1dream2dare3detach’s Blog

Platform Reviews
Successful Project Based Learning (PBL) projects require fluency in communication, collaboration, and publishing platforms. Also known as Web 2.0, these tools engage learners, provide multiple representations of information, and give learners choice in expression. I’ve explored one tool of each of the platforms and have organized the results by using the following itemized list:

1. Overall function of the application
2. Resources available online to help new users learn to navigate the interface
3. Specific ways that students could use the application
4. Age/parental consent requirements for users
5. Caveats for teachers

Communication Platform: Tangler http://www.tangler.com/

1. Tangler is a free discussion forum tool that advertises itself as “easy” to setup, maintain, and promote. It allows real time conversations as the “post mode” by the send button can be toggled to a “chat mode”. You can add image and video as well as customizing the appearance. By default, it is public but can be made private.
2. Tangler has concise step-by-step instructions with helpful images. It also offers an “owners” forum and support section. However, I failed to discover how to delete the existing topic “Starting Your Forum”.
3. Tangler is as “easy” as it advertises itself to be. I tested it by posting text from an existing web page and it maintained the hyperlinks. Students could follow the links or discuss the embedded images and videos. Also, the chat feature would make real time interaction possible.
4. Tangler users must be over the age of 13 and agree to posted terms and conditions.
5. As users must be over the age of 13, this would be the starting point for any classroom. As you cannot upload files, if you had an image for discussion, you would have to post it elsewhere on the web first and then use the url to embed.

Collaboration Platform: Elluminate Three for Free vRoom http://elluminate.com/vroom/register.go (Am “colouring outside the lines” here as the assigned choices of collaboration tools were all asynchronous.)

1. The Elluminate Three for Free vRoom (vRoom) is advertised as a “full-featured, real-time collaboration tool for up to three people”. I would amend this to “for up to three computers” as one of more of the computers can be hooked up to a data projector so many, many people can collaborate through facilitators. This is a list of the basics available as the complete list would be too long: two-way VoIP, interactive whiteboard, application sharing, file transfer, synchronized web tour, live webcam, and breakout rooms for group work.
2. The Elluminate Training provides differentiated instruction with live online training, guides in pdf, or tutorials in video. There are also some PowerPoint presentations. Every form is multi-modal with video, audio, images and/or text. I’ve introduced other teachers and non-teachers to Elluminate and the environment is exceptionally intuitive.
3. Students can have their own vRoom for group work. Teachers can use the vRoom for office hours or larger collaboration projects. An example might be a water expert from the World Health Organization goes online with a classroom in the United States and a classroom in South Africa.
4. Elluminate has no age restrictions for signing up for a vRoom.
5. As a teacher, once you use Elluminate, you may be spoiled for anything else. After using Elluminate, I needed to do group work in a chat room and it was like being in a straight jacket.

Publishing Platform: Animoto http://animoto.com/

1. Animoto advertises itself as “the end of slideshows”.
2. Like Tangler, Animoto has a clear step-by-step process. After deciding whether you would like to create a short or long video, you add images from Animoto’s collection or an existing online album like Facebook or Flickr. Next, Animoto offers you a choice of musical genres and music. The last step is finalization. Each step provides specific guidance and explanations, for example, Animoto informs you that although you will be required to sign in to Facebook, you will automatically return to Animoto after selecting your images. The help section has questions in categories with the answer in a drop down menu.
3. Animoto would give students a fresh canvas to express their learning and easily add the important dimension of music.
4. Animoto did not indicate any age restrictions.
5. Teachers would want to show a variety of examples so that students would be aware of the end product.

Students Meeting the NETS-S
To explain how student might use the communication, collaboration, and publishing Web 2.0 applications to meet the NETS-S, I attempted to do a “show” rather than tell in Animoto. However, my effort was a failure because of the end product size. I have instead provided the images here.  The five images correspond to the NETS-S as they apply to our Water Water Everywhere PBL.