I have not long ago completed my last assignment for my English method, which involved me using every last known web-based tool I could get my hands on. I've learned how to make screen casts using Screenr, I've put together a storybook using Storybird, I've created an interactive multi-user document discussion using VoiceThread, and I've transformed youtube clips into MP3s using my favourite youtube-mp3 converter. Using iMovie, I mixed all of this together with videos I made using my webcam and developed a ten minute movie on the issues facing English teachers in the 21st century.
Doing all of that was a lot of fun, and I found I was able to learn how to use the new apps really easily (mostly because they are designed to be easy to use). What I found frustrating was managing all of the various products I had created (storybook, screencast etc) into one program (iMovie). Yes, this should also be a relatively straightforward process, and I'm pretty comfortable with movie making programs. But managing the file sizes (I had to convert mp4s into mpegs, and they came out as bloody ginormous files) in order to save everything was near to impossible. And using the iMovie project across computers was actually impossible because, of course, older versions of iMovie are incompatible with new ones. What should have taken me two days took me five (and one morning til 4:30).
Web-based apps and multimodal productions are lots of fun and great ways to express you understanding in different forms, and I will definitely be using these kinds of things for both learning and assessment in my classes. However, my English assignment has taught me to be wary of expecting too much ease from technology, and to remember that what seems like a straightforward process may be hindered by slow run times, file sizes, storage capabilities, compatibility etc etc.
