Video Conferencing Tools

Video Conferencing Tools	Features
Skype	This is a popular and easy video chat for people to use, particularly for students. You can host meetings, both through video and voice calls. There is also an instant messaging and file sharing option available to use if you want to.
Adobe Connect Now	This is a good site to use for file sharing among the different people involved. Through Adobe Acrobat there also the ability to share peoples editing on a single combined PDF file. Finally there is also a place where you can store any personal files in order to access them from anywhere.
Tiny Chat	This is a chat room based video conferencing tool. There is an option of developing an instant chat room or a personalized chat room. There is also an app that you can download in order to access this both through the computer and other devices.
Meeting Burner	There is an option for hosting a meeting of up to 10 people. This is an application that can be hosted on a variety of devices including iPhones, iPads, and Android phones. One of the nice features is that you can share your own screen with anyone in the meeting.
Go To Meeting	This includes an instant messaging feature. There is also a video conferencing and voice calls feature. Finally there is also a feature that allows for file sharing and an option to sharing your screen.
Yugma	This is available on a number of different devices and has features that include both audio and video conferencing. With this there is also a chance to share their desktop with other participants.
Webex	With this site you can host a meeting in HD, if high quality is important to you. It also provides a mobile app that is available.

In the past I have used Go To Meeting for an online training to use a specific program on the computer. I really enjoyed the easy of this program. We used the voice calls and the ability to share files and our screens. In addition we used the instant messaging. All of these aspects were very easy to use and allowed for me to gain a good understanding of the program I was learning how to use. This could be a very easy way in which teachers could host a class with students who may be unable to attend class in the traditional method. 

Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning

I never really heard anything about Web 2.0 prior to beginning this semester. I had no idea what it was nor what it involved. However, after reading this article by Bryan Alexander I realize that I have been using a variety of aspects that would fall under the Web 2.0 category. There are not many people who are not somehow active on social networking sites these days. All of these social networking are part of the Web 2.0 world that is made up of social software that allows for an inter-connectivity with people that have not been possible in the past. With the growing of these social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, videoblogs, and social networking sites, there is an increase in the ability to work collaboratively with people from near and far. This quality can be applied both in and out of classrooms.

 Alexander lays out a number of different ways that Web 2.0 has developed and can be incorporated into the classroom. There are some great applications for the use of the different develops that have come to being under the Web 2.0 classification. There are a number of different way that social media like Facebook or blogs can be used to help create an interactive platform that can be used both in an out of the classroom for students and teachers to share ideas and resources. With the inter-connectivity that Web 2.0 has created it is also cool how we can share ideas with students and classrooms around the world that would otherwise be completely out of our reach. These tools have created yet another way that we can learn and grow from each other!