Quizlet review

So I decided to try out Quizlet after I was introduced to it by my fellow education classmates.  It is a great program for educator, and it can also be used by student to create a study guide or a simple assignment.  I think it would be more fun for student to create a quiz than turning in definition of concepts... :) The fact it can be made through tablet and laptop is a really big plus.  It is indeed easy to make a quiz, and it can be multiple choice, match, and it even let you print the quiz out to hand out as hard copy. 

Indeed, the program is easy to use. Both on the web and on tablet. (I use iPad) Here is a fun quiz I made: http://quizlet.com/74281055, just because. I have quizzed her friends, and they have became very knowledgeable of the content after few tries.  

From the standard view point, it lucks the creativity (from my perspective), but it does meet most ISTE standard.  It can be easily assessed as formative assessment... Yes, it is a quiz:) and students can create a quiz quite easily themselves.  Students can collaborate in making the quiz, or quiz each other, and the quiz can be share through different medium... Such as Facebook and email. There is a link for Pinterest and LinkedIn as well, but I haven't used them yet.  Of cause it can be used by any subject :)

Below is my screen shot of the quiz I mentioned seen from my tablet.  Enjoy ;)  

Scratch review

I decided to write a blog about an awesome educational program called Scratch. First , go to this vimeo link which will shows what the program does...

Ok. I admit that I really think that the Scratch mascot is cute (Cat; I LOVE cats), but that is not all. This is a great program that will introduce the basic computer programming to anyone who is old enough to read and type well. Just as computer programming, many things are possible.  No, we do not need to know JAVA or C++... but it require logic and determination.

Within K-12, I would recommend that students be at least 5th grade.  This I say because the program's logic is quite mathematical (yest it is computer programming), and whomever younger may not quite understand if... when... and other basic commands.  Also, just like normal programming, user must de-bug the program often, and younger student may not have the patient to go through it...

Of cause the program meets all the ISTN/NETS standards... dah. The end product can be music, art, videogame, story, and so on; thus it can be used under any subject except perhaps wood-shop... maybe it can be done...?

Here is an example I made a little while ago for Summer Stem Program... ( I used an old installed program version which is no longer offered on the web, though it can be found on different sites)

The program is free, and it is run on the web, so students can access from anywhere where there is internet and collaborate on project independently (they do need to save it on their USB device).
People may comment on the programs they share on the web (yes,feedback!), and it is very exciting to see how many people have played with/ read/ or try the creating you/students created :)

The program and the website seems a bit complicated due to its' nature of computer programming, but with a little help from help and tips (provided on each command and access through "help"), most people will soon figure out how it works.  The project can be formatively assessed, and it can be done collaboratively or independently!

Highly recommended!

Jing review

Warning: This post maybe a bit tech-savvy.

Jing is a screen capturing application that can be used for both PC and Mac.  It is a great app for making a 5 min how to video using PC and Mac, or simply saving a screen shot image with simple steps. 

To use, you need to first download the application, and sign in/create account.  Here is the link... 

Once the app is running, you will see the half sun looking icon on your desktop somewhere (mine was at the top... see picture, it's above the red giant arrow:)

Jing makes it really easy to capture screen shot. (If you have ever saved a screen shot using "prt scr" and "past" on paint app, you will really know what I mean...)  I feel confident that even my mother who would make an international call just to ask me how to install something on her computer, multiple times, would be able to use this application with ease. 

The image is saved as PNG onto desktop (which can be changed, of cause), so it will be kind of big file (about 2MB) and very detailed for a desk top screen shot.  I re-saved the above image as jpeg to save uploading time and storage space through paint. Thus, the image is editable, and can be manipulated through other app and software, or uploaded to other places such as blog, facebook, and so on. 

The video capturing on the other hand, is as simple. It is saved as SWF file, which I have never seen before, and in order to convert it to more familiar file such as MP4 or AVI, you need to convert it through different programs. (here is a website which will do it for you, *I had problem converting it correctly...)   The file will be saved onto desktop just as the image file, but the computer will not recognize the video.  In order to view the video, you must go to the Jing and click file under history. This hassle can be avoided through sister-program screencast (screencast.com).

Overall, this program would be a great resource for education for creating how to video. It will be a great demonstration tool for sure. Yes, it is easy to use and navigate, once you get it started.  Yes, it meets ISTE/NETS standard.  It can be used as assessment with combination of other medium such as rubric. It can also be used as mean for students' work, but feedback maybe somewhat limited.  (Though students can capture something on screen, explaining what is being done, and only turn in a link of the video to teacher, saving data space and uploading time... and the video itself is somewhat private... this may be a good deal)  Students may be able to collaborate using the program, but it is limited. However, it will be suitable for ALL subject as long as teacher design assignment well :)