Justin Georges jo-georges@wiu.eduInstructional Materials Specialist University Libraries-Western Illinois University

TEACHING IN THE CLOUD (ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET)

http://goo.gl/2OCgn

The cloud is a set of services and technologies that enable the delivery of computing services over the Internet in real-time,

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?

allowing end-users instant access to data and applications from any device with Internet access.

WHAT IS THE CLOUD?

It’s a place to store all your files and access them from anywhere.

Files are stored on a remote server.

Sometimes you can use a cloud application to sync multiple devices.

POPULAR APPLICATIONS• Google Docs - Using Google’s cloud to

create and provide access to documents, rather than using Microsoft Word on one's own computer.

• Flickr – Online photo storage.

Many cloud computing operations have free and for fee, premium features or applications. 

These are applications delivered over the Internet, usually through a Web browser or plugin. • Activities that are managed from central

locations rather than at each customer's site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the Web

• Centralized feature updating, which eliminates the need for downloadable patches and upgrades

• Lets watch the video.

CLOUD APPLICATIONS

• Dropbox• Typewithme• Diigo• Zotero• Wordle• Jing• Poll Everywhere

CLOUD APPLICATIONSCOVEREDTODAY INCLUDE:

Poll at end of presentation to decide what topics to cover

• Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they'll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you've installed Dropbox on

• Windows and MAC compatable!• Your files are stored on Dropbox's secure

servers. You can also access them from any computer or mobile device– Can install mobile application on phone to

access files• Dropbox keeps a history of all changes made

and you can login to the website and revert back to any previous versions of files.

• Works even when offline. You always have your files, whether or not you have a connection.

• Similar Google Drive or SkyDrive

CLOUD STORAGE

Show video

You can store any type of file:• Photos-use to sync photos from phone• Documents-share planning docs

– grocery list• Audio, Videos and other large files

• Dropbox simply creates a folder on your computer when you download the application.

• Can create sub folders. Everything will automatically sync– Get a green checkmark when synced

• Can always also access files from logging into the Dropbox website.

CLOUD STORAGE

• Collaborate- create shared folders so individuals can work on the same projects and documents

• Stable - Dropbox stores a history of your activity, changes can be undone, and deleted files can be retrieved

• Organize - sync files between computers, the Dropbox website, mobile devices and even between PCs and Macs

• Accessible - files and documents saved on one computer can be accessible from any device with internet access

WHY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS USE DROPBOX:

• Up to 2GB’s of storage FREE!!!– That’s approximately 400 decent quality

pictures or 70,000 word pages (depends on file size)

• You can pay for more storage if needed.• When you sign others up, you will get more

storage space, free!!!• Eliminates need for a USB drive• Using “Get Link” feature is a great way to

share files with others who don’t have a shared folder in Dropbox. – Think of it as your own public web server

storage space that can be used as web hosting.

SOME MORE FEATURES

1. Create an account2. Install the application3. Create a folder4. Share that folder (Right click on

folder) with someone else5. We’ll start adding items to this

folder. ..

HAVE I SOLD YOU YET?

• Similar to Google docs, but no account necessary.

• Its out there on the open web• FREE!• real-time collaboration with up

to 15 people• no sign in required• each document has its own URL

- share with others for collaboration

• very easy learning curve• can be exported into Word,

pdf., html

REAL TIME TEXT COLLABORATION

Type with mehttp://typewith.me/

• have a history of edits, can be replayed like a video

• user input is color coded so you know who has contributed specific information

• drafts can be saved so restoring copies is easy if something is deleted

• a chat feature is built in and is also color coded

• has the typical word processing features

• invitations to edit the pad can be sent via e-mail

• text files can be imported

REAL TIME TEXT COLLABORATION

Type with mehttp://typewith.me/

• work lives on the web after you're finished, cannot delete

• not appropriate for sensitive material; student names, scores, etc.

• the exact URL is needed to access the pad• anyone who can access the URL, whether they are

given the URL or guess it, can read and participate in the pad

• If the pad is not accessed in more than 7 days it could be deleted

• It should not be used by children under the age of 13

• authorship can be completely anonymous• images and other types of media from text cannot

be added to the pad

WEAKNESSES

Type with mehttp://typewith.me/

• Teachers can collaborate about small things, like settling on a meeting time/place so all parties can see all conflicts before anyone enters date into calendar

• Great for helping others edit a piece/resume/letter, etc.

• Collaboration on projects and ideas can take place both in an out of school

• Ideas and completed documents can easily be shared

• Student participation can easily be monitored if students are closely supervised

• Teachers can provide input through text or notes on the pad

Lets take a look

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION

Type with mehttp://typewith.me/

• Cloud Bookmarking tool• Collect and access information on

the web.• Store that information and retrieve

it for later• Access from any web browser or

mobile device.• Everything stored on Diigo Server

in your own library space stored in the cloud.

• Add digital highlights and interactive sticky notes.

• Install browser add on for easier access.

• Save pages and access them later, even if you don’t have internet access.

INFORMATIONMANAGEMENTSYSTEM

Show Video

• Save all bookmarks in one location in the cloud

• Organize these bookmarks by tags for better reference.

• Use snapshot to archive an entire webpage.

• Mark things to read later• Capture tool built right in!!!– Annotate screenshot with

shapes, arrow and text– Store image in diigo library.

• Use the Digolet, Diigo Toolbar, Power Note for Android, extension for Chrome and iPhone

THE FEATURES

• You can keep things private or public, or shared with a group.

• Publish your findings to your blog by using "Send to Blog" feature, by setting up automatic daily posting, or by adding linkrolls and tagrolls to your blog.

• You can also easily post to other sites like twitter, facebook, delicious, etc.

• Use "Annotated links" to share your "diigoed" page with anyone! The recipient can see your annotated page without needing any software installed!

• Get a stream of updates from people you follow, where you find interesting resources and conversations can occur easily and naturally.

SHARING

• Sticky notes and highlights are great for interactive e-reading and better retention.

• Create a private or public group for your company, class, and team– Group members can share

bookmarks for a particular project or research paper.

• When adding sticky notes, you can make them private, public, or viewable only by members of a certain group. With group sticky notes, group members can interact and discuss important points right on the web page, preserving the original context.

• Group tag dictionary to enforce tagging consistency

COLLABORATIVE USES FOR EDUCATION

• Sharing - create secure accounts and share websites within a group

• Annotating - using sticky notes and highlight, create notes on bookmarked pages

• Collaborating - add commentary to others' bookmarked pages

• Accessing - with Diigo 5.0, access is available from any computer, tablet or mobile device

WHY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS USE DIIGO:

• There are special premium accounts provided specifically to K-12 & higher-ed educators.

• You can create student accounts for an entire class with just a few clicks (and student email addresses are optional for account creation)

• Students of the same class are automatically set up as a Diigo group so they can start using all the benefits that a Diigo group provides, such as group bookmarks and annotations, and group forums.

• Privacy settings of student accounts are pre-set so that only teachers and classmates can communicate with them.

WHY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS USE DIIGO:

• Diigo: good for community bookmarks (sharing)• Cloud bookmarking • Group collaboration

• Zotero: best for personal work• Works well to share with groups• Good for research, citation,

bibliography

ZOTERO & DIIGO

&

Show Video

• Zotero (pronounced "zoh-TAIR-oh") is a Firefox addon that collects, manages, and cites research sources.

• Free!! Lives in your web browser• Zotero allows you to attach PDFs,

notes and images to your citations, organize them into collections for different projects, and create bibliographies.

• It automatically updates itself periodically to work with new online sources and new bibliographic styles.

CITATION MANAGEMENT

• Automatically senses content, allowing you to add it to your personal library with a single click.

• Create collections, save searches, tag items to find later

• Create citations in Microsoft Word• Automatically synchronizes your data

across as many devices as you choose.• Create and join research groups to focus

on any topic you choose. Each group can share its own research library, complete with files, bibliographic data, notes, and discussion threads.

• Tag and analyze your research together with others. Work with a single colleague or an entire class: Zotero groups can include as many members as you please.

CITATION MANAGEMENT

• Add on will not work with IE (Internet Explorer)

• If you're using Safari or Chrome as your browser, Zotero offers a version called Zotero Standalone that works with those browsers.

• Zotero Standalone (unlike Zotero for Firefox) runs as a separate program instead of part of your web browser.

• There’s a web interface to log in and access items from anywhere

CITATION MANAGEMENT

• Word processor plugins allow you to insert citations and bibliographies directly into your documents. Installing them is optional but highly recommended.

• You can export your Zotero library and also have it sync with multiple computers

• Zotero's Groups feature allows you to share references with other Zotero users online. It's a great way to work on collaborative research

CITATION MANAGEMENT

• No install needed• Copy in some text and generate the word cloud.• You can tweak your clouds with different fonts,

layouts, and color schemes.• Do what you want with Wordles, it’s free!!!

WORD CLOUD GENERATOR

Show Video

SAVING WORDLES• Wordle is a Java applet, and Java

applets are not permitted to write anything to your disk. So, while the applet could generate a jpeg, it wouldn't be able to give it to you! – Solve this by using Jing to capture

the wordle.• Save your wordle to your shared

dropbox folder. • You can print wordles.

THE FEATURES

1. Click “Create”2. Copy some text from someplace3. Paste the text in the box4. Click “Go”5. Make modifications using the menu at

the top of the Wordle window

• Great to create artwork for a classroom.

• Some have used to create a poster for class doors the first day of class.

• The Wordle front page will never feature images or links that are inappropriate for classroom use. Therefore, it's possible to configure an institution's "site-blocking" software to keep Wordle safe for classroom use.

COLLABORATIVE USES FOR EDUCATION

• The always-ready program that instantly captures and shares images and video.

• Windows and MAC compatible!• Easily share your capture by

creating a link.• Can easily embed video into

website or blog. • Up to 2GB’s of storage FREE!!!– This storage is on the TechSmith

servers.– Eliminate the hassle of storing it

that and just drag into Dropbox to share with others. You can access it from anywhere.

SCREEN CAPTURE TOOLFEATURES

Show Video

• Capture anything you see on your screen and annotate that image.

1. After you have installed the application, use the Jing sun from your desktop

2. Hover over the sun and select the cross hairs icon.

3. Click and drag area of the screen thatyou want to capture.

4. Release button and decide to click to capture the image or video.

5. You will be re-directed to editing interface. Add callouts and text.

6. Name image and save to your Dropbox shared folder.

GETTING STARTED

• Collaborate on a design project• Software tutorial• Comment on students' homework• Share a snapshot of a document• Capture that pesky bug in action

There is also an upgrade with more features. See the comparison chart below:

COLLABORATIVE USES FOR EDUCATION

• Poll Everywhere is created for instant audience feedback.

• It can be used on computer or phone through twitter, facebook, etc.

• This instant audience poll is limited to one question at a time, but allows for a few questions with pauses for compilation in between.

• Ask people a multiple choice question or let them respond freely with any text reply.

POLL EVERYWHERE

Show Video

• Charts update live as people respond

• Download polls as Microsoft PowerPoint slides

• Automatically grade responses ($$$)– Set correct & incorrect

answers• Publish polls on your blog or

website

POLL EVERYWHERE

Lets’ try it out