application reviews

Well the first application that caught my eye was zoho, presentation is everything. I found it easy to look at and locate and determine where i was going and what it contained right from the beginning versus some of the other applications that i had to scout around to see where i needed to go to get the necessary information. It just seemed like there was so much available maybe it was just how everything was lined up in columns and labeled and you could see what was there. After i started looking around it reminded me of some other programs that i might have used already. For instance the zoho writer looked alot like windows applications and what was available through windows. Although it offered everything windows has to offer, at least that is what it looked like, it seemed to offer more, like the zoho share tab where you can go in and look at different content and profiles, etc. There were also the chat and bloggers that windows doesn't offer in there programs, but again everything in there looked like windows but compiled all in one program where as with windows you have to buy the different products to get everything like you would have to buy windows office, or quickbooks, or other programs to create databases and invoices or browse the marketplace. I liked the meeting tab that would really be useful in having a central meeting with everyone involved through the internet, that made me say wow....

So i wanted to look at one of the photo editing options rather than another office suite. I glanced at all three of them and found fotoflexer the most appealing, again not knowing how good one is more than the other i look to the one that seems the most user friendly and go from there.
The first thing i noticed was how it is compatible with myspace and facebook and other social pages that most students would know about. I also liked how it had the different tabs to locate what you needed or wanted to do with your pictures, such as effects or retouching. I like the doodle tab it had so many options to play with. Being experienced with kodak share and an avid scarpbooker i really liked these photo editing programs better than the ones i am use to. The adding sticker feature was just like scrapbooking online......and the shape tab was the same idea that created enhancements to the pictures it was real tantalizing. I would definitely download this one.

R/D13

My favorite activity this semester was maintaining the blog itself. I think having to work with it through out the semester makes it easier to try and figure it out. Having to learn something new, doing it, getting it done, and leaving it behind tends to be more likely to forget about than if you continue to use something. I feel more comfortable with the blogger and seeing others pages and what mine could look like makes it seem more achievable. The blogger was intimidating at first until you dig in and get your hands dirty and move around a bit. So in turn the blogger was made to use all the activities and made it more interesting in using it because you could see all the capabilities that were possible with the page where as if we weren't required to do anything with the page it would seem like a useless tool.

The application of Artificial Intelligence seems really interesting and "neat". So in turn it is almost replacing the teacher? omgosh that is not good for us.......it states that its frameworks are viewed as highly interactive, computer-based instructional environments whose goal is to actively guide learners toward achieving expertise within a given content area, isn't that what a teacher is for? Its great that its ability to accurately diagnose learning errors by matching error patterns to predefined models of novice performance and to tailor subsequent instructional activities so that learner performance more closely matches that of the expert model. But i'm sure there will be people questioning what is a novice and what makes the expert model right. I like the idea only because it can give the extra assistance a student may need such as a tutor that may be hired during struggling points of a students learning.

R/D12

Well, you were right when you said this chapter was somewhat complex. I had to keep going back over and over to weed through the concepts and break down the meanings. Myself i need visuals to help grasp concepts that are new to me, games and thematic treatments are a good reinforcement to the visuals. And when i combine audio with the visual its even better so I think one method goes with the other hand in hand and its hard to distinguish individually between the others in choosing just two ways to improve instructional design work. As the book states "Students learn better from words and pictures than from words alone" (p.63). In my previous experience the students i was interning with had a tutorial they used to enhance their math skills. The students would use this tutorial visually on the computer but also be listening with headphones to enhance their abilities in answering the needed information. I do encourage the use of audio and visual at the same time but would be cautious as not to use to much of either one. I noticed that on some of the answers and praising of the correct answers there were a lot of animation used and felt this was sometimes distracting to the students when trying to stay on course and maintain focus on the lessons. I also would try to incorporate simulations into my design methods, to incorporate motor skills and the freedom to interact as they please.