Independent Web 2.0 Tools Project

I included an “independent project” for participants to complete at the end of the Web 2.0 Tools for Teaching and Learning course. Although there is a great deal of leeway within the specific Web 2.0 tools (e.g., blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, podcasts, and RSS) that participants will experience in real-world content areas that they teach in a classroom setting, I thought it would also be useful for participants to spend some time exploring other Web 2.0 tools (there are so many of them!) and apply one or more of them in an educational context of their choosing. I defined eight additional categories of Web 2.0 tools in which participants could choose for their independent study: multimedia, surveys and polls, social and learning networks, Web-based applications, Web pages, geographical mapping, mind mapping, and mashups. Participants will prepare an independent project proposal, develop the project, and then present it to the class.

As part of my personal research, I found a Web-based presentation tool that I especially liked called VoiceThread. Using VoiceThread, you can create narrated online presentations (slides with audio) and also collaborate with others online, if desired, to record audio “comments” throughout the presentation. Little “avatars” (i.e., pictures) display on the slides as people comment. I had previously worked with Articulate Presenter, a licensed-based software product that I like, to create narrated presentations that can be published as a “flash” (.swf) file; however, Articulate can be costly for the average person to purchase. What’s great about VoiceThread is that it’s a Web-based tool that can be used free-of-charge, and the presentation can be hosted on VoiceThread’s server for public or private viewing.

As part of my personal exploration, I decided to create a VoiceThread presentation for another graduate course I am taking this semester, along with three other graduate students who were in my group. I wanted to do something innovative using technology for our group’s presentation to the class. I also had the idea of using VoiceThread for “digital storytelling/dialog,” instead of a traditional PowerPoint presentation where each person discusses a given slide separately. It was a lot of work and involved a high degree of collaboration, but it was well worth the "start up" effort. I would highly recommend using VoiceThread and will continue to use it in the future!

(image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Computer-globe.svg)