Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Copyright! No worries!
Chipmonks do Christmas
This is my version of chipmonks doing a classic Christmas Carol!
And how did I get past all the copyright infringments you ask???
Easy, all three of these chipmonks are me!
I used Audacity software to record my voice over the top of one another 3 times. I then played with the pitch and the tempo. Nowhere in this post have I mentioned any Disney characters and the words the First Noel where written so long ago it would be absolutely impossible for me to find the writer and ask for permission. Carols have been reproduced in one way or another for years.
When we first covered all the copyright limitations in class I thought, well that puts some limitations on what you can do. Then I thought again. Instead of just getting the english department in to produce a script, lets get the drama department in to do a set, and the music department in the sing some songs. Lets think outside the box and realise that placing limitations on things is a great way to expand a project, not shut it down.
What a great way to get creative!
This is my version of chipmonks doing a classic Christmas Carol!
And how did I get past all the copyright infringments you ask???
Easy, all three of these chipmonks are me!
I used Audacity software to record my voice over the top of one another 3 times. I then played with the pitch and the tempo. Nowhere in this post have I mentioned any Disney characters and the words the First Noel where written so long ago it would be absolutely impossible for me to find the writer and ask for permission. Carols have been reproduced in one way or another for years.
When we first covered all the copyright limitations in class I thought, well that puts some limitations on what you can do. Then I thought again. Instead of just getting the english department in to produce a script, lets get the drama department in to do a set, and the music department in the sing some songs. Lets think outside the box and realise that placing limitations on things is a great way to expand a project, not shut it down.
What a great way to get creative!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Voice Threads
Voice thread is an excellent way to promote collaboration on line. You can up load images, documents, videos and voice recordings. These can then be commented on and edited right before your eyes. The uses pop up around the outside of the page so they are easily recognisable and easy to comment back to. If a picture is uploaded the participants in the discussion can even circle items to draw your attention to it.
This tool would be excellent to promote creativity and discussion among a group of learning. To give an example of this in the corporate training field, let us think of a visual merchandising training.
I would upload a picture of a merchandised floor area. I would ask the group I was training to log on at the same time and ad comments and circle things that could be changed to improve the merchandising.
This tool would be excellent to promote creativity and discussion among a group of learning. To give an example of this in the corporate training field, let us think of a visual merchandising training.
I would upload a picture of a merchandised floor area. I would ask the group I was training to log on at the same time and ad comments and circle things that could be changed to improve the merchandising.
RSS
I live these ....in plain english videos. They allow me to understand things much better.
An RSS is a great way to save time when you want to get information from multiple sites. It sends the posts from multiple sites to one destination to be viewed quickly and easily.
Monday, August 17, 2009
OMG
I can not believe how out of my depth I feel. I have spent far too long playing with these tools and not reviewing them.
I can not believe how behind I feel. There are some absolutely fabulous Blogs out there and I am very jealous.
How is everyone else feeling?
I can not believe how behind I feel. There are some absolutely fabulous Blogs out there and I am very jealous.
How is everyone else feeling?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Flickr
I love this tool. What an awesome interective search engine for images. I love the display of the found images in the globe format.
I love the planet format that is used to narrow down a search. It really shows, in a clear visual way, that using paramiters to narrow down a search by using key words can locate the most appropriate media.
The copyright status of these images is also easy to locate.
I love the planet format that is used to narrow down a search. It really shows, in a clear visual way, that using paramiters to narrow down a search by using key words can locate the most appropriate media.
The copyright status of these images is also easy to locate.
Static Websites
I must admit that I did have to do a google search on this one to make sure I knew what I was talking about.
I found a site called Article Monkey with an article explaining the difference between a static website and a dynamic website.
If I am understanding correctly a static website is really easy to set up and is good if the information you wish to display does not change a lot. It is basically a lot of documents linked together so if corrections are to be made the site must be edited and then re saved. The sites don't seem to be good if you need to display large amounts of information of need a high level of interactivity.
Websites of this nature would be great for small business of personal use. In the realms of training they may be good as a tool for students but a dynamic website is probably more appropriate for a source or program base.
As a training tool, static websites have great potential as a student base. Students can take complete control of creating and maintaining a static website. Each student can take responsibility for a certain aspect of the website and each student can change and add to all aspects of it making it a truly collaborative online environment.
I found a site called Article Monkey with an article explaining the difference between a static website and a dynamic website.
If I am understanding correctly a static website is really easy to set up and is good if the information you wish to display does not change a lot. It is basically a lot of documents linked together so if corrections are to be made the site must be edited and then re saved. The sites don't seem to be good if you need to display large amounts of information of need a high level of interactivity.
Websites of this nature would be great for small business of personal use. In the realms of training they may be good as a tool for students but a dynamic website is probably more appropriate for a source or program base.
As a training tool, static websites have great potential as a student base. Students can take complete control of creating and maintaining a static website. Each student can take responsibility for a certain aspect of the website and each student can change and add to all aspects of it making it a truly collaborative online environment.
Interactive Whiteboards
What an awesome tool these marvels can be. And a lot of money is being spent to install these tools into QLD classrooms everywhere. I do wonder however about the level of training that is being given to teachers when these are installed. We are lucky as students that we enter the workforce armed with some understanding of ICT and its many, many applications within learning situations. I do not believe that this is true of practising teachers and I do think that it is a shame that so much money is being spent on resources that are going to be used as pretty whiteboards.
The ability to be able to bring all these interactive online tools into any learning space is an awesome step forward in the ICT field. Projectors have been used to present information to an large audience for years but the Interactive Whiteboard provides a field where the students and teachers can actually interact with information on a large scale.
It is true that many of the tools available on an interactive whiteboard can be done in more traditional forms. You can use a keyboard and paper to write music.
Anyone want to disagree? Feel free to post another opinion!
The ability to be able to bring all these interactive online tools into any learning space is an awesome step forward in the ICT field. Projectors have been used to present information to an large audience for years but the Interactive Whiteboard provides a field where the students and teachers can actually interact with information on a large scale.
It is true that many of the tools available on an interactive whiteboard can be done in more traditional forms. You can use a keyboard and paper to write music.
Anyone want to disagree? Feel free to post another opinion!
Learning Management Systems
Blackboard and Moodle are two of the learning management systems that we as CQUniversity students use daily (or weekly).
A Learning Management System is a great way to present online training. Eveything you need is here in my opinion. As a trainer you can set up all the online resources you need. You could add podcast and vodcast lessons, lesson plans, online links to wesites and library resources, discussion forums, assessments submissions, quizzes and much much more. As a trainer you can also keep records of students access historures. Having data on what students are participating in what sections of a LMS and for how long would be invaluable and very telling as to how committed your students were.
As a students the LMS is a one stop shop for all your training needs. No longer searching six different places to find resources. Its all there for you presented in cronological order. I think the LMS is an invaluable resource for all students. The interactive section sich as the discussion forums would be even more imprtant to flex and distance students.
A Learning Management System is a great way to present online training. Eveything you need is here in my opinion. As a trainer you can set up all the online resources you need. You could add podcast and vodcast lessons, lesson plans, online links to wesites and library resources, discussion forums, assessments submissions, quizzes and much much more. As a trainer you can also keep records of students access historures. Having data on what students are participating in what sections of a LMS and for how long would be invaluable and very telling as to how committed your students were.
As a students the LMS is a one stop shop for all your training needs. No longer searching six different places to find resources. Its all there for you presented in cronological order. I think the LMS is an invaluable resource for all students. The interactive section sich as the discussion forums would be even more imprtant to flex and distance students.
YouTube
I was sitting here the other night absolutely amazed that my husband was watching an instructional video of how to do an oil change on our car. When I said where did you find that. One simple answer. YouTube! Of course.
It never ceases to amaze me the diversity of the content on this site. It is an excellent source of information. There is so much on there that it can be a little time consuming to sift through 50 videos before you find the most appropriate one. But what a time saver. Why would you create a new slide show on pedigogy when 6 already exist that cover the same content.
Here is a lovely little video from YouTube about an online music course.
It never ceases to amaze me the diversity of the content on this site. It is an excellent source of information. There is so much on there that it can be a little time consuming to sift through 50 videos before you find the most appropriate one. But what a time saver. Why would you create a new slide show on pedigogy when 6 already exist that cover the same content.
Here is a lovely little video from YouTube about an online music course.
WebQuests
I think this checks all the boxes in our frameworks.
This is a great resource to offer to students. You can give your students enough information to ponder their own questions. If the web quest is set up effectively with problems to research and find solutions for, the web quest is an great tool to introduce students to higher order thinking. The use of a web quest can be collaborative and controlled by the students. They are an awesome resource for youngsters and adults alike and have many uses.
Go to this site for some great intro vids and examples.
This is a great resource to offer to students. You can give your students enough information to ponder their own questions. If the web quest is set up effectively with problems to research and find solutions for, the web quest is an great tool to introduce students to higher order thinking. The use of a web quest can be collaborative and controlled by the students. They are an awesome resource for youngsters and adults alike and have many uses.
Go to this site for some great intro vids and examples.
Wikipeadia
Wikipeadia is a huge online data base of facts. It has facts on just about everything including some of the most obscure things. In some ways this is a great resource but it does come with its own pitfalls.
Wikipeadia can be added to and edited by just about anyone. Great care must be taken when using information from Wikipeadia that is comes from an authoritative source. Most lecturers that you will come across at CQU would probably frown on using Wikipeadia as a reference. Especially as a sole reference for a topic or argument you are making.
I myself have been known to use Wikipeadia when doing assignments. But I use it as a way to collate resources. I look at what resources have been posted on the articles I like and see if I can find these works or other works by these authors. It has led me to some great information from more accepted reference sources.
Wikipeadia can be added to and edited by just about anyone. Great care must be taken when using information from Wikipeadia that is comes from an authoritative source. Most lecturers that you will come across at CQU would probably frown on using Wikipeadia as a reference. Especially as a sole reference for a topic or argument you are making.
I myself have been known to use Wikipeadia when doing assignments. But I use it as a way to collate resources. I look at what resources have been posted on the articles I like and see if I can find these works or other works by these authors. It has led me to some great information from more accepted reference sources.
Slideshare
I must admit that I did have a play with this site and am still at a bit of a loss to how helpful it is.
I understand that you can upload and share slide show presentations. Once you have loaded this presentation you can then look at them anywhere, anytime, at any computer terminal. This would be excellent for giving oral presentations at school/uni. The next time I need to present in class I am going to use this site.
It also holds a database of other peoples' presentations that you may be able to utilise.
Other than this I do not see how this site is any different than using Power Point. If you are conducting group work and wish for the students to take control of the presentation, they can do this in Power Point. Students can also add multimedia aspects to the presentation and be as creative as they like.
I am not sure it is necessary to add this site to these lessons. Power Points can easily be stored on CDs, USBs, etc.
Does anyone want to give me some more examples that might broaden my opinion of this site?
I understand that you can upload and share slide show presentations. Once you have loaded this presentation you can then look at them anywhere, anytime, at any computer terminal. This would be excellent for giving oral presentations at school/uni. The next time I need to present in class I am going to use this site.
It also holds a database of other peoples' presentations that you may be able to utilise.
Other than this I do not see how this site is any different than using Power Point. If you are conducting group work and wish for the students to take control of the presentation, they can do this in Power Point. Students can also add multimedia aspects to the presentation and be as creative as they like.
I am not sure it is necessary to add this site to these lessons. Power Points can easily be stored on CDs, USBs, etc.
Does anyone want to give me some more examples that might broaden my opinion of this site?
White Hat
blog (Web log) A publicly accessible journal maintained on the Web by an individual or group. The topics covered in a blog are dictated by the author and so vary widely: some reflect personal interests and concerns, whereas others comment on aspects of current affairs or discuss work of public interest that their author is engaged in. Some have become respected sources of information or opinion, while others are vehicles for corporations or other bodies to disseminate information and obtain feedback. Many blogs include facilities for readers to post comments and to engage in debate; in this function they have tended to replace earlier forms of online discussion, such as Usenet and forums run by online service providers. Such technologies as RSS allow registered readers of a blog to be informed of a new entry.Blogs had antecedents before the explosive growth of the Internet from the 1990s, but, as in other areas, it was the global nature of the Web that encouraged the growth of modern blogging. It is very easy to create and maintain a blog, using freely available software and services, that can be read using a standard Web Browser; and blogs can contain links to other blogs, forming an extended online community. The term “blog” was only coined in 1997, yet by the mid-2000s blogging had become a mainstream activity not confined only to Internet enthusiasts; in some professions, such as politics, it is becoming almost a required activity.
"blog" A Dictionary of Computing. Ed John Daintith and Edmund Wright. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Central Queensland University. 20 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t11.e6309
I am a big fan of De Bono's Hats. Can anyone think of anything else about a Blog for the other 5?
"blog" A Dictionary of Computing. Ed John Daintith and Edmund Wright. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Central Queensland University. 20 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t11.e6309
I am a big fan of De Bono's Hats. Can anyone think of anything else about a Blog for the other 5?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Digital Storytelling
I love it! I love it! I love it!
As someone who spent several years working with people and children with a disability, I can see how much benefit this could have to struggling students. I think at times these students are left behind in class because of the way information is presented. Lets say a students with a learning disablitly is in your class. Lets call her Stella.
Stella wants to join in with the group work and learn about volcanos. All the kids in the group need to go and find facts in the library. How is Stella going to make a meaningful contribution when she struggles with reading?
What if we found Stella a digital talking book about volcanos? Would Stella be able to access information in this form much more easily than written? Would Stella be able to share this information with her group? I think Stella would feel like she has made a valuable contribution rather than struggling with her reading and feeling frustrated.
And after all, what are you asking these students to do? What are you assessing them on? Is it group skills, research skills, presentation skills? Or is it reading and comprehension?
If we take the reading part out, how many students would benefit greatly?
This is just one example how this recourse is useful. Got any more?
As someone who spent several years working with people and children with a disability, I can see how much benefit this could have to struggling students. I think at times these students are left behind in class because of the way information is presented. Lets say a students with a learning disablitly is in your class. Lets call her Stella.
Stella wants to join in with the group work and learn about volcanos. All the kids in the group need to go and find facts in the library. How is Stella going to make a meaningful contribution when she struggles with reading?
What if we found Stella a digital talking book about volcanos? Would Stella be able to access information in this form much more easily than written? Would Stella be able to share this information with her group? I think Stella would feel like she has made a valuable contribution rather than struggling with her reading and feeling frustrated.
And after all, what are you asking these students to do? What are you assessing them on? Is it group skills, research skills, presentation skills? Or is it reading and comprehension?
If we take the reading part out, how many students would benefit greatly?
This is just one example how this recourse is useful. Got any more?
Friday, August 7, 2009
Delicious
Online booking marking! Thank Goodness. Easily accessible anywhere, anytime. And isn't that the mantra of e-learning. Learnng anywhere, anytime.
Having your bookmarks avaliable from any computer is not the only advantage however. The ability to access other people bookmarks as an awesome feature. I can go into other tags for bundylearn and see what other sites people in my class have bookmarked. A great time saving shortcut.
The ability to see how many other poeople have bookmarked certain sites is a quick way to access the quality of the information the site may have.
I have shared Delicious with several othe students and friends after seeing what a great resource it was.
Having your bookmarks avaliable from any computer is not the only advantage however. The ability to access other people bookmarks as an awesome feature. I can go into other tags for bundylearn and see what other sites people in my class have bookmarked. A great time saving shortcut.
The ability to see how many other poeople have bookmarked certain sites is a quick way to access the quality of the information the site may have.
I have shared Delicious with several othe students and friends after seeing what a great resource it was.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Google Maps
View Burnett River Water Pollution Sites in a larger map
Photo used in this example is a copyright free image found using google.
This is a small example of a virtual field trip. My Mother's year 7 class is studying water pollution in 4th term. We are going to travel to several places along the Burnett River and photograph visible signs of pollution. These photographs will then be uploaded like this one onto a my map in google maps. This is the basis of a virtual field trip.
In the classroom, google earth can be used to study the areas surrounding the Burnett River. Population density, industry, suburbanisation can all be seen on the interactive whiteboard. The images on google maps can then be viewed as well. The students are then able to draw conclusions by comparing and contrasting the statistics gained in google earth and the images from the virtual field trip.
The students will then be presenting there findings to their parents using a slide show presentation and a science experiment. The students will be taking complete control of organising and interactive audio visual presentation for their parents at the end of term.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Animation
We will be exploring still frame animation. The following is an awesome link that was discovered by a student I did animation with last term. I have never seen anything quite like it. I shudder to think how long it took to set up and do. Awesome grafitti artist though!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4
Animation is a great way to engage people of all ages. We will be exploring still frame animation made with digital photographs. This is awesome, and I think that it has many applications in subjects such as science. However, the production of this type of animation can be time consuming and uses an awful lot of memory to produce, even if you downsize the images.
If you want to use animation as a form of exploration, art or drama type medium, I would prefer to use a form of vector animation where the file sizes are very small.
This is a web site that I just created a little animation on in about 5 mins. It free and would be great for developing little stick figure animations. These could explore, characterization, narrative, perspective, all sorts of things. They take up no memory and are easy to produce. If you can use microsoft paint, you can use this.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ywhnhmimnmx
The link above is to my Animation assessment project from last term. This animation was designed and constructed by me as an example of how animation can be used to assist in the teaching of reading skills. The original plans where to include a voice over as well so the animation could be played with or without a story teller. Flash also gives you the option to make things interactive as the button on the first screen does. Flash animations have great potential and could even be designed as a pick your own adventure storytelling tool. Flash is quite complex to use but I am sure that simpler versions fo this type of thing can be done using a program like movie maker.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Video
I have raided the family album and put together a little video from some pictures on my hard drive. Now movie maker itself is really easy to use. Just import your stuff and do the old drag and drop.
Audacity, free downloaded audio editing software was likewise really easy to use. Although I did only use the basic cut functions and as I play around with this sofware I am sure it was many more capabilities. I look forward to exploring this further as I get time.
The only small hickup I encountered was the song file from I tunes was an m4a and I needed to convert it to an MP3 to work with it in audacity. I found a free program online to do this called AltoMP3Gold and the link is http://www.download3000.com/download-altomp3-gold-count-reg-33828.html.
Enjoy my little 'Let's Fly A Kite' video.
(The audio backing sone 'Lets Go Fly A Kite' has been removed due to copyright)
Audacity, free downloaded audio editing software was likewise really easy to use. Although I did only use the basic cut functions and as I play around with this sofware I am sure it was many more capabilities. I look forward to exploring this further as I get time.
The only small hickup I encountered was the song file from I tunes was an m4a and I needed to convert it to an MP3 to work with it in audacity. I found a free program online to do this called AltoMP3Gold and the link is http://www.download3000.com/download-altomp3-gold-count-reg-33828.html.
Enjoy my little 'Let's Fly A Kite' video.
(The audio backing sone 'Lets Go Fly A Kite' has been removed due to copyright)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Image manipulation with Picnik
Hello Hello Hello. PICNIK
I have found my new favourite web site. This is awesome and so easy to use. It has some really cool effects, you can do scrapbooking in it and its FREE!!! Woohoo.
Some of the really cool effects are only offered if you become a premium member, but for only about $30 Aus for a year, I think I might just have to sign up.
Here are a few of the photos I played around with. I put on the before and afters so you can see the effects a bit more clearly.
These are pretty funky and I have sent them thru to a teacher friend of mine who is doing Pop Art with her year 11 art class.
I love the 1960's chic!
This could have so many applications on education esp in art subjects. But i'm more excited about the applications for photography, I am very interested in increasing my skills in this area and it is now an education subject in many high schools.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Podcasts and Vodcasts
Hiya
I have just created my podcast site. Here is the link if your interested.
http://bub80.mypodcast.com/index.html
And this is my feed read address
http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubsblogfeed
I have just created my podcast site. Here is the link if your interested.
http://bub80.mypodcast.com/index.html
And this is my feed read address
http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubsblogfeed
My feeling so far.
I am feeling a little out of my depth and very behind at the moment. But I am sure as I get into the lingo it will become easier and I'll learn to love it. I am certainly enjoying learning about all the great recources avaliable to us online. It is amazing!
Here are the results for my learning style inventory. It is definitely accurate when it comes to the solitary aspect. I don't like to work alone. I am sure that will surprise you (ha ha) I am not really a talker. ; )
Visual 14
Social 17
Physical 10
Aural 20
Verbal 12
Solitary 5
Logical 13
Here are the results for my learning style inventory. It is definitely accurate when it comes to the solitary aspect. I don't like to work alone. I am sure that will surprise you (ha ha) I am not really a talker. ; )
Visual 14
Social 17
Physical 10
Aural 20
Verbal 12
Solitary 5
Logical 13
Blogger
This is my first delve into the wonderful world of Blogging. I am very excited to learn about these new electronic tools and to imagine their application in my future career path.
In the future I am hoping to pursue a career in VET training and my Blog will reflect this. I am also studying some education courses and have several people close to me whom are teachers including my Mother. My Blog will also suggest uses in classrooms in both primary and high school.
As more and more training is offered online I can see how a Blog could really aid in an e-learning journey. As an example, if I was running an online training course for retail training, a Blog could be used to monitor each trainee involved. The trainee's could post snippets of their experiences and how they were feeling, giving great feedback on stress levels, how students where managing work loads and keeping an eye on any gaps that may appear in the training course. They could also post documents that they have created or photos associated with aspect of training such as visual merchandising. It is a less formal environment than an e-portfolio or a blackboard type site and could really encourage students to engage with their trainer and each other.
In the future I am hoping to pursue a career in VET training and my Blog will reflect this. I am also studying some education courses and have several people close to me whom are teachers including my Mother. My Blog will also suggest uses in classrooms in both primary and high school.
As more and more training is offered online I can see how a Blog could really aid in an e-learning journey. As an example, if I was running an online training course for retail training, a Blog could be used to monitor each trainee involved. The trainee's could post snippets of their experiences and how they were feeling, giving great feedback on stress levels, how students where managing work loads and keeping an eye on any gaps that may appear in the training course. They could also post documents that they have created or photos associated with aspect of training such as visual merchandising. It is a less formal environment than an e-portfolio or a blackboard type site and could really encourage students to engage with their trainer and each other.
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