Qwiki

If ever there was a resource that made me say, "OMG!" then Qwiki is it.  I found this awesome site thanks to Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers blog.   Qwiki is an online encyclopedia with over three million multimedia entries.  I say multimedia because when a topic is played, the viewer can read the text, listen to the text as it is being read, and view images that go along with the topic.  Viewers can also go to suggested entries based on the topic they just watched.  For example, I searched for an entry on the Gilded Age.  I viewed the multimedia information and was then given some suggested topics like Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, History of Immigration, and the Second Industrial Revolution.  Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I found out that it is possible to embed these  Qwiki s on to a web page, wiki, or blog.  I tried it out and low and behold, it worked.  Take a look at the  Qwiki I embedded below.

Switch2Google Tutorial Site

Over the past several weeks I have been working on a tutorial site to assist the teachers of my district (MSAD#61) as we begin switching from FirstClass to Google Apps for Education. For my readers who are outside my district, this tutorial site may assist you as well if you are switching to Google Apps.

Luckily I did not have to reinvent the entire wheel as the good folks at Google had a template for me to use.  This template allowed me to just spend time customizing the site so that it worked for users who are switching from FirstClass to Google rather than say MS Outlook to Google.  The site contains links to videos and documents that will help you with this switch. It takes you from introducing you to Google Apps to more advanced features that you can add using the Google Labs. Perfect for self-paced instruction and those who don't wish to take part in a large group instruction setting.

So, if you click the link below, you will be taken to this tutorial site.
http://switch2google.lakeregionschools.org

Tooble: YouTube Video Download & Conversion Tool

While there can be a whole lot of stuff on YouTube that is not useful or appropriate for education, there are a large number of videos that tie in perfectly with what you are trying to teach.  Unfortunately, using YouTube in the classroom can create a new set of problems that may make teachers think that it is more trouble than it is worth (network issues, students getting access to inappropriate material, advertisements, etc.) 

Tooble is a great tool that will allow users to download YouTube videos and then converts them to .mp4 files (movie files that iTunes will play). Once the videos are downloaded, converted, and added to your movie library in iTunes, they will be available to you in any app that allows the use of media files like KeyNote, Pages, GarageBand, iMovie, etc.) Not only is having this ability to put YouTube videos in other documents great, but not having to rely on your network or Internet connection makes it a really beautiful thing.

As Angelina Roberts of the Total Apps blog states, you can embed YouTube videos into KeyNote in three simple steps:

Step 1 : Download and Install Tooble

Here is the link: http://tooble.tv/

Step 2 : Tell Tooble which Video you want !

Go to YouTube.com and  locate the video you want to download. Copy the URL by selecting the address and either using CMD C or via the Edit/copy menu option. 

Now go back to Tooble and click the “Enter a URL” button on the top right of the application and paste the URL in the appropriate field.

Obviously this can take a few minutes depending the length and quality of the video being downloaded.

Once complete you will find your downloaded video file in your iTunes Movies.

Step 3. Place in Keynote (for example)

You can now open or create a Keynote presentation, and by using the Media button, gain access to the videos that are stored in your iTunes media files. Simply drag the video from the Media window to the slide you want it to play on.

 

 

 

QuizSnack

QuizSnack is a quick and easy to use Web 2.0 tool for creating online polls and quizzes that can be viewed online or embedded into your blog, webpage, or wiki. I made a sample that your see below. What took the longest to do in making it was thinking of the names of the movies. Enjoy!

Super Book of Web Tools for Educators

Reposted from Free Techology for Teachers by Richard Byrne. Those of you who attended our Summer Technology Institute will remember Richard. His blog has over 25,000 subscribers from all over the world.
There are many teachers who want to start using technology in their classrooms, but just aren't sure where to start. That's why I got together ten prominent ed tech bloggers, teachers, and school administrators to create The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators. In this book there introductions to more than six dozen web tools for K-12 teachers. Additionally, you will find sections devoted to using Skype with students, ESL/ELL, blogging in elementary schools, social media for educators, teaching online, and using technology in alternative education settings.


The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators -

MathTrain.com

This site is part of the Mathtrain.com Project and was created to host student-created math video lessons all in one place. It was created by Mr. Marcos and his students at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, CA. Videos are searchable by topic or by most viewed, most recent, or most discussed. The site is highly interactive and has an option to subscribe to their free podcast through ITunes. In addition to the student-created videos, there are also teacher-created videos with explanations on different math topics. Most videos are under 2 minutes in length making them perfect to use for introduction or review with different math topics. This site runs in conjunction with mathtrain.com. Below is an example on Prime Factorization.

Holiday Advisory Activity

I found a website called, "Top 10 Lessons I Learned from Charlie Brown." Go to the site and read through those lessons. Then come back to this blog post and watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Finally, write a response listing how you saw examples of the lessons in the video or about how one of the lessons really "spoke" to you.

Vocaroo

If you find yourself or your students recording audio for use in the classroom, then you should take a look at Vocaroo. This is a handy Web 2.0 tool that allows users with a built-in microphone to record audio very quickly that can be used for podcasts, narration, and presenting information to webpages, blogs, and or wikis. Like most Web 2.0 tools it is free, does not require an install, does not require a specific browser, or computer operating system.

For those very reasons, Vocaroo is different than say, Audacity. Simply click the record button, speak into the microphone, click the stop button. Vocarro automatically creates a link (or an embed code) you can quickly add to your web page. Unfortunately, it does not have an option to edit the audio, but that is part of what makes this tool so quick and easy to use. Have a microphone connected to your computer?… give it a try today.

Write Comics

Write Comics is a great place to get started with digital story telling. It allows you to create your own online comic strip. One just needs to add a scene, characters, and text to create their own comic.

Guess the Google

If you are trying to teach students how to do more effective searching, you may find that students have trouble coming up with a good keyword to describe what they are looking for. One way to get them familiar with what Google comes up with when a keyword is entered is to have them practice putting in various keywords to see the results. The trouble with this is that they may get results that are inappropriate. Well, there is a game called Guess the Google. Users look at 16 pictures and try to determine what keyword describes them all. I played the game several times and I did not see any inappropriate pictures, but you should always double check first.

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

OK. This has nothing to do with technology, but I couldn't resist. Last night we missed watching a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. If you missed it too, you can go to hulu.com and watch it, or you can view it right here. Happy Thanksgiving!

20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web

The good folks at Google have created a very well done ebook about browsers and the web called, "20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web".

From iLearn Technology: This interactive e-book is your guide to how browsers and the web work, how the World Wide Web has evolved, cloud computing, and what we need to know to navigate the web safely. The book has an enchanting quality with its humorous approach to the web (love the titles) and fun illustrations. This guide-book is one you will want to share with all of your colleagues, relatives, friends, students…you will want to dive into it yourself.


This handy little online book is a great one to share with students. Share an individual chapter (called a thing) or the whole book. Here your students can learn all about the web, how to keep themselves safe, and will know the difference between cloud computing and a web app. 20 Things I Learned is also a must share with your co-workers, neighbors, mom, grandpa, and the rest of the crew that is constantly calling you for your tech expertise.

Khan Academy

It has been a few hours since I found Khan Academy and I am still shocked and awed by its complete awesomeness. This site is the very reason why schools should keep YouTube open to its teachers and students. Khan Academy contains over 1800 video lessons on the topics of Math, Science, Humanities, and Interviews. What makes these videos different, it that the instructor is not only showing how to say, solve a problem in physics, but he is also talking about what he is thinking. Basically, thinking out loud while visually displaying the problem and the thought process. This is just so absolutely cool. Not only can viewers watch and learn from these videos, but they can also download them or get the embed code to embed them into their own web page, blog, wiki, or Moodle course. But wait, there's more. There are also practice exercises for some of the lessons as well that viewers can do simply by logging in with their Google Account. I am so happy that I stumbled upon this site. It is like the greatest thing since sliced bread. Oh yeah, the another great thing about this is: IT'S FREE!!.
Below, I have embedded a video on slope. Take a moment to view it to see how cool these videos are.

A Fair(y) Use Tale

As I was walking through the library, I heard little snippets of Disney Animated Movies. Being a HUGE Disney fan, I recognized the voices and phrases from several of the movies my boys watched when they were younger. It took a minute to realize though that the snippets were spliced together to make sentences about copyright law and fair use. I immediately did a search on YouTube and found the same video (titled: A Fair(y) Use Tale) the librarian had been using. I watched it, and WOW, what a cool way to introduce the topic of copyright and fair use.

You S*%K at PowerPoint

I came across this slideshow while viewing the Teacher Reboot Camp blog, and despite the name couldn't help but post it here because it is so true, and all teachers and students could benefit by looking at it. There are some great cardinal rules listed that all users of presentation software could benefit from, not just the technology gurus who make their living from them. So, please take a look when you get a moment.

YOU SUCK AT POWERPOINT!

View more presentations from @JESSEDEE.