After looking over the top 100 online tools for 2012 I was surprised that I used 28 of the 100 mentioned. Some of them I use them on such a regular basis(ipad apps, google scholar, Evernote, etc.) that I never stopped to actually think of the tools and devices. Another thing that surprised me was that Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest were considered top learning tools for 2012. I can see the argument made for Twitter, based off recent articles read through our class, maybe even Facebook but I have a hard time seeing Pinterest as a learning tool. others like Word/Pages, Numbers and Powerpoint were obvious picks.
The biggest difference from web 1.0 to web 2.0 is that now consumers can skip providers and can connect with other consumers one on one. This helps and facilitates us when looking at buying products and getting reviews on the things that we are interested in. It helps us get a better idea on the products out there and choose the items that best suit our needs and interests. I think this is a great way for people to get a good idea on what they need or are looking for. The satisfaction of the consumers as well as the providers should both improve. For obvious reasons the consumers will be happier but the consumers will be happy to hear reviews as well. This will help them see what consumers like and dislike about their products and what they can improve on. Also this could potentially cut down on returned products due to dissatisfaction which tends to lead to losses for the provider.
As for online classes, I see the good and potentially some bad as well. Online classes help people who have issues with time, unpredictable schedules and location troubles. I personally enjoy online classes because you dictate your own schedule and pace as well as when you wanna do certain assignments. However I have some concern with statements like "online classes are the future of education". Perhaps I'm not to polished on this subject and I probably need to read more on this subject but I'm concerned for the quality of the education. For example, a friend of mine took an online class on anatomy, prior to it he had taken a traditional class on it and had gotten a low grade so he wanted to improve it. On the online class he got an A however he didn't feel challenged and due to the nature of the course (online) he didn't partake in any labs or dissections. Also after reading the article on edtechtimes.com it seems like education will become subjective to the consumers preference, meaning they'll choose the classes they deem important. Also online learning may prove to be challenging when taking difficult classes that say, take longer to understand than just half an hour. I've been on khan academy before for chemistry and the videos at times left much to be desired in terms of help. How will the student get the help he needs and how long will it take to get that help? Based on these concerns I'm a little skeptical of the effectiveness of certain, completely online programs and the complete autonomy of students to choose their courses perhaps without the help of an advisor. I find these tools pretty helpful and neat. Granted, most of these tools I have not heard of and this has been my first exposure to them so all of these are pretty new to me. However one that I have used before is Evernote. I mainly use it to take notes and be able to use and see the notes that I have taken across multiple devices I use. I was surprised to see it on this list since I had stumbled upon it on the app store for free and thought it was just a simple application. Another tool that would seem helpful for me is google calendar. Organization is something that I seek in my weekly schedule and a tool like that seems like it would make it much easier.
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