Capstone Project and Random Thoughts

As I was thinking about a Capstone project I have to do for a class, I was thinking really hard about how I can incorporate so many Web 2.0 tools into it and link them all together. With that thinking and planning I had an a-ha moment. For example, I could use Wordle in a different way. I could upload some text/paragraph about a topic and have students guess what it is about. Or with Twitter, it won't just be another boring "What I'm doing at the moment type of thing". I could relay pertinent information while we plan the trip such as tips, tools, things I found to look up, travel info, new information about trip, etc. Then while we are there we could use it to tell what we are doing, where we are, etc. to keep everyone at home informed.  I would love to use Ning so students can have a space online to share their experiences and knowledge. Before the trip it would be important that students know where they are going and to learn about the place more so using Google Earth and Google Sightseeing, YouTube videos, photos, etc. would help them become familiar. Listening to music of that region would also be helpful. Students could even take a virtual fieldtrip to Second Life and explore it there and then compare it to the real Maya Riviera or students who couldn't go on the field trip could still join us and learn about it online. We could even have virtual meetings online regarding the trip which can also be saved for future viewing. I never realized how well you can really stay connected with others through these Web 2.0 tools and how interralated they are. Talk about truly being connected to the world!

Video Sharing

My all time favorite video sharing tool is YouTube. I didn’t seem to have too much trouble uploading videos once I started using the correct format. I also noticed it took a while for them to be added once they were uploaded. As far as linking YouTube to the other two sites, I couldn’t figure out how to get active links for Flickr and AudioFarm so if anyone knows let me know. I tried HTML but it didn’t work so I just left the links where someone will have to cut and paste them. In the future, if I want to broadcast another website, I would include the name in the beginning and end of the video as well. I did include an active link to my blog at least. There was only one place where we would include a website so I decided to include my blog. The videos I uploaded are ones I created last semester in CI5200.

Mo Michael...YouTube Analysis

I am totally amazed at the popularity of YouTube and how so many people use it and rely on it. No one in a million years would ever have imagined that in 2005 when YouTube was first launched. What really blew me away is that Wesch’s video took the #1 spot, even over all the Super Bowl commercials. That is HUGE! It cracks me up when an Anthropologist in Kansas or a teenager from NJ can create a #1 video for free whereas people or companies spend a ton of money producing TV shows, movies, and commercials. In some ways the YouTube phenomenon is great like when the guy at the end of the video used it as a form of therapy after he lost his baby. On the other hand, if someone doesn’t like something you do and they have it on camera they could show the whole world and humiliate you. I’ve seen students do this to teachers, passengers do this to airline employees, kids do this to other kids, etc…Even still, what I love about YouTube is that it is real for the most part except for the fake people like actors who are pretending to be real and fool everyone. I love how you can get on there any be totally anonymous and just be yourself. However, one thing that scares me personally is that someone could get a hold of the video and twist it like they did to McCain.

Everyone watches YouTube it seems like. People go to it for information and entertainment. Heck, even major news websites have YouTube videos embedded on their websites. People upload family videos to stay connected. People upload videos of themselves to vent, rave, share their story, make us laugh, make us cry, make us dance…It is a revolution and I will be very curious to see how it affects TV viewing in the future and most of all how it will continue to affects our culture. It is a universal phenomenon and it would be interesting to see how it affects us all collectively and how it affects one particular culture versus another.

I would love to see more participation in YouTube in this class. One idea is for us to create a vlog ourselves. We could choose a theme related to our field or our interests or we could just be ourselves in the video and create whatever just like when we created the class introduction video. Talk about raw, unedited, and embarrassing but I figured the only ones who would be watching it would be classmates anyway. Then we could keep track of the views and comments, how to improve our ratings, analyze what we are doing is popular or not, target audience if possible, etc...It would be interesting to just be yourself and create a series of videos and see what happens…After watching Wesch’s video, it has made me want to experiment with YouTube just to see what happens…

This reminds me, I need to go sign up for Digg now. He mentioned it so much in the video that’s another Web 2.0 tool I need to check out.

Second Life Tutorials

I found some really SL video tutorials by Torley Linden on YouTube. They are helpful and really funny too.

Moving and Flying

Teleporting and Landmarks

Editing Your Appearance

Chatting

Looking Around With Camera Controls

Using the Pie Menu

Searching

He has other videos on his YouTube channel (193 to be exact) that you can check out here.

Learning about Web 2.0 Tools

I am learning about different Web 2.0 applications. Some I have used before such as Facebook, MySpace, Second Life (just dabbled with it), Twitter (again, just dabbled), Photobucket, Flickr, Slide, YouTube (never uploaded a video before), Skype and other instant messengers, Moodle, wikis, blogs, and a few others.  Now I am on a mission to learn more about Web 2.0 tools.
Even though I know HTML and CSS and love to design Dreamweaver websites I also would like to explore other tools for building websites.  I just created a simple CMSimple Website. It is very easy to use and fairly intuitive. One can very easily build a simple, yet nice looking website without having to learn HTML or CSS. I will confess I kind of scoffed at the idea of using a CMSimple website at the beginning but I have since changed my mind. It’s a great tool and a great way to have others who aren’t experts in web design to create a great-looking website easily and without having to spend a lot of money on expensive software.

I recently joined the Classroom 2.0 Community in Ning. I had heard of Ning before but never joined it. It is a great social networking site similar to Facebook or MySpace but more controlled and you can join groups specific to your interests. Ning is a great tool for teachers to use with a class since it is more controlled and they won’t have to worry about outsiders “crashing the party” so to speak. If you are an educator and would love to learn more about Web 2.0, social networking, and builing learning communities then I highly recommend Ning.

Another Web 2.0 tool that I love is Wordle. You copy and paste text such as a blog entry, paragraph, story, web content or anything and it will put it in a word cloud. I created one with this blog entry and here is what it came up with:

Stay tuned because I will be sharing more and more applications and their practical uses as I progress through my studies in the New Media and Global Education Program at Appalachian State University.

Welcome!

Welcome to my Educational Technology blog. I have created it because I am in the New Media and Global Education Master's Program at Appalachian State University. In the program, we are learning about carious types of technology and so I decided to create a blog to share my knowledge, opinions and to reflect on the different tools and technology available. These are my opinions and my opinions only. Also know that my first impressions are only that and I am learning about many new tools as I go so my opinions could change at any time! Here is a Web 2.0 video for you to enjoy: