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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Creating Audio Spelling Tests Using MS Word


I just learned about an incredibly useful tool that is hidden in MS Word 2008 for the Mac. This is the Notebook Layout view. Looking at the image to the left, it doesn't look too special, but looks can be deceiving.

A friend of mine was looking for a way to create an audio recorded spelling list that students could use to test themselves on their spelling words. I thought that Word had this capability but I couldn't find it. Found my answer when I asked my technology guru, Rob Galloway. He suggested that I try the Notebook Layout view.

The Notebook Layout view for Mac Office is designed to work something like OneNote in the Windows world. It's greatest asset is that it includes a recording capability. This means that when you open a page to take notes, you can also turn on an audio recorder. The audio recorder records the speaker and then aligns it with your notes. That means that when you return to your notes, you can click anywhere on the page and it will playback the audio track of what the speaker was saying when you took those notes.

Pretty cool, eh? But that isn't why I am writing this posting.

I did a little experimenting and I realized that I could use this audio tool to create an auditory spelling list. The students would open the page that was designed for this week's spelling list. They would click on the Play button and then the voice would begin saying the spelling words for the student. The student could then type the words on the page and finally check them to see if they are correct. The student has complete control to pause in between words or go back to the beginning.

Another idea:
It would be an interesting idea to use this tool to create one of these pages for each of the spelling lists in a spelling book. You could then distribute these 30-page documents (one for each week's spelling list) to your students at the beginning of the school year and they could use this each week to test themselves. (I know that this is a low-end application for technology but fits into some curricula.)


I could try to explain how this works, but I probably wouldn't be too successful. Here is a Jing video that demonstrates how to do this.





What do you think? Do you use this Word OneNote-like capability? If so, what do you do?

Z
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Tuesday, March 09, 2010

. . . and now for something completely different!!!



I used this video by Steve Vai as an example video from YouTube when I was teaching my students how to embed a video into their blog. I fully intended to remove this video at a later time because it didn't really have much to do with educational technology.

After watching the video I realized what an awesome guitarist Vai is and how well he has orchestrated his group to support him. I decided that it has everything to do with educational technology so decided to leave it in.

Besides, this is MY blog and I, Dr. Z, am Reflecting!!!!!

Monday, March 08, 2010

Exceptional Skype Video by Silvia Tolisano

I was just reading Wesley Fryer's blog Moving at the Speed of Creativity when I found his reference to Silvia Tolisano's amazing video, Around the World with Skype.

This 20-minute video is the ultimate instructional Skype video. It begins with introducing Skype and telling you how to get online. She then provides a format for connecting with other classrooms, authors, and experts from around the world. This was enlightening. She wasn't just providing rules, sharing her proven methods along with examples of connections that she and her students had made around the world. AND she has created it in both English and Spanish.

Silvia Tolisano has an international project, Around the World with 80 Schools. I must admit that I don't know much about this yet because I just signed up to join the wiki and learn more about the project. I will definitely blog about this later.

I was most impressed by the quality of the informative and instructional video. Ms. Tolisano appears to have used the digital storytelling process where she recorded the narrative first and then found visuals to accompany them. I especially liked what appeared to be original photos where she posed a wooden doll to illustrate a number of ideas that she was discussing.

I am quite pleased to have found Silvia Tolisano and look forward to following her projects.

What have you found to support using Skype in your classroom?



photo and video: Sylvia Tolisano

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Phished Through Twitter

I am embarrassed to admit but I was just Phished through Twitter. I must admit that I don't understand how a Twitter Phishing excursion works, but it is a problem.

About 2:00 this afternoon, I was having problems sending tweets. It suggested that I wait 60 minutes and try again. I waited, tried and failed. Then I waited another 60 minutes, tried and failed. I just couldn't tweet or Direct Message.

I began receiving Direct Messages from followers suggesting that I change my password because I had been phished. I changed my password immediately. Reviewing my sent DMs, I found a stream of DMs that my account had sent to my followers.

Mashable reported that the Twitter Phishing attack began on Feb 20. It begins when you receive a tweet that says "lol, is this you?" and it links to a site called "Bzpharma". DON'T GO THERE!!! If you go there and enter your information, you will be the brunt of a huge spam assault. The virus will also go through your followers list and attack them with Direct Messages that will include a link to that phishing website.

I don't remember clicking on a Direct Message like this. I have seen this virus come through email so I am careful about this.

However it happened, to all of you who received this virus DM,

I AM SORRY!


I still don't have access to Twitter. I see why they have shut down any of the infected accounts. I have contacted the Twitter Support people about this and will wait for their reply.

Tweet Safe and DON'T take the Phishing bait!!!

What have been your experiences with Twitter Phishing?

Z

Photo: flickr.com/ToastyKen

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Animoto is AWESOME!



Creating a mash-up anytime soon? Watch the video above before reading any further.

Animoto may well be your tool of choice.

Animoto is an online video production application that was released in 2007. It is simple and effective. Animoto has turned video creation into a 3-step process:
  1. Upload photos/videos - You upload the files from your computer.
  2. Select music - Selecting music is easy. They provide a wide selection of music licensed under Creative Commons. This means that the artists WANT you to use their music for free as long as you acknowledge them - and Animoto does. You can also upload your own music if you wish.
  3. Process the video - Now it's time for Animoto to select the transitions. Then it scrambles and cooks your video into a tasty media jewel.
Control freaks don't need to go completely off the handle. There are Video Tools that allow you to rearrange the clips/photos as needed. You can add text as slides all unto themselves. If you don't like the transitions, you can click the 1-Button Remix button to have it re-mash your photos (I have a re-mash at the end of this posting. It is the same photos in the same order but the transitions are different.)

Best thing is that you can share it from the Animoto website or through social media, email and even YouTube or SmugMug. Yes, you can even download it as a standalone video file. If you don't want to deal with any of this, they will mail you a DVD for $22 which seems a bit overpriced.

This program isn't designed for creating your typical educational video because it doesn't appear that you can overdub a narrative. Never-the-less, if you want to share a bunch of video resources. This is quick, easy and good quality.

Bernie Dodge tweets that they use Animoto for creating a curricular music video in the Tech for Teachers class at San Diego State University.


  • What do you use for video editing? Have you used Animoto?
  • Can you share some links for videos that you or your students have made?
  • How are you using video production in your curriculum.

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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Professor Destroys Laptop as a Warning for Students



Talk about an ego-maniacal professor. This professor has serious issues with student-based learning. Watch the video above and you will see Kieran Mullen, a physics professor at the University of Oklahoma, bathe a laptop in Liquid Nitogen and then shatter the computer on the floor with the threat, "Don't bring laptops and work on them in class!"

What does this mean? Why is he scared of students bringing computers to class? Laptops in class can be a distraction, but it can also be an amazingly interactive tool that will enable the students to find new ideas to integrate with the discussion. Robin Galloway writes about how we run a backchannel in our lecture classes so that students are able to discuss the ideas that are covered in lecture.

What do you think?
  • Do you allow laptops in your lectures or classes?
  • Do you encourage students to use their laptops in class?
  • How do you use laptops to engage your students in the classroom learning experience?
Z
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What's Wrong with this Picture?

OMG!!!

There isn't much to say about this photo.

Just in case you don't recognize the players, it is an Overhead Projector positioned to shine transparencies onto a Promethean interactive whiteboard. A document camera (left) is at the ready as well.

OUCH!!

What do you think? Leave your comments below.







Photo: Robin Galloway