Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is growing in popularity and picking up speed in the education world. Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product that needs to be purchased, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devises as a utility over a network like the internet. (Wikipedia, 2011) Essentially things are created, shared, and stored online and the software used to create things are available online rather than stored on an individual computer. These websites do an excellent job at explaining cloud computing:
http://coastalwebdesign.ca/how-cloud-computing-works/
http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2010/chapters/cloud-computing/

Cloud computing is as basic as Gmail or Hotmail, but can include so many other forms. I’ve been using both Gmail and Drop Box for years. Drop Box is an excellent storage system, you can put files from your home computer and work in a drop box folder and you can access them anywhere in the world via the internet. This can also be shared with other so that they too can access the shared files. Here’s a little video to explain drop box:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFb0NaeRmdg

You can start to see the benefit of cloud computing in education. Cloud computing has its place in personal use like Gmail, facebook etc, but it has great use in education. Cloud computing in education is low-cost and a free form of technology: There has been a huge growth in low-cost and free technology for social interaction, publishing, collaborating, editing, content creation, computing, etc. The fact that it can be mobile and is so convenient makes it perfect for education. It is great to use in the classroom because it stores data online, so there is no more “I lost it” from students. Plus it’s a great way for students work collaboratively on assignments wile at home. This type of technology will also become hugely advantageous for online education. I will definitely be using some form of cloud computing in my classroom.

Online Presentations

I just finished creating an online presentation on how advertising effects youth. I used Sliderocket to create my presentation and with that I was able to include pictures, embed videos, and include an audio file. All in all creating the presentation was quite easy. I'm comfortable using Power Point and I found that slide rocket operated the same way making it quite easy to navigate without even looking at the tutorial or needing help.
Heres a link to my presentation if you wanna check it out:
http://app.sliderocket.com/app/sliderocket.aspx?sessionID=002ed0b9-76ef-4009-8ab7-39126c197c4a#


After I completed the whole process I realize how useful online presentations are for something like group projects or as a student, even for companies and business presentations. They have the benefit of being online, so as long as there is access to the internet all the material is stored online and accessible anywhere. This is also beneficial for group projects because more than one person can access and edit a presentation without the need having to meet face to face with the group.

I did run into a few snags with adding sound to my presentation. There wasn't any detailed directions about the type of sound file that could be  uploaded and I did't know anything about recorded sound when I started out. It took me quite along time to figure out that all my recordings wouldn't work because they were not mp3 files and the help information on SlideRocket was no assistance with this issue. That would be my only complaint.

Wiki's in Education

What are Wiki's?


First off I should explain briefly what Wikis are."A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser." (Wikipedia, 2011) Wikipedia is a very common and widely used example of a wiki. (Wikipedia, 2011.) Check out this video it does an awesome job and giving a basic explanation for what wikis are and how they work.

Wikis in Plain English:

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/wikis


Wikis are a great tool to use in the classroom, especially if you want an assignment that is accessible through the internet. It allows students to work together, organizing, creating, and learning a topic without the constraints of working face to face during class time. I think using wikis in the classroom is great for things like study tools. This way the information presented on the Wiki is always there for the students to access at their leisure. It also encourages students to present their best work as they are collaborating and presenting their work to their peers. Wikis are therefore the perfect tool for creating group projects. 


There are several advantages to using Wiki's in the classroom:

• They allow for web based storage of work (you don't have to worry about dogs eating homework, or loosing assignments!)
• They require little to no technical knowledge. (although this assumes a basic knowledge of computers and internet research is already present)
• They can be accessed anywhere, anytime, by any type of computer as long as there is an internet connection
• One user can share his or her work with all of the users at one time.
• A wiki can be protected with a password so you don’t have to worry about the public viewing it. 

Despite the advantages there are some disadvantages to using Wikis in the classroom:

Most of the disadvantages of Wikis have to do with organization and setting clear standards for students contributions to the Wiki.

• Rules and expectations for the Wiki need to be clearly defined and often updated as the Wiki progresses and grows
• The Wiki's content needs to be constantly monitored to be sure that appropriate and accurate content is being uploaded.  This is a very time-consuming task, but is necessary especially if you want your student to be able to use the information on the Wiki correctly.
• Wikis requires students to be connected to the Net and have access to a computer. (This is only an issue if the Wikis are being assigned as homework, or if you expect the information to be accessible as a personal study tool)

All in all I think I would use wikis in my classroom, but I would be sure only to assign marks to a wiki or use it for important issues if I was sure all of my students had access to the wiki at home or had enough class time.
Here's and example of how I would use a Wiki in my science 7 classroom:  Create a classroom Wiki as a unit review or study tool, I would have the students contribute to a makeshift unit 'encyclopedia'.  Each student would be given a term or mini topic, to post about on the wiki. These “mini topics” would contribute to the larger unit topic and serve as a review tool for all the information covered in the unit. This would make study notes accessible to all students via the internet. Students would have to opportunity to add to or edit other students post in order to increase the overall knowledge base and ensure the most accurate and detailed information ends up on the Wiki. However, this wiki would need to be carefully monitored by the teacher to ensure the students are getting the correct information, and a set minimum contribution would need to be established so that everyone is contributing equally to the wiki. This activity would work nicely with the grade 7 Planet Earth Unit, and more specifically the Rock Cycle related learning objectives as there is little to no opinion involved in this topic, so it would all be facts posted on the Wiki (eliminating possible discrepancies among responses).

Listserv's and Discussion Boards

There are several ways to use online discussion tools to enhance learning in the classroom. The key to finding the right discussion tool for you is having a firm grasp on the difference between the two main online discussion mediums: listserv’s, and discussion boards (forums).

A mailing list (listserv) is an electronic discussion tool that is email based.  You must subscribe to the email list and then you can receive the discussion emails and/or participate in them.  The alternative to this is using a discussion board. The difference here is that all the discussion takes place on a web interface and requires the users to go online and check the discussion at their own leisure.

I see a greater ‘classroom’ advantage, especially in the younger grades, to listserv’s. Listserv’s allow a teacher to keep contact with students, parents, and/or peers and send out reminders, assignments, and discussion topics without requiring the students to remember to check a discussion board on their own. Most people are more vigilant about checking their email, rather than remembering to check an online discussion board. I feel like listserv’s are better for keeping contact with your students, and it seems more personal. If I had to choose one for my classroom I much prefer listserv’s. 

Heres an example listserv for science teachers that I think is pretty good.

http://www.nsta.org/membership/listserver.aspx