1. Offisync is a web 2.0 tool that allows users to collaborate on word documents in real time. It combines
the use of programs like Google apps and Google Docs with Microsoft Office tools. In this way, someone
can be editing a document in a Microsoft Office application and someone else will see those changes in
real time while they use their Google Docs. The collaboration of these programs will allow the user to
import web images and content to documents and team up with others using the web by sharing files.
This is a useful application because often times business is done far away from a colleague and Offisync
makes collaborating easier and more successful because if the integration of two widely used
applications. A person using a cloud product like Google Docs may not care for using Microsoft Word
and vice versa, however, with the Offisync there is no compromise and people can work together easily.
Twisty Noodle is a tool that provides you with printable coloring sheets, worksheets, and handwriting
sheets. These are very helpful for the learning process in young children. I feel that in this digital age it
is still important to give children something that they can physically work on. This application also helps
children practice their handwriting skills rather than their typing skills which is also very important. The
website holds hundreds of teaching worksheets and coloring sheets that are free and downloadable to
your computer. The worksheets are available in several different subjects including history, letters and
numbers, colors, animals, months, and even religion. Coloring and activity sheets are a great way to
introduce these subjects to small children.
Beanbag Learning is a web 2.0 tool that allows the users to connect directly with a tutor in whatever
subject they may need help. It give the parents and students more control over who they choose to
help the student and when. On the site you can search for a specific tutor or a specific subject. There is
a database of tutors and their qualifications from which one can choose. The site collaborates with
Google maps so that one can see where the tutor is located. You can sign up, create a profile and solicit
information as well, like if you wanted the tutors to search for you.
The following chart compares the three tools on four different points. The points are rated 1-5 one
being the worst. The different points include ease of use which is how easy the program is for just
anyone to go and use, interactivity is the level of interaction that the student would have with others
when using the tool, how useful it is in the classroom and the range of ages that it would be appropriate
for. When comparing these ratings to one another, one can assess how and when these programs could
be used in the classroom.
Program Ease of Use Interactivity Usefulness in
Classroom
Age Range
Offisync 3 5 4 High school +
Twisty Noodle 5 2 5 K-2
Beanbag
Learning
4 4 5 All ages

2. Each of these web tools would be helpful in a classroom setting. The Offisync tool, although it seems
meant for professionals, would work well when students want to collaborate with one another. With
this tool, you could be working on a group paper, pass it along, and work on it simultaneously with
group members without actually being together. The Twisty Noodle programs allows a teacher to print
out worksheets and coloring sheets for a younger class to aid in a lesson plan. A teacher could be
teaching about numbers and have her students work on their handwriting at the same time. This is
useful because it creates a combined knowledge of the number, not just the actual number form but the
way it is spelled as it is written out. The Beanbag learning center is useful to teachers because it is
somewhere that they can send students who may be having some trouble with the class so that they
can get extra help on their own terms. The teacher and student could even go on together to pick out a
tutor that would help with the specific material associated with the class.