viernes, 29 de octubre de 2010

TAGGED


Tagged is a social networking site based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 2004, Tagged members can play popular and exclusive social games, meet new people based on suggestions, and share tags and virtual gifts. It has since adopted privacy reforms and changed its invitation processes. The Office of the New York State Attorney General has criticized Tagged for its failure to respond promptly to complaints of sexual exploitation of children, citing findings that graphic images of children being sexually abused were accessible on the site. Users can upload photos and albums, receive and accept messages from other users, post a biography about themselves and their interests, send virtual "winks" to each other, and post status updates to inform their friends of their whereabouts and actions. Users can see which other users have recently viewed their profile, send virtual tags to their friends, and sort videos by most viewed, top rated and most liked.

Almost all social networks try to garner new members through email invitations and nudge users along with email updates. The invitations are usually sent when a friend first signs onto the social network, and this stage is easily skipped for those who don't want to bother their friends. Email updates on friend activity is also something that can be turned on and off in the options.Tagged, however, has taken this tactic to such extremes that many consider it a spamming website. Not only will it send repeated invitations to join the network, Tagged also routinely sends out emails to its members indicating that someone has viewed their profile. This is a technique used to try and keep members active and is generally frowned upon in the social networking community. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about Tagged. But there is one thing you can do: make sure the emails sent from Tagged are marked spam so that your spam filter will catch them in the future.



FORUM

A forum is public meeting place for open discussion of various topics. Online, a forum may also be referred to as a bulletin board or discussion area. Forums come in all shapes and sizes. The main objective is to provide an area where users can interact with questions, answers and discussions on a given topic. There are literally thousands and thousands of topical forums online. Each forum usually states the topic and tries to keep the discussions on topic. However, this can often vary from forum to forum. Forum use will vary from forum to forum. In general you are required to create an online identity [ID or nickname] to be used on the forum. While some forums are free, others have a paid membership requirement. Be sure to read privacy policy before creating any identity online. Parental permission is usually required for reputable forums. Some forums allow "Guest" access so you can view the forum before joining. This is a good way to check out a forum before you decide if you want to join. Look for a "Guest" option before signing up. You will not be able to actively participate in most forums as a guest. If you decide to join a forum and have your forum ID you will be able to log in the forum, read what has previously been posted, start your own discussions or reply to discussions already started.

Each forum usually has it own rules and regulations. Be sure to read details and FAQs before logging into a forum. In general common sense prevails. Most forums do not allow "flaming", or being rude to other forum users. Most forums prefer to stay on topic but some do have areas set up to provide places for off topic discussions. Like all online areas that are interactive, common sense Internet safety rules should be followed. Never give out personal information in a public area. Remember, anyone, anywhere will be reading what you have posted. There are many forums online set up specifically for kids to use. These forums are often monitored by adults to help provide a safe online experience. Forums set up for youth usually have a PG-13 Rating and require parental permission to join. Parents are strongly encouraged to view a forum for kids prior to allowing their kids to join the discussions.

NAVIGATING WITHIN A FORUM

What is an Internet Troll/ Forum troll?

WEBQUEST

A webquest is an assignment which asks students to use the World Wide Web to learn about and/or synthesize their knowledge a specific topic. A “true” webquest, as originally designed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March, requires synthesis of the new knowledge by accomplishing a “task,” often to solve a hypothetical problem or address a real-world issue. Simpler web activities designed for students to investigate and collect new knowledge from web-based sources can also be a more engaging and effective replacement for read-the-chapter-and-complete-the-review-questions.  This tutorial will walk you through the basics to create a simple or more elaborate activity. The assignment can be given on paper, certainly the simplest and most portable option. For an example, click here to print out a simple "on paper" webquest on Laura Ingalls Wilder. (You'll need Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which is available from the TeachersFirst Toolbox. A webquest assignment can also be given on the web itself by sending students to a web page which serves as the "home base" for the student’s information search. For an example, click here to see an "on the web" webquest bsed on Harper Lee's book To Kill A Mockingbird. You can also present a webquest using some other multi-media software such as Hyperstudio or Powerpoint. The quality of your webquest depends on the ideas and thought that go into in more than on flashy presentation technologies. It’s easy to create a mediocre webquest, and it’s far more difficult to create quest that really works well.
Research demonstrates that using WebQuests at the elementary level can be beneficial to students. Depending on the age group of the learners, teachers can design WebQuests that are more general or specific in nature. The key to designing an effective WebQuest is to have a clear purpose and objective in mind.WebQuests can be designed to be an effective use of student time by being organized and focused on using information instead of searching for it. These two factors contribute to ensuring that students remain on task while online. WebQuests extend the students' thinking to the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy; analysis, synthesis and evaluation. WebQuests also support a variety of instructional and cognitive practices such as critical thinking and problem solving through authentic assessment, cooperative learning, scaffolding and technology integration.Teachers may incorporate WebQuests into their instruction to introduce a unit or to conclude a unit, as a culmination activity. WebQuests may also be used to foster cooperative learning through collaborative activities with a group project. Teachers use WebQuests to encourage independent thinking and to motivate students; thus increasing learning. Finally, WebQuests can be designed to help enhance students’ technological competencies.


SEARCHES ( google docs)

Process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results.The way this tool can be employed in an educational context at the moment can be seen to involve teachers, students, administrators and researchers; the lack of this tool built or repurposed for learning reflects the lack of specific support for educational uses. A positive experience in using this search is that you can look for documents easily and specifically each one, like making difference in the type of them (excel, word, power point, etc.). The contributions that provide efficiency in the moment of looking for specifically documents for English homework or any other source that the student needs.
Google Docs is a free, Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, form, and data storage service offered by Google. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. Google Docs combines the features of Writely and Spreadsheets with a presentation program incorporating technology designed by Tonic Systems. The use of this web page will help you in looking for information in a better way (specifically), with the different kind of documents.
Google Docs is one of many cloud computing document-sharing services. The majority of document-sharing services require user fees, whereas Google Docs is free. Its popularity amongst businesses is growing due to enhanced sharing features and accessibility. In addition, Google Docs has enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity among students and educational institutions.Google Docs also incorporates the ability to write code within documents in a similar way to VBA in Microsoft Office. Code can be written in two scripting languages, Java or Python, and either activated by user input or by a trigger in response to an event.Beginning in April 2008, Google Docs permitted offline access to and editing of documents via Google Gears. However, in May 2010 this feature was "temporarily" removed, with no specific timeline for when it would return.

CHAT

Real-time communication between two users via computer. Once a chat has been initiated, either user can enter text by typing on the keyboard and the entered text will appear on the other user's monitor. Most networks and online services offer a chat feature.
The term chat room is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology ranging from real-time online chat over instant messaging and online forums to fully immersive graphical social environments. A chat room is a Web site, part of a Web site, or part of an online service such as America Online, that provides a venue for communities of users with a common interest to communicate in real time. Forums and discussion groups, in comparison, allow users to post messages but don't have the capacity for interactive messaging. Most chat rooms don't require users to have any special software; those that do, such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC) allow users to download it from the Internet.Chat room users register for the chat room of their choice, choose a user name and password, and log into a particular room (most sites have multiple chat rooms). Inside the chat room, generally there is a list of the people currently online, who also are alerted that another person has entered the chat room. To chat, users type a message into a text box. The message is almost immediately visible in the larger communal message area and other users respond. Users can enter chat rooms and read messages without sending any, a practice known as lurking.



Meet people who share your passions.Chat rooms are a great place to meet and communicate with friends who share your interests. You'll find chat rooms for a world of topics from entertainment to sports, to politics and pop culture. Liven up your chats with emoticons, custom fonts and even voice.

martes, 26 de octubre de 2010

SKYPE


Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles.Skype was founded in 2003. It’s based in Luxembourg, with offices in Europe, the US and Asia. It’s owned by an investor group led by Silver Lake and which includes eBay Inc, Joltid Limited and Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz.
With its users making 6.4 billion minutes of calls to landlines and mobiles in the first half of 2010, Skype is a leading global Internet communications company. And of course, Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls are completely free. In the first half of 2010, Skype users made 88.4 billion minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls, and approximately 40% of these were video calls. Skype’s buzzing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, worldwide. At peak times, there are up to 23 million people online. What’s most important, however, is what Skype can do. Voice and video calling, IM and SMS are now available on a wide range of operating systems and mobile devices. They connect business colleagues, saving them time and money and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition. And they help keep friends and families together, wherever they are in the world.

VIDEO CONFERENCE


Video conferencing is a real time and interactive tool for companies, students and individuals to communicate via audio, video and computer technology across time zones and locations. Essentially, it is a live connection between people in separate locations that provides full-motion video images and high-quality audio. A videoconference or video conference (also known as a video teleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. Video conferencing can be used in a host of different environments, which is one of the reasons the technology is so popular. General uses for video conferencing include business meetings, educational training or instruction and collaboration among health officials or other representatives.
Conducting a conference between two or more participants at different sites by using computer networks to transmit audio and video data. For example, a point-to-point (two-person) video conferencing system works much like a video telephone. Each participant has a video camera, microphone, and speakers mounted on his or her computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the network and delivered to the other's speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera appear in a window on the other participant's monitor.
Multipoint videoconferencing allows three or more participants to sit in a virtual conference room and communicate as if they were sitting right next to each other. Until the mid 90s, the hardware costs made videoconferencing prohibitively expensive for most organizations, but that situation is changing rapidly. Many analysts believe that videoconferencing will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the computer industry in the latter half of the decade.