Website Evaluation: VirtualEnvironments.info

Although my class assignment was to write a review of one of the two websites I evaluated, I decided to write an additional brief blog on the second of my two websites as well. Although the NEA site (see previous post) provided me with enough information to write the required-length essay, this Virtual Environments website brought something to my attention that I wanted to share.

The Virtual Environments website (http://www.virtualenvironments.info) appears to be a fairly comprehensive resource of information and comparisons of virtual environments - the interaction of people through a computer-based simulated environment. It includes summaries of articles on the topic. It appears to be a helpful and informative website for teachers and others who wish to learn more about virtual environments.

HOWEVER ~

One of the most important aspects to evaluating a website is the issue of validity and reliability. Although the information found here appears to be accurate, there is a major issue with finding the source of the information in this site. There is an email address to contact the organization, but it's self-referential. There is no other name provided, and even a "whois" search turns up the name of a company hired to be a third-party intermediary who makes it possible for people and organizations to acquire webspace anonymously.

It is quite possible that this site is totally legitimate, and the information there may be quite accurate and useful. And I was rather impressed with the information I found there... HOWEVER ~ I cannot recommend the site, nor fully trust it, as there is no information to validate this group as a reliable source of information.

It's an interesting dilemma for our current web-based information society. As they say, "Consider the source!"

Website Evaluation: National Education Association - Technology and Education

The following is my class assignment essay, which evaluates the NEA website on technology and education.

This portion of the NEA website (http://www.nea.org/technology/index.html) addresses the issue of technology in education. It includes definitions, background information, legislative issues, current research, and other articles on the topics of technology, online learning, E-Rate, and 21st Century Partnership program. It also defines the official NEA policy on technology and distance education. Finally, it includes a “Resources” page, which links to other NEA articles and resources.

This site has much to offer teachers. Each section provides a detailed and easy-to-understand explanation of the definition and/or history of the topic. It then provides links to articles and other NES resources on the topic. Some topics include information on legislative issues and official NES policy, where applicable.

There are, however, a couple of negatives to this website. The first involves difficulty with searching for specific answers to questions, and the second is the lack of more detailed, practical information for teachers. The NEA website includes a feature to search the site, which is helpful. However, the pages which comprise this portion of the NEA website do not have a convenient method for finding specific information, other than the ability to select from the four major topics. The other concern I had with this site involves the lack of specific information which would be useful for teachers as they integrate technology into the classroom.

Even with those “negatives,” this website is pertinent to our 21st century, information-age education system, as it provides background information on important issues for today’s educators. I highly recommend this site.

NECC2008 Session: iPods Can Do More

Here are my notes from the last of my "Top Four" NECC2008 sessions: Tony Vincent's "Audio is Great! Video is Cool! iPods Can Do More!"

Website - LearningInHand.com has all of this information, a PDF booklet, and downloads of many of these templates. (Tony wrote book, "Handhelds for Teachers and Administrators" available from Tom Snyder Productions)

Audio
load music from CDs for music classroom
voice recorders – iTalk, Belkin
Spokentext.net – convert a document into spoken word
Cover Art and Lyrics – push center button to get time, cover, lyrics (file --> get info --> lyrics)

Video
Drag and drop into itunes to change .mov to .mp3

Extras
Calendars / Contacts
Photos – state capital flashcards (state, state w/ cap and abbreviation) (export PPT out into jpgs)
Matching flashcards (lists, highlight 1, hightlight 1 w/ line, highlight 2, highlight2 w/ line)
Multiplication flashcards with a thumbspot at bottom left corner with answer – student covers until they are ready to check answer
Comic book stories about the moon - $5
BrainQuest sells digital flashcards - $20
TipKalc – tip calculator - $5 download
100 chart (100 pix - each # highlighted in turn)
Squares (one box = 1 large overlay number, then 4, then 9, etc.)
Fractions with drawing (by 16ths – each click another 16th – can add or subtract by 1/16)
Temperature conversion (each pix has thermometer and F on left and C on right – each click goes up or down by one degree)
Stroop Effect game (color word written in different color)
can download all of these from his website

Other
HardDisk Mode – preferences – enable
keychain with iPod to USB connection
notes = text file (1000 at 4k each = limit)
www.ipod-notes.com can convert a document or webpage to “note” format
free downloads – ipreppress.com (dictionary, documents, 100 words every HS freshman should know – it links to audio files so you can hear pronunciation, etc)
manybooks.net – free eBooks
make text doc with word and definition – put all docs in notes folder (makes another flashcard-type project)

Interactive Content
Choose you own adventure story with links to pages – use iWriter $30

RSS Feeds
iFeedPod – free software for Mac
iPodSync for windows $17

Quizzes
iQuiz is on newer ones – can be loaded for 99c from iTunes for older iPods
iQuiz Maker – free (Mac version doesn’t need iPod – it makes a simulation of an iPod on the screen)
Spin to Win 1-5 (pix of numbers in random order – spin back and forth)
iQuizShare.com
iQuizer.com

Podcasts
OurCityPodcast.com (or link from his site)
Podcasting for Teachers and Students (35 page book) by Tony Vincent

Accessories
earbuds = WalMart 97c

NECC2008 Session: Free - the Price is Right

Here are my notes from the third of my favorite four sessions from NECC2008, The Price is Right: Free Online Resources for Educators, presented by Alma Row.

Handout available on del.icio.us/almarow - top link on right is PDF of all of the information she presented (something like 27 pages!)

Applications
Voki – creates audio animation
Dragnifier – allows you to magnifiy a part of the screen – it’s good for magnifying the website when showing it on a presentation
GoogleEarth – make tours
FlashEarth is alternative to Google Earth
Sketchup – CAD type to make 3D – free version for educators
SMART notebook can be used without the SMART board – demo of frog dissection (download education library, but it’s very large and takes some time – but worth it)
Moodle is free, but requires tech support (can create wikis, lessons, etc)
Skype – online video conferencing – IM on steroids
CamStudio (camstudio.org) – like Camtasia
Audacity
PhotoStory
Stellarium – like Google Sky
BlockCAD – electronic Legos
Yahoo Widgets

JourneyEd – company that sells commercial programs cheap for teachers, students, parents (have to prove you are a teacher)

Web-Based Opportunities
clipart of newspaper – Fodey’s Newspaper (www.fodey.com)
UStreamTV (www.ustream.tv)
Thinkature.com (concept mapping – chat and live audio if each has an account)
Gliffy – same thing
Bubbl.us – same thing
mypodcast.com – download software – record and click “publish” and it uploads to your account
Gaggle.net – email for students
SpellingCity.com
Visible body – biology (download one file, but everything else is online after that)
FotoFlexer.com – manipulate picture
PhotoShop Express – same thing (smaller version of PhotoShop)
StoryTop.com – online story telling
ConvertTube.com – download online videos (only one per 15 min time period)
ScribLink – online whiteboard (can share with others who have account)
Voicethread.com – digital story telling (online slide show)
Box.net – file transfer / storage site
MailCatch.com – temporary email (cannot send – only receive)
TappedIn.com – online community
Mosaickr (take photos from flickr and make a mosaic – need > 100 photos)
Weebly - ???
BeFunky.com – make cartoon from photo
Blabberize – take photo, cut mouth and create sound file and it makes the mouth move video (use photo with closed mouth)
Dumpr.net – make Rubrics cube etc from photo
Wordle – creates graphic

NECC2008 Session: Farmer's Market of Internet Resources

Here are my notes from the second of my top 4 NECC2008 sessions:

A Farmer’s Market of Healthy and Productive Internet Resources, presented by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson
Website: eduscapes.com/sessions/farmer

Students should know the “Classics” websites and “skip the junk food”
get kids into the Zone while they are working – intense involvement

notetaking with google notes
build these sites into staff development and curriculum (instead of Google!)

check publisher websites (Scholastic, etc.)
TV networks (PBS, etc.)
newspapers often have lesson (New York Times Lessons)
state lesson resources (and even other countries)

Google for Educators – get involved with them
on google, you can search within a site – site:URL keyword (site:nationalgeographic.com Mayan)

Match needs and standards with web resources:
1 - what are the essential questions?
2 - how will you excite and motivate young people?
3 - what resources will help young people develop deep understandings?
4 - how will students communicate their understandings and reflect on the experience?

Students need to do more than just copy and paste information!

Think in a different way:
Finished vs. under construction (Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore)
Outside vs. inside (body, cross section of boat, candy bar, anything)
Famous people vs. orginary people
Big events vs. smaller events
National impact vs. local impact
The classics vs. the others

Examples:
instead of a picture of the statue of liberty, have them find a picture of it under construction
Mt. Rushmore – what order did the heads go up?
a famous building – look at inside instead of outside
human body – look at inside instead of outside
“The Ultimate Book of Cross-Sections”

Try it – open PPT – create a "think different" image archive
use google images to see unique examples
search a keyword and “cross-section” to find visuals
search line drawings, sillhouettes
on PPT – check size of image, cite source, copy URL into Speaker Notes

Compare: (Journey to the Center of the Earth novel vs graphic novel)
who is the author or sponsor?
what did they include? what did they leave out?

Government websites and resources
many government sites have multiple languages
you can search for images and news on the gov site (usa.gov)
usually a “kids version” of the page
government agencies (NASA, NOAA, CDC, NPS – national parks service, etc.) (email the park people during off-season and get a response, info, etc.
Libraries – library of congress, online archive of California, etc
Interactives – google search with keyword and “interactive”
Pathfinders take websites and add standards, questions, reviews of images, etc.

NECC2008 Session: Web Site Investigator

The first session I attended at NECC2008 was Web Site Investigator: An Introduction to Information Forensics, presented by Carl Heine and Dennis O'Connor. It was abolutely wonderful!

Here are some of my notes on the presentation:


Their website: 21cif.imsa.edu (has Full Circle Resource kit)
Podcast of session and PPT is on the ISTE NECC site

Three goals:
Locate information
Evaluate information
Use information ethically

Five steps to a websearch:
Speculative Searching aspects
1 - What am I looking for? (keywords)
2 - Where will I find the information? (datbases, live pages)
3 - How will I get there? (search engines, subject directory)
Investigative Searching aspects
4 - How good is the information? (verify data)
5 - How will I ethically use the information?

To verify data, use:
keywords/clues in information
specialized database or strategic browsing
investigative techniques

WSI – WebSite Investigator
courtroom metaphor – will it stand up in court?

Websites to Use in Training:
Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus – zapatopi.net/treeoctopus
Shrine to Cary Grant – Jenny Curtis (author) search and find she has published books on CG
Marin Luther King Jr. – martinlutherking.org – StormFront author (white supremacy group)

1 – Look for author of site
whois database – godaddy.com (search URL)
link search – Yahoo “link:URL”
2 – Information check
search terms from site to get 3rd party confirmation
triangulation = 3 different sites agree

Don’t treat all sites as hoaxes – think: “What is the purpose of the site?”
male pregnancy site = online portfolio for web designer of medical webpages

Introduction - Initial Post

I set this blog up yesterday, with something like 97% of my laptop battery gone... which means that all I could do was to quickly post a little one-liner as a placeholder. So I suppose this is my first real post here.

This blog is part class assignment and part a desire to share what I've learned at the 2008 NECC Conference. Of course, I expect this blog may evolve a bit, so who knows what it will turn out to be!

There was so much incredible information at the NECC conference this year that I don't even know where to begin! I think that I'll need to take time to digest the information and to decide how to organize this blog in order to share what I've learned... More to come!