Wednesday, December 6, 2017

How to include a video on a Blogger.com page

On some blog sites (e.g. weebly.com) there is the option to embed a video using the embed code. Here, in blogger, you can still include a video, but not using the embed code. To include a video your options are:


  • Option 1 - Upload a video: Click on the Blogger toolbar icon to embed a video --> this opens a box and asks you to drag and drop your video from your computer into the box. This will upload your video (it may take a while to do this). Below is a video that I uploaded to show this (video of a person skating on our lake at home):

  • Option 2 - Share a video from your own YouTube Channel:  Upload your video to YouTube --> then, back in your blog,  click on the Blogger toolbar icon to embed a video --> Select the option to embed a video from your YouTube videos --> a list of your YouTube videos (in your YouTube channel) appears --> select the video that you want --> Below is a video that I have embedded from my YouTube site (this one on how to embed a video into a Weebly page!)


  • Option 3 - Share a video that you found on YouTube: Similar to option 2, but for this option, you can embed a video that you find on YouTube (not necessarily your own). To do this, as before,  click on the Blogger toolbar icon to embed a video --> then select the "from YouTube" option --> paste the URL of the YouTube video in the box provided (or use this same box to search for a video) --> click "select". Here is a video on how to insert a video into Blogger!

  • Monday, March 30, 2015

    How to use QuickTime to create a screencast

    In an earlier blog I showed how to create a screencast using Screencast-o-matic (this can be done on Mac or Windows).  Now what I am doing in today's blog is show you a tool that is for Mac users, specifically: how to use QuickTime to create a screencast.

    1. Launch QuickTime Player
    2. From the file menu select "New screen recording"


    3. This then opens up a window that invites you to start recording. From the drop down menu I recommend that you select the option to "show mouse clicks while recording" (that way viewers can see you moving your mouse on your screen, which helps them focus on where you are pointing):

    4. When you click on the red button to start recording, a box will pop up giving you two options: either you can just click anywhere and your entire screen will be recorded, or (which I recommend), drag your cursor around the portion of the screen that you want to record. Also, and very important, it tells you how to end the recording when you are done (and this part is not obvious!!)


    5. Once you have drawn around the area you want to record, a button appears in the middle of your selected area inviting you to start recording. Click on it.


    6. Your screen and your voice is now being recorded, so you can create and narrate your screencast. When you are done, look at the very top of your screen on the bar. You will see a little black record button (note: your bar may not look the same as mine does -- see screenshot below -- but look for the little black done in a circle). Click on it and it will stop your recording.


    7. Your screencast video will open in QuickTime on your desktop. From the QuickTime file menu options, select "Save" and save your screencast (to wherever you would like to save it).


    8. You can now share this video. Some options are:
    • Insert into a PowerPoint or Google Slide
    • Upload to YouTube
    • Upload to your Google Drive and then share with whoever you would like (public, a class list, or individuals)

    Using shared Google slides for group tasks

    In the old days (before I drank the Google Drive Kool-Aid) when I had students work in groups in class, I'd give them a piece of newsprint and a marker, and have them create a summary of their discussion on the paper. One student wrote on the paper while the rest looked on and contributed. When they were done, I'd have them post their sheet on the classroom wall as their group spokesperson explained to the class what their group had done. It worked pretty well.

    Then I discovered the power of using a shared Google Presentation (now called Google Slides), which is Google's online version of PowerPoint -- on steroids. Now what I do when I have students work in groups is, ahead of time, set up a Google slide document which I share with the whole class. I create one slide per group of students (so, for example, in a class of 30 students, I'll typically create 6 slides, with one slide designated for each group of students, 5 students per group). In class the students then discuss their group task, except instead of recording their ideas on the newsprint poster, they type on their group's shared Google slide. There are multiple advantages of this over the old newsprint:
    1. What they type is easily legible (vs. handwritten poster) and students can also insert photos, videos or any other media or visuals.
    2. Students can use the slide for the highlights of what they want to say, and the notes portion of the slide (beneath the slide) to include more detail (as well as references and links, if needed).
    3. More than one student can type and edit, because each student usually has a computer or other Internet enabled device on which they can access the slide (so that the ideas of students who are quieter aren't left out, or misinterpreted by the person who is recording what s/he thought was said). e.g. if the person who is typing misinterprets what their group member said, the group member can edit what was typed to correct it. If a student's idea is not included on the slide, s/he can add it.
    4. If students are not physically in the classroom (e.g. if a student is at home, sick), I give them the option to join class via a Google Hangout. When students work in groups, the student on Hangout joins with their group and participates along with everyone else. When the group uses a shared Google Slide, the student at home can follow along and add her/his ideas just as the ones who are face-to-face in class can do.
    5. When groups present their findings, I project the slides on screen in class.
    6. After class, all students still have access to the shared slides to use for review.
    Below I have a video demonstrating how I create these shared Google slides:


    Saturday, March 21, 2015

    Online collaboration tools

    This coming week in one of my classes I will be teaching about online collaboration tools. I thought I'd share a list of some of the ones we will be looking at, and then invite you to use one of these, called Tricider, to share your ideas and vote on the ideas of others.

    Here is a list of an assortment of collaboration tools:
    • Dweeber: students can help each other study
    • Google Docs: collaborate in creating document (which can include multimedia)
    • Google Presentations: collaborate in creating multimedia presentations
    • Google Sheets: collaborate in gathering and analyzing data
    • Everyslide: engage your class in your presentation, run polls
    • Padlet: collaborate by posting ideas (text, images or video) on a virtual pinboard
    • Pinterest: see how to set up to collaborate on board
    • Popplet: collaborate in creating a multimedia concept map
    • Prezi: collaborate in creating multimedia presentations
    • Realtimeboard: a real-time white board
    • Seesaw: a great blog tool for use even with very young children
    • Sumdog: have students play multiplayer education games with players worldwide
    • Trello: a tool for organizing collaborative projects
    • Twitter: To get your started, see 50 ways to teach with Twitter in the classroom
    • Voicethread : a media centric way to have conversations
    • Voxer: talk, text, send photos, send live or recorded messages to one person or entire group

    So what is your favorite online collaboration tool to use as a teacher with your students (or for to have students to use with each other)? Go to my Tricider Tricision to share and vote! or (and!) respond with your ideas by commenting on this blog post. Thanks! :)

    Tuesday, March 10, 2015

    How to create a Google Hangout with a Custom URL

    In this Tech Tips blog I show you how to create a Google Hangout with a Custom URL. I provide you with 2 options to learn how to do this:
    1. How to set up a Google Hangout with customized URL: This is a written, step-by-step guide with screenshots showing you what to do at each step

      OR
    2. Watch the video below that show you step by step what to do:

    Saturday, March 7, 2015

    How to use the free version of Screencast-o-matic to create a screencast

    In an earlier blog I described different tools that I use for creating screencasts. In this blog I have created a video in which I show you how to use one of these, namely Screencast-o-matic. If you would like to download and install Screencast-o-matic on your own computer (Mac or Windows), go to http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ and click on the download button.

    Once you have downloaded Screencast-O-matic to your computer, then you are ready to start making a screencast! In the video below I demonstrate how to do this.

    Sunday, February 22, 2015

    Creating discussion groups in Moodle

    For most online asynchronous discussions that I create in Moodle, I use the "standard discussion forum" option. I have had requests from colleagues to explain how I go about setting up these discussion groups, so I thought I'd create a blog entry here to show what I do. I'll start by showing what can happen if you don't create discussion groups, and then I'll show the approach that I use when I create groups.


    Option 1: Posting discussion question without creating discussion groups

    In Moodle, when you create a standard discussion forum, one option is to post the discussion question in what I call the "foyer" of the discussion forum. When students click on the discussion, they see the question posted in the foyer, but the only way in which they can respond is by clicking on the "Add a new discussion" button.


    screen shot showing the Moodle standard discussion forum "foyer" and the "add a new discussion topic" button








    When they click the "Add a new discussion" button, this opens up a window in which students have to add a new discussion topic. In my experience this causes confusion right away, because the term "add a discussion topic" suggests that the students are creating their own topics, when in fact (usually) the instructor's intent is for the students to discuss the topic the instructor created. Students' reaction here is often is, "But I don't want to add a new topic -- I just want to respond to the instructor's question!" They also have to pick a subject for their topic (deepening the confusion, since they are thinking, "I didn't know that I had a choice! I thought the subject was the one the instructor gave us when asking the question?"). But they go ahead anyway, and create a subject, and then type their response to the instructor's question in the message box and click to post their message to the forum.
    Screen shot showing the new discussion topic window where students have to add their own subject and then type in the message box







    So now the next student to come along and click on the Moodle forum is faced with a dilemma. They see the instructor's question, but also now they see that there is a discussion started by the first student. So do they click to add a new discussion topic to post their own response, or do they click on the discussion already started by the first student? 











    If students add a new discussion topic in response to the instructor's question, then it is as if students had entered the foyer of a building, been given a question, and each has then has gone off into their own room (their new discussion topic) to share their response to an empty room. 

    What this leads to is separate and parallel discussions happening. As each student comes in and creates their discussion topic, more and more isolated rooms are created. This makes it very difficult for students to engage with each other around the initial question. Instead, they have to enter each room, one at a time, and respond to the person who created the room. This becomes centered on the room creator's post, rather than each student engaging with others in the group around the central question, and from there, also engaging with each other as the discussion unfolds. Additionally, it can be very overwhelming once other students join in. e.g. if there are 24 students in the class, each creating their own "room" to respond to the question, even if students do try to engage with each other, there are 24 separate and isolated discussions going on.

    Note: There are times when I do want students each to create their own discussion, such as if I ask them each to research a unique topic and then share their findings with the whole class. When I do this I use the option in Moodle to create a "Each person posts one discussion" forum option, rather than a Standard Forum (see screenshot below). In this case, I do want the discussion in that "room" to be centered on the room creator's post. So what happens is that once each student has shared their research report, I then ask them to go into the discussions created by 2 peers and provide their peers feedback and/or ask questions about their peers' report. 
    Screen shot showing each person posts one discussion option in Moodle


    Option 2: Creating discussion groups within the Standard Forum for general use

    Another way to use the standard forum is for the instructor to create discussion groups. Using this method (as the instructor) I create a standard the forum and use the forum "foyer" to set the stage for the discussion. Here I provide the background to the discussion. Then I direct students to click on their group's discussion forum which they see listed below my directions. I create the groups ahead of time.

    As noted in the screenshot below, usually I have students in groups of 5-7 students (as I have found that if there are fewer than 5, the students don't have the opportunity to see sufficient variation in responses. More than 7 makes the discussion too hard to follow). I group students heterogeneously based on a variety of factors, including gender, experience, subject area/grade level, and also (importantly) I try to distribute evenly across the groups both those students who tend to be what I call "penguins (those who jump into the water right away ) and the stragglers (those who tend to come in at the last moment). The reason for this is that if you have mostly stragglers in one group, it's hard to get the discussion off the ground!

    This screenshot below shows the "foyer" and then the list of discussion groups. The name of the "topic" is just the name of the group along with group members' names. Students have to go into their group to see the question:

    Screen shot showing manually created discussion groups





















    Once students click on their group, they are then all in the same room, where they can see the discussion question and begin responding first to the question and then to each other, engaging with each other in a more natural discussion format. Moodle is set up to show the threads of the discussion, so when students reply to each other, their responses are indented below the response of the person to whom they are replying.

    The screenshot below shows how my (instructor) question is the first post within the discussion group. To respond to my question, students click on the "reply" button. They can reply to my question or/and they can also reply to each other (by clicking on the "reply" link below their group members' responses).

    Screen shot showing discussion question posted within group and the "reply" link for students to click to respond


















    What do you do?

    I am interested to hear from others about how you go about setting up discussions within Moodle, and also about your thoughts on my approach here. Please click on the "comment" link below and share your input!

    Note: Because of FERPA regulations, as instructors we can't show each other real examples of discussion forums (because to do so means violating student privacy as their names are visible in the discussion forums).  Additionally, all too often we each disappear into our own teaching "silo" and don't share with each other how we are teaching. This means that we don't learn from each other -- both about what works and what doesn't. So I've taken the plunge here to share my approach. I invite and welcome responses to my blog post here, giving me feedback and suggestions about what I do, and also sharing with other readers of this blog what you do. Thanks!