Artifact 1 EEND 676

Below is a narrative describing my experience evaluating two collaborative web tools.  I am learning about collaborative web tools in a cohort I am participating in to gain an endorsement in Educational Technology.  

Evaluation of two collaborative web tools was an assignment in module 2 of EEND 676.  Within this assignment I had to create a rubric in which to assess two different web tools.  The tools I chose to evaluate were Edmodo and Google Docs.  They are different tools - Edmodo is a learning management system and Google Docs is a collaborative tool because it can be shared among multiple users.

I liked being able to create a rubric to evaluate the two different tools.  The focus areas I chose were purpose, ease of use, differentiation, collaboration capabilities, and security & data collection.  It was interesting to see how each tool scored.  The rubric helped me to focus on the specific criteria and in turn helped me to evaluate the usefulness of each tool for classroom use.  

What I found to be difficult was how to select which criteria to use to evaluate each tool.  The area I had the most difficulty with was shortening the list.  When I originally created the rubric, I had nine areas in which to evaluate.  In the end, I had whittled the criteria to 5 areas.  I did not anticipate this being the most challenging.  

I am enjoying learning about Web 2.0 tools and how to incorporate them in the classroom. Through this assignment, I learned that even though these collaborative tools are very different, they both enhance education.  

Below are the rubrics I created to evaluate both Web 2.0 tools

Collaboration Tool: Google Docs	3	2	1
Purpose: The tool is relevant . The tool is suitable for student use. Does the tool require funds to use?	The tool  is relevant to the activity and suitable for students to use. The tool does not require funds to use.	The tool is somewhat relevant to the activity and is somewhat relevant for students to use. The tool requires minimal funds to use.	The tool is not relevant to the activity and student use.   The tool requires substantial funds to use.
Ease of Use: Both teacher and student can operate and navigate the tool easily. The site provide options for assistance.	The user has  little to no difficulty to operate and navigating menus.. There are options for help	The user has some difficulty operating the tool and navigating the menus. There are a few options for assistance	The user has difficulty operating and navigating the menus. There are no options within the tool to provide assistance.
Differentiation: The tool works with accessibility options (Text-to-Speech & Speech-to-Text)	The tool has accessibility options.	The tool does not has accessibility options, however, it has the capability to import options.	The tool has no accessibility options.
Collaboration Capabilities: Has the ability to evaluate & analyse information. Promotes collaboration. Students are actively engaged while using the tool. Student work is saved and  is available to the teacher and co-collaborators. The  tool can be adapted. The tool can be linked to other devices.	The tool is able to test and grade students The tool is able to provide analysis of test/grades. Students are actively engaged while using the tool. Work is saved and shared with others The tool is adaptable by the user The tool can be used on multiple devices.	The tool can be used to develop and create tests. The tool is unable to provide analysis Students are engaged while using the tool. Work has to be manually saved. Work is manually shared with collaborators The tool is limited to devices it can be used on.	The tool has limited ability to develop and create tests. The tool does not have analysis features. Students are not engaged while using the tool. Work is not saved by the tool. Work is unable to be shared with collaborators The tool can only be used on one device.
Security & Data collection: Student receives useful and immediate feedback. Information is available for teacher to view growth of individual student and show comparisons of all users. The tool is safe and secure.	Feedback is provided immediately. Factual and reliable data is  available to view. The tool is safe and secure, no data is shared.	Feedback is provided within 24 hours. Data is available to view The tool is limited security features.  User information has the potential to be used by the tool developer.	Feedback is unavailable within the tool alone.   No data is available to view. The tool has no security features and is unsafe to use.

Collaboration Tool: Edmodo	3	2	1
Purpose: The tool is relevant . The tool is suitable for student use. Does the tool require funds to use?	The tool  is relevant to the activity and suitable for students to use. The tool does not require funds to use.	The tool is somewhat relevant to the activity and is somewhat relevant for students to use. The tool requires minimal funds to use.	The tool is not relevant to the activity and student use.   The tool requires substantial funds to use.
Ease of Use: Both teacher and student can operate and navigate the tool easily. The site provide options for assistance.	The user has  little to no difficulty to operate and navigating menus.. There are options for help	The user has some difficulty operating the tool and navigating the menus. There are a few options for assistance	The user has difficulty operating and navigating the menus. There are no options within the tool to provide assistance.
Offers differentiation: The tool works with accessibility options (Text-to-Speech & Speech-to-Text)	The tool has accessibility options.	The tool does not has accessibility options, however, it has the capability to import options.	The tool has no accessibility options.
Collaboration Capabilities: Has the ability to evaluate & analyse information. Promotes collaboration. Students are actively engaged while using the tool. Student work is saved and  is available to the teacher and co-collaborators. The  tool can be adapted. The tool can be linked to other devices.	The tool is able to test and grade students The tool is able to provide analysis of test/grades. Students are actively engaged while using the tool. Work is saved and shared with others The tool is adaptable by the user The tool can be used on multiple devices.	The tool can be used to develop and create tests. The tool is unable to provide analysis Students are engaged while using the tool. Work has to be manually saved. Work is manually shared with collaborators The tool is limited to devices it can be used on.	The tool has limited ability to develop and create tests. The tool does not have analysis features. Students are not engaged while using the tool. Work is not saved by the tool. Work is unable to be shared with collaborators The tool can only be used on one device.
Security & Data collection: Student receives useful and immediate feedback. Information is available for teacher to view growth of individual student and show comparisons of all users. The tool is safe and secure.	Feedback is provided immediately. Factual and reliable data is  available to view. The tool is safe and secure, no data is shared.	Feedback is provided within 24 hours. Data is available to view The tool is limited security features.  User information has the potential to be used by the tool developer.	Feedback is unavailable within the tool alone.   No data is available to view. The tool has no security features and is unsafe to use.