Onward with Online Education Opportunities

Before You Read the Reviews:     

     Below are 8 online websites that support online learning opportunities. I have reviewed and rated each website based upon how they can be integrated into the classroom. My reviews are purely speculative and opinionated at best, but are supported with my own personal experience. With this review, I hope to share potential pedagogical tools with teachers, who are interested in implementing the Internet into their classroom. Ultimately, I preface this review on a statement Melissa Kelly (2012) stated in her article, "Integrating Technology into the Classroom," which says, "The Internet, just like any other technology is a tool." With this these reviews I'm proving that the Internet is a beneficial place for teachers to improve, prepare, and expand their pedagogical toolbox for the 21st century.

*All pictures are hyperlinks to their designated website

Rating System:

Moodle

     Moodle is an interactive website that provides its users many ways to communicate. Teachers can utilize Moodle as an innovative way to support after school learning. Moodle supports after school learning, because it allows teachers to post supplementary material via links, encourage communication with interactive discussion posts, and allow students to turn in their homework via assignment posts. Moodle is accessible, user-friendly, and supports technological learning for students of the 21st century. It is a teaching tool that helps teachers and students come together in a safe, productive online environment.

Rating: 5/5

Google Applications

     Google Applications (Google Apps) reintroduce functionality and creativity back onto the Internet. It offers its users wonderful applications such as Gmail and Blogger. Gmail, unlike most emailing services, has multiple useful functions. Gmail is notable for its Drive tab, which allows users to create shareable documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and drawings with other Gmail users. This noteworthy function serves as an excellent way to promote online group work and meetings. The next Google App noteworthy of mention is Blogger. Blogger is an online blog that is easy to use, customizable, and media supportive. It is excellent for teachers who want to express and document their thoughts on educational articles/policies, pedagogical strategies, or innovative educational technologies. Overall, Google Apps are multidimensional and convenient to have in one's online toolbox.

Rating: 5/5

LiveBinders

    LiveBinders is a safe place to bookmark, compile, and collect online resources in a personalize binder. This is a great tool that has a lot to offer for the online savvy user on the go. Some characteristics that I have enjoyed are its customizable binder templates, tab-by-tab organizer, and that it is URL friendly. Unlike traditional organizers, LiveBinders focuses its appeal not entirely on uploading documents and graphics, but as highlighted earlier, inputting URLs. Copying and organizing URLs onto LiveBinders helps its users track noteworthy sites that they may want to use or share with others.  LiveBinders is a great tool especially for teachers, because it allows teachers to create an online toolbox that can be shared with students or even other teachers.

Rating: 5/5

Firefox

     Firefox is program friendly and does not restrict the usage of any website. Like most web browsers it is free to download and install. This web browser is highly recommended because it disables JavaScript, automatically empties the browser cache, and allows HTML viewing (especially useful when trying to find a bugs on sites). Firefox is a useful online tool for teachers and students, because it can be adjusted to set restrictions on sites that are unethical or promote educational growth.

Rating: 4/5 

Animoto

    Animoto online tool is an excellent way to bring photos to life with cinematic animations. Teachers can utilize Animoto as an anticipatory set, which can easily engage students' interest on the topic for consideration. What is great about Animoto is that it can be downloaded as a free application on any smart phone device (e.g. iPhone, Android, Samsung Galaxy), which is convenient for the person on the run. Additionally,  Animoto is a unique, fun website that will benefit visual and audio-base learners, since it promotes the usage of photos, audio tracts, and videos. 

Rating: 5/5

Glogster

     Unlike Animoto, Glogster incorporates the use of videos and sound clips, thus supporting both visual and audio learners. Glogster is an amazing way to engage students' prior knowledge and interest before a lesson is delivered, since it features many stunning templates. Students can benefit from Glogster because it offers them the opportunity to be creative and productive. It can be used for creating fundraising posters, graphic portfolios, working resumes, or creative collages. This online tool, although stationary in design, intertwines creativity with development, which is an excellent way to inspire students interested in art or marketing to find viable careers in graphic design. Teachers should integrate Glogster because it expands learning beyond word and text, and allows students to gain a richer foundation in today's media-driven world.

Rating: 5/5

Wix

     Wix is an online website generator that is effective for teachers, who want to create an online environment that students can refer to for additional supplementary material. I found Wix very helpful because it allows its users to do so much for little to nothing at all. The free version of Wix has many features that do not limit users' creativity. Some key highlights of Wix include a variety of templates to choose from, does not require any programming skills, customizable domain name, and hosts a variety of widgets, banners and flyers. Teachers can use Wix as a new way to provide students with a rich learning experience, which is not limited to school hours. 

Rating: 4/5                                                                                       

Joomag

     Joomag is a e-zine generator that can be used to replace traditional book reports. Students can benefit using this online e-zine generator, because, unlike written book reports, students can input additional media to support and enrich their reports. This is possible since Joomag boasts an extensive toolset, which online editors can use to input video clips, graphics, and text. Joomag users can feel confident that they have absolute creative control over their e-zine, because there are no restrictions placed upon its users. Ultimately, this website is an interactive and innovative way for students to read, write, and share reports online.

Rating: 5/5

References

All images were screenshot by Russell Cortez

Animoto - Make & Share Beautiful Videos Online. (n.d.). Animoto. Retrieved from http://animoto.com

Glogster - join the visual communication network. (n.d.). Glogster. Retrieved November 17, 2012, from http://www.glogster.com

Joomag - FREE Interactive Service for Digital Magazine publishing and hosting. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2012, from http://www.joomag.com

Kelly, M. (2012). Integrating technology into the classroom.  About.com: Secondary Education. Retrieved from

            http://712educators.about.com/cs/technology/a/integratetech.htm

Moodle.com - We give you powerful free toolsto help you educate the world. (n.d.). Moodle. Retrieved August 12, 2012, from http://moodle.com

Mozilla Firefox Web Browser — Free Download — mozilla.org. (n.d.). Firefox. Retrieved August 12, 2012, from http://firefox.com

Organize your resources in an online binder - LiveBinders. (n.d.). LiveBinders. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://livebinders.com

Welcome to Google Apps. (n.d.). Google. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://www.google.com/apps/index1.html

Wiggio - Makes it easy to work in groups. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2012, from http://wiggio.com

Wix. (n.d.). Wix. Retrieved September 8, 2012, from http://www.wix.com

Keeping Cyber Safety in Mind

     In order to successfully integrate the Internet into the classroom setting, teachers need to be aware of the necessary precautions that will keep their students safe. The Internet can be a very frugal place to enrich students' learning experience. It offers endless possibilities for students, who most likely will be staying in the classroom for an entire school year. Allowing students to use the Internet will help them understand that the world around them is diverse, unique, and a resplendent place to live in. Unfortunately, the Internet with all of its capabilities, still presents many harms that can invade students' digital safety and privacy. The Digital Safety project, which I completed for ED 271 at the University of Guam, has helped my classmates and I to realize that there are a lot of things to consider when implementing the Internet into the classroom.

     The issues regarding cyber safety continue to worsen as technology expediently advances. Bob Sullivan (2011) reports, "Gary LosHuertos parked himself in a New York City cafe last fall and fired up a new tool for snooping on people [...] he had managed to spy on more than a dozen people as they used Facebook." Here, Sullivan reveals just how simple it is to invade someone's Internet privacy. The Digital safety projects done in my ED 271 reveal the necessity to educate and spread the information needed to prevent infiltration of Internet privacy, phishing, cyber bullying, sexting and harassment, and copyright infringement. Each presentation, specifically done on each topic aforementioned, has help me to understand that teachers must now take the initiative to educate their students on Digital Safety.

     The efforts to help students be more online smart has been carried out by the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Dian Schaffhauser (2012) has reported that the CIPA ensures "that all students from grades K through 12 be educated on online behavior and safety and cyberbullying." The need to act and deliver proper forms of online education is a must in all school systems, due to the rampant expansion of technology and the Internet. It is inherent during this age of technological growth that students alongside their teachers be able to support a positive, community friendly online environment. Teachers can take the initiative, as directed by the CIPA, to create educational sites such as this, http://digitaldelta.iconosites.com, in order to support a widespread awareness of digital safety issues.

     The educational tools my fellow classmates and I utilized in our presentation involves the web creation site, Iconosites.com, and in addition to that an online web-safety video game, Safety Land (http://www.att.com/Common/images/safety/game.html), by AT&T. Our utilization of such online tools has helped us create an educational space that is creative, helpful, and entertaining for students of all age groups. It is important to create websites with educationally effective tools, because by doing so teachers can accommodate information that is appropriate for students in their respective areas, such as Guam. Overall, this ED 271 project regarding digital safety has proven effective to help shape my mindset on the efficacy of teaching with cyber safety in mind.

Additional Helpful Sources:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum/6-8

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/publications/2010/Digital_Safety_Children_Young_People_Developing_Nations

http://cybersmartcurriculum.org/safetysecurity/lessons/68/private_and_personal_information/

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech044.shtml  

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/webquest-originial/webquest-original-digital-privacy.shtml  

http://www.internetsafety101.org/gamingdangers.htm

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/spec-ed/html/internet_safety.htm

http://www.joomag.com/magazine/internetissues/0024194001311582197

http://responsibility.verizon.com/digitalsafety/ 

http://youthandmedia.org/wiki/Solutions_for_Digital_Safety

References

Schaffhauser D. (2012). The new CIPA deadline. The Journal. Retrieved from 

            http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/05/16/the-new-cipa-deadline.aspx

Sullivan B. (2011). Why should I care about digital privacy. NBC News: Technology and Science. Retrieved from    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41995926/ns/technology_and_science/t/why-should-i-care-about-digital-privacy/#.UKCGVLS62CG