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- Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) – VOIP is a protocol optimized for the transmission of voice through the Internet or other packet-switched networks. VOIP is often used abstractly to refer to the actual transmission of voice (rather than the protocol implementing it). VOIP facilitates applications such as Skype, which allow users to make free telephone calls between computers.
- Instant messaging (IM) – IM is a form of online communication that allows real-time interaction through computers or mobile devices. It is often bundled into applications such as Skype and social networking sites, so that it can be used seamlessly while within those applications. It has become such an integral part of students' lives that many universities are working to move IM beyond the social sphere into teaching and learning.
- Online applications – these are web-based programmes that run in web browsers and typically replicate the functionality currently available on desktop-based applications. A good example is Google Apps, which provides access to office productivity, communication, and file storage tools. Another more specialized example is Lulu, which offers online access to the tools one needs to design, publish, and print original material, facilitating inexpensive production of publications. The online nature of such tools is intended also to facilitate collaboration, peer review, and collective generation of knowledge.
- Wielding the applications – by drawing on the potential of the above technologies, several new possibilities are emerging that are worth documenting:
- Mashups, which are web applications that combine data from more than one source into a single integrated tool. The power of mashups for education lies in the way they help us reach new conclusions or discern new relationships by uniting large amounts of data in a manageable way. Web-based tools for manipulating data are easy to use, usually free, and widely available.
- Digital storytelling, which involves combining narrative with digital content to create a short movie or presentation.
- Data visualization, which is the graphical representation of information to find hidden trends and correlations that can lead to important discoveries.
- Open journaling, which manage the process of publishing peer-reviewed journals online, allowing authors to track submissions through the review process, which creates a sense of openness and transparency uncommon in traditional, peer-reviewed publications.
- Google jockeying, which involves a participant in a class surfing the Internet during the class for terms, ideas, websites, or resources mentioned by the presenter. These searches are then displayed simultaneously with the presentation.
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