Well, I am kind of bummed. I was really hoping that I would love Moodle and that it would just be like second nature learning how to use it, but alas I was wrong.
Moodle was just a little more cumbersome than Blackboard. I was really having to think about the set-up and digging around to find where to put things. Trying to add a survey or questions was difficult or confusing for me. It could be that if I gave it more time that it would become easier. I do plan on playing with it some more because the price just can't be beat, FREE
Blackboard was super easy and user friendly. Although in hindsight I have to wonder if it is just because I have been taking online classes for the last year. Just a year ago I was clueless about Blackboard and now I can't imagine not taking classes online. The convenience factor that BB allows is just too good to pass up.
If I was to use Moodle, I think the first class would take me sometime sketching out how I wanted everything but I sure it would be easier after that. I have been asked to consider developing a curr to use online with some 4-H volunteers and I thought Moodle would be a good venue, however, after this week I will need to do a little more playing around before diving in.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Camtasia vs Camstudio
Well, this one was an easy win hands down! Camtasia has so much more to offer and it pretty user friendly. I did struggle briefly at first but I think it was because I just wasn't focused on what I was doing. After re-focusing it was much easier. When I set it up initially to automatically zoom in....it didn't . So, I did have to put in all my own zooms, etc but it was easy enough to do. I thought the zooms were very smooth and worked well.
Although, I did not have any trouble with Camstudio I do think it is limited...however hard to beat the price...FREE.
In the long run if this is something that I would want to use a lot it would make sense to invest in Camtasia.
Although, I did not have any trouble with Camstudio I do think it is limited...however hard to beat the price...FREE.
In the long run if this is something that I would want to use a lot it would make sense to invest in Camtasia.
Monday, March 7, 2011
E-books
E-books is not something I am terribly familiar with. Of course I have heard of the Kindles and Nooks, etc but I do not own one...as of yet :) I think it is a really interesting concept that many schools both higher ed and high schools are looking at switching from textbooks to e-books.
However, what has intrigued me the most is an article I found on the trends for publishing e-books.
I have always dreamed of publishing a book one day...not sure why, I am not a great writer by any means. I have tons of ideas of things I would like to write about...no idea where to start and the idea of trying to find a publisher, etc is just too daunting.
Maybe the e-books will open the door to writer's that only dreamed of being published, the library may become much larger in the future...now to figure out a pen name :)
However, what has intrigued me the most is an article I found on the trends for publishing e-books.
I have always dreamed of publishing a book one day...not sure why, I am not a great writer by any means. I have tons of ideas of things I would like to write about...no idea where to start and the idea of trying to find a publisher, etc is just too daunting.
Maybe the e-books will open the door to writer's that only dreamed of being published, the library may become much larger in the future...now to figure out a pen name :)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Braineos
Braineos is a website that was recommend by a fellow student (thanks Rachel!)and was one that I wrote down as needing to check-out. It is a website where you can make your own flash cards.
It was an interesting website and some of the things I liked about it were you could easily make your own flashcards or use some of the ones that had been saved to the site. My daughter had just finished learning the European countries and their capitals and those flashcards were already on line...should have looked at this site last week :) Making my own flashcards were quick and easy. I liked the fact that it gave you several different options for playing with them ie: flip, reverse flip, multi-guess and a video game.
I did see two down sides. The first being that I never found a way to print the flashcards. I don't know that this is critical but I should would be nice to use them when you aren't near a computer. The second is that you were limited in the number of characters you could type. For many flashcards it wouldn't be a problem. I tried making my daughter some flashcards for her Awana verses and did not have enough room to type the entire verse.
I do think this is a nice little program for simple memorization of math, capitals or definitions. The student could make their own flashcards to help with the memorization and then use them to play the games.
It was an interesting website and some of the things I liked about it were you could easily make your own flashcards or use some of the ones that had been saved to the site. My daughter had just finished learning the European countries and their capitals and those flashcards were already on line...should have looked at this site last week :) Making my own flashcards were quick and easy. I liked the fact that it gave you several different options for playing with them ie: flip, reverse flip, multi-guess and a video game.
I did see two down sides. The first being that I never found a way to print the flashcards. I don't know that this is critical but I should would be nice to use them when you aren't near a computer. The second is that you were limited in the number of characters you could type. For many flashcards it wouldn't be a problem. I tried making my daughter some flashcards for her Awana verses and did not have enough room to type the entire verse.
I do think this is a nice little program for simple memorization of math, capitals or definitions. The student could make their own flashcards to help with the memorization and then use them to play the games.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Jing!
Another week...another new app!
I have never used Jing before but it was pretty easy to use....once I realized that I kept clicking on the Cancel button instead of the Stop button at the end of the recording. It was odd that it was so easy to share or embed the video. The fact that it automatically copied the info or link on to the clipboard is unusual and I felt like it was almost too easy. The hardest thing about Jing is only having 5 min....as a trainer, I need a lot more time then that. :)
Toodledo is the web 2.0 app that I choose to talk about in the video. I am terrible at making a to-do list. I can make a list but prioritizing and not loosing the list is always a challenge. This little app would keep everything in one place and it helps prioritize for me.
I couple of other sites that I found that seemed with interesting or fun were: Mindmeister for mind mapping, TravBuddy for finding out about location you will be traveling too or restaurants in your own backyard and finally Game Classroom all different kinds of math and language art games for K-6.
Here is my Jing upload:
I have never used Jing before but it was pretty easy to use....once I realized that I kept clicking on the Cancel button instead of the Stop button at the end of the recording. It was odd that it was so easy to share or embed the video. The fact that it automatically copied the info or link on to the clipboard is unusual and I felt like it was almost too easy. The hardest thing about Jing is only having 5 min....as a trainer, I need a lot more time then that. :)
Toodledo is the web 2.0 app that I choose to talk about in the video. I am terrible at making a to-do list. I can make a list but prioritizing and not loosing the list is always a challenge. This little app would keep everything in one place and it helps prioritize for me.
I couple of other sites that I found that seemed with interesting or fun were: Mindmeister for mind mapping, TravBuddy for finding out about location you will be traveling too or restaurants in your own backyard and finally Game Classroom all different kinds of math and language art games for K-6.
Here is my Jing upload:
Cloud Computing...a little cloudy???
After watching this video, I had to chuckle. Here are the tech guru's and I am not sure they agree on how to describe Cloud Computing. By the end I was almost more confused than when I started.
I do believe that I like the lady's version of cloud computing the best; if there is no hardware or software for you to own or download than it is in the clouds, simple and straightforward.
Now Web 2.0 is different because it can require a download and sometimes you can manipulate the software. Two things that you can't or don't have to worry about in cloud computing.
My first experience with cloud computing was with Google Docs. I love it that I don't have to have my laptop or remember by flash drive every time I want to access a document. If there is Internet available then my document is available.
My daughter's social studies/comm arts teacher is now having them do assignments on Google Docs and submitting there assignments via sharing them with her. I think it is great idea. Leaves out the whole, "dog at my homework," excuse. Plus she can track how long or often they worked on the assignment.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Photo Story vs Animoto
Well....there was no comparison in my mind. Photo Story was the one I started with and after so many options and easy of use I was really disappointed with Animoto. I mean was that it? all it had to offer? There was no doubt it might be easier to drop the pictures and share but I didn't find it very user friendly and not many options. Photo Story is the way to go! I had fun and can't wait to make more. I think would also be a great way to involve the girl's in makeing memories of our vacation.
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