Hammer or Screwdriver?

Selecting the Right Web 2.0 Tool to Accomplish Your Goals

Andy MannMuskegon Area ISD

So Many – Which is Right?

• Weebly• Google Sites• Word Press Blog• WikiSpaces• Google Documents• Moodle

www.weebly.com

Teacher Websitehttp://cnapolitano.weebly.comhttp://kinderchild.weebly.com

Curriculum Websitehttp://googlearth.weebly.com

Strength and Weakness

Student Portfoliohttp://millerpaige.weebly.com

Strength• Drag and drop• Brain dead easy• Optional for blog page• Subdomain naming• Education version

Weakness• No history• Can be slow – be patient

http://blog.weebly.com/2/post/2011/04/introducing-collaborative-website-editing.html

When is Weebly the Best Choice?

• Want a quick web page• User is not tech savvy• Need an easy-to-use GUI interface• One primary creator• Minimal collaboration• Want options for different looks• Like having a site with subdomain naming• More static content

Strength and Weakness

Strength• Google integration• Many templates• Easily duplicate site• Easy collaboration

Weakness• Many options• No sub domain• Not as intuitive

http://sites.google.com

Teacher Websitehttp://sites.google.com/site/learnstjoe/

Curriculum Websitehttp://sites.google.com/site/deliciousineducation/

When is Google Sitesthe Best Choice?

• Use Google Apps for Education• User has some tech skills• Want many layout options• Want easy integration with other Google

tools• Multiple users collaborating on site

creation• More static content

http://blogs.muskegonisd.org

Classroom Bloghttp://blogs.reeths-puffer.org/ mcguinna/

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=51141

Curriculum Bloghttp://educationaltech-med.blogspot.com/

Strength and Weakness

Strength• Users can subscribe to blog posts• Easy to create posts• Visitors can comment on posts• Posts can be moderated

Weakness• One creator• Not designed for static pages• Some embeds won’t work• Some blogs have advertisements• Blogger.com links to other blogs• http://gloryriverprimitives-robby.blo

gspot.com

When is a Blogthe Best Choice?

• Blog = Web log• Regular updates• Want to allow others to subscribe• Want to allow others to comment• Some tech skills needed for advanced• Not the best choice for static pages• Ideal for daily/weekly record of class

events or homework

http://wikispaces.com

Classroom Wikihttp://thekinderkids.wikispaces.comhttp://cisd-assistivetechnology.wikispaces.com

Curriculum Wikihttp://cisd-assistivetechnology.wikispaces.comhttp://r-phungergames.wikispaces.com

Strength and Weakness

Strength• Easy to collaborate• Pages can be locked – no editing• Supports embedding well• History and easy reverting• Subdomain provided• Student account friendly• Free ad free education version

Weakness• Discussion forum not a full blog• Limited templates• Difficult to duplicate

When is WikiSpacesthe Best Choice?

• Multiple users collaborating on site –– Changing diff. pages at the same time is okay

• Want to be able to look back at the history• Want to batch upload students with or

without email addresses• Don’t need elaborate discussion forums• Don’t need a large choice of themes• Want to know when a page is changed

http://docs.google.com

Documents• Work collaborative on documents

Spreadsheets• Work collaborative on

spreadsheets

Presentations• Work collaborative on

presentations

Forms• Create surveys which do not

require an account to complete

Strength and Weakness

Strength• Users understand the tools• Easy to create surveys• Can view history & revisions• New features added daily

Weakness• Long URLs• Google account needed to edit

unless public• No discussion forum• https://docs.google.com/present/

edit?id=0AclS3lrlFkCIZGhuMnZjdjVfNDMyZDhiOG4yd24&hl=en

When is Google Docsthe Best Choice?

• Users have Google account• Want to use MS Office like tools• Want to allow collaboraiton• Want to allow some users just view rights

and others users editing rights• Have a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint

document to convert to online editing• Want to give a survey

http://moodle.muskegonisd.org

Classroom Website• Secure site for classroom

resources• Can submit assignments• Safe discussion forum• Many different modules• Easy to embed content

Shared Content• More than 30 MLO courses• Open source – sharing philosophy

Strength and Weakness

Strength• Secure – login required• Open Source• Forums, Quiz,

Assignments

Weakness• Login required• More technical• Fewer templates

http://www.hallsville.org/elementary/cunningham/moodle/

When is Moodlethe Best Choice?

• Want secure site – with a password– Show student videos– Showing copyrighted material

• Want to allow users to submit assignments• Want to use discussion forums• Want “self graded” quizzes• Want to use or share course materials

Hammer or Screwdriver?• What did I leave out?• What is the best choice?• What are your recommendations?

Thanks for attending

Hammer or Screwdriver? Selecting the Right Web 2.0 Tool to Accomplish Your Goals – 11am-Noon – Room 1228

Andy Mann, Muskegon Area Intermediate School District How can you help others in selecting the best tool to accomplish their

learning goals?  Review different online applications and when and why each would be the best choice.  Start at a foundational classroom

website using Weebly or Google Sites.  Understand where a blog is the right choice. Explore the collaborative benefits of WikiSpaces and

Google Docs.  End with a blended course supported by the popular Learning Management System, Moodle.  Like a hammer or screwdriver, each of these applications is the right tool depending on what you wan to

accomplish.