Power of Technology: Poor, Fair, Excellent?

Assessment of 8 Technology Tools:

       Moodle             iMovie

Google Apps          Wix

       Chrome             Wiggio

   LiveBinders          Emaze

The rating scale is as follows:

Poor:  The tool is not effective and

not user-friendly

Fair:  The tool is somewhat effective and user-friendly

Excellent:  The tool is very effective

and user-friendly.

 Moodle is a free web source that enables teachers and students to productively interact online.  All class information can be displayed on Moodle.  It allows educators to post assignments and forums in advance and provide students the opportunity to upload/respond in a timely manner.  It is also useful for online courses which are convenient for both educators and students.  Initially, it is a bit intimidating, but the more you explore, the easier it gets.

Rating: EXCELLENT

 Google offers a free gmail account that includes free access to useful apps such as Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Slides, Google Sheets, and Blogger, to name a few.

 Google apps are user-friendly and handy, especially for students, teachers, and businesses.  I found Google Docs to be the most valuable for group work in regards to school assignments.  It was a great way to interact with my group members to complete written assignments if we were unable to meet face-to-face.      

I never imagined I would be one of those people to create an online Blog.  But since it was a requirement for class, it was surprisingly easy.  Using a blog to upload written assignments to share with my professor and classmates is actually a smart and effective way to communicate.  Again, it is absolutely free and paperless.  The site is easy to navigate and the tools are pretty straightforward. 

   Rating: EXCELLENT

Because I am a PC owner, I have always been loyal to Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, but when I was introduced to Chrome, I found this web browser to be faster and more secure.  It is simple to navigate and easy enough to understand.

Rating: EXCELLENT

LiveBinder is a handy tool for teachers,

parents, businesses, and students.  It is a 3-ring binder that is located on the web.  

This tool allows you to share your binder full of useful information to everyone; however, there is an option to make it private for your eyes only.  This tool helps keep you organized  and it’s easy to continue to add to your binder.  Say goodbye to messy papers and a stack full of heavy binders that you once carried around with you.

Rating: FAIR

I was introduced to iMovie when my group had to create a 3-minute tutorial.  Although I do not own a Mac, my group mate gave me the opportunity to try it out in his computer.  It was fantastic.  I automatically fell in love with this tool.  It was simple to navigate, add music, add voice overs, and graphics.  Editing wasn’t even an issue.  Because of iMovie, I may have to switch over to Mac.

Rating: EXCELLENT

Wix is a website creator that, at first, I found a bit temperamental.  However, as I continued to explore, it became easy to use. Uploading images and videos were hassle-free and programming skills were unnecessary.  

My group and I used Wix for our digital safety project and I think it turned out better than what we had hoped for.  We were able to upload videos, images, and use various text to make our website welcoming and interesting.  "Drag. Drop. Done."

Rating: FAIR

Wiggio is a web conferencing tool that is super simple to use.  It is great for all kinds of groups: academic, business, etc.  Although there may be some cons about this web-based conference tool, the pros outweighs the cons.  The best part of it all…it’s absolutely free! 

Rating: EXCELLENT

Goodbye PowerPoint, Hello Emaze!  This online presentation tool really does in fact make your presentations "emazing" with all the cool features (media, graphics, text, color, sound) and awesome templates to choose from.  I found it entertaining for the audience and enjoyable for the presenter.  Emaze quickly uploads videos and images so there is no time wasted.  

However, there is a 14-day trial period and decide to buy the product or not.  Although it is a great tool, the idea of paying for something that you can get free elsewhere doesn't bode well enough for me to give an excellent rating.

 Rating: FAIR