Presentation Platforms

For my screencast tutorial we used PowToon. We chose PowToon because this was a website that I knew nothing about and my partner had only minimal experience with.  This platform is a very age appropriate  site as it was very user friendly and would be good use for students six through twelve.  I liked this platform as much as I thought I would. It wasn't really more or less than I expected. I liked the platform but it isn't something that I would use for my first choice in presentations. If I could change one thing about this platform would be that there were no restrictions on all on the materials. I want to be able to use a site because it is free and I will have more choices from. If I had to pay I would do a different website with more options if I did upgrade.

For my interview presentation I used Google Presentation. This presentation platform would be great for any ages from fifth and up maybe even lower if the kids know how to operate the computers in a appropriate manner. This is a very easy program,user friendly, and lets you be creative to a certain extent. I have used Google Presentation as my go to platform for many years. I like this platform more than I thought I would because Google lets you do what you want but to a certain extent in the creativity. If I would and could change something about Google Presentation it would be that you have more options. PowToon makes you pay a monthly fee to have all of their options, but Google Presentation is all free but not as many options with creativity. If they would add more animations,text, and even custom colors I think that the quality in their presentations would go up.

PowToon and Google Presentation are very similar in basic options. Google is a all free programs were PowToon lets you start with a very basic free options but upgrade to better programs by paying a monthly fee. I haven't used any on their other premium packages to see how they would differentiate from each other. The programs have the same options with text PowToon just gives you more animations/stickers and it is presented as more like an iMovie. They are both very good presentation platforms but if I would have to choose I would stick with Google Presentation because I know more about the program that PowToon where I have had very little experience using this program.

Presentations

 I have used Google presentation for almost all of my classes. Google presentation is a simple program that can easily be used by almost anyone. It makes presenting fast and easy. The program is very user friend as it lets you be creative to a certain extent. It does limit your choice to having a "different presentation." Using this program you are limited to animations with only very few options. The text selection is bigger, but they have a lot that aren't to different from others. The color choice is limited to a certain palette, as you can't create your own color nor palette to choose from. I have used this for many presentations as it is a simple and easy thing to use for presenting, but I feel as though it is very overused.


PowToon was a program that I was introduced to last year. I haven't had much experience with the website. I had a choice to use it, but it didn't really fit with one of my topics. I have seen several presentations that came out great using this program. I have heard mixed reviews about the website and how user friendly it was. I have an interest in learning how to use this program and to see how it differentiates from Apples iMovie program.

How Schools Could Use Social Media

As technology changes new social media sites have been adding to our list. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Their are many more sites that people use and the list keeps going on. Schools look down at these websites as they make student less productive and engaged with learning. What schools don't know is that these social media sites could help rather than "hurt" the school.

Their are many benefits to social media sites as they connect a person to almost everyone in the world some way or another. If they use the sites to their advantage they could have this as a positive thing. Using a social media site to maybe advertise a school function, and how others could get involved. I guarantee most people would read this if it was online rather that a piece of paper because they are always online as it is. The world revolves around technology so why not use it to your advantage? Social media is the place where you could connect people and tell them upcoming social events held at school. Maybe a bake sale or book fair whatever it is you could at least make it open to everyone who wants to be apart of it. Having school connecting the social media would have plenty advantages and they would not regret making the decision. They will connect faster and easier with so many people within their community.

Photo Magic

I picked a picture of a baby tiger to edit. I thought that with the picture of a tiger I could show more techniques and a more three dimension design. This is also the school mascot. The techniques I mainly used where lip tint because it make the mouth more realistic as I also used it to make the eyes blue. I used several different sharpeners to amp up the dimension of the picture while still trying to keep it looking still photogenic. The color was added by editing with color pop and I did use the burn editing tool to make the eyes and ears darker and the eyes glossy.

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Technology Reviews

Technology is evolving rapidly today. There is different operations and upgrades for everything on technology.Now the world we live in upgrading never stops. I will be reviewing the Ipad, Chromebook, Smart Phones, and the Windows Tablet.

I have had the Chromebook by Google Chrome now for about two months. It is a very light weight computer. I cost a total of $249. They are very good computers. Some pros to having the Chromebook is that is upgrades automatically. It also starts when you open the lid. It provides fast browsing. Some con’s is that this computer is a little on the spendy side. As I would not buy this particular computer if it was my own choice, as this has been provided by my school. This is a user friendly computer that even though if you don’t read the instructions you can learn as you go.

The Ipad has evolved from the shuffle all the way to a Ipad mini. The company has made many different products but in my opinion the Ipad is the same thing as every other product that they make.The starting price for an Ipad is around $258 and goes up in price s the generation and gigabytes differ within the product. It either bigger or smaller. The expense for these is a good hunk of change as the Iphone 5c is now up to $600. For that money you could get something way better. The only difference between the Iphone 5s and 5c is that you can color the 5c. The Iphone 4 and 5 is only different by the 5 has an extra row of apps. It is a good weight but could be lighter. Also depending on the Apple product it differs with the user complexity.   Usually they are pretty easy to figure out just by playing with the object and it’s programs.

The Windows Tablet is a new invention created from the concept of the Ipad. In my opinion the only difference between the Ipad and the Windows Tablet is this has a USB port and a back stand. This can connect to a keyboard but the ipad has a keyboard on the screen. This tablet is $349. The look of the Windows Tablet is very similar to the black Ipad. They weigh about the same and have the same glass top screen. In my opinion whether you get the Windows Tablet or the Ipad I feel you are getting the same thing just for just about the same price.

Smartphones are changing and upgrading as we speak. New updates and gadgets are being added and things are being changed every minute. Smartphone sometimes are actually “smart” and every phone has it’s up’s and down’s. The prices differ within the type of phone. The look and feel of smart phones are becoming more upgraded with glass screens and high megapixel cameras. Sometimes the more you spend on the phone the better quality it can be, but sometimes the phone it’s can be a total disaster. Every phone has a different option to a different person. Everything is judged by someones perspective and their liking of certain things.

New App

My new App would be Charge It!

This app would be available for $9.99. Charge It! would be an app installed to your smartphone,tablet, or device. Once you see your battery is low on any device you open the app. Charge It! will open and you can link any device to the server. You can add up to ten. Pressing the start button next to the name of the device, it will take approximately one minute and thirty seconds to fully charge.

You can charge all devices in one day.Once all device is fully charged you can start the next. Do not press the start button at the same time as the rest as this will slow down your charging speed.You can only charge one device twice a day for free. Each additional charge for one device is $2.99.  Each device charged by Charge It! should at least last eight hours. It is recommended that you do use a regular charger at least once a week.