Top 100 Tools for Learning
This is a great list of tech tools for teachers. I was familiar with most of these applications (this IS nearly a full time job for me!), but there were also a few absolute gems that I hadn't used previously.
This is certainly worth a look and could prove to be excellent fodder for discussion.
Dan
FrontPage - eXe : eLearning XHTML editor
This is simply the easiest multimedia authoring tool that I've come across. While I can do this coding myself, it takes me forever to do so. I was able to put together a sample in a couple minutes that I exported as an HTML folder, which I uploaded and used in 5 minutes. I exported to a SCORM 1.2 zip, uploaded to Moodle, and launched a SCORM activity in about 5 minutes.
This is insanely easy to use and can really broaden your horizons. My only desire is an export to flash option. This could be just around the corner given the fact that this is an open source project.
I can't say enough good things about this. Try it out.
Dan
Labels:
assessment,
education,
quiz,
tools
How “open-source” is Sakai? at bavatuesdays
This post just re-awakens my criticisms of Sakai. It was bad when I first started using it, it's bad now. There are many more bells & whistles now, but they aren't much more than squeaks and moans.
Here is a copy of my reply to that post
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Indiana University moved to Sakai about 4 years ago as its university-wide CMS. Having heard great things about it, I was eager to give it a try. Prior to that we were using an in-house CMS that left a lot to be desired.
After a brief test period, I pushed very hard not to retire that clunky in-house solution. Sakai was slow, confusing, and was a step down from other popular open-source elements out there. Not to mention, it had (has) one of the worst discussion forums I have ever used. Since then, the build at Indiana has added a lot of new, exciting features. Unfortunately, nearly all are sub-par.
Being open-source, we imagined that it would be easy to do a little of our own development, but this is where university bureaucracies make open-source nearly meaningless. At that time, the process ran through a chain of requests, committees, and finally a masked developer somewhere in Michigan who might, if it fit in with the grand vision, look into finding an existing module or developing a new one to fit our needs.
I've gone back to Sakai each year for the last 3 to test it out as an instructor. Each time I turn right back around and use Moodle on my own server. I might be one of the few who don't want to use their own. Though it's easy to use and provides a lot of freedom, it's just another thing I've got to manage. I just want to simplify my life.
I still hope that one day they'll get it right. I'm hoping that one day, they'll offer workshops on how to teach better instead of how to configure your class workspace.
Dan
KnowledgeWorks - Map of Future Forces Affecting Education - Education Map
Neat conceptual map (with links)on the future of education with a particularly techno-centric viewpoint (not saying that is a bad thing)
A good conversation starter
Dan
YouTube - Remove Vocals from Mp3s using Audacity
This is a great tutorial for removing vocal frm tracks. This is very useful when you just want that muzac playing.
Dan
VoiceThread
This is a cool tool. You upload photos for a slideshow, then you can comment (audio or text) on each of the pictures. What's better, though, is that others can also comment.
Here is my sample (terrible production value, but I can work on that). It is a few pictures from a 4th of July parade. http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=5299&invite=4AbMIeWWvU.
I'd like to point out the URL above. You can share this slideshow with others, but it has to be make public to embed in a blog (external website). So, I created a friend (my other email) and "shared" the show with that friend. That led me to this URL. While I don't mind my presentation being public, I don't really want all users of that site to be dropping in and leaving messages. This would be particularly problematic if you were using this for a class. So, either get all of your students in your friends list, I do something like I described above so you can post a link to the content.
This could be a great tool to elicit iCBT-type test responses from your students, or other contributions of voice or text. While it does not work as a threaded discussion, you could have serial discussions through this medium, which is similar to what you get with most blog commenting features.
This might also be good for tutorials. Users could see a screenshot or other images and listen to or read the instructions/descriptions. I picture this as being good to use in one window with the software interface in another window (using audio puts less focus on the image, but it's there if they need it).
Dan
Labels:
annotations,
audio,
stories,
Video,
Web 2.0
Teachers vote to ban internet | The Register
Oh My! The Luddites are calling from Brittain.
These folks make your network admins look reasonable.
Dan
Labels:
luddites
Web 2.0 Backpack: Web Apps for Students
As you can probably tell, I'm wading through a lot of postings at Read/Write Web and it looks like I've been missing a ton of great stuff. Here's another.
This is a great list of online applications that can greatly benefit both you and your class.
Dan
Labels:
list,
ReadWriteWeb,
tools,
Web 2.0
The Fischbowl: Blogging: In Their Own Words
Really a must see video for those of you thinking about using blogs with your students or even if you have hesitated. The video features teachers and students talking about blog usage in their school with great insights into the benefits of using this technology. The the video also provides some good ideas for using blogs in your classrooms.
Dan
Finding the Perfect Shot: 5 Stock Photo Search Engines Reviewed
Here's a very timely post. If you're looking for images to use on your sites, check out these photo search engines.
Most return free to use images, though, remember that free to use doesn't mean that there aren't any restrictions or requirements. Many require that you link back to the image or the site at a minimum. Read the terms of use on each image site (not just on these search engines) to make sure that you are using the images correctly.
By the way, note that I am posting a link to the Read/Write Web blog again. This is a great blog with many contributors posting on great topics mostly concerned with Web 2.0 (otherwise known as Read/Write Web).
Dan
Video Editing 2.0: 8 Ways to Remix Online Videos
Don't have video editing software? No problem! Here are some online versions that will take you a long way. Not only do the software exist online, but so do your videos. So, your students can easily work on their videos at school and home and not worry about software or transportation of large video files.
Dan
Labels:
editing,
tools,
Video,
video production,
video sharing,
Web 2.0
No more school as council opens 'learning centres'
I think that you will here a lot about this over the next few years. Both success and failure will benefit our understanding of this movement, which I think is gathering steam in academic circles and even political circles.
I personally think that this is an important direction to be researched in education with my gut reaction being that it is the right direction to move in. Of course, I'll check my gut until I see some results :)
Dan
Labels:
autonomous learning,
education,
learning centers,
policy
An ELT Notebook: Using YouTube for Vocabulary Development
Nice lesson plan and a good way to get feedback on your lesson plans. Put them up on your blog and ask people their opinions of the lesson plan. You'll notice that someone commented on this the next day saying that they already used it.
Dan
Labels:
EFL,
ESL,
language learning,
Video,
vocabulary,
YouTube
Election.tv: Election 2008, candidate videos and profiles, Your Voice, Your Vote
Want to do something with American politics? Check this out. This is a collection of videos of 2008 candidates speaking on campaign issues.
Of course they don't say much, but, hey, they're politicians ;-)
If you can't find a topic to discuss in here and some sort of research project, you're just not thinking.
Have fun.
Dan
CMU_Podcasting_Jun07.pdf
Wow! Super article (white paper) on the use of podcasts in education. I think that this is really well balanced and brings together some current research (what there is of it) to support it's arguments. This is a must-read for anyone interested in implementing podcasts in their courses or across the curriculum.
Dan
Labels:
education,
podcasts,
research,
study,
white paper
