ECOMP 7010: Cloud Computing

Directions: Investigate an example of cloud computing and gather the following information: cloud URL, service cost (if any), major features, assess with respect to the learning curve for teachers and/or students, and the potential uses for the classroom.

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Dropbox

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Website of application: www.dropbox.com

Free Version: A basic Dropbox account gives you 2 GB of cloud storage for free. You can upgrade to 100 GB of cloud storage at a cost of $9.99 per month, and 200 GB for $19.99 per month. *NOTE: Once you sign up, there is a “Get Free Space” section where you have several opportunities to increase your initial cloud storage space for free by completing tasks such as referring a friend, connecting to Facebook, following Dropbox on Twitter, etc.

Dropbox Web Portal

Features: Dropbox is a combination of cloud storage and file syncing and completes both tasks at the same time. First, they make it easy for you to take files and even whole folders and sync them up to the cloud. Once syncing to the cloud is complete, those same files and folders will be accessible from the web and any device you have also setup Dropbox on. Their web interface is accessible from all major web browser Apps, and is downloadable to both Windows and Mac OSX operating systems. Additionally, Dropbox provides support for several mobile devices including iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry.

Learning Curve: The demo movie on the Dropbox homepage looks like it came from the people at Common Craft and does a nice job of explaining what the service does and how. It takes just a few minutes to create an account at Dropbox.com, and the application download is just under 22 MB in size. Once setup is complete, creating folders within your Dropbox folder is no different than any other place on your computer and adding files is as easy as drag-&-drop.

Some additional features include:

Dropbox on the iPad

• Dropbox will notify you whenever a file or folder has been added, removed, or modified when syncing to the cloud.
• You have the ability to share a folder within your Dropbox with other Dropbox users through an email invite.
• Within your Dropbox there is a ‘Public’ folder provided. Place a file or folder in this location, then right-click on the item to have Dropbox generate a public link that you can then share with users regardless if they are Dropbox users or not. This link gives them access to the file/folder and this item only. The rest of your Dropbox contents remain private and secure.

Potential Uses in the Classroom: 

• This is an easy and free option that will allow teachers to achieve the “Save in 3’s” recommendation for file storage (1 on your computer, 1 on an external device, 1 in the cloud).
• If you don’t have a laptop and wish you could access files from both your school and home computers then Dropbox says, “Problem solved.”
• If you were to pair Dropbox with the add-on DROPitTOme, then you now have access to a public file drop that students could use to turn in their assignments and they will immediately be sync’d to the cloud, downloaded to your computer, and accessible from your mobile device. I believe this service has huge potential for the classroom, allowing teachers to forgo passing around a pen drive or external hard drive except for large multimedia projects. Teachers could add a link to their DROPitTOme portal on their website, then students could turn in homework while at school or from home, as long as they have Internet access.

ECOMP 7010: QR Codes

Directions: Provide an example of something that inspires you to connect it to QR Codes. Then, describe how you would use the QR code in this situation. Finally, create your own QR Code and upload it along with a description of how you would use it in the classroom.

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From The Noun Project

1. Inspiration:  Slide #13 - QR codes in airports


2. How I would use the QR Code: When I saw slide 13 I thought about how helpful a QR code could be if it could relay information to a traveler audibly and in their language. Enter QR Voice, which allows you to connect short phrases to the QR code so that when scanned will speak the phrase. The site is not a translator, so if you want the code to say something in Spanish, for example, you would need to provide the Spanish translation. However, selecting Spanish as the language will have the phrase spoken with a Spanish accent and attempts to use proper inflection. The site lists 40 language accents to choose from, and can accomodate up to 96 characters (if my counting is correct). I see this tool playing a valuable role in foreign language classes to help students connect vocabulary and phrases in written form with how they sound when spoken. Having these codes up in important places could also help ELL students who are working on their English language skills.

3. My QR Code: http://my.qrvoice.net/SC98Gm

ECOMP7010: Google Reader & RSS Feeds

Google Tools in the Classroom

Directions: Post an entry with one RSS website that you would recommend and examples of three feeds at that site. 

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FreeTech4Teachers

Source URL: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/freetech4teachers/cGEY

Story Recommendations:

Say Goodbye to iGoogle and Hello to Symbaloo

It is disappointing when a service we get to know and used to using is discontinued by the provider; iGoogle is one such example. Thankfully, Richard Byrne’s blog is an excellent resource for finding alternative resources and services. iGoogle is a popular organizational tool used by both my teachers and students in the 1to1 laptop program, so Richard’s blog post will be a valuable communique to forward to them.

Welcome to Online Textbooks

Guest blogger Cristina Conciatori, a Biology and Chemistry teacher in New York, talks about the the debate between traditional and digital textbooks and how you can make the transition to digital a little bit easier.

21 Must-Read RSS Feeds

Blogger Richard Byrne shares his RSS feed list that he checks on a regular basis and uses as a source for his own blog topics. Richard divides the list into feeds that focus on education topics and those that deal with technology integration.

ECOMP 7010: Google Lit Trips

Google Tools in the Classroom

Directions: Think about a Google Lit Trip that you would create for YOUR students and report on it.

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1. A Google Lit Trip that inspired me:
My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier

2. The book that I would write a Lit Trip for is: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham.

3. Besides sending my students to the locations…there are a lot of possibilities for extensions and other innovations. Students could do research on the various tools that Nat Bowditch uses in the story, investigating whether or not they are still used today and if not, what tool(s) have replaced them. After reading each chapter, students could go to a WallWisher page and brainstorm different titles for the chapter and explain how that came up with them. Students could also select a character from the book and create a Historical Facebook profile page, where in addition to entering in biographical data they would have to determine what social groups they would belong to, who would be in their ‘friend’ list, and several examples of posts we might see on their Facebook wall.

ECOMP 7010: Google Earth

Google Tools in the Classroom

Directions: Post an entry describing one Google Earth application that you would recommend, and an idea for using it in YOUR classroom.

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Title: Hiking in Maine Tour

1. Download project file

2. Explanation:
There is a lot of potential in creating your own Google Earth Tour with special consideration needed since your presentation relies heavily on visual imagery. I found myself spending a good deal of time (maybe too much time) on the zoom and orientation for each of my place markers. I also thought that this could be influenced based on what types of locations you are visiting (natural formations versus man-made or are there 3-D effects available at the sites?). In any case, I think this is a valuable tool for a teacher’s toolbox as another format for students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding through technology integration.

3. Ideas for the classroom:

• As I wrapped up my tour, I wondered if our 7th grade science classes could use Google Earth Tours for their Life Signs projects. Students travel out to local streams, rivers, and tidal pools collecting samples of the biological organisms present for analysis. Students could document these field trips and include images from their visits, links to podcasts or movies documenting their cataloging of the biological samples, and comparisons to previous years results.
• Math classes could use Google Earth Tours and the 3-D Buildings layer with their geometry studies. Students can search the globe for buildings that show certain geometric shapes and discuss why they were incorporated into building designs.
• Science classes could create Tours not just on Earth but in the Google Sky, Moon, and Mars. Students could plot out the landing locations of probes and any distances they traveled while there. Students could create a fictional vacation tour for the Moon or Mars, highlighting the planetary features that any tourist will want to see during their visit.

ECOMP 7010: Handheld Mobile Devices

Directions: In this activity we will be exploring many ways that mobile devices can be used to access information, communicate, share audio and visual files, and enhance classroom lessons. We will be focusing on creative and forward thinking possibilities. This is a “jig saw” approach to an activity. Instead of all of you researching and reading all five topics, each group will become experts at one topic.

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Audio Apps: Classroom Use of Broadcasts, Podcasts, Phonecasts

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Authors:
Tammy McNulty
Nick Shuman
Marty Warren

In today's 21st Century Classroom, a critical component in this skill base is that of digital storytelling. We have the technology to create and tell stories in a wide variety of ways, with new techniques and tools emerging all the time. Our project looks at podcasting and the speed with which this form of communication has spread. And, we figured what better way to explore podcasts and podcasting than to make one ourselves!

• Please use this link to download our 'enhanced' podcast.
• Our Show Notes can be accessed via a shared Google Doc by clicking on this link: http://tinyurl.com/7qewva9
• We hope you enjoy the show!

Tammy, Nick, & Marty

ECOMP 7010: A Collaboratively Created Sampling

Directions: By definition, Emerging Technologies are becoming available all the time, with promising educational possibilities for the classroom and useful tools for your own productivity. Together, we will put together a collection of very brief reports on a variety of gadgets, one for each of you. Sources of information will be websites, blogs, videos, and other resources. This assignment will focus on gadgets and devices, rather than website resources.

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"1 TB External Hard Drives"

1. Name of Device: WD “My Passport” Portable Hard Drive (1TB)
2. Primary Source: CNET.com (click for video review)

 

3. Retail Price: 

• Buydig.com: $149.00
• Beach Camera: $119.00
• Buy.com: $106.99
• Newegg.com: $109.99
• Amazon.com: $108.99

4. Description:
Western Digital (WD) has made a name for themselves making external hard drives that are portable, durable, and reliable. The ‘My Passport’ series is designed to be highly portable and provide fast data transfer speeds. Because the My Passport is “bus powered,” meaning it has a single cable for both data and power, it is an attractive choice for laptop owners who need something that doesn’t have extra cables to fumble around with.

5. Classroom Possibilities:
As we continue to innovate and integrate new technologies into the classroom, so too do our students continue to create more and more digital content that we must then collect. Some may argue against a portable hard drive in favor of a USB flash drive because they are small, cheap, and have average storage capacities. The downside of a USB flash drive is they are small (easy to loose), cheap (can break easily), and have average storage capacities (can’t handle a whole classroom of users). A My Passport drive was salvation for me when I assigned my students a project whose final product would be either a podcast or iMovie. These types of media love to eat up storage space, and when I multiplied that by 18-24 students in each of my eight academic blocks it was clear a USB flash drive just wasn’t going to cut it.

Another use to keep in mind is that of for teacher’s personal use in backing up critical files, projects, and other data. The common rule-of-thumb in the digital world today is to have three copies of all of your critical data: i.) on your local computer, ii.) on an external storage device, and iii.) in a virtual storage device (i.e. cloud-computing). As teachers create more media-rich and tech-heavy lessons and activities, they need storage to keep up with the size and complexity of these projects. Finally, both of the major manufacturers of computer operating systems, Apple and Microsoft, have provided built-in backup software into their OS’s that will automatically configure your external hard drive for automatic backups, with plans to provide procedures to destinations in the cloud soon.

6. Screenshot:

7. Additional Resources:

http://www.g-technology.com/
G-Technology provides storage solutions for Windows, Mac, and portable devices via USB 3.0, thunderbolt, and WiFi.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358135,00.asp
From PC Magazine, this article walks you through different drive types, connector and cable options, and how much attention you should pay to drive speed.

http://desktop-external-hard-drive-review.toptenreviews.com/
Top-Ten Reviews provides a side-by-side comparison of 10 of the most popular hard drives currently on the market based on categories such as price, performance, security, ease of use, and design.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CategoryIntelligenceArticle.aspx?articleId=200
This article from Newegg provides a guide for buying the right hard drive for your needs.

http://peripherals.about.com/od/removablestorage/bb/BYBExternalHardDrive.htm
This article from About.com covers hard drive types, size, security, and speed with major emphasis put on why it's important to backup your important data on a regular basis.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/backup-and-restore
This page contains an introductory video tutorial on how to take advantage of the automatic backup features found in Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. (0:53)

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#timemachinebasics
This page contains a video tutorial guide on how to use the application Time Machine which comes pre-installed on all of Apple’s desktop and laptop computers. (2:47)