End of week 5
The week opened by sharing the pocket tool, something that I would have benefited from weeks ago. Better late than never, though. A neat little tool that allows you save articles, videos, and other media for viewing later. It has a nice interface that allows you to play the media in its wrapper, which makes it useful. It also gives the tool a nice aesthetic, and that set the theme for the week as I took a look at a range of presentation tools.
I started out with diagramming tools, the two main ones being Lucidchart and Draw.io. Although both tools offer similar functionality, I preferred Lucidchart. Its interface was a little more intuitive and accessible. Although I didn’t use it extensively, its collaboration functionality beat Draw.io’s. I mocked up an organizational chart to show how the tool could also be used at work (flowcharts, too), but students can also put it to use to create diagrams and mind maps.
Then, on to other forms of graphics. I had read quite a few posts in the course about 3D printing. For most, it seems something that remains out of reach, despite how interesting it sounds. I came up with a web-based modelling tool, 3DTin. It is very easy to use, creating models by layering cubes, geometrical shapes, text, or even creating your own geometries. Layering the cubes was very much like playing Minecraft and, with its short learning curve, this would be a great introductory tool for younger students with schools with 3D printers, yielding fast results. The tool can export models to printer-compatible formats. Here’s an example that took less than a minute.
Finally, to more traditional forms of graphic editing. I narrowed the tools down to Sumo Paint and Sketchpad. Sketchpad has a clean interface and is easy to jump straight into, once more making it simple for students to get immediate results. Sumo Paint is a more sophisticated tool, with a greater range of functionality. Although it doesn’t quite stand up to the open source solution GIMP, it is very impressive for a web-based tool.
There were, of course, other presentation forms explored over the week. I stumbled around the periphery of podcasting, looking at creation and hosting services such as Podomatic, Huffduffer, and Soundcloud.  One of the more immediately-beneficial tools, though, was the audio mixer Voicemeeter… which makes recording with Audacity a great deal better.
Despite an unscheduled hiatus, it was a busy and productive week on all fronts. A strong finish. Everything has come together, providing crossovers with personal, education, and business life. I have a sound portfolio of web tools for a number of scenarios; I am already using some of the tools daily. It’s good to know that there’s something tangible at the finish line. Despite some apprehension, it was surprisingly difficult to narrow down the selection of tools to just five for a final presentation.
I’m still left with unanswered questions, but also with the framework to explore--and networks to call on, participate in, and contribute to. Onwards.
Oh. Okay. Fine. A meme.