Rough Notes and Comments to Self [NOT necessary to read]
Here are my rough notes which I recorded as I went through the 35 top Web 2.0 sites. Rough = not edited or corrected. More journal style, notes to self. You may or may not want to read them, but I think that they are interesting as a record of process, leading to the final product.
(1) Glogster is not free anymore. There is a free trial, which requires a lengthy registration. Not an immediately attractive website. Categorized as “Presentation and Multimedia” -> “Posters”. The discussion page described Glogster, gave numerous video examples of online posters, and discussed similar online poster tools. Too complicated.
(2) Edmodo is free but requires logging in. It is classified under “Discussion and Collaboration” -> “Social Networks”. I found a video tutorial for how to use it: http://www.thwt.org/index.php/discussion-collaboration/social-networks. My initial impression is that it looks like a Facebook page, and that I was not that interested in exploring further. No.
(3) Bubbl.us was listed under Research and Writing -> Mindmapping . The home page featured a “how to use” tutorial and then you start mindmapping. I was able to try this without having to create an identity so this was attractive as a casual user. I had to go through the tutorial to figure it out. I like this one.
(4) Twitter, under Discussion and Collaboration -> Social Networks. Somewhere in cyberspace I have a Twitter account. I have never used it. Seems to me that this is more for frequent smart phone texters. I don’t have a smart phone, and I rarely text with my cell phone. I can see using this in a class where students had the technical capacity to be texting, say with iPads, and it could be useful. No.
(5) WordPress is a blog. Listed under Discussion and Collaboration -> Blogs. This site had a great introductory video on the homepage. Before you can publish, you have to create a username and password and your blog name. I had a WordPress blog once, but since I had already had several blogs on Blogger, it was easier to stick with Blogger. No.
(6) Prezi. It was not immediately obvious to me what this site does. On the homepage there was a very nice video, but that didn’t really explain what a Prezi is. Listed under Presentations & Multimedia -> Multimedia Presentations. Once I read about it on THWT, it made more sense. Looked at some examples on the Prezi site. Kind of a fancy slide show type of presentation. Maybe.
(7) Wallwisher/Padlet. The home page was simple, with multiple examples to view to get the idea. http://padlet.com/ Couldn’t find this on the THWT site. Couldn’t find Pinterest either, and they seem similar, i.e. bulletin board creators. I like this one.
(8) Animoto. The site is easy to navigate and it’s easy to see what you can create with Animoto. Free for 30-second videos. Yes. Presentations and Multimedia -> Powerpoint. http://animoto.com/features. I have made animotos before and like them. No.
(9) Blabberize – this didn’t seem to work anymore.
(10) Weebly – I have used weebly previously to create a library website and a website for the Titanic project I did last year. It took a while to figure out, but once you get it, it’s a great site to use. http://www.weebly.com/ Not this time.
(11) Flikr – I have photos on Flikr somewhere. I have no idea where they are or how to access them anymore. Not sure I would use this in a classroom setting unless I was doing some sort of specific project with photos. http://www.flickr.com/tour. No.
(12) Slideshare. Upload and share Powerpoint slide shows. I never did like powerpoint presentations. No.
(13) AudioBoo http://audioboo.fm/ Create audio files & podcasts on your phone or computer and share. There’s a good introductory video explaining how it works. The good thing is that you can upload audio files to Facebook. Sounding social. Free. Presentations & Multimedia -> Podcasts. http://audioboo.fm/ This looks good. I recently recorded a poem + music soundscape using GarageBand and wanted to upload the audio file to my Facebook page. I couldn’t figure out how to do that, so I solved the problem by creating a photo slideshow using iMovie and had the poem/soundscape as the soundtrack. I think I could have used AudioBoo to upload just the audio file. I’ll try this one.
(14) Voicethread. I tried this once before and couldn’t quite get it to work. I like the idea. Presentations & Multimedia -> Voicethread. There was a good introductory video on the home page. It seems complicated. No.
(15) Google Docs. Discussion & Collaboration -> Google Docs. Not immediately obvious what this does. I had to read about it on THWT. Also, I have a Mac, so I would have to download an application to make it Mac friendly. Maybe.
(16) GoogleSites – broken link from edudemic. This looked like an easy to use website creation platform. Because I have gmail, it is easy to login as I already have a profile. Presentation & Multimedia -> Webpages. Maybe.
(17) Diigo. A good descriptive introductory video. Online bookmarking. A cloud-based information management tool. Other video tutorials available. Research & Writing -> Social Bookmarking. I’ve used delicious.com before. This sounds similar. I really need a way to organize my bookmarks. Yes.
(18) Google Earth. I have never explored this site but it looks GREAT! However, it doesn’t seem to be a creation type of application. Not for this assignment.
(19) Wordle. I love these images. Research & Writing -> “Wordclouds”. I need to download Java to make this application work, but looks easy to create a wordle. Maybe.
(20) Wikispaces. Complicated. “Discussion & Collaboration” -> “Wikis”. Collaborative website. That makes sense. The home page is easy to understand and gives a good description of a wiki. This would take extensive prep and teaching to use it with students. I can see it working with older kids. Not this time.
(21) Wix. Free website builder. Simple homepage with video introduction. Presentation & Multimedia -> Webpages. This looks interesting. Yes.
(22) Ning. Not immediately obvious how this differs from a website. Discussion & Collaboration -> Social Networks. No.
(23) Primary Pad. Easy to navigate homepage. Video tutorial. Not free. Discussion & Collaboration -> Collaborative Writing. Looks interesting, and would be good for older students. Yes.
(24) Spicy Nodes. Well, tried to figure this one out. Seemed like a complicated mindmapping application, and not immediately obvious what it was. Viewed an example. Very nonlinear. Hard to know what to read first as the different nodes came up and to find my way back to where I started. No.
(25) Delicious. I have used this. Last time I used it, it had changed considerably. A good idea cause I really need to organize my bookmarked websites. Research & Writing -> Social Bookmarking. Simple home page. Tired to find my previous account. Couldn’t find it. I think some way of organizing web bookmarks is essential. Maybe.
(26) Myebook. A complicated homepage. I was able to look at one example before having to create a profile. I viewed one book. Takes time to download and view. Presentation & Multimedia -> eBooks. Not now.
(27) Voki. Create an avatar. A busy homepage. Presentations & Multimedia -> Speaking Avatars. Short introductory videos. Free. Seems easy and even young students would like it. Good to help students learn spelling and punctuation because students type in the dialogue which their avatar reads. Yes.
(28) Doink. Create animations. Only for iPad or iPod Touch. No.
(29) Warning Sign Generator. A simple site for creating warning signs. Kids might get into this. Takes about 2 minutes to create a sign. No.
(30) Scratch. Create games, interactive art, music. Good introductory video. Share your creations. Couldn’t make the examples work. I like the fact that you can create music. Yes.
(31) Kerpoof. Presentations & Multimedia -> Digital Storytelling. Rates the different activities according to grade level. Easy site to navigate. Visually simple, good for young kids. Yes.
(32) Popplet. Share visual ideas. Easy to navigate homepage. Simple, visual. Yes.
(33) Tagxedo. Like wordle, but more complex images. Gallery to view projects. Have to install software to create. Maybe.
(34) SmartKiddies. An interactive learning environment in different subject areas. Can’t view activities until you join. OK, I joined. This would take a while. Not sure if it would be student user friendly. The homepage looked good. No.
(35) Bitstrips. Make comic strips. Helps with literacy. Creative. 30-day free trial. Presentations & Multimedia -> Comics. Yes.
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