eLearning For Teachers: Di Goodman (Epoff)

Voicethread is a Web 2.0 application that allows you to create and share digital stories over the net. This application is a great tool for getting students to build digital stories, or to annotate slides.

A VoiceThread is an online media album that can hold essentially any type of media (images, documents and videos) and allows people to make comments in 5 different ways:

- Using voice (with a microphone or telephone), text, audio file, or video (with a webcam) - and share them with anyone they wish. They can even be exported to an Archival Movie for offline use on a DVD or video-enabled MP3 player.

A VoiceThread allows group conversations to be collected and shared in one place, from anywhere in the world. Read more

To understand the breadth of what this application has to offer, view the What is Voicethread video

You can create a Voicethread in 3 easy steps: in one minute according to the website:

For an overview, view the 1 minute Voicethread video

1. Browse & Create images, documents and/or video. You can import from Powerpoint, Word, Excel or PDF, and Flickr or Facebook too.

2. Comment: use your voice - record with a microphone, write text etc

3. Share: invite, email, embed etc. there are privacy options

See a sample Voicethread here: Beach

Controls

You can set privacy controls and moderate any comments before they are published by checking the options

Setting up your microphone

- Click on the My Voice tab/menu

- Choose microphone settings button: for Mac or Windows and follow the prompts

Video Doodling

This is a great feature for annotating video clips or drawing attention to details in a clip. View the Video Doodling video for more information

Gickr is a partner Web 2.0 application to Flickr

Gickr.com lets you create online animated slideshows and share them online

Gickr is actually easier than Flickr to use. In minutes you can quickly upload images and create an animated slideshow that you can email to friends or link to a blog

Like Flickr, there are privacy options but the site warns you that once an option is set, it cant be undone

In the future you will be able to upload a Flickr set to Gickr, but for now its not functional. You will need to access images from your computer.

Late in term 2, all TIGS staff completed a comprehensive survey that aimed to benchmark teacher’s current attitudes, skills and needs in the use of ICT (Information & Communication Technologies): at home, in the staffroom and in the classroom.

Results are currently being compiled, to be used to help formulate an eLearning strategy for the TIGS Strategic Plan.

On Monday 11th August 2008, a group of 13 TIGS teachers and staff attended a workshop on using Flickr and Gickr.

Flickr is a Web 2.0 application that enables you to host and share your photos.

• Access all your digital images in one place.
• Show off your favorite photos to the world.
• Share photos with your friends and family.

In 3 easy steps they learnt to:

- Share their photos using Flickr

- Edit, crop, add fonts etc

- Upload and organise files

- Make things like cards, photo books, prints etc

- Explore

You can:

Take a Flickr tour to learn of its potential: FLICKR TOUR

To post to Flickr, use one of the handy uploading tools (for a batch), the web upload form (for bits and pieces), or send your photos or video in by email (great for cameraphones). As your collection grows, you can organize it into sets and see everything via your archives.

This site has links to all of the upload options:

Flickr tools for uploading

I recommend you download the Flickr Uploader 3.0 from this site, although you can upload via the normal upload button.

Click Download and then Open from the download window and follow the Wizard prompts to place the application in the Program files and a shortcut on the desktop.

Simply click on the shortcut and drag and drop files into the window. Set your privacy options then click Create A Set button. Be patient whilst they upload!

BUT….

You can only upload files smaller than 1Mb each

Do not upload more than 10Mb worth of files at a time

I advise you to prepare your files first so that you can upload easily and minimise your monthly upload quota (around 100 Mb)

Use Adobe Photoshop or a similar photo editing application to resize your images for the web:

PREPARING YOUR PHOTO FILES FOR UPLOADING

In Photoshop:

Open the file > go to Image menu > Image size and change the longest side to 750 pixels. This could be the width or the height depending on if its portrait or landscape format.

Then go to File menu > Save for Web and Devices. Go to the pull down menus to the right of the image and select > jpg and maximum. Click Save and save in a new folder called something like ‘Flickr Beach resized.

Note: Be careful NOT TO OVERWITE your original files!

UPLOADING FILES TO FLICKR

1. Click on the Choose button > select your files from the resized images you just saved

2. Click Upload. Flickr will show you how much memory of your monthly allocation these consume. It will take a while to upload - maybe time for a coffee!

In November I will be attending the 2008 Learning Technologies Conference, where George Siemens will be the keynote speaker.

George is a prominent writer and researcher on learning, networks, technology and organizational effectiveness in digital environments. He is the author of Knowing Knowledge, an exploration of how the context and characteristics of knowledge have changed and what it means to organizations today.

Read more about George and his ideas at these web spaces: eLearnspace, Connectivism and Knowing Knowledge.

In his session George will explore the seemingly obvious ‘networks and connections as the foundation of learning’ and present new perspectives on how to foster deep, critical, understanding through effective implementation of learning networks. He will address:

• What are the characteristics of learning networks?
• How do they differ from social networks?
• What types of attributes are evident in conceptual networks versus social networks?
• What about neural networks?
• How can educators utilize attributes of networks for teaching and learning?
• How do we foster networks of a particular type to serve intended learning goals?

Check out his webspace: it has amazing links to events, articles, interviews, sites and blogs

eLearnspace: everything technology

His elearnspace blog includes daily posts on a wide range of eLearning topics