Web 2.0 reflection

I'm having a hard time believing I'm actually done with this course.  It has been unusually stressful for me, since I was travelling in Italy and France for the first 2 1/2 weeks, then I had to prepare a presentation for the LaLeche League conference.  I'm also helping to plan a retreat with a group at my church as the Mentor Director.  We are almost ready, the retreat will be next weekend.  I had to focus on revising and refining my powerpoint for the LLL talk at the same time I was preparing my last project for this class.  I did learn how to do slide transitions and animate slides on powerpoint, which I had never done before.  I'm slowly catching up to the people who are competent at using powerpoint.  By the time I'm really good at it, it will be obsolete.  The conference organizers used a program similar to Prezi to show their logistics/housekeeping information at the beginning of the day.  I did my presentation on Saturday morning, and was attending the conference all day Saturday and Sunday, so now I'm finally in a frame of mind to complete this work.

In this course I reviewed several Web 2.0 tools.  I deliberately chose tools I was familiar with if I could, knowing that it would be easier to find my way around the tool with some familiarity.  I reviewed Vimeo and Animoto first, and these were both tools that I had used at work, so I found it fairly easy to work with them.  I think Vimeo is very useful, and I actually do use one of them in education for patients and residents.  I could see myself recording an educational video similar to the ones on Dr. Jack Newman's website, though he does make his information freely available so there is not much need for me to reinvent the wheel.

I made several Animoto videos at work a few months ago for a breastfeeding class.  I think they might be very useful as an attention grabber at the beginning of a class, or a fun summary at the end.  I don't think Animoto videos are really appropriate for formal or medical education, since you can't choose what music goes with each template, and you can't record a script, you can only type short captions.

The third tool I reviewed was Stormboard.  This was more challenging since I was in Italy with my daughter, my feet were hurting at the end of each day, and the wifi was iffy in some of our hotels.  The wifi was free, thank goodness.  I didn't like Stormboard much, as it was not really intuitive to learn how to use it.  At first I felt really frustrated, then I realized that Vimeo and Animoto were really easy to learn and use, so it wasn't me, it was the tool.  I could see Stormboard being useful in group collaboration or projects in medical education, but there were other tools that were reviewed that week that were lots better.

I reviewed TestMoz after I got home from my trip, so I actually spent a bit more time exploring the tool and using it before I posted the review.  I really liked this tool and I could see myself using it to create pre and post tests.  Someone reviewed another tool that is similar to TestMoz, and it had more bells and whistles.  TestMoz is really basic and simple, you can't import video or illustrations.  However, if your needs are simple, TestMoz was really easy to use and effective, and would keep data on test scores for you as well.

The last tool I reviewed was Remember the Milk, which was supposed to be a productivity tool.  It allows you to make lists of things to remember.  I think it's just as easy to use the apps on your phone or iPad, and RTM is not really worth the time it takes to set up a list and input the data.  Of course, I'm speaking as a person that still carries a pocket calendar and pays bills by writing checks.

I feel like this course has dragged me kicking and screaming into the 21st century world, online and electronically.  I was bedazzled by the sheer volume of web tools that are out there.  I'm sure it's quite a lucrative business, starting people out with free accounts, then luring them with pro and advanced accounts when they are hooked on the app and need more to keep producing material.  Kind of reminds me of a drug dealer outside the school yard, beckoning.  Having said that, I'm also thoroughly impressed with the utility of many of the tools that were reviewed, and also humbled by the skill of the others in the class in creating the reviews.  I know that I will continue to use Web tools, some more than others, in my teaching experiences.  Maybe one of the most valuable things I got out of this course is the experience of trying new tools - I won't be afraid to open up a new one and take a test drive in the future.

VoiceThread presentation using Web 2.0 tools for medical education

When training OB-Gyn and Pediatric residents in lactation, it is ideal to have them in the clinic, with a lactation consultant available not only to present information, but to answer questions and then guide learning through consultations with actual mothers and babies.  In my opinion, this is best achieved face to face, not using Web 2.0 tools.  For a distance learning/online education setting, I could see the use of several Web 2.0 tools to present materials and prepare the resident with an understanding of breastfeeding positioning, latching and effective feeding.  This would prepare them to attend and observe a consultation without didactic time in the clinic.  They still need clinical time to practice assessments under knowledgeable supervision to really become competent.

Pediatric and OB-Gyn residents could use a pre-recorded module to prepare them for interaction with real breastfeeding mothers and babies. The lactation consultant instructor could use VoiceThread to create a learning module on a variety of aspects of breastfeeding that physicians will encounter in their pediatric or obstetric practices.  The modules would need to be tailored to fit the professional.  Both obstetricians and pediatricians deal with lactation, but pediatricians focus on the feeding aspect and whether the baby is well nourished, and the obstetrician focuses on the function and health of the breast.  Their specialties overlap in the area of assessing positioning and latch and evaluating the effectiveness of a breastfeeding.  This is essential both for the baby to be well nourished and the mother's breast to remain healthy and functioning well.

There were many tools presented during this course that would serve well.  I focused on VoiceThread and TestMoz, the ones I am most familiar with.  You can access my VoiceThread at the following URL:

https://voicethread.com/share/5913916/

You can access the post test for assessing breastfeeding at the following URL:

www.testmoz.com/329463

I am reviewing a Web 2.0 tool called Remember the Milk.  The URL is www.rememberthemilk.com.

I would classify this tool as  a productivity tool, but it can also be used in a networking/social kind of way.  This tool seems to work like an organizer, allowing the user to input tasks in several different categories, including personal, study and work.  There is also an inbox feature that allows a user to email a task to the program and a sent feature that may store items sent to the user, I’m not sure.  This is a web based tool, so I did not need to download or install any tools to make it work.  It doesn’t need any other hardware to make it work.  To use it I need basic computer skills and a schedule to manage.  If I had better skills, I'm sure I could make better, more efficient use of this tool.  As it is, I found it to be fairly useless for me.

When you log onto rememberthemilk.com, you are invited to set up a free account.  The free acct. allows you to use the program on your iPad, iPhone, Android or Blackberry, and the Pro acct allows autosyncing from your device to the online app.

After setting up the account, you are directed to the welcome page, which prompts you to log in.

The Pro account, for $25 a year, has a few more bells and whistles.  It also automatically syncs with MicroSoft Outlook, for those who use that at work or home and a mobile device at the other.

There is a Remember the Milk blog that is a companion to the website that gives users tips for using the program more effectively.  

There is a screen with FAQ’s to help a new user get started, with definitions of terms used in the program and tips for how to get started.

After a list is created, you have an option to share or publish your list.  Sharing allows others to see and modify your list, while publishing allows others to see the list, but not to modify it.

To use this tool, one must:

1.        Log in

2.       Choose the category for the task

3.       Click on the print box and type in the name of your task.

4.       This adds the task to your list and opens the box that allows you to describe your task – when it’s due, whether to repeat, a time estimate for completion, tags, location and URL if desired.

5.       You can continue to add as many tasks as you want in whatever category you want. 

6.       You can go to the options box and choose whether to publish or share your task list.

7.       You can highlight a task on your list and then click on the “Complete” button to change the task from pending to complete, which removes it from your active list.

This tool is really not applicable to creating an educational resource.  It is merely to help a person stay organized and not forget tasks that need to be completed in the future.  I suppose an instructor could use this tool to create a task list, then publish it to the group of students that need to get the tasks done, if one needed to spoon feed one’s students.  It doesn’t seem appropriate for formal teaching environments, but I think it might be useful for group projects in some more informal settings, to allow people to collaborate with each other and not lose track of who agreed to do what.  I think a disadvantage is that it really isn’t much different from the calendar apps that we already have in our phones or OutLook, it doesn’t seem to do anything different or better that I can discern.  I will stipulate that I am barely an OutLook calendar user, and not a very proficient one at that.  I don’t use the calendar apps on my phone or iPad, I prefer to write in a pocket calendar if I need to remember something.  I would recommend this tool to someone who really likes using online calendar tools, but personally, I don’t think it’s really worth the time it takes to input the data.

I am reviewing a Web 2.0 tool called Testmoz. 

The URL is www.testmoz.com

I would classify it as partly a Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Tool since it provides an opportunity for students to think about and work through material that has been presented, and also a Feedback Tool, since the instructor can use to give students feedback on how well they have assimilated the material.

I used this tool to create a brief quiz about breastfeeding.  I found it easy to use.  The tool is complete y web-based, so I did not have to download or install any tools or components onto my computer to use it.  It is free for simple projects, and one can also set up a paid account for more features.  I did not need  any special skills to use the tool, beyond basic data input skills.  However, to use it effectively I need skills in constructing good test items.  When you go to the website, you see a screen that invites you to make a test, or view a demo. 

I chose to view a demo, which was a very brief and easy test that I took, and was able to see my results immediately.  I then created a test.  Testmoz gives you the option of several different features, listed below:

After choosing the types of questions you want to construct, making the test and then providing the URL to your test-takers, the program will then keep records for you of their results.  It is plain, with no bells and whistles, but effective to meet many instructors' needs.  There is a helpful FAQ page that answers most of what anyone would want to know about the site.

To use this tool:

1.  Go to www.testmoz.com on your browser.

2.  Click on the "Make a Test" button.

3.  Type a test name and create a password for the test that users will need to access this test.

4.  You are then taken to a "Test Control Panel" page, where you can adjust how many points each item is worth, add questions and publish your test.  This page also gives you the URL for your test, and you need to save it, since the site will not keep it or remember it for you.

5.  You then input as many questions as you need, choosing what type of question you want to use for each item (multiple choice, multiple response, true/false or fill in the blank)

6.  When you have put in all of the questions you need for your test, you then click on the "Publish" button.  This makes your test available to anyone who has the URL.

7.  Students can then log in to the student portal and take the test

8.  When a test has been complete, the tool will give instant feedback.

I created a test that can be accessed at www.testmoz.com/329463.

I could see myself using this tool to create pre and post tests for any type of teaching activity I might do in my clinic or in a school envioronment.  It would be useful for distance learning situations as well.  The advantages are that it is very simple and user-friendly to create tests.  The disadvantage is also the simplicity, that it does not have the bells and whistles that some instructors might want to use in their test creations.  I would definitely recommend this tool to any instructor that wants to make a simple pre or post test for their material.

Module 4 Group project on VoiceThread

Our group project VoiceThread presentation on Future Trends in Distance Education can be accessed at the following:

https://voicethread.com/share/5880114/

Our group was pretty easy to work with, except that it seemed 3 out of the 4 of us had a tough week and difficulty assembling material early in the week.  John was able to locate 3 articles online that he sent to each of us, and suggested a direction for the project.

By Thursday, I had located 2 articles, and decided to contribute material on increased demand as a future trend in distance education.  I culled information and found images on Google as well as the websites to create slides.  I emailed them to the others, and then revised them according to feedback from the group.  I also gave feedback on others' slides, and they made adjustments as well.

We met online on Friday night, using GoToMeeting.com, which I organized using my manager's account, so I didn't have to create/buy an account.  We use this tool for webcam consultations in our clinic, and it's really easy to use.  We discussed our progress and planned out how we would complete the project by the deadline.

By Sunday, our slides were uploaded onto VoiceThread by our group leader, Trevor.  He did a great job of organizing them to flow well.  We then recorded our comments.  I had used VoiceThread for Modules 1 and 2, so I knew how to use it, but it's different adding to an uploaded presentation, rather than creating one from the beginning, so I recorded all of my comments on the first slide.  I had to go back and record a separate comment for each slide that I contributed.  I had difficulty deleting the long comment, but Trevor was able to do it and not lose the short one that I recorded.

In retrospect, we should have communicated more earlier in the week, since Sobia used the same article that I did, and if I had known that she was using it, I would have made an effort to expand and use more varied resources.  However, Sunday evening is a little late to fix things, and Trevor and Sobia did make adjustments to make the presentation flow without duplications.

Currently, I don't think I would use VoiceThread in my professional life, since most of the teaching I do is one on one F2F, with students and clients.  I could possibly see myself creating a VoiceThread in the future to cover material that is commonly used and repeated with many clients.  They could then refer to this resource at home.  I could also possibly make a VoiceThread to refer mothers to when doing telephone consultations.

Module 3 Web 2.0 Tool Review

I chose to review a tool called Stormboard.  The URL for the site is www.stormboard.com

This seems to be a collaboration tool, though it could be seen as a critical thinking/problem solving tool in that it is meant to be used for collaborative work.  The name was derived from combining the terms “brainstorm” and “whiteboard”.  It has a free account, and also paid accounts that offer more options.  I have never used stormboard before, and I didn’t find it user-friendly.  Perhaps a person just needs more computer savvy or time than I have to find it usable, but I was not able to create a storm successfully.  When I clicked on “Help” I didn’t find anything to help me figure out how to create a storm properly, and it just wasn’t intuitive for me.  I did not need to download anything or install any programs for the tool to work properly, I just needed to set up an account.  In order to use this tool one needs basic computer skills and the ability to drag and drop, I think.  I did not need any devices other than a computer and internet connection. 

I got an email from the website asking how I liked the site and whether I needed help.  I responded that I couldn’t figure out how to use it effectively, but have not yet received a reply.  I think part of my problem is that I didn’t have a specific topic in mind for the storm, and I had no one that I wanted to include in the brainstorming process.  When you log onto the site, you see a prompt that asks you to sign in or make an account.  After I established an account, I could not get back to the initial page to do a screenshot.  Below is the greeting page, which gives you options for joining a current storm, accessing a storm you have created, or creating another storm, if you have a paid account.

 

There are three levels of accounts:

I could not locate any examples of educational resources created with this tool, but here is a shot of the storm that I attempted.  It is just sticky notes on a “board”

I don’t know of many educational or teaching environments that could benefit from using this tool.  Possibly a group that is collaborating on a project, and is in the beginning stages of planning might find this useful.  I can’t think of any cases in my work that I would find this useful, simply because it requires collaboration between several people.  I’m sure there are plenty of good tools to help one keep notes for projects or teaching exercises.  I can’t really think of any advantages in using this tool in a formal or informal teaching environment.  It seems cumbersome to me, though a more computer savvy person might really enjoy using it in collaboration with others on a team.  It’s not really designed for a single instructor to use in a normal teaching situation.  I could see it being used in distance learning for student feedback. 

I would not recommend this tool to others, I think there are probably better tools out there.