Evernote is comprised of a series of notes that can be added to a collection called a “notebook”.  Notebooks can then be organized in to “stacks”.  For example, you may have a stack named Lectures.  Within that stack you may have notebooks named something like Class101, Class 202, Class303.   Each class can then have several notes added that have their own titles.   This makes it very nice to keep things organized.

I find it convenient to be able to add links to youtube videos or web articles that I am showing during a particular session so not to have jump around to so many different locations.  It is all right there waiting for me.  And with the ability to log on from anywhere (apps for ipad, iphone, and android also available) makes this very seamless.

Additionally, Evernote offers software that can be installed locally to your computer.  Syncing between the online version, desktop, and apps are all automatic, instantaneous, and seamless.  The desktop application does offer a “web-clipper” which allows you to capture a website in its entirety.  This is very helpful for offline viewing.  EvernoteWeb only allows you to link to a site.

When you sign up for your free account you will get an Evernote email address.  Email does not actually come to this account as you use it more of a contact.  If you are out and about and have a sudden need to create a note just email your Evernote address and it will automatically create it for you online.  Send images or take pictures with the app and send it directly to a note.

Notes, as well as notebooks, can be share via email, facebook, twitter or through a link.  You could post your syllabi to an note and send the link to your students.  This way they would always have the latest version and you would not need to worry about sending an updated copy of a word document.  They simply would go back to the link anytime they wanted to view it.  Here is an example of a shared note:  shared note

If you want to get a bit more organized I highly recommend playing around with Evernote.  (It would be a great tool for students to take notes electronically during class!)   It is a free service and very accessible.  If you have more questions about this tool feel free to drop me a line!

Below are links to the major players in terms of lecture capture in Higher Education followed by a very brief description of capabilities.  All options below take the manual work out of converting video, audio, and screen capture into other formats.

I would be happy to do demos to assist you in exploring new ways to reach out to your students and find the best solution for your needs.  Please let me know if you have any questions or run across other tools you would like for me to research.  Pass this article along and get the discussions going!

Note: Most listed below have multiple capture options and thus have several ways to license their product.

TechSmith/Camtasia: http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp

• Capture Options: ,

o   Camtasia Relay – Software Installation required; Screen Capture and Audio Only; Server Backend for rendering and sharing;  Integrates to Moodle and iTunesU;

o   Camtasia Studio – Software Installation required; Screen Capture, Audio, Video; Can share work through YouTube or Screencast.com;

o   Jing–  Personal Use. Software Installation required.  Screen Capture and Audio.  FREE  to create 5 minute clips.  Go Pro for $20/year for longer captures and more export options.

§  There are several other free tools like Jing available on the web. Example…

Echo 360: http://www.echo360.com/

• Capture Options:

o   Appliance— Software Installation and Proprietary hardware required for in-class capture only; Screen capture, Audio, and Video.  FIXED to specific room; Server Backend required for rendering and sharing;  Integrates to Moodle and iTunesU

o   Podium – Software Installation required; Screen Capture, Audio only ; Server Backend required for rendering and sharing;  Integrates to Moodle and iTunesU

o   Personal – Software Installation required for office or home use.  Screen Capture, Video (small webcam), Audio

Tegrity: http://www.tegrity.com/

• Capture Options:

o   Web Service – No software installation required, log onto web site and run software from any location, on/off campus.   Screen Capture, Audio and Video; Server Backend required for rendering and sharing (bundled software/service);  Integrates to Moodle and iTunesU

o   We have a full, extended, trial of this service.

NOTE: Tegrity was just purchased by McGraw-Hill in full and plan on continuing to offer all services as before. More….

Panopto: http://www.panopto.com/

• Capture Options:

o   One Option: Software Installation required; Screen Capture, Audio, Video; Server Backend for rendering and sharing;  Integrates to Moodle and iTunesU

EXTRAS:

• Flipping the classroom: http://wp.wpi.edu/atc-ttl/2009/09/23/turn-your-classroom-upside-down/ (Links to others included in article)
• Accountability for out of class reading/lecture viewing: http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Getting-Students-to-Do-the-/23066/

Now… even though it is legal for you to make clips, that does not make it easy to make clips.  So I did further digging.  After countless demos and trials I finally found a piece of software that makes it pretty easy to get clips from DVDs.  I am sure there is other software out there, but I found AoA DVD Ripper to be among the top for clips extraction.

If you have a need for a few clips every now and again, I would be happy to assist you in this process.  However, if you have a multitude of clips we will need to work out how to best process your request.  Feel free to contact me if you would like further information.

In an effort to be a bit more green, try supplying your PowerPoint presentations in handout form as a PDF!

Click the Office button in PowerPoint, Choose Print, and select the Adobe PDF printer from the drop down list.  BEFORE you click ok, select the drop down box under “Print what” and choose Notes Pages.  Click OK, and save your document to a network location.  This will print 6 slides to 1 page instead of 6 slides on 6 pages.

Think Green:  You have just cut your 12 slide presentation down to a 2 page printout!

1.  Once you have your quiz container created on the main part of your Moodle course, click on it once to open the quiz settings.

2.  Click “Update this Quiz” in the top right corner.

3.  Once opened, you will see three tabs along the top.  Click on “Locally Assigned Roles”

4.  Click the option for “Student Quiz user with unlimited time”

5.  Choose your student(s) from the right, for which you would like to lift the time limit, and move them to the left.

This will need to be completed on each quiz you wish to differ the time limit requirement for students within your class.