upload a data set you might have worked on. You then click on visualizations and your data set will automatically be formatted into the chosen visualization. You might also want to try different visuals using the same data set. You can then save the visual and/or make it public for others to comment on.

Affordances

I have given students an optional assignment to use Many Eyes to create different visuals from the same data. They then have been required to integrate the visual into a presentation, comparing the different types of visuals and analyzing the impact each one has on interpreting the same data. This helps in teaching data analysis, statistics, and the multiple interpretation of the same data.

As mentioned above, this site also allows for comments, collaboration in developing visual representation of data, and development of visual rhetoric skills.

Top Ten Tools: Wisemapping

I like to use mindmaps and diagrams when I am working on new concepts or research. I find that visualization helps be make connections between concepts. At this point, I still find a paper and pencil is the strongest tool I have for this. However, I did use Wisemapping this year to create a mindmap I could share.

I found wisemap to be the easiest mindmapping software to use in a non-linear manner, allowing for the connection of ideas in multiple directions and the addition of links to resources outside of the mindmap. While I find it still a bit too linear for the way that my mind works, it does allow for the connection and expansion of ideas in a more spatial way than the other mindmapping software.

Affordances

Wisemap allows for the linking of ideas and outside resources to concepts. It also allows for the sharing and commenting on the mindmap (collaborative learning). This mind map also allows for spatial thinking and planning. I would like to try to use this more interactively with my students in the next year.

Top Ten Tools: Zotero

Zotero is a personal research tool that both my children and I use extensively. In fact I often use it in collaboration with delicious. Currently it is a download technology that allows you to save information about a website and then, integrating that information as a citation in papers using Word.

How does it work?

As I (or my children) search through sites, I will click on the Zotero icon which will capture citation information in its data base. This might include author, title, date accessed, URL address, date written, and other bibliographic information. I can then add notes or add further information that might have not been captured from the web. When I am ready to write a research paper, I then click on the Word Extension that can be downloaded and added to the Word toolbar.

In order for Zotero to when writing a Word Document, foxfire must be open. As I type the paper and come to a part that needs to be cited, I click on the "insert citation" icon. I can choose the citation format that I will be using (including MLA, APA, and University of Chicago--in text and/or footnotes) and the citation will grab information from the database and automatically format it to go into the word document. This will then be added to a bibliography at the end of the paper without any additional key strokes.

There are two limits to Zotero. First, if there are other non-web based resources you are using, you will need to manually type in a new entry into the database as Zotero does not work well with adding citations in Word. Secondly, currently Zotero is a computer dependent software. As such, if you are using multiple computers, you must either make sure the database is the same for all computers or use one computer to write a paper. I have started to use delicious to save the citations, which I then download into Zotero. There has been talk about having a web-based version of Zotero, which I think would add to it.

Affordances

Zotero is a database which helps to organize information and resources. It is definitely a personal learning object. Users can take notes, save resources to come back to, and even save resources (by creating a snapshot of the site) based on the date it was published, even if the resource is taken down or no longer available. Zotero also allows for the storage of resources other than in a paper format.

Top Ten Tools: Blogger.com

I have tried two other blogging software, but you can tell from this blog that I currently use Blogger.com. I really like this blogging software for several reasons: it is easy to set up, it is easy to add on features without having to know HTML, it allows for customization as you get to know the software better.

Blogger.com for dummies

The first step in using blogger.com (as my students found out early) is to set up a google account. Once you have a goggle account, you simply click on "blog" in the menu bar on the top of the goggle page. You then can click on "create a blog". Up will come a menu that asks you to name your blog. I would use a title that gives the essence of what you will blog about. In my case, I wanted to include a blog that looked at international communication, learning, 21st century tools, and international business. This is why I chose Connecting 2 the world. I used the number 2 to differentiate my blog somewhat.

The next thing to decide is your URL address. Make this simple for both you and your readers to find. This usually means use the title of your blog (without spaces). Sometimes, if you have a blog with the same title (such as elearning blog) you might have to change the url. However, I would suggest changing your blog name so it is distinct.

Finally, choose a template for your blog. Often this is based on personal choices. You might find (as I did) that when you actually look at how the blog looks with pictures, graphics, or even the length of your posts, that one template is better than another for your blog. In addition, you might want to change your "image" which a blog template might project. You can always change the template later on (although I would warn your readers when you do so they know it is the same blog, just a different look). Now your blog is set to go. You only have to click on "create post".

Choose an engaging title, then start typing in the box below. You can change font, add pictures, do a spell check, add video, and add links using the icons above the text box. Unless you know html, make sure you click on compose as this gives you a user friendly view of what the blog will look like (including pictures)

To add a picture, simply click on the picture icon, browse in your picture file, choose whether you want the picture to the side right, side left, or above text, then "upload" and the picture will automatically be added.

The first page of blog when you come back to the blog is the "dash board". This is the control center. To design your blog, click on settings. This gives you options on how you want to moderate our comments, who can comment and who can author the blog, security, email, etc... I would recommend that you just scroll through and see what the options are.

Layout allows you to add tools to your blog such as a blog roll (links to blogs you read or recommend), subscription tools (I strongly suggest you add this as it allows readers to subscribe to your blog, giving updates when you post), add followers (those that want to admit that they subscribe to your blog), and a personal introduction about who you are and what your blog is about.

I suggest that you play around with the different features of the blog. After you add new tools, you can click and drag the box (indicating the tool) to different places on your blog to order the features however way you think makes sense for your blog.

Affordances

While there has been much written about how blogs should be written, there is less written about the features of the blogs that allow for different affordances. I find that blogger.com allows for a greater level of collaboration than other blogging software I have used. It allows an easy way to have multiple authors (I had my class as authors for my one blog). The followers option also allows for linking blogs.

Another affordance is to use google analytics to analyze readers and traffic to the site so writers can get a better idea of who their audience is. This is especially important to my teaching as I spend a lot of time teaching audience analysis and the impact this has on communication.

Finally, the design options allows for multiple designs and the ability to test out different designs and its impact on audiences.

Top Ten Tools: Powerpoint

Now many may have an idea of how powerpoint can be used in learning and elearning. We are all familiar with Death by Powerpoint. However, I don't use powerpoint as a presentation medium as much as a springboard for interaction and a nice program to develop graphics.

Affordances

Many already know how to use powerpoint as a presentation platform. However, it is much more powerful. Taking a page from one of my professors, I use powerpoint in place of the chalkboard, almost like a whiteboard. Leaving the powerpoint in the editing mode, I type in key points. I can then save these ideas and post them to the internet (either blackboard or slideshare). Sometimes I will have a title to solicit information from the class, which I type into the powerpoint. This allows me to create a student generated resource, which students can access later. This also helps students that might have had to miss class.

My students in my online classes have used powerpoint as a collaborative document, in which each member designs a part of the powerpoint, then a final powerpoint show is put together either by the group as a whole editing, or using one designated editor. Students then post the powerpoint to present to the group as a whole. This process makes powerpoint a learning tool as students work collaboratively to put the final document together. Many of my students create hypertext and links with their powerpoints.

Finally, I find powerpoint has the best graphic capacity through its chart templates and drawing tools. My daughter uses powerpoint in her spare time to create pictures and design clothes. The various options available to crop pictures, add texture, and change colors makes it easier than some more expensive software I have tried in the past. The size of powerpoint makes it easy to see models. I have designed models in the past, then taken a screen shot which is then used in Word. At this point, this is the only graphic program I use. I have found, more and more, that powerpoint allows my students to develop creatively. In some cases, my students have developed interesting visuals, in other cases, they have integrated music, and in still other cases, they are able to hyperlink and present ideas in a spacial rather than linear way.

Top Ten Tools: Google Calender

My second top ten tool is Google Calender. This is a relatively new tool, but already I find it is invaluable as I have access to my calender from any internet connection. This means I can make appointments regardless which computer I am using. In the past, I would have a calender that I would carry around, and if I lost the calender or ran out of time (year or semester end), I would have no way of making appointments with confidence. Now, I can access google calender and determine what days I have open and what is happening a year from now if necessary.

Google Calender for Dummies

This really is a dummy proof tool. I am not sure if you first need to have a google account, however, the calender comes up on the tool bar of gmail. Simply click on "calender". You then have the option to look at a month, week, or day view of your schedule. You click on the time you want to create an event and a menu will come up. You can also just type in the information on the calender itself (meeting with John 11:45-12:30) and the event will be created. Make sure you click on "create event" to make it permanent.

You can easily delete an item also (this was always a problem I had with outlook). Simply right click on the event and a menu will come up that includes "delete event".

Affordances

I find this useful because of its portability. I can access the calender on my computer in my classroom (if someone wants to make an appointment with me), any of my 3 computers I use in 3 different locations, and, if I had internet connection (or I should say, if I could figure out how to use it) on my cellphone, I could access the calender anytime, anywhere.

One additional use, however, just came to light last week. You can set up different calenders for different groups and then share schedules for planning purposes. Although this is a new use for me, I am thinking of having students use the calender to help keep me informed about their group activities outside of class, including creating work schedules and using the calender for task management. I also am thinking of using the calender as a form of a syllabus and informing students when there are changes in due dates. In this case the calender can be used for the affordances of collaboration, planning, and information sharing.

My top 10 tools: Delicious

I know that Jane Hart will be compiling a new list of top 10 tools in the near future. Every time I see her call for contributors, I am in the middle of a major project. So as the year ends, I decided to do things different and spend the next 10 days listing a different tool in my top ten, and why it is important. Also, in line with my desire to begin to identify the affordances of a tool and therefore, how that tool could be used (which instructional goals can be met, limitiations of the tool) will also be included.

Today's tool is top on my list for this year: Delicious. Delicious has become a life saver for me in my teaching, my research, as I move from computer to computer, and as I try to share resources with my colleagues, especially those I am trying to help into the 21st Century.

Delicious for Dummies (I'm not saying that I think my readers are Dummies, but rather using the format used in ".... for Dummies" books!!)

For those that may have heard of delicious, but really don't know how you could use it or how it works I will give some general information. Delicious is a public site of "links". I initially used it by going on delicious and searching for resources (without joining). You type in a key word and links that people have saved using that key word can be found. Once I became more accustomed to the features of delicious (I am definitely NOT an early adopter), I found I could keep links I found when working on multiple computers, in multiple locations (home, work, the library) in one place accessible through the web, regardless of where I was.

This year, I began to use delicious as a way to keep track of sites and links I wanted to use in my classes. As I teach technology and communication courses with only one computer in my classroom, I wanted to be able to demonstrate what I was teaching. Delicious made it easy for me to identify my links quickly, so I had less set up for the various sites I was going to. In the classroom, I could not save URL's so using delicious made it possible for me not to have to type in the same sites over and over.

As a member, you will have the ability to download a toolbar addition to your browser. What this means is that an icon will be added to your browser, and when you want to add a link to delicious or access your delicious account, you need only click on the icon. The directions for adding this accessory is very easy to follow (even my sisters have been able to figure it out--and they're old!).

Two other features newbies need to know about are tags and Notes. The one pet peeve I have with delicious is that tags can only be one word. So if you have a two word descriptor, such as international communication, you will need to either use an underscore (international_communication) or put together the terms without a space (internationalcommunication). I would recommend deciding from the beginning which you will do and sticking with that. However, you then need to understand that others will use both formats when tagging their own information.

I use the notes for two reasons. First, it reminds me of why I chose a link so it helps me to find links I saved for my classes or dissertation. Secondly, it helps others decide if they want to click on the link when they come across the resource on my list.

This leads me to the social networking feature of delicious. Once a member, you can do a search using tags that will allow you to access others links. I found one member that must be doing a similar dissertation project as he not only saved my delicious account, but had many links that I had been searching for.

Affordances

At first, many might look at this as just a depository of information. However, I have also used it as a means of sharing sites (through tags with group names, such as the course number or project name). This allows groups to create a database of resources. Delicious also allows for collaboration, broadcasting of information, and social networking.

Instructional Design requirements

Integrating delicious into the classroom can be as easy as giving a link to a list identified through the class number (i.e. delicious.com/vmyonkers/ACOM203). However, if it is going to be used as a collaborative tool, the group needs to come up with a way in which they will share the information (either creating a separate account for the group, friending others to your list, or creating a common tag for shared resources).

I would be interested in knowing how others use delicious and what affordances they see in the use of this tool. Also, how do you integrate it into your instructional designs?