Final Post

There were quite a few tools we learned about this quarter that I will definitely use and some I'm already using. I downloaded Dropbox a few weeks ago, and it has already saved me numerous times as I forget to bring my zip drive with me. I would like to set up my Google Reader account if I ever get the chance because I feel like it might make my internet time more streamlines. I hope to have time after the quarter is over to play around with it. I also enjoy the idea of having a blog, and I'm happy to have been introduced to how easy it is to set one up and use it. Now I just wish I had something interesting to say on it...

I was also happy to be introduced to the audio and video tools because I know that I will need that at some point. I kinda wish I had taken this course a little later on in my doc studies because I feel like the tools are fresh in my head now, and I hope I can remember everything later when I need them.

The only tool I have had a problem with is RefWorks. I tried to use it a few weeks ago, and I don't know if the websites I was trying to pull info from wasn't cooperating or what, but it refused to work for me. I will attempt to use it again or maybe try one of the others because any help with bibliographies would be great.

I am planning on researching parent and community involvement in schools, but I'm so early in the process that narrowing it down and also getting to research exactly what I want is very difficult. I'm also interested in how policy has affected outside involvement in school and how it can be changed to make these groups better partners in school improvement. I have a feeling that I may need to interview a lot of people in the process, so I'm sure that many of these tools will be very helpful in the future.

CAQDAS

Ok, so I attempted to download a demo version of Qualrus, but it was nearly impossible to figure out (the demo version was just not very good). So I decided to instead look at Atlas since it seemed to be the most comprehensive. ATLAS has just released a brand new version, so it has been thoroughly updated since the Koening article. ATLAS seems to be very supportive of all types of media and document files, and it can also handle large amounts of data. To be perfectly honest, when I was looking at all the different features, I wasn't sure what exactly I was looking at because I am clueless to some of the technical jargon. I am also so early in the doc program that interviewing, transcribing, and coding data are not things I am well versed in, but I do know that I want something easy and convenient to use and a low price tag and free upgrades would be nice bonuses. ATLAS appears to hold many of these things. Plus ATLAS gives a significant student discount ($120 down from $1800!) which is huge for poor grad kids like us. I also liked the feature of being able to code video clips for things like gestures and analyzing text for "hidden" meanings (looking at handwriting for example).

I would like to learn more about this program, and hopefully be able to use it in the future once I have a better grasp of what exactly I meant use it for.

Digitial Research Tools

I am way excited about all of the internet research tools shown in class today, but at this point in my research process, none looks more beneficial than the bibliographic tools. I think at the moment I will stick with learning more about RefWorks simply because we have access through OSU libraries. I already have so many resources to search through, so having the ability to organize them and have references and citations created for me sounds fantastic.

I thought Zotero looked pretty cool also, but I do not have Firefox on my computer. What are the benefits to having Firefox? I've heard that it spreads fewer viruses (most likely because there aren't as many users right now as Internet Explorer), but are there are features that make it a worthwhile download? I don't have a Mac, so does it work just as well with PCs? Either way, I can't wait to get to using one of these to start organizing all of the references I've already accumulated.

The last thing that caught my eye was the mindmap software, VUE. I've always used mindmaps and other graphic organizers to bring my ideas into focus and having an online resource that organize thoughts, as well as pictures and other digital content, could be very helpful. I think using this tool (I hope!) could help me figure out exactly what my research question is since I'm having a hard time narrowing it down. Using VUE to see the "big picture" might help me to understand where my research is heading and move me toward it.