This week we focused on WTS 2.3: Select and Use Applications: Use productivity tools and common applications effectively and constructively. The topic was support and the tag of the week was productivity. The bookmarks on delicious and websites shared on etherpad offered many comprehensive lists of tools and applications to increase productivity and support education. A couple of my favorites :
- Back to School with the class of web 2.0 This 3 part article gives a great comprehensive overview of web 2.0 for education. Part 1 covers web 2.0 tools such as organizers, grade-books, math (take note all you math teachers), learning & research, to-dos, note-taking, resume building, and media sharing. Part 2 discusses web-based alternatives to desktop office applications including: word processing, presentations, diagrams, spreadsheets, and more. The author then goes on to compare all of the web-based word processors for use in education. He determines that none of the available applications are quite ready yet–they are lacking specific formatting options, etc.; however, they do allow collaborative editing, document sharing, and online storage giving them potential benefits. Part 3 gives real cases of web 2.0 used in classrooms around the world and covers blogging, podcasting, media sharing, and wikis. Links to all the tools and applications discussed are provided as well as helpful descriptions & comparisons.
- The Ultimate Student Resource List with tons of tools and applications all geared toward education and making students more productive and relaxed. The site is organized in a way that’s easy to follow and everything on the list is free. Yes, free.
- The Top 25 Web 2.0 Applications to Improve a Student’s or Professor’s Productivity The idea is that these applications will in some way increase productivity and/or reduce time taken for specific tasks. Thus, some companies are more heavily represented because their products are designed for productivity (i.e. Google).
- Directory of Learning Tools from the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies has over 3100 tools listed in 25 categories. The page on podcasting tools include those for subscribing to and listening to podcasts as well as creating and delivering podcasts.
Podcasts? Well, this week, we were also supposed to explore podcasting. Boulos, Maramba, & Wheeler (2006) describe many educational applications of podcasting and videocasting, including:
- Recordings of lectures for those students unable to attend the lecture in person
- Audio recordings of textbook content by chapter allowing students to “read” or review texts while walking or driving to class (can be significant aid for auditory learners)
- Downloadable libraries of high resolution heart and respiratory sounds for healthcare students.
Accessing lectures and textbooks while driving, riding, or walking would certainly allow an increase in productivity.
Examples of podcasts useful for nursing students:
- McGraw-Hill
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Johns Hopkins
- Cardiovascular Multimedia Information Network
This last one (CVMD) allows students to listen to heart sounds and examine ECG strips over and over again if they want to without bothering any patients. Now that is productive and supportive!
Reference:
Kamel Boulos, M. N., Maramba, I., & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis, blogs, and podcasts: A new generation of web based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BioMed Central Medical Education, 6(41), Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/6/41.
