First Day of Kindergarten

Sribbled

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Scribble Maps is a drawing program that works with Google Maps and allows you to write all over your map. So, if you have an assignment where you have to draw a map and your teacher allows you to incorporate Google Maps (like me:) then you can simply follow these steps:

1. Log into Scribble Maps and enter a location where it says 'Find.' Using cities gets best results
2. Draw on your map using the toolbar at the top
3. Go to Menu and Save then Share with your instructor

Multimedia Presentation using Authorstream

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Authorstream is a Web 2.0 program that allows you to upload PowerPoints (similar presentation programs accepted) with audio embedded into the slides. You can post your audio presentation on the site and create a URL and Embed Code which would allow you to host on your blog or website as well. Its as simple as creating a PowerPoint with your audio filed EMBEDDED into the slides and then uploading to Authorstream. See below for an example.

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by mrplough07

Embedr for Cool Video Playlists

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Embedr is a great tool for anyone who is running a blog or a website for their course and wants to be able to embed multiple videos onto a page. For example, lets say you are researching the Cold War for your U.S. History course and have found several videos that will enhance your your unit project. You could get the URL's to those videos, build a playlist on Embedr and generate the HTML embed code then copy it into your own site. You could also create a URL to that playlist on Embedr. What's especially unique about Embedr is that you can take videos from multiple sites to create your playlist. See below for an example.

Quizilla

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:33:00 +0000

A student of mine contacted me the other day and asked if he could use Quizilla to complete a compare and contrast assignment by making a quiz. It seems like a really interesting method for a student to demonstrate a higher level of thinking so I said "go for it" before I even looked at the site. When I pulled up the site the next day, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it offered 5 ways to create:

quizzes
stories
polls
poems
lyrics

Any of those creative options could be used to demonstrate learning so feel free to make and publish your own story as a replacement for any lesson.

You can create a poll and publish it, if its interesting people will take your poll and you could share the results as part of your assignment.

Writing poetry or lyrics for a song takes a special talent, but if you have that talent feel free to use it to demonstrate your understanding of the topic.

Student Sample

Advanced Search Using Google

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Here is a five minute video walking you through 3 tips on how to complete research in your courses using Google. I recommend you open up this link and follow along as you watch the video below.

Video Essays using Youtube

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:24:00 +0000

There is a really easy way to make video essays using Youtube. When I say video essay, what I'm referring to is most commonly known as a Video Log (vlog). You have seen these on Youtube before, they usually consist of one person sitting in front of a webcam talking. Well, have you ever considered doing that for an assignment? For those of you who have my course, you have already seen one of these this year.

Lets say you have an assignment for a course that requires you to write a paragraph, or 3 paragraphs, or the dreaded 5 paragraph essay. Well, if you get one of those for my course, feel free to replace it with a video essay.

Here is how:

1. Go to Youtube
2. Create an account if you do not have one.
3. Click Upload
4. Fill out the necessary information
5. Click Quick Capture
6. Make sure your audio and video on your webcam is working properly
7. Record

A couple hints:

1. Write out a script - I'm not saying write a long script, but make an outline or jot down key words to help you focus. We would hate to hear you ramble on for 5 minutes with no clear direction.

2. Make sure you address all the requirements of the assignment - If the assignment says it should be 3 parapgraphs, I would like roughly 15 sentences in your Video Essay.

3. Make sure your video and audio is clear before submitting

See below for a video essay about this blog entry

What do you Feel Like Working With?

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:44:00 +0000

There is a cool new directory out that allows you to look up Web 2.0 tools by category. Lets say you want to do a Presentation. Just got to Go2Web2.0.net and at the top of the page select the 'select tag' dropdown menu and choose a tag (keyword).

If you feel like doing a presentation but don't want to do a Powerpoint then select 'presentation' from the menu and see what your choices are. You can pick any of them you like and create your presentation. Or, choose something else. You can create documents, wikis, blogs, etc..... Explore, be creative.

Google Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:10:00 +0000

Google Sites acts like a cross between a wiki and a website. Its as easy to use as a wiki but has a more professional look, like a webpage. Check out this student created Sites page to see for yourself.

In Sites you can upload videos and pictures, create new pages for each additional topic, customize the look of the page, and store a lot of information. Its pretty much like having your own website, but comes free with your Google account and is easy to create.

You can use Google Sites in lots of ways for my class:

Store your assignments on the Site, giving each of them their own page and then submitting the URL to me for a grade each time you add to the site
Create a single assignment on Sites and turn that in for a grade
Use it to store research that you are collecting for different topics in class
Do work for multiple courses each with their own page
Use it as a starting page for your school life where you keep everything organized

To find Sites, go to your Google Account and look at the top bar:

Slideoo, Another Cool Flickr Slideshow Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:42:00 +0000

If you have a set of photos that you want to post on your blog or website, but you want a horizontal slideshow player separate from the standard Flickr Slideshow, check out Slideoo.

Fun Quiz Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Take the quiz for fun and see how you do. Use this blog and common sense and you will ACE it.

Welcome to Web 2.0

Do You Like Comics and Cartoons?

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:26:00 +0000

There is a fun Web 2.0 site called Toondoo which allows you to create comics or cartoons and share them with others. If you like to draw, use graphics, or simply like comics, why don't you try using this site for my course. Create a comicstrip and tie it to the ideas behind any of the assignments in my course and you can complete that instead of typing out your answers in a word doc. What do you think, sound like a deal?

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Basic Ideas Behind Photo Sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Add Your Thoughts to Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:01:00 +0000

Imagine you are getting ready to do some research for a course. You are studying the 1st Amendment and you want to see what people have to say about it so you decide to look up videos on Youtube. Lets say you find one that has great graphics and some interesting ideas but you want to put your own twist on that video. Well, now there is an easy way to add your thoughts to the vid. Overstream allows you to put words over a video.

On the Overstream Home Page click on the 'watch demo' link to see a short overview.

So how does this work for my course?

1: Pick your video from Youtube, Google Video, or MySpaceVideo. Copy the URL.

2. Go to Overstream.net (initially you will have to set up an account).

I recommend watching this tutorial before your first attempt.

3. Paste your URL and begin the captioning process.

4. Submit the link through the course or an email and you're done.

Create a Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:23:00 +0000

XTimeline allows you to upload pictures, insert text, and create a timeline of events. The result is a professional looking product that looks better and allows for more expanded details than a traditional poster board timeline you would of made in you old history course.

You can also research events, people, and ideas to find info on a topic you are working on for your courses. If you want to work in groups and create a timeline together, that option is open for you with this site. When you are done, just tag your timeline with the keywords (ex. Civil Rights, WWII, Beijing) and submit. You will receive a web address (url) that you can post on your own blog or website. Send me the url and you are all done.

You could use this as a project option for virtually any assignment in my courses.

Cool Flickr Tools for School

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:15:00 +0000

Flickr Places is a tool that lets you search by city, state, or country to find photos unique to that area. This could come in real handy for many of the projects you work on in my courses. Whether you are writing an essay about U.S. History that discusses Boston or completing a photo slideshow project on the geography of Ireland, this tool can help you.

Flickr Maps is great for searching ideas at a specific location. Say you want to look up architecture in Beijing. Just type in architecture in the left hand search box and Beijing in the right hand search box.

Select an image from the photo stream:

One Step Further:

Note: Whenever downloading from the Internet, keep in mind who owns the product you are using. If people post under a Creative Commons license then its okay to use for our school projects.

The Day I Almost Unofficially Met Mark Cuban.com

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 04:47:00 +0000

I almost got to ask Mark Cuban a question today. If I would have, that means we might have almost unofficially met. He looked right at me...... I got nervous, but I was ready...... I thought for sure he was going to call on me....... but at the last second he passed. Off to the next man with his hand up. I don't feel sad, don't worry. I am a little disappointed though. He seems to know a lot about the internet, and I really wanted a quote from him to share with you, my students. Here is how the story goes.

I was attending the Blog World Expo which is the largest gathering of bloggers on the planet. DONT STOP READING NOW, this isnt all geeky. So anyway, I was sitting with 500 or so other bloggers at the closing Keynote address listening to internet guru Mr. Cuban (also owner of the Dallas Mavericks) about authentic blogging and something struck me. I wonder if he has any visions for education? He knows a lot about business, a lot about basketball, tons and tons about the internet, what about education? A lot of our modern pioneers have visions for changing education to bring American students into the forefront of the information revolution and help them escape from the industrial one (see Bill Gates). I wonder if Mr. Cuban does too? So, I thought, phrased, and garnished the nerve for 10 long minutes to ask him this one question:

Considering that the public education system is light years behind the real world and blogging is almost nonexistent in schools, do you see any role for blogging and Web 2.0 in high schools?

My question is still out there to you Mr. Cuban. My students would love to hear your answer.

VSS 07

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:43:00 +0000

A small group of teachers from Odyssey presented at the Virtual Schools Symposium this week. We discussed how we are using Social Networks and Web 2.0 tools in our courses. The presentation went pretty well, check out our wiki if you want to see it. Some of your work was featured in our session.

Virtual Schools Presentation

Blabberize

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:23:00 +0000

Blabberize.com allows you to take a picture and make it talk. You can make up to 2 minute audio recordings.

How can you use this for my course:
1. Make introductions for your assignments.
2. Replace a portion of your project.
3. Combine with other programs to create a full project.
4. Any other way you can think of.

Motivating Student Creativity Article

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:50:00 +0000

I've written an article that will be posted in the Techlearning E-Zine in the spring. It's a short piece with 2 central themes. The first theme is the idea of options. It's important that teachers provide students with options for completing assignments. Of course this isn't practical for all assignments since we are often trying to teach them something with the method of assessment. However, most assignments in secondary education are essays and traditional objective based assessments. Communication and information in the beloved 'real world' isn't based on those methods anymore. Essays certainly play a role but not the central role in communicating ideas in the Web 2.0 world that our kids occupy. Which is my segue to the 2nd theme, using Web 2.0 tools in my courses. In other words, allowing students to use project based tools that are valid to the world they live in will promote creativity, motivation, and 21st century literacy.http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhsgv8zv_15sdkhcm

Flickr Photo Essay = Photos + A Dash of Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:31:00 +0000

So you need to create a project for one of my courses. You are creative, like pictures, and are a little bored with doing the same old type of essay in Microsoft Word. I have the solution for you. Your words + your pictures = a flickr photo essay.

Click on the link and when the picture pops up hover your mouse over the boxes. http://flickr.com/photos/mrmosesdotorg/1514900489/

Any ideas how you could use this in your courses?

Sketchcast= Drawing + Audio

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:05:00 +0000

Sketchcast is an online program that allows you to create sketches mixed with your voice. This could be fantastic for someone who is at all artistically creative. I'm not, so don't laugh too much at my example below. I've shared tools with you before for completing your projects using just your voice, or your voice and photos. This one allows you to still do audio projects but puts in an extra twist, a drawing pencil in the form of a mouse.
Also, if you have a blog and you want to just embed your sketchcast right into the blog to give your assignment some more flare, that would be awesome for your grade.

Your Own Voki

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:13:00 +0000

Create your own Voki. Your very own online character. This really has no educational purpose, just thought you might have fun with it. I guess, if you really wanted to, you could make an online audio essay using your Voki and submit that as a project. See, it does have some educational value.

Get a Voki now!

Voicethread, Combine Your Words with Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:40:00 +0000

Click 'record'(you need a mic) or type if you would like to make a comment. Please say your first name and which course of mine you are in if you leave a comment.

This would work great for combining oral projects with pictures for an assignment in my course. It also allows you to collaborate with other students so if you are working on a project in an online group then you can all make comments about a picture or screen capture that is part of your research. Combine your comments together, send me the link, and poof, you have a project.

If you like this program, go to www.voicethread.com and create an account.

Google Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 02:06:00 +0000

I made a presentation using the newest Google feature called Google Presentation. It can be found inside Google Docs and has a lot of potential uses for this class.

Make online presentations, easily
Work with other students on projects
Liven up your normal assignment and earn more points
Get help on your work by sharing with me prior to submitting for a grade

Check it out

Google Docs Made Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Cory Plough) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:14:00 +0000

I posted a couple weeks ago about the benefit of using Google Docs over Microsoft Word or other word processing programs on your computer. Well, here is a cool video with animation(ish) graphics to highlight what I was talking about. Now, reread my posting and see how it will help you in school.