PLACE A-TOOLS GALVIS 2009

TOOLS FOR MULTIMEDIA DATA PROCESSING 10 

Tools for Processing Video and Digital Sound 10 
Tools for Sharing digital products on Internet 11 
Tools for threading voice comments on digital objects 13 
Tools for Building web pages 13 
TOOLS FOR TIME AND ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT 14 
L  for Learning Environments 15 
CONSTRUCTION OF CONCEPTUAL AND MIND MAPS 15 
CONSTRUCTION OF CAUSE-EFFECT MAPS 17 
MATHEMATIC MODELS: CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION 17 
SIMULATIONS AND GAMES: CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION 18 
LECTURE NOTES AND FLASH CARDS: BUILDING AND USE 18 
CREATION OF DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS 19 
CREATION AND USE OF RUBRICS 19 
A  for Access to cultural, and intellectual capital 21 
SEARCH ENGINES AND DIGITAL TAGGING 22 
ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIAS 23 
SUBSCRIPTION TO ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES 24 
List Serves 24 
RSS Channels 25 
DICTIONARIES, TRANSLATORS AND THESAURUSES 25 
EDUCATIONAL PORTALS 26 
DIGITAL TOURS THROUGH MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS 28 
C  for Communication 31 
TOOLS FOR INTERACTING ASYNCHRONOUSLY 31 
Email (electronic mail) 32 
Text messaging and chat rooms 33 
Social messaging via Twitter 33 
Social/virtual networking in education 34 
Digital Diaries, also called, Blogs 35 
The Wiki and collaborative knowledge building 36 
Collaborative productivity tools 38 
Network Forums 38 
Video lecture capturing 39 
TOOLS FOR SYNCHRONOUS INTERACTION 40 
Chat rooms 41 
Multimedia Instant Messaging Systems 41 
Video Conferencing Systems 42 
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A for Access to cultural, and intellectual

capital

Digital tools in this category allow the instructor to learn from life
experiences through available electronic resources that permit access to
the wealth of humanity. These resources can be global, organizational or
local.

People generally think of the Internet as a great collection of multimedia

information distributed worldwide in different repositories with different
degrees of privacy. The Internet is also associated with web searches of
different sites where there is electronic information and the opportunity
to share network materials. The same situation exists with Intranets
(internal or closed network for private information and communication;
available only to authorized users) and with local networks (groups of
interconnected computers tied to an electronic resource server). Within
these three categories, global, organizational and local, it is possible to
share and to enhance cultural, scientific and technological value by using
ICTE.

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Search Engines and Digital Tagging

The challenge of surfing the Internet goes beyond using a search engine
that works for you. It is intimately related to effectively finding the
information that you need. This requires, first of all, that you know what
you want to find and that you know the search engine that is convenient
for you to use. Beyond knowing when to use a particular search engine, it
is necessary to know how to define the search and refine results.
Refining a network search is a fundamental skill for educators and
students to have. It demands clarity about what is desired, the ability to
express multiple ways of finding it, and perseverance needed for
searching diverse sites and book marking those that appear to be
interesting. It also requires the individual to determine if what is found
adds value to what is known as opposed to diverting interest away from
the subject at hand.

General searches can be made with generic tools such as AOL search
[52], GOOGLE search [53], Microsoft’s LIFE SEARCH [54], YAHOO
search [55], or KARTOO [56], a next generation meta search engine
that displays results in a visual interface.

When you need to explore certain collections, it is better to utilize

specialized search tools such as GOOGLE SCHOLAR [57] which
searches documents or sites that have academic value usually
produced by research or educational professionals. If what you are
looking for are photographs or images, it is preferable to use FLICKR
[22] a system provided by YAHOO, or GOOGLE’s IMAGES [58]
which investigates descriptive graphic information. If digital
presentations are desired, SLIDESHARE [23] can be utilized. DIGG
[59] is another valuable source; it is announced as a place for people
to discover and share content from anywhere on the web.
Additionally, newspaper archives can be used as another key source
of information, but there may be limited access available in this
category.

52 http://search.aol.com
53 http://www.google.com/
54 http://search.live.com
55 http://yahoo.com
56 http://www.kartoo.com
57 http://scholar.google.es/
58 http://images.google.es/
59 http://digg.com/
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Another way of looking for information on the web is by using tags

like the ones offered by DELICIOUS [20] or CITEULIKE [6]. These
tags may be global or formed by each one of the web sites that the
users create. Each tag shows the names that are used in a given
collection. Each tag cloud shows the bookmarks used in that
particular collection as well as frequencies, information which is
reflected in the size and color intensity of each tag. Navigating the
cloud (clicking on some of the tag elements) opens the possibility of
new relationships that underlie the elements that they have as
reference points.

Electronic Encyclopedias

Electronic encyclopedias are perhaps the most consulted type of

application by students and teachers when they are trying to investigate a
theme of interest or trying to ascertain a quick answer to a question of
historic, scientific, or social value. Encyclopedias provide access to an
organized body of information by means of key words, descriptors, sort
keys, and expressions. The man-machine interface of encyclopedias is
usually intuitive. The results can utilize manifold registries with textual,
graphic, sound, multimedia information as well as connections to
documents, web sites and other programs. The following list illustrates
the type of digital repositories and encyclopedias that could help students
or faculty keep abreast of topics of interest.

APOD—Astronomy Picture of the Day—[60] is a free site that daily

presents a distinct image of the universe with explanatory comments
and links to other sites where further information can be found
about what is being observed. It includes links to all daily
photographs from June 16, 1995. There are websites that
reproduce this collection in distinct languages.

EET - The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology [61] includes a

multimedia collection of short articles on instructional design,
education and entertainment. It is free.

ENCICLONET [62] provides free access to articles about distinct

branches of knowledge. It requires registration.

60 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030426.html
61 http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/
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MEDLINE [63] includes articles about illnesses, examinations,

symptoms, lesions and surgical procedures. It contains an extensive
collection of medical photographs and illustrations.

MSN ENCARTA [64] has information articles, atlases and games. It

requires a paid subscription.

WEBOPEDIA [65] is a dictionary and search engine specializing in

concepts related to computers and the Internet. It is free.

WIKIPEDIA [66] is a free encyclopedia that is constructed

collaboratively and allows content editing by any user with a web
browser.

It is interesting to note that some encyclopedias receive contributions

(biographies, research summaries, other) which means that they are more
than repositories and providers of reference information—they are also
receivers.

Subscription to Electronic Information Services

Another way to stay abreast of certain subjects is to subscribe to

electronic information services that provide content on demand.

List Serves

Many web sites have periodic bulletins to which individuals may

subscribe using their email addresses so that when there is news the
subscriber will receive emails containing a link to the website where the
information is located. The subscriber can respond to the list serve to
register an opinion. This is a good way to remain current on events,
publications or news of interest. The disadvantage of subscribing to a list
serve is that your electronic mailbox can overflow with more information
than you desire.

62 http://www.enciclonet.com/portada
63 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/encyclopedia.html
64 http://encarta.msn.com/Default.aspx
65 http://www.webopedia.com/
66 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
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RSS Channels

Another possibility is the subscription to active systems of information

(channels) that use the RSS format (in English Really Simple Syndication), a
format based on the XML language for distributing content. RSS
channels can be accessed by making use of system feeds (readers of RSS
sources) that allow the reader to receive news without having to surf the
web or receiving list serve notifications.

BLOGLINES [67] is a free service that allows you to stay current with
your blogs and favorite news channels. FEEDREADER [68] is free
software under General Publication License (GPL) that allows you to
subscribe and to classify RSS channels. The advantage is that it is
not necessary to look for news, the RSS channel brings it. The
disadvantage is that the user can become saturated with information
when you have subscribed to channels that frequently update (for
example public news) or collect information from many sources (like
the services for open news).

Dictionaries, Translators and Thesauruses

Dictionaries, translators and thesauruses comprise another group of

ICTE in this type A category. These resources have significant import for
educators and students who benefit from the specialized groups who
open their knowledge databases to the public. The following websites are
a small sampling.

BABEL FISH TRANSLATION [69] is a free service from Altavista that

allows the translation of web pages from many languages. The
translation is very literal but can be used in an emergency. Likewise,
REVERSO [70] can be used. It offers the same online translation
services.

67 http://www.bloglines.com/
68 http://www.feedreader.com/
69 http://babelfish.altavista.com
70 http://www.reverso.net
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WORDREFERENCE.COM [71] offers free online dictionaries to

translate from English into Spanish, French or Portuguese, as well as
synonyms/antonyms.

VISUAL THESAURUS [72] is a different concept of online help for

those who need to visualize specific meanings of terms in English or
other languages. It has a demo and you can buy individual or group
licenses for local or web use.

Educational Portals

The ICTE within type A, also include corporate portals that address the
discipline of education. They are websites that support different
educational sectors by providing access to relevant information and tools
to each group served. Instructors can find valuable educational resources
to develop their teaching, and by using these portals, they enhance
student-centered learning. The nature of the organization that is being
supported determines the set up for each portal as the following
examples will illustrate.

BIBLIOTECAS VIRTUALES [73]. This is part of the CIVILA network

portals. It is free and offers a reading room, a selection of full-text
novels, short stories, drama, biographies, essays, articles, fables,
poetry legends and literary texts especially from Iberic America. It
also has a room for interaction where virtual communities of writers
and readers can meet.

EDUC.AR [74]. This is the Argentinean educational portal. It is

organized by five desks: institutional, educational resources,
teaching innovation, electronic literacy and services. The
educational resources are structured by content area and level and
include links to electronic resources for instructors and students.
Information services disseminate opportunities in distinct domains
for subscribers, individuals who need to navigate the site,
subscribers to newsletters or RSS feeds. It also includes tools for
email, chat and blogs. Innovation spaces hosts forums for interest
groups for debating relevant topics for educators and are moderated
by topic facilitators.

71 http://wordreference.com
72 http://www.visualthesaurus.com
73 http://www.bibliotecasvirtuales.com
74 http://www.educ.ar/educar/index.jsp
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EDUTEKA [75]. This is a free educational portal that offers hundreds

of personal resources and numerous links to other valuable sites for
elementary and middle school educators. The majority of the
content is based on the mission of Eduteka: theoretical and practical
resources that help to enrich education with the use of ICTE. In
order to facilitate the search for specific content and in addition to
the graphic design, Eduteka offers four mechanisms; 1) a directory
with more than 13 thematic categories and 150 subcategories; 2) an
internal search engine with Google technology that is included on all
of the pages directly under the heading of Eduteka; 3) a classified
historical archive, and 4) a Tour through Eduteka.

MERLOT [76] Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and

Online Teaching is an American portal where educators can find
online teaching and learning materials that have been evaluated by
colleagues. It includes collections for the teaching of art, business,
education, humanities, mathematics, statistics, science, technology
and social sciences.

PCA. Portal Colombia Aprende [77]. This website was created by the
Colombian Ministry of National Education in order to support
directives, instructors, students, families and a community of
individuals from distinct educational sectors. Each user group has its
own electronic posting platform where relevant resources are
organized. Subscribers can also use communication tools (email,
forums, chat) and private virtual space (electronic hard drive) that
stores digital resources.

PEC Portal Educar Chile [78]. This is the website of the Chilean
System of Education. It is organized by writers according to the
type of user (instructor, manager, student, family, researcher); it
depends on a variety of resources organized by desks, categories or
search engines. Individuals who register to use the portal have
access to the hard disk and free personal email. They can create
web sites that will be hosted by the portal and participate en forums
and chats.

The majority of portals mentioned provide navigation assistance. It is

generally possible to return to the beginning page with a click on the

75 http://www.eduteka.org
76 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm
77 http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co
78 http://www.educarchile.cl/home
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portal icon or the start button. A map of the web site explains its
structure and navigates to distinct places. Internal search engines allow
you to find exactly what you are searching for.

Digital Tours through Museums and Collections

Another interesting option that extend cultural heritage are the tours of
innumerable sites of the great museums, or the site of NASA which
allows the virtual exploration of space. In places like these one can have
a "scavenger hunt” in which the participant explores a series of virtual
sites where questions can be resolved and whose solution demand that
you pay attention to details in visited sites and to use important concepts.
Listed below are some of our favorite museums and collections.

GOLD MUSEUM, Bogota [79]. The richness of its masterpieces and

their organization into the different salons and regions of Colombia
as well as the international expositions show the beauty and richness
of Colombian heritage as well as the physical and historical context
where these gold pieces originated.

LOUVRE MUSEUM, Paris [80]. One of the most spectacular

museums in the world, with a unique web site. It is worthwhile to
visit more than once in order to explore the distinct collections.

NASA [81]. A portal with multiple possibilities for exploring and

knowing about our galaxy, the tools for conquering it, science and
technology that support the space missions and related studies. It
includes a section with access to multiple resources that can
motivate future scientists and engineers to participate in cyber-
excursions and diverse research about advanced technologies and
mysterious phenomena.

79 http://www.banrep.gov.co/museo/eng/home.htm
80 http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en
81 http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC [82]. This site will take you to amazing

vistas of animals, environment, music, people maps, and so much
more. It utilizes videos, photos, reports and activities to expose you
to the exciting and varied themes. There is a special page for
children [83] that engages them in fun activities that encourage
learning.

PRADO MUSEUM, Madrid [84]. This museum is known for its

masterpiece exhibits and the stunning narratives that accompany
them. Here, children are invited to paint, assemble puzzles, and
practice cognitive skills. The site also alerts the viewer to
educational and research activities sponsored by the museum.

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS, Washington [85]. This is the largest

complex of museums and research centers in the world. It is
composed of 19 museums and nine research centers and the
National Zoo. Visiting them on the web and exploring the collections
of each one aids in understanding why this series of museums
represents for many the opportunity of knowing the treasures of our
past, the vibrant art of the present and the scientific promise of the
future.

82 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
83 http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
84 http://museoprado.mcu.es/index.php?id=50
85 http://www.si.edu/museums/
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