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=**Welcome to our Group Wiki on Communication Tools for Education -**= =**Our First Assignment for CSCI-3002**=


 * Contributing Members of The Group:**


 * 1) **Cassandra Alvarez**
 * 2) Korey Hearn
 * 3) **Chasity Sheppard**
 * 4) Dean Muchmore
 * 5) **Nicole Callins**
 * 6) Alyssa Bowyer

> **Cassandra Alvarez** > Korey Hearn > **Chasity Sheppard** > Dean Muchmore > **Nicole Callins**
 * ==Twitter==
 * ==Prezi==
 * ==Cacoo==
 * ==TapToTalk==
 * ==Tumblr==


 * = **Google+** =


 * Alyssa Bowyer **

Click here to see our comments on Wikispaces!
= = =TWITTER REPORT=

**Submission by Cassandra Alvarez**
After spending some time reviewing Twitter, I have come to the conclusion that it would not be suitable to use in the classroom. Even though I followed professional and educational profiles, there is some information that is not relevant to them that showed up on my timeline due to an action you users can do called a re-tweet. This is when a user reposts a post from another person; this makes it easy for irrelevant information to show up. Also, on the side of the webpage there are many different advertisements and suggestions that are not appropriate for children. Although this website is fairly easy to use and there are a number of educational resources, it wouldn’t be suitable for interactive student learning. This website seems like it would distract children more than it would educate them.

To see my example website, go to [|www.twitter.com] .Enter **CassieA138** as the username and **password13** as the password.



=Prezi= **Submission By Korey Hearn** After looking through Prezi's website, I think that Prezi is a great communication tool and is definitely appropriate for education. It is very similar to Microsoft PowerPoint, but it is FREE! You can throw your ideas onto an open canvas, and then you can move the items around the canvas in whatever order you find the items important.You can also group concepts together, and then zoom out to show the big picture. It is a tool that keeps students actively engaged with visuals. They also have Prezi Meeting, where group members can get together and work on one project, similar to Wikispaces. They also have an app for prezi on tablets, which makes it even easier to use.Prezi is user friendly and easy to learn how to use.

Attached is an example of a complete Prezi by Annie Nam:

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=**Cacoo.com, The Classroom's friend!!**=

**Submitted by Chasity Sheppard**
This site is a great site for educators and students!!! Cacoo is a free site, however, with a paid subscription,people can have more access to the site. This site can be used for grade levels third through collegiate levels. It is an exteremly useful tool for teachers and students to begin ideas and build on those ideas. Cacoo.com creates diagrams that can be edited by other educators on your "friends" list. Different people can add\edit your initial diagram. Also, there is a chat room for people to bounce ideas around about the diagram. The diagram gives educators the opprptunity to to get ideas from other educators about many different things such as strategies. Cacoo can also be used the classroom. Teachers can begin a diagram and the students can add their ideas and input on the diagram. The diagrams are easy to start and the site has many different shapes, sizes and colors, so creativity is limitless. Any content/subject areas can use this site for creating diagrams related to the lessons.

For an example of cacoo, click this link: []





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=**The TapToTalk Software for the iPad**=

Submission by Dean Muchmore
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing educators comes when trying to forge a productive learning relationship with a child with special needs. There are a vast number of potential disabilities that hinder a child's ability to communicate with a teacher.

Could you imagine a learning environment where everything was a one-way street? If you had a question you couldn't ask it, if you needed something you were left without a way to express this need.

The portability of Tablet PCs has brought a new level of accessibility to special needs children through a wide variety of software, but one of the most far reaching is a simple but vital communication tool for the iPad called TapToTalk.

Devices that assist non-verbal children with communication are called augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. What TapToTalk does is simply turn an iPad into an AAC device. Used in conjunction with the TapToTalk Designer, an online application that you use to create your own AAC albums for your child, the possibilities are limitless. TapToTalk Designer includes a library of over 2,000 pictures. You can add your own pictures, photos and sounds. You can even record your own voice. Albums created in TapToTalk Designer are “synced” over the Internet directly to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. TapToTalk is a must have app for special needs children with autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, apraxia and other speech delays.

Because TapToTalk is used for children or adults suffering from disabilities that hinder communication, there is no range that is particularly targeted with this software. In addition to this, the wide range of customization that is allowed using TapToTalk means that it can be configured to any age appropriate level, and can also be set-up to apply to any subject that is relevant to the topic of instruction on a given day or period.

The greatest barrier to using this tool would be the price of an iPad. At around $600.00, this is a sizable investment, especially for a family that is already bearing the burden of other costly treatments, drugs, and doctors that accompany coping with disability. Some schools in the news recently used grant money awarded in the "race to the top" federal program to purchase in-class technologies such as the iPad. More recently, however, the TapToTalk application has been set up for use on a wide variety of devices, to include Nintendo DS, the Blackberry Playbook, and all Android devices, including the Kindle Fire and the Nook Color. The web-customization platform requires a $99/yr subscription, or a lifetime fee of $179.99. Using a low-cost Andriod t ablet and purchasing the lifetime subscription can significantly reduce the cost of using this platform and should improve it's accessibility to those on a budget. Thankfully, the web-based application can be tried for free and since it requires very minimum system specs, this web-app can be used anywhere, to include a public library or school computer system. I really cannot say enough about the flexibility of this platform. The context is what you make of it, and it can also be set up to integrate into any pedagogical approach. The concept is simple, the execution is well done, and it's another reminder that sometimes it's the simplest tools that can make best use of new technologies and inspire new technologies that are designed to better suit software such as this. I downloaded the TapToTalk app onto my Andriod Tablet and Phone and it worked very smoothly and was easy to understand. I was not able to create a very good demonstration video myself, however, so here is a demonstration I found on YouTube: media type="youtube" key="gTaHYERBtdQ" height="315" width="420" I could go on describing all the ways this application has helped non-verbal people in profound ways, but I think these testimonials speak for themselves:

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**Tumblr Communication**

**Nicole Callins**
=[|Tumblr Example]=

After reviewing information related to Tumble.com, it appears that this may be a good communication tool for school. It appears that teachers who choose to utilize Tumblr should be middle school level or higher. Tumblr does not allow persons under 13 years of age to sign-up for the site. Tumblr is a blogging tool in which people can upload pictures, videos, text, audio, links and links. People are able to “re-blog” things that they see and connect their Tumblr blog with their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

There are many pros to using this blog in the classroom. One of these pros is the fact that you can access it easily on the go. Nowadays, children have cell phones and they are glued to them. If a teacher were to use this program, they can have information on the blog for homework, assignments, projects and other pertinent information. The students can quickly access this information from their phones while they are not in the vicinity of a computer. This way they can view assignments or homework information. This will also keep from teachers having to make copies of assignments or a syllabus. This would also prevent the students from stating that they lost the paper or let it at school. Students would be able to add questions or other information as needed, per the teachers discretion. Another pro to using this blog in the classroom would be that the teacher can toggle the settings to allow the students to post information or not. It can be used as a strictly information based blog only or it can be used as a place where the students can upload information and questions.

With anything that has pros, there are always cons. One of the cons would be if the students do not have access to the internet at home or have a phone. Although these students would be able to use the library for internet access, it would put some students at a disadvantage. Another con would be if the students would actually use the blog instead of search other blogs and things. Children have a limited attention span and may decide to start browsing Tumblr if they are working on a project which uses Tumblr. Due to the video upload feature, there may be some content that is unacceptable for a child to look at. Although the content policy indicates that the person would be banned, but there is no way they find it immediately. The content policy only states that sexually explicit videos would not be allowed, but it does not state anything about sexually explicit pictures. This could pose a problem as this is not appropriate content for school aged children.

In conclusion, it does not seems that Tumblr would have much educational value, but it would be a great way for students to view information for the class when they are not in the direct vicinity of a computer they can use. This may be useful in a high school level but also it depends on which area the school is located. If it is in a low income area, the students may not have internet access or cell phones in which to access the blog.





[|Google+ Example]
My email is alyssalbowyer@gmail.com. Password is Password111.

After using Google+ and trying to figure out how it works, I have decided I do not think it would be suitable for students in the classroom. I started using Google+ last week and started creating "circles". I created a "circle" called Ms. Bowyer's Class. I posted a sample of what you could post to reach your students. I did like Google+, but it is confusing at first to use. Each student would need an account and it could be a very good educational tool. I like that "circles" are already created for you to follow. I followed a "News" and "Politics" circle and it gave tons of information on a news feed!

A pro of this is that you can make your circle private and only your students could be a part of it. It could keep the students safe from outside contact as long as they stay on the class' page. You can easily post assignments, reminders, and even school cancellations! It would be a good communication tool because students can have Google+ on their cellphone and check it in the morning or even when they are on the go! Students can easily comment back on the teacher's post too.

A few cons of using Google+ for educational purposes is that students could be added to other people's circles. The student could be put in danger of being contacted by someone they don't know, or seeing something that is extremely inappropriate. Students may also get too curious and look at other cirlces which are not suitable for students. It could also be a distraction rather than an educational experience for students. If a student didn't have a cell phone, or internet access at home, it could truly hurt them because they would be behind on what was going on.

Overall, I believe that Google+ should not be used for educational purposes.