Articulate Studio ‘13
Articulate Studio combines a number of articulate products together. The Presenter portion allows for greater control of “PowerPoint” presentation setup. The Engage part of the package allows for easy to use graphically pleasing interactions that allow for a self-paced learning. Replay allows for screen capture. I’m a big fan of Camtasia which has some of the same functionality including assessment but in Articulate studio, specifically the Quizmaker portion, this is where this product really shines.
I selected it because in the instance that I’ve used articulate time was short, a PowerPoint already existed and there was a need to see if incoming students were aware of important information. The PowerPoint was converted to a formative assessment tool to chart incoming first years students understanding of their educational path, a variety of question types were sporadically incorporated (matching, true/false, best answer, multiple choice etc.) all based on the material covered in the presentation. Then the students take the post-presentation quiz and show the results to their adviser when they come for orientation and courses scheduling. The discussion that then takes place can reinforce the known as well as correct the misunderstood information. As a learning tool, it proves helpful by allowing the creator to periodically assess students knowledge and students can re-watch segments that they missed.
For more information https://www.articulate.com/products/studio.php
ZOOM
Zoom is a virtual meeting place where users can conduct video conferences or collaborative meetings (like Adobe Connect). The basic plan is free with limited support. The standard number of participants for Zoom is 50 but in paying mode there can be as many as 200 participants. The meetings can be recorded for later distribution. The meeting can also have multiple hosts that can share their desktops to review their segment of the meeting. I have only participated in a couple of zoom conferences (The Canvas Liaisons meetings are conducted this way) but I can see the potential for conducting all manner of group discussions (small meetings, distance learning, collaborative virtual classroom work etc.).
The one thing that I like most about zoom is that it seems to work extremely well with regards to audio connectivity. In numerous meeting with another software (which is not free) the meetings had to be stopped periodically because of bad audio connections. It might just be anecdotal from my observations but the loss of sound kills a meeting quicker than quick. For more information http://zoom.us/pricing
Celly (Cel.ly)
Cel.ly is a simple but user-friendly communication tool and there are character limits like twitter. However, Celly can also share pictures, embedded video, attachments, schedule announcements and conduct surveys. It can be used for small group multi-directional communication, or moderated chats approved by the cells creator. The system allows users to work together within their own cell or invite other to collaborate. A cell is like a discussion thread and can either be public or private. I chose Cel.ly as one of my participatory technologies because it was originally developed for educational collaboration among diverse (time and space) groups. I use it as a troubleshooting forum. faculty and staff post messages that are sent to my preferred method of receiving. I can answer their queries as text or add images and brief descriptions or link embedded video demonstrating a technology (Canvas, LionPATH procedures etc.) Students can use it to collect and share artifacts within a safe environment.
Users can also keep a journal to record their own notes and thoughts. If that wasn’t enough it’s free For more information, check out this setup guide that explains in more details the capabilities and restrictions. http://support.cel.ly/hc/en-us/articles/201055576-Celly-for-Schools-Setup-Guide