ResearchGate - Evaluation for Educational & Research Applications

WEB 2.O TOOL EVALUATION:  Research Gate

LOCATION ON THE WEB:  www.researchgate.net

CATEGORY:  Social Networking & Collaboration Tool 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

This program was designed by researchers, for researchers.  This program is a social networking tool for faculty performing research.  One of the goals by the Ijad Madisch, the scientist who created this online forum, is to allow fellow scientists to collaborate on research projects by asking questions online which allows other researchers to participate in the overall project. 

For more information about the program, watch and listen to the slide show @ SlideRocket.

PREREQUISITES TO USAGE:

1.      Set up a free user account

RESOURCES REQUIRED:

Access to a computer and the internet.

SKILLSETS REQUIRED:

Ability to operate a computer

Desire to pursue Research projects

STEP BY STEP ACCESS:

1.      Log in

2.      Complete personal profile

TOOL EXAMPLE:

To see my profile, please login to the program and search my name (Lana Coble). 

POTENTIAL EDUCATION APPLICATION:

This product could be utilized by students who are working on longer term research projects to gain insight into other more established researchers and their approach to similar topics.  Shorter term research papers probably wouldn’t provide a wealth of resources as this database is not as populated with actual research findings.

The more conventional and beneficial application would be for faculty members who want to connect with fellow researchers on long term research projects.

RESEARCH ADVANTAGES:

NO COST

It’s FREE!  The developer is committed to the idea of collaboration.

CONNECTION TO FELLOW RESEARCHERS

This program is specifically designed for the purpose of connecting researchers.  The original sector was aimed at medical research, but as the word spreads more disciplines are joining. 

RANKING INDEX OF RESEARCHERS

One of the more interesting features of the program is a ranking index of each participants activity based upon the number of questions they pose to fellow researchers, the number of publications, the number of answers provided to fellow researchers questions and the number of followers within ResearchGate.  This is an interesting concept and promotes activity and allows beginners to identify who to follow within the program.

Ranking Index

LIVE FEED OF COLLABORATION

This aspect of the program follows the same model for both linkedin and facebook with the obvious exception being the content.

RESEARCH DISADVANTAGES

NOT WIDELY USED BY U.S. RESEARCHERS

This program seems to be more heavily used by European and Middle Eastern scientists.  When investigating the program there were not many United States members within the program.  This is a bit of a disadvantage in that some of the more significant issues to the U.S. may be overlooked within the program.  This is a bit of a disappointment.  I can only hypothesize that U.S. researchers are not as willing to share in their research until they have published.

JOURNALS ARE LIMITED TO MORE POPULAR FIELDS OF STUDY

I did an exhaustive search within the program to find journals that are relevant to the construction management field of study and only found two journals.  It appears as the more popular journals, i.e. education and medicine, are more available within ResearchGate.

Voice Thread - Evaluation of Educational & Consulting Application

WEB 2.O TOOL EVALUATION:  Voice Thread

LOCATION ON THE WEB:  http://voicethread.com or the App Store

CATEGORY:  Collaboration Tool

MY VOICE THREAD EXPERIENCE:

WOW!  This tool is phenomenal!  It is mobile, visual, and auditory with additional benefits of telestrator technology.  This product provides the missing link to conventional PowerPoint presentations. Collaboration is the core of this online platform and enables teamwork in a variety of forms.  It was simple to create a group and then upload the PowerPoint slides with one click.  The menu is intuitive and simple so adding video or voice notes are a breeze.  The telestrator allows you to mark up the slide to provide further explanation of your point.  Mobility is enhanced with both iPhone and iPad apps so you can quickly add your comments and thoughts as they come to you. 

The only aspect of the program which I find disappointing is the inability  to import videos from YouTube into the content for collaboration.  It appears that the only videos that are allowed into the program are those webcam videos the user records directly into the software.  Perhaps this could be the next evolution of the software to expand content.

It should be noted that if you acquire a one year $99 faculty license, you may archive the projects or you can download individual copies for $2.99 each.  I have paid the $2.99 to see what the final product would look like so you can see for yourself.  The quality is very good.  Compared to Starbucks, it's cheaper, will last a longer and can be used as a teaching aid to students as visualization for the final project.  I have included both an mp4 and mov version of the team presentation and you can see that the quality is not as good when compared to the presentation within the VoiceThread.  While the export was easy to execute the quality of the final product could use some improvement.  

mp4

mov

TOOL EXAMPLE:

To see an example of this online tool, please click on the link below.  This example was a team project created by Brian Baldwin, Lana Coble, Amy McClurd and Maggie Redling in an online graduate studies course, CUIN 7356 and 7376 at the University of Houston.

Note:  you will have to set up a free online account before accessing the group below.

http://voicethread.com/share/3221352/

Voice Thread Project  (embed)

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TEAM COLLABORATION:

     Our team utilized the following formats to prepare our final presentation:

               •         Wiggio

               •         VoiceThread

               The initial planning for the project was performed in 

                   Wiggio.   This format allowed video notes, conference 

                   calls and uploading of background template files so 

                   the team would have a consistent visual approach.

                   Team members conferred on the topic phases and 

                   assignments in a very efficient manner by utilizing 

                   Wiggio.  Updates to the slide presentation were 

                   uploaded to Wiggio so all team members could 

                   access the materials.  Once the slides were 

                   developed, one member of the team uploaded 

                   them into VoiceThread and notified the group.  

                   Each team member then added their comments 

                   via voice notes, video notes or markups to provide 

                   further explanation of each slide.  The process was 

                   amazingly quick and efficient due to the online tools 

                   and equally contributing team members.  

                   VoiceThread was utilized to bring the presentation to 

                   life and expound upon the nuances and depth of each 

                   slides content.  In effect, the end product is similar to 

                   making a presentation in person except it's on an web 

                   based medium.

POTENTIAL EDUCATION & BUSINESS APPLICATION:

      

When thinking about the potential educational application of this tool, I can envision its usage with team projects, specifically the preparation of team projects.  The capability of providing video notes is a good preparatory step to making an actual presentation for students.  Most students haven’t made many formal presentations in their undergraduate studies so they are nervous and don’t realize how they come across.  One of the items that I stress with each of them is to practice their presentation and record it on video so they can refine their typical practices that don’t present well, i.e. swaying, using the same word like “uh” numerous times, and not making eye contact.  Oftentimes, students don’t have the resources to perform this exercise but with the use of VoiceThread, they could perform some level of this concept.

Instructors could utilize this tool to perform both verbal and visual      feedback to the students’ final presentation thereby allowing in depth commentary and a better learning experience.

With the global economy consulting projects could be enhanced when team members are located around the globe.  A current example which comes to mind is a consulting project for scheduling a major design effort in Doha.  The time zones between Doha and Houston don’t promote conference calls but the use of VoiceThread would allow each party to contribute to the schedule at their convenience and the use of voice and video when added to the physical document would enhance understanding.

Another example that I am currently utilizing is the development of a video storyboard.  Since this involves brainstorming and ideas will generally evolve in a nonlinear fashion, this tool is ideal for this purpose.  Of particular importance, the content of the video entails stories generated by my client so it aids in gaining familiarity with the nuances of the subject when I can hear the inflection in their description of the subject.