Video Conferencing Web Tools

Video Conferencing Tools:	Features:	Pros/Cons:
Skype	·         Call- can call any device anywhere in the world (cost to call mobile and landlines). Have options for forwarding calls to your phone and caller ID. Can connect to individuals or a group. ·         Video- Face to face conversation with an individual or a group. ·         Messaging- many different ways to message (video, text, sharing pictures and location). ·         Sharing- Can share files, screenshots, pictures.	·         Skype is a free download that allows the user to connect to anywhere in the world. ·         Great to use for education and connecting the classroom with outside resources without having to leave the room. ·         Premium options cost money, but the free options are great too!
Adobe Connect Now	·         Teamwork Space- Allows for shared online files, so many individuals can work on the same document without having to meet face to face. And it has set up options to manage who you want to see the document. ·         Shared PDF document reviews- Allows user to get feedback in one PDF file. ·         Personal File Storage- Everything is stored online and accessible with any device.	·         This program reminded me a lot of Google Docs, which is free. But it does have a free trial offer. ·         With online storage, the user doesn’t have to worry about losing documents. ·         This tool requires a login and after the free trial the user would have to pay for services.
Tiny Chat	·         Can chat with an individual or a group. ·         Can create Tags, so other users know what your chat is about. User has a maximum of 10 tags with the free version. ·         Pro allows for more options (Video, No advertisements, priority directory list).	·         Very unprofessional images and videos for all users to see. ·         Can use the tool from multiple devices. ·         Can import videos from Youtube to share with students. ·         I wouldn’t use this tool with students, for fear of them finding inappropriate things. Just hitting the Tiny Chat icon while in the chat room will take you to the home page.
Meeting Burner	·         Allows for screen sharing and audio conferencing. ·         Meeting scheduling. ·         Has in meet chat available. ·         Paid versions have meeting recording options, which can be shared.	·         With the free version the user is only allowed 10 attendees. ·         With the paid version it allows the user to record the meeting. This would be great for feedback for the teacher or if a student was absent from class they could review the information covered.
Go To Meeting	·         Can host a variety of conferences (Trainings, Webinars, and Meetings). ·         Available to use on many devices (besides the training option). ·         Have the options of audio or video conferencing. ·         Meeting scheduling.	·         Free 30 day trial available. ·         This tool seems very user friendly and shows how to set up a meeting step by step.
Yugma	·         User is able to share documents, images or desktop. ·         Application sharing allows the user to show audience what they want them to see. ·         Skype integration- can conference with Skype contacts. And adds instant desktop sharing to Skype. ·         Presentation tools include a whiteboard for brainstorming, notes, or drawing lines and shapes. These changes can be saved. ·         Recording, Playback and Webcast- The user can playback or share the information.	·         One feature that I really liked was the whiteboard option. I can see how helpful this would be during a lesson. The teacher could write notes or the student could add information, answer questions, or complete graphs. ·         Allows the user to host a meeting up to 500 people. ·         15 day free trial available. After that pricing options range from $9.95 a month to $159.95 a month.
Webex	·         Share- can share desktop, files, applications, and change presenters. ·         Collaborate through video, chat, and a marker tool to highlight important information. ·         It is possible for each user to choose their view.	·         Free version only allows for 3 people per meeting. So if using in the classroom, the students would have to work as a whole. ·         With the free version the Whiteboard is available, so the teacher and students could take notes.

After exploring all of the video conferencing web tools available, I think my preference would have to be Skype. Some of the other options I enjoyed as well, but I think Skype would work best in the classroom for educational purposes. When I was going though some other options I found that they would be very helpful in a business setting, but for the classroom I think a simple, user friendly program is the best option. Skype would be a great tool to use in the classroom to connect to individuals around the world. In Social Studies the students could learn about different cultures and connect with individuals from different countries to ask questions and learn directly from them. Using Skype in the classroom allows that students to go on a field trip without ever leaving their seats. This would be good in Special Education because with students with behavior and physical disabilities some field trips can be hard to manage or impossible to attend. Overall, I can see how video conferencing tools like these can enhance the learning experience for all learners.

Search Engines

This weeks assignment opened my eyes to all of the search engines available to students. I had no idea there were so many. When going through all of the search engines I decided to stay with the same topic and see which one yielded the best results. The topic I researched was Unequal Distribution of Technology in Education for my research paper in Issues. I was already regretting this topic because it was a challenge to find any relevant information.

After searching through all of the search engines some of them were very helpful. Some of these included:

• Academic Info- I liked how this provided the user with many sources based on your search. It was easy to use, but it took me to so many different places I finally ended up at Education World and found good information there.
• BASE- I liked the look of BASE because it is set up like many search engines I have used before. The reason I put this search engine in the helpful section is because I did find some useful articles, but I didn't like how I had to search through the pages to find them; this was very time consuming.
• ERIC and Google Scholar- Both of these websites I have been using to find research articles for a long time. I like the layout of both sites and they always have articles I can use for my research.
• Infotopia- This site filtered the information very well, I was able to find one article that would be helpful for my research located on the first page. I looked through more pages to see if any other information was relevant, but it wasn't. I would definitely use this search engine in the future to save searching time.
• RefSeek- This search engine provided me with some good results for my research paper; it is powered by Google, so it was set up very similar. The only thing I didn't like was when I clicked on a link and then wanted to go back, it would bring me back to the first page of results no matter what page I was on. 

The search engines that weren't as helpful included: 

• The Archival Research Catalogue- This didn't help me with researching my topic at all, but when I searched for a more basic topic it provided a lot of resources that looked helpful. I might use this in the future for other research.
• LibGuides- I found this site not very helpful because I needed to broaden my search too much before it would give me information I wanted. Some of the sites it took me to required a log in or weren't what I was looking for.
• Library of Congress- I liked how you could limit the search by formats, but when I went to type information for my research nothing came up that was helpful for me. When I tried to limit the formats to find relevant information it still didn't come up with anything useful.

Overall these search engines will help with my continuing education. As an educator I would definitely share some of these sites with my students because they are great information resources. 

I enjoyed reading the Web 2.0 article and it is very true. I remember using technology growing up and it gradually became more interactive. I remember first using the computer to learn typing and playing basic games like Oregon Trail. Then AIM and MySpace became popular and it was possible to connect to others. Today when I think of technology a major part of that is being connected. Individuals can Skype, play games together, and share information with ease without needing to leave the house. Web 2.0 is great for education because it allows students to engage and interact while learning. It provides experiences that wouldn't be possible otherwise.