Final Blog Assignment

For this final blog assignment, please discuss your reaction to using the Connect Pro videoconferencing program to hold virtual class meetings.

In your comments, consider the following questions:

• do you feel that this method of instruction was useful or not,
  
• what types of problems need to be addressed if we plan to hold these sessions again,
  
• do you have any ideas about what could be done to improve these online sessions,
• would you be interested in participating in more of these kinds of sessions in future courses,
  
• would you be interested in enrolling in a course where this type of online conferencing system was used for the majority of class sessions, and
  
• do you have any other ideas, suggestions or comments you would like to discuss?
  
  

Class Eight Assignment

In preparation for the Class 9 online session, you should explore the Web 2.0 resources that are listed under your name. Then post a comment in which you briefly describe the 5 sites you explored and indicate whether or not you think the site is useful.

Be prepared to make a brief presentation about ONE of the sites during the Class 9 online session on Monday, July 28, 2008, beginning at 5:00pm.

---

Sineenart

• Slideshare
  http://www.slideshare.net/
  
  
• Yugma
  http://www.yugma.com/
  
  
• Remember the Milk
  http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
  
  
• DoFlick
  http://www.doflick.com/
  


• dotSub
  http://dotsub.com/
  
  

---

Shawn

• Connexions
  http://cnx.org/
  
  
• WorldCat
  http://www.worldcat.org/
  


• uTIPu
  http://www.utipu.com/app/
  
  
• Zotero
  http://www.zotero.org/
  


• Flat World Knowledge
  http://www.flatworldknowledge.com
  
  

---

Matt

• ustream
  http://www.ustream.tv/
  
  
• Skitch
  http://plasq.com/skitch
  
  
• ZoomIt v2.10
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx
  


• Gcast
  http://www.gcast.com
  
  
• widgenie
  http://www.widgenie.com/
  

---

Freddie

• Wisdomap
  http://www.wisdomap.com/
  
  
• iSpring Free
  http://www.ispringsolutions.com/
  
  
• Pageflakes
  http://www.pageflakes.com/
  
  
• ClassTools.net
  http://classtools.net/
  
  
• eCalc
  http://www.ecalc.com/
  

---

David

• Scribd
  http://www.scribd.com/
  
  
• Merlot
  http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm
  


• Gabcast
  http://www.gabcast.com/
  
  
• Edublogs
  http://edublogs.org/
  


• Beanbag
  http://beanbaglearning.com/
  

---

Amanda

• WordWeb Free Version
  http://wordweb.info/
  


• Jott
  http://jott.com/default.aspx
  
  
• Curriki
  http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome
  


• Netvibes
  http://www.netvibes.com
  
  
• Jing Project
  http://www.jingproject.com/
  
  

Class Seven Assignment

In this week's class, we created the beginning of a social network using Ning, located at: http://cuin7376.ning.com/

For this week's hands-on assignment, explore how you can add content to a Ning and then add some interesting (and educationally meaningful?) content of your own to our Ning. This might include a series of images, a video clip or two using the Ning video player, and/or a few badges, widgets or Ning Gadgets.

When you have completed this assignment, post a comment in which you describe the content you added to the Ning.

Class Six Assignment 2

Based on the feedback you received on your final project plan in this week's class, post a message in which you provide an updated version of your plan. Also, as we discussed in class, you should create and maintain a specific list of the items that need to be changed on the original website you are working with (the current IT Program website, Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website, the SITE Screening Room, or the Texas Journal of Distance Learning website) as well as a separate list of good ideas you have found on other sites you have located this semester.

Class Six Assignment 1

Conduct some research on the web to see if you can find a podcast that does a good job of presenting educationally useful material.

When you have completed this assignment, post a comment in which you describe the podcast you selected and discuss the details such as what is about, who created it, who is the intended audience, what you like about it and any additional information you think we should know about this resource.

Class Four/Five Assignment

For this second week of independent work, please continue conducting research on Web 2.0 resources. Some of the tools that I have been interested in for some time are shown below.

Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/

Google Earth
http://earth.google.com/

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/

and any of its associated resources, such as:

Flickrvision
http://flickrvision.com/

For this assignment, try to find a good example of how Google Maps, Google Earth, Flickr, any of its related resources, or any other Web 2.0 application you choose.

Then post a comment in which you describe the resource you selected and what you like about. You should be prepared to discuss in class if and how these resources might be used in the projects we are working on this semester.

Class Three Assignment 2: Web 2.0 Resources

There are numerous Web 2.0 resources that we have not yet discussed in class. For this assignment, conduct some research to see if you can find an interesting Web 2.0 resource that might be used within the final semester project you will be developing.

Here are a few Web 2.0 compilation websites that might be helpful to you in completing this assignment.

Web 2.0 for the Classroom Teacher
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listweb20s.html

A Free Learning Tool for Every Learning Problem?
http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-learning-tool-for-every-learning.html

Resources for Teachers on Web 2.0 and other Applications
http://wiki.abc.edu.sv/mediawiki/index.php/Resources_for_Teachers_on_Web_2.0_and_other_Applications

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2007
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2007/the-best-web-20-applications-for-education-%E2%80%94-2007/


When you have completed this assignment, please post a comment in which you describe the Web 2.0 resource you selected and discuss how it might be used to enhance the project you are developing.

Alternatively, you may select a Web 2.0 resource that you feel might be a good addition to one of the other projects being developed, rather than your own.

Class Three Assignment 1: Final Semester Project Plan

For this assignment you should begin to develop your plan for the final semester project. At this stage, you should begin to compile a list of needs for your project and if possible, how you initially think you will try to address those needs.

You should also prepare a list of questions you have about the project and any of its components to discuss with Dr. Robin during a scheduled telephone call before our next face-to-face class meeting on July 7.

Class Two Assignment

For this week's assignment, we will try to evaluate several social bookmarking resources specifically designed for education. Please find the site adjacent to your name and create an account for that site and begin using it to see how it works.

1. 2collab - Amanda
   http://www.2collab.com/
   

2. CiteULike - David
   http://www.citeulike.org/
   

3. Connotea - Matt
   www.connotea.org
   

4. H20 Playlist - Sineenart
   http://h2obeta.law.harvard.edu/home.do;jsessionid=1FEE54417D18F6236032AA7BA0FF7FC6
   

5. LibraryThing - Freddie
   http://www.librarything.com/
   

6. Scholar - Shawn
   http://www.scholar.com

Once you have evaluated the site, post a comment in which you discuss the following:

• Who created and maintains the site?
• Who is the intended audience?
• How does the site work? Are there any special features that make it different from the social bookmarking sites we explored in this week's class? Please elaborate.
• Does the site have useful help files, FAQs or other materials (such as videos or other tutorials) to help new users learn how the site works? And, if so, are these materials helpful?
• Do you think the site you evaluated would be useful for yourself, other students and/or instructors? Please discuss why or why not?
• Is there anything else you would like to add about this site?

Important Note: There are many other social bookmarking sites that deal with education that are not listed above. One such site is edutagger (http://www.edutagger.com) that describes itself as a "K-12 Social Bookmarking" site. You may evaluate a different site than the one that was originally assigned to you as long as you make sure that the new site was designed, or is being used within an educational context.

Weblog History

In my misguided research to answer complete the assinment from week 1, I found the following essay which was very interesting.

http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

Class One Assignment

For this week's assignment, conduct some research on the web to see if you can find at least one good example of how a blog is successfully being used in an educational manner. Once you have selected the blog (or blogs), discuss the following:

• Who created the blog?
• What is its purpose?
• Who are the participants?
• What do you think are some of the characteristics of the blog that make it successful?
• Are there any characteristics of the blog that you feel could be used for a blog we might add to any of the websites we discussed in this week's class? Please elaborate.
• Is there anything else you would like to add about the blog (or blogs) you found?

Welcome to the CUIN 7376 Course Blog

This blog will be used by students and the instructor of CUIN 7376: Design of Online Educational Resources II a graduate course at the University of Houston.