STUDYBLUE

This week I am reviewing the critical thinking and problem solving Web 2.0 tool called Study Blue, which is found at www.studyblue.com.

Studyblue is a complex website that allows students and teachers to create flashcards and quizzes to study and review materials taught in class. It is a supplemental resource for vocabulary and important terms that students need to know in their courses. This was my first time experimenting with Studyblue, and I think it is awesome. I signed up as a teacher, and had to provide a school name to continue with the registration process. I typed in University of Houston as my school, and unfortunately my school request is still pending and I do not have access to all the features yet. The website says I will be notified when my request is approved, so I am not sure if something was sent to someone at UH that approves this request. I did play around with it and the features I had access to.

I created a class, Summer 2012, and created some flashcards. This process was very easy. You click create flashcards, and on the top you type the word, and the bottom you type the definition. When you scroll down definitions are already there for you to choose from. Then add a new card to continue. You can also upload images. I just created  a few to see what I could do with those cards. I can switch to study mode and there are a few features that can help me study.
I can study the flashcards and click a thumbs up or thumbs down depending on whether I knew the answer, or I can take a quiz to test my knowledge. The quizzes are created for me, and I can choose how many questions, and what style I want (multiple choice, true/false, written answer). I took a quiz to see what results would pop up. The website monitors your mastery of each term and shows you a percentage of what you knew. The third feature of study mode is to print a review sheet, or print the actual flashcards if you want a hard copy. The best thing about this website is that there is an iPhone and Android app that you can download and access all your study materials on your phone on the go.

I created a screencast for you to see how I created my flashcards and how the study features work. Watch to learn more information on how Studyblue works.

This website would best be utilized by high school or college students, because you need to be somewhat skilled to access it. You need to have an email address and know your way around the web. If you are a teacher setting up a class for you students to get access to, you need to create a classroom and email all the students a class code for them to have access to your materials. I was unable to do this though, since my school was still pending approval.

This website has a lots of advantages to using it in an educational setting. Teachers can create review materials for students to practice. They can create quizzes for students to take. There is also a place where students can send messages to their teacher to ask questions. Best of all, teachers and students can track their mastery of concepts. I tried to find a limit on flashcards or how much memory space the websites gives for free, and was unable to find the answer. I did see that up to 500 flashcards can be viewed over the web, but only 200 through the mobile app. That isn't really a disadvantage though, as 500 flashcards is a huge number of terms.

Teachers can create a class and break it down into chapters or subjects. They can then plug all of the key terms or vocabulary in to each chapter for students to access to study. Flashcards can be archived and saved for the next semester or a new class. I would rate Studyblue high and recommend using it outside of the classroom. It requires some extra work from the teacher, but I think it will be highly appreciated by students who can do their studying on the go, and without a paper and pencil.

Screenr review

For Module 2 I chose to review Screenr (www.screenr.com) which is a screencasting website that allows you to record audio and capture what is happening on your computer screen. It is a creativity tool that allows a user to create visual tutorials with step by step audio instructions. This was my first time using Screenr and making a screencast. Here is what I found.

To get started you just need a computer, PC or Mac, the internet, and Java on you computer. Most computers already come with Java installed. You need to be familiar with audio recording devices and comfortable with navigating on a computer, since that is what you will capture. You will also need to have already created a Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, or Twitter account to log in. No special skills are really required, but you might have to practice a few times until you get your screencast right.

Screenr is free and there is nothing to download or install and it works on both a PC and Mac. You will need to create a username, but you can sign in on a Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, or Twitter account also. There is no need to sign up for  Pro account, which is designed for tech support for businesses. You do not need to be logged in to record, but you need to be logged in to publish your screencast.




There is a 1 minute tour of Screenr I previewed before anything, and it gives really easy to understand instructions. I would suggest viewing it before continuing.

When you are logged in and ready to begin, you just click the record button at the top of the webpage and a box frame will appear. You can then resize the box frame to fit the area you want to record. In the lower left corner of the box frame, there is a toolbar. On the toolbar you can choose which audio recording device you want to use, and adjust the capture size. When you have the options ready, just click the red button to record. I like that when you press record it gives you a 3 second delay to get ready, then you are being recorded. If you need to pause there is a pause button in the toolbar. When you are satisfied with your recording click done. Screenr will record up to 5 minutes of capture time.

When you click done, you will have a chance to preview your screencast, type a description, and then publish. Once published, you can share your screencast on Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube. They give you the html code if you want to embed it in a webpage or blog.

The advantages to using Screenr is that its free, easy to use, and you can create a screencast that's ready to publish quickly. Screenr makes it very easy to share your screencasts. A disadvantage is that you may only record up to 5 minutes, so if you are trying to make a tutorial on something elaborate, you may need to include in your audio times where the viewer can pause and catch up before moving along to the next step. I tried to use Screenr to create a screencast on how to use Screenr, and I found that you can't navigate away from the webpage when recording, so if you want to make a screencast for something on the internet, you may need to use a different browser.
I would suggest using Screenr in an educational setting to show parents how to log on to their school websites. Our parents are given log in numbers and passwords to log in to our gradebook where they can view their child's grades. Most parents never take the time to actually do it, but if a screencast was put on the school website showing parents how easy it is, maybe they would check grades more often. Screenr can also be used to show parents how to access our at home reading series website, which has at home leveled readers, phonics tutorials, and great supplemental activities for our students. Again showing parents how to access this with a tutorial posted on the school website might increase student use at home. Easy to follow tutorials is always appreciate for the not so tech savvy parents.

Podomatic Review

For Module 1 I created a podcast review of www.podomatic.com and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using podcasts in education. Listen to the podcast to hear about my experiences with Podomatic.

Podomatic Review

Introduction

My name is Amanda and I am a first grade teacher currently on summer break. In the fall I will be starting a new job in HISD. I am in my last semester in the Master's Instructional Technology Program at University of Houston. This blog was created to share my personal reviews of many Web 2.0 tools.