2008 10 21 top ten tech tools agents e xtension
DESCRIPTION
This presentation is intended to give hard-working Extension Agents a jump-start by introducing at least 30 Web-related tech tools.TRANSCRIPT
Top 30 Tech Tools for Extension Agents
(and their Web Managers)
Dave PalmerInstructional Media Extension Agent
UF / IFAS / Extension
3 Important Points
• It’s not about the technology,it’s about the people
• Change is the only constant(a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor)
• Change is inevitable – Progress is optional
Goals of this presentation…
• Increase awareness of numerous tools potentially useful to teachers
• Facilitate discussion of tools currently being used by participants
• Define and explain Web 2.0
ToolsOverview
Productivity Tools
Research Tools
Content Tools
Client InteractionTools
Online Meeting &Collaboration Tools
Web Analytics Tools
Website & Delivery Platform
Registration toolsFormsSurveysAuto RespondersBlogs – Ours & TheirsOnline Invitation Svs
ElluminateWikisSharePointGoogle DocsGroups
Google Analytics
HardwareSoftwareOnline tools
Various types of search engines
PowerPointArticulateEngageQuizmaker, etc.
Send Large Files for Free
http://www.yousendit.com/http://www.sendthisfile.com/ no file size limit??http://www.driveway.com/ 500 Mb size limithttp://www.sendspace.com/http://www.transferbigfiles.com/ up to 1 Gb
YouSendIt Free Account offers:Files up to 100MbFile stays posted for 7 daysCan be downloaded up to 100 times.
How it Works
Step 2e-mail notification
Step 3download
Step 1 upload & add an e-mail address
Shorten that URL!
http://tinyurl.com/http://301url.com/http://ataja.es/http://elfurl.com/http://notlong.com/http://urlx.org/
Useful when:- Trying to type a long URL – too many typos- Long URLs “wrap” and break in an e-mail- Trying to read a long URL over the phone- Free! and permanent
http://district4.extension.ifas.ufl.edu/Tech/technology.html
Becomes
http://tinyurl.com/2udulr
Shorten that URL!
Another option - purchase a separate redirect URL
http://prohort.ifas.ufl.edu/
became
www.prohort.net
Prices start at $5-$6 per year
Flash drives
Flash drives - 1.0 - Huge amounts of data storage on small devices.
Flash drives - 2.0 - “Smart(er)” flash drives run active programs such as web browser w/ bookmarks, e-mail program w/ e-mail addresses, your IM program
A short story…
Autoresponders
• Automated sequential hosted e-mail system• Create custom subscription forms to collect
demographic information• Sort the list by demographic info collected• Target relevant e-mail to specific groups• Program sequential e-mails up to 1 year out• Users self-subscribe – no staff time needed• Track open rates and link clicks
www.Aweber.com
Track open rates & link clicks
Wording on the Subject line is directly related to the open rate.
Website – a delivery platformA well designed Web site:
Is a delivery platform for publications, podcasts, and online classes, etc
Website – a productivity tool
A well designed Web site:- Is a productivity tool use it to post information that others call you for. - Reduce your phone calls.- Can also boost your credibility and visibility.
Web Statistics
Free!
Deep data
Fairly accurate
Look at the trends, not the numbers
DON’T track “hits” instead track visits among other measures.
Examples of Google stats
Continent, county, state, city stats both visually…
…and in chart format.
Keyword stats
Content stats by page name
Content stats by page title
“Site overlay” stats
This overlay offers a view of a Web page and the % of visitors that click on each link on the page.
Search Engines
To find what you need online quickly and successfully, you need to be a proficient searcher.
65%
20%
10%
5% All others
Meta-Search EnginesThese search engines pull results from other search engines.
Dogpile.com - Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask
MetaCrawler.com - Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask
1) A metasearch engine will probably provide better (more inclusive) results than a single dedicated search engine.
2) Using more than one metasearch engine will provide even better (more inclusive) results than a single metasearch engine.
What it means:
Meta Search Engines
• DogPile - Google, Yahoo! Search, Live Search, Ask.com, About, MIVA, LookSmart, and more
• MetaCrawler – Same as above
• Ixquick• Mamma• Vivisimo• Kartoo
Web 1.0
• Mostly static pages
• Little opportunity for user collaboration or visitor interaction
• Content created by individual publisher or organization
Web 2.0
• More dynamic pages
• Significant opportunity for visitor interaction
• Content partially or entirely shaped by the users
Web 2.0 Examples• Wikipedia – Collaborative online
encyclopedia• MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn - Social
networking• Flickr – Photo sharing• Digg, Mixx, Reddit – Social news sharing• Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon – Bookmark
sharing• YouTube, TeacherTube – Video sharing
Personal online presentations
authorSTREAM.com *Demofuse.comEmpressr.comPreezo.comPreZentit.comSlideAware.comSlideBurner.comSlideShare *TeamslideThumbstacks.comZoho Show
Wikis (Web 2.0)
A collection of web pages that can be edited by a group. Permission-based.
Can help people collaborate on projects and documents from a distance.
www.pbwiki.comA short story…
PowerPoint
THE standard presentation tool
Hundreds of plug-ins to extend the capabilities
Concerns regarding mis-use
Articulate PresenterBegins with any PowerPoint presentation – narrated or not
Allows narration to be added.
Converts the result to Flash format – smaller files for easier download
Can be used from any server, but without tracking capability.
Offers secure hosting service that includes tracking.
Example…
Quizmaker – Articulate plug-in
Creates Flash quizzes to add to Articulate Presenter classes.
Many options and features.
Engage – Articulate plug-in
Adds Flash-based interactive content by using several pre-designed templates.
Online registration & payment
www.RegOnline.com
http://www.openoffice.org/
Word ProcessorSpreadsheetPresentation toolDatabase
PDF Creation
Compatible with MS Office
Free (!) to download, use and distribute.
Adobe Acrobat
“Freezes” the formatting of documents. Useful, flexible.
Anything that can be printed can be converted to pdf format.
Multiple levels of security
1st choice for posting documents online
Don’t post documents online that can be changed, add security.
E-mail encryption
Several studies show that 85% - 95% of e-mail spam originates from unprotected e-mail addresses on Web sites.
SpamIn 2004, FTC investigators "seeded" 175 different locations on the Internet with 250 new, undercover email addresses.
Within 6 weeks the accounts received 3,349 spam emails.
86 % of the addresses posted to web pages received spam.
If the address had the "@" sign in it, it drew spam. More info - http://www.ftc.gov/spam/
Potential Solutions
• Reactive – use spam filters
• Proactive – use e-mail encryption
• Best possible solution – use both
E-mail encryption
E-mail encryption
[email protected] becomes:
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"><!—ML="5-\"[email protected]/= dko>E0pit<u:lar2hem";MI="CG9JHK682LGAFB<E:;@I?04D6F5K:D2=>1LGAF9LK3C7G=";OT="";for(j=0;j<MI.length;j++){OT+=ML.charAt(MI.charCodeAt(j)-48);}document.write(OT);// --></script><noscript>You need JavaScript to see my email address</noscript>
Result of E-mail Encryption:
It looks like a e-mail link, acts like an e-mail, but your e-mail address is no longer vulnerable.
E-mail Encryption Sources
Several methods – Javascript, ASCII, others?
http://www.upromote.com/emailscrambler.html
http://innerpeace.org/escrambler.shtml
http://hivelogic.com/enkoder/form
http://www.web-designz.com/tools/email_encoder.shtml
…or use any search enginetype in “e-mail encryption”
www.elluminate.com
Internal meetings
Live classes
Recorded classes
www.elluminate.comCapabilities:
Audio – up to 6 speakersVideo – not always necessaryText chatShared, interactive whiteboardShared applications Record / playback Web tourModerator / participant capabilitiesBreakout rooms
Elluminate challenges
Firewalls - if your County IT is not cooperative.
Lack of administrative rights – latest Java must be installed.
Audio
Whiteboard
Chat
Participants
www.elluminate.com
Threefor
Free
Online Surveys
Online Surveys
PricingZoomerang
Survey Monkey
Online Invitation Services- Create, customize, manage and track invitations and responses. - Importing e-mail addresses - Most allow follow-up messages, maps, directions and more. www.Evite.com www.waitrose.com www.sendomatic.com www.Rsvphq.com www.mypunchbowl.com
www.socializr.com – Web 2.0 friendly
Evite.com
Meeting / Scheduling (Web 2.0)
www.meetingwizard.comwww.doodle.chwww.setameeting.comwww.agreeadate.comwww.timebridge.comhttp://www.meetomatic.com/calendar.phphttp://www.dimdim.com
Google DocsImport existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations, or create new ones from scratch.
Access and edit from anywhere
It’s Free!
Collaboration tool
Share changes in real time
Invite people to your documents and make changes together, at the same time.
Includes a chat window.
Choose who can do, or view
Documents are stored securely online.
They can be published or not
Groups
Google Groups
Yahoo Groups
MSN Groups
ToolsOverview
Productivity Tools
Research Tools
Content Tools
Client InteractionTools
Online Meeting &Collaboration Tools
Web Analytics Tools
Website & Delivery Platform
Registration toolsFormsSurveysAuto RespondersBlogs – Ours & TheirsOnline Invitation Svs
ElluminateWikisSharePointGoogle DocsGroups
Google Analytics
HardwareSoftwareOnline tools
Various types of search engines
PowerPointArticulateEngageQuizmaker, etc.