Zoho Notebook

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Web Office Applications

OK. So, my learning curve really went through the roof with this week's assignment, but I had a great time working with the Zoho Applications. That's probably because there is so much potential for collaboration that it's pretty exciting.

To begin with, I chose Zoho after reading some of the information about it. Then, I decided to just jump in and see what I could do. Zoho Writer was appealing to me, because, as you all know, I'm always looking for new ways to collaborate with the team of trainers that I work with. However, it was Zoho Notebook that I decided to check out, because I liked the idea of an application that might allow me to jot down ideas in much the same way that I would do in a notebook. Well, I wasn't disappointed, but Zoho is a notebook on steroids.

First of all, I started playing with the notebook page and putting text here and there. Then, I realized that I can tack just about anything that I want to the page. Imagine going into a classroom that has whiteboards on all of the walls and being able to tack up a powerpoint presentation or a word document or an rss feed or a website or a video. Then, imagine being able to just move those all around - within one whiteboard or from one to another. Then, add some written comments or audio comments and/or video comments. There you go, Zoho Notebook.

The Notebook that I created is titled Duty of Fair Representation. I had some of those files available at home; so, I was able to upload them. The fun part (and the frustrating part) was adding the audio. Notebook will allow you to record comments and post them onto the page. It's just like a podcast. I did a few trial runs using the application itself, but when I went to do a recording that I wanted to use, I actually had to use my webcam microphone. (Another new adventure for me.) But, once I saved my recording, I was able to upload it onto my notebook page. So, take a look and see what you think.

What can an educator do with this? Well, the collaboration possibilities are amazing. It's actually a virtual whiteboard that can be used in real time. If two or more people are logged on, they can make changes that will show up on the other user's screen/notebook. In addition, users can chat about what is on the screen as they make changes.

What can students do with this? I think that the same type of collaboration can be made available. I really liked being able to include rss feeds and web pages. If students were working on a research project - for example on issues dealing with the Duty of Fair Representation, they can post websites that are relevant for one another. In addition, students can comment on the whole book, just one page or even just one object on a page. Then I realized that you can include a Zoho Write page. So, when working on a document that more than one user can make comments on, that document can be incorporated. Then, not last and not least, other applications can be included, such as calendars and spreadsheets.

Well, as you can see, I thought that it was pretty fun and versatile. I'm certain that I will be using it in the near future.

Practice, Quiz, Survey

http://www.quia.com/jg/1685149.html

http://www.quia.com/quiz/1881431.html

http://www.quia.com/sv/330023.html

OK. I'll admit that my goal was to have savvy Respondus activities as another notch on my belt of online learning, but that software is difficult for me to navigate. I played with it a couple of weeks ago, because I wanted to be able to create online flashcards, but I couldn't get things to run smoothly. Maybe it's because I'm not posting them to Blackboard. Anyway...

I decided to move on to Quia. I've used Quia before, but it has changed a little since I last used it. So the links that you see here provide for vocabulary practice, self assessment and a survey related to the impact of Spanish in the workplace. What's great about this site is that you can set up your class using your roster, and students can access your class page and all of the activities, assessments and surveys that you create. In addition, you can make class announcements, post reminders and communicate via e-mail.

The activities alone are great, because they offer students with diverse learning styles an opportunity to work with the information in lots of different ways. The nice thing about the Quia site is that it will continuously change the order of the questions and the order of the answer options. Therefore, it is different everytime the student practices the online activities.

I think that one of the major goals for this week was to design a survey. From past classes, I have learned the importance of using surveys as a pre-assessment tool. These surveys can be used to learn about the students that are taking a distance learning class. The focus can be on content and/or skill level. In addition, the surveys can also be used to evaluate a course and/or to do post assessments. However, as I was working on this project I was more interested in how surveys could be used as a tool that promotes communication and learning among the students. For example, students can develop their own surveys based on the content of the class, and they can use it to survey their peers or others outside of the classroom. In addition, I think that it is valuable to have students interpret the survey findings and use it for course discussions. It's not enough to just do a survey. Something has to be done with the information. That's always been one of the most frustrating things about surveys, you take the time to fill it out, but your efforts don't ever seem to get past the stamp that is used to mail it back. Maybe that's one of the positives of online surveys. They can provide instant feedback.

Just as a final note - Quia is very user friendly. It is so easy to set up the activities that you want to make available. Also, if you want ideas, there are lots of examples to help you out. All I did was set up my 30-day trial account (I don't know how many of these I have now.). Then, I was able to quickly set up the practice activities. The great thing is that you get four for the price of one. Once you set up a question bank, you can have flashcards, crossword puzzles, memory and a word search. Buena suerte. Good luck!