Web 2 Applications

The Web has forever changed education from the one room schoolhouse that began many years ago to the virtual classrooms of today. The expansion into new media has been so extensive that a new model has emerged to supply the endless appetites of consumers. From reality TV to schools, the users have stolen the stage by replacing corporations as producers of news, entertainment, and learning. While creating instructional materials by educators is nothing new, the ability to immediately share content and methods through electronic resources has resulted in a frenzy of access to user-created content. Certainly access is no panacea. For most users, the

problem isn't the lack of information, but the lack of ability to find the right information. Filters, metadata, tags and search systems may be the most important infrastructure technology for future environments. Therefore, much of the focus of Web 2 applications is not just creating new information but organizing the existing information into useful content. Another important function of Web 2 applications provide valuable ways to communicate. In this module we will explore some of the more popular Web applications for collaboration and Web conferencing. Web services come in the form of a “cloud.” Cloud computing refers to the use of Web-based services that are dynamically scalable to the needs of the user. For example, files could be stored on SkyDrive with Windows Live instead of a local drive. Many services have adopted the utility computing model (pay for what you use), others are billed on a subscription basis, but most are actually free. Cloud computing led to a proliferation of new applications on what is now referred to as Web 2.0, which refers to a perceived second generation of Web development and design to facilitate communication, information sharing, and collaboration. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of Web-based communities, hosted services, and applications, such as social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies for classifying social tags.

Collectively, Web 2.0 applications represent complex systems for managing multiple tasks. O’Driscoll (2007) refers to this collection as the iWeb, which consists of four vectors: immediate, intuitive, interactive, and immersive. He believes that as this three-dimensional, avatar-mediated space emerges, virtual worlds will combine these qualities into a singularity, a worldwide virtual platform that allows users to engage in what matters most to them. The “Immediate Vector” identifies 2D learning applications, sometimes referred to as flatland, that integrate with knowledge sharing repositories where networked virtual spaces emerge. These spaces integrate synchronous sharing with asynchronous storage using products like SharePoint, Live Meeting, Blackboard, and Webex.

The “Intuitive Vector” combines Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, wikis, podcasts, and social media sites like Facebook and MySpace that use “tags” to access information and interact with

others about specific activities. As the Web enters the next dimension, most of the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace will replace Web pages with Web spaces to form

the “Interactive Vector.” Likewise in the “Immersive Vector,” synchronous 2D learning platforms will become 3D as distance learning systems like Webex, Centra and Live Meeting integrate

with virtual spaces.

Complete the following tasks and post all of the links in a single message in the A2 discussion topic for the following categories:

Publications

Timelines

Surveys

Scheduling

Storage

Collaboration

Web Conferencing Some sites require subscription or membership but the basic entry level for all of the applications is free or available for a trial period. To avoid receiving spam, you may want to create a temporary email account for registering the applications. Keep track of your login information for later use.

WARNING: Some of these sites are publicly accessed. Don’t upload commercial copyrighted items to public sites without permission.

Publications

Publishing documents and videos online is an essential part of distance education instruction. Issuu provides Web space for sharing online publications by uploading documents to create a personal magazine with articles and images, and it's fast, easy, and totally free. Choose one of the applications below to create a library and share uploaded publications or videos. Solicit access by your classmates.

Timelines

Choose one of the following timeline creation tools. Dipity and Timetoast allow users to create interactive timelines that can be shared on the Web. Choose one of the applications below to create a timeline for a specific topic of your choice and share the link for access with your classmates. Contribute at least one item to the timeline created by your classmates.

Surveys

Collecting data from participants is very useful with online learning. Select one of the following sites to create a survey or poll. Construct 5 randomized questions of various types (i.e. true/false, multiple choice, short answer, etc.) with a customized format (your name, color background, etc.).

http://issuu.com/

http://www.dipity.com/ http://www.timetoast.com/

http://www.polleverywhere.com/ http://www.limesurvey.org

http://www.teachertube.com/ http://www.slideshare.net/

Scheduling

Scheduling meetings and events can be tedious when users are on different email or calendar systems. Also, arranging time with online instructors or students often requires a series of messages. Using one of the Web 2 applications below, create a schedule and solicit several of your classmates to respond with their availability. Storage

One of the most popular uses of online tools is storage of files, especially for photos. Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft (see following chart). A majority of these services are Web applications accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side applications that require installation on a PC. There are three ways in which Windows Live services are offered: Windows Live Essentials applications, web services, and mobile services. Windows Live provides 25 GB of free space (SkyDrive) for storing files online, sharing access, and communicating with members. Subscribe to Windows Live and upload files. Create a group for an interesting topic and solicit members from your classmates to join. Join at least 3 of your classmates’ groups. Create charts in Word for Box.net, PicasaWeb, and Flickr like the Windows Live chart on the next page. Post the charts in the A2 Assignment drop box.

http://www.doodle.com/ http://www.bookalesson.com/

http://picasaweb.google.com http://home.live.com http://box.net http://www.flickr.com

Windows Live Feature

Description

Windows Live Writer

Desktop blog publishing tool

Windows Live Toolbar

A toolbar which adds itself to Windows Internet Explorer, allowing quick access to a user's Windows Live Spaces, Hotmail, Favorites and Live Search from a button on the toolbar

Windows Live Sync File sharing and synchronization service acquired by Microsoft and now branded as a Windows Live service

Windows Live Spaces

AJAX based version social networking, blogging, and photo sharing site

Windows Live SkyDrive

Password-protected online file storage and sharing, includes Windows Live Photos and Office Web Apps for management of photos and Office documents

Windows Live Profile

Allow users to manage their profile information and displays information about the particular user, their recent activities, and their relationship with other Windows Live users

Windows Live Photos

Photo storage service which allows users to upload and share their personal albums and photographs with other Windows Live users

Windows Live Photo Gallery

Similar to Windows Photo Gallery with additional enhancements that will make posting photos to Windows Live Spaces and Soapbox easier

Windows Live People

The contact book service which allows users to keep track and synchronize their contact's information

Windows Live Movie Maker

Video editing software similar to Windows Movie Maker with additional enhancements that makes home video editing easier

Windows Live Messenger

Instant messaging, personal file sharing and outgoing Voice over IP client

Windows Live Mail Desktop mail client designed to succeed Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista, with full RSS support

Windows Live ID Works seamlessly with Windows Live services and allowing multiple sign-ins with different accounts

Windows Live Hotmail

Free webmail service using AJAX technology featuring email, contacts and calendar services

Windows Live Home Provides a central location to access Windows Live services, monitor status information, and navigate to other Windows Live sites and services

Windows Live Groups

Enable users to create their social groups for sharing, discussion and coordination

Windows Live Gallery

A center for collections of developers' add-ons for Windows Live products

Windows Live Essentials

A suite of Windows Live software applications. Essentials are installed via a single installer, which allows users to select and install only the specific applications they wish.

Collaboration

Using team assignments in an online course is an excellent way to create community and improve learning, but it's not always easy. Student collaboration in the online classroom, like that in traditional face-to-face courses, requires careful course design, student preparation, and team management, plus, a little extra creativity and perseverance. This 32-page anthology of articles provides real-world guidance on how to implement team-based projects, troubleshoot them, and promote their success. Many of the nearly 20 articles in the special report come from Online Classroom – a popular newsletter devoted to improving the efficacy of online education. Review the report on collaboration posted in the assignment folder before continuing with the assignment. Here are some of the articles you will find in the report:

Comparing Online Peer Interaction Methods

Improving Results and Reducing Frustrations from Team Activities

Keeping Teamwork Alive, Motivated and Enthused!

Facilitating Student Interaction With Online Discussion Groups

Online Process-Oriented Group Projects

Although more common products like Windows Live and Google Docs provide good collaboration features, let’s take a look at other solutions that have gained popularity. PBwiki gives small businesses and small teams/groups in larger companies an easy, secure way to collaborate at work. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. With Google Docs & Spreadsheets you can create basic documents and spreadsheets from scratch. You can easily do all the basics, including making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more. And it's free. You can also upload your existing files. Spreadsheets accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, etc. All formatting and formulas will come through intact. Choose one of the following applications to simulate collaboration. Create a topic and provide an item to begin the collaboration. Contribute at least 2 entries with each of your classmates’ topics.

http://ubidesk.com http://docs.google.com http://PBwiki.com

Web Conferencing

Distance Education has embraced many forms of social networking including text (chat, blog, SMS, Twitter), audio, video, and file sharing. As one of the earliest examples of VOIP (Voice-Over Internet Protocol) to gain popularity, Skype provides a reliable, high-quality, alternate for global communications that combines voice and video. While most conferencing tools are designed for synchronous communications and asynchronous forms were limited to email, Grapevine blends the best of both worlds by allowing users to dip in and out of voice conversations when they have time and gives the presence and feeling of sitting in the same room with a group of people. Although Windows Live Messenger has dominated the market in feature rich communications products, there are now many choices that target specific areas.

Choose one of the following applications to explore Web conferencing with your classmates. Plan a discussion topic and meet online with your classmates.

GO2WEB20

One of the best sites for information about Web 2 applications is Go2Web20.net. Visit this site and explore the applications. Then create a table in MS Word like the example below. Recommend 5 applications other than the ones above with potential for online instruction and provide a link. Give a brief description of features and a specific example of applying the product for online instruction. Hyperlink the logo and include the Web link in the description for accessing the application. Post the table as an attachment in the Webcourses discussion topic for this assignment (A2). Review your classmates’ recommendations.

Web 2 Applications <your name>

Item Logo Link Features Example

1

2

3

4

5

http://grapevinetalk.com http://www.dimdim.com http://home.live.com

http://www.go2web20.net