Get Out of the Classroom with Virtual Field Trips

When I think of field trips I think of yellow buses, permission slips, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a hot can of pop. Yep, I'm kind of old. But I was just thumbing through the August edition of the eSchool News -- I KNOW! I WAS ACTUALLY READING SOMETHING I COULD TOUCH -- and I had to share this great list of virtual field trips. I gathered them all in my Delicious account under the tag "FieldTrip".

Here's the link: http://delicious.com/lamorris/FieldTrip

If you have a favorite or a link to one not on this list, please leave a comment.

Just sharin'.
Lee Anne

You - the Voki Avatar

Okay, it's almost the end of the week and almost the end of the summer semester. I think we need to make time for a little play 'n learn.


Get a Voki now!
(click on the play button in the bottom left)

At this point I honestly don't remember where I learned about this site, but it has been fun. Voki.com is a cool (free) little site where you can create your own speaking avatar. It is fairly intuitive and fast.

I sent the link to several coworkers and the Online Learning Series participants the other day. I didn't have time to play with it just then, but I had to share it! WELL . . . I have been getting some hilarious messages from people. Although I should probably be doing something a bit higher on the "productive" scale this afternoon, I am making time for a little play 'n learn.

Actually, I can see many uses for this - not just play. How cool would this be for an introduction to students taking your online class or going to your blog or wiki?

Take a play 'n learn break. You deserve it.

Just sharin'
Lee Anne

Its Free! -- K12 Online Conference

Are you looking for a FREE conference?
Look no further: http://k12onlineconference.org/

Welcome to the K-12 Online Conference!

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to prove learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available!

Call for proposals: http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=218

I attended the first two (2006 & 2007) and found them to be well, well worth my time.

Just Sharin'!
Lee Anne

FREE - Screencasting Software - Screen-o-Matic

I was reading an eNewsletter I get from the November Learning Group, and one of the topics was on this free screencasting software, Screen-o-matic (gotta love that name), and I felt compelled to share this information with our loyal consortium members. There are several (not free) tools out there to create slick presentations, or screencasts. Here on the Eighth Floor, we use Adobe Captivate. In fact, we teach a rather fun class on using Captivate. (next class is on March 26th)

So, I can hear you saying (we on the Eighth Floor have those sorts of ears) what exactly is a screencast and why is this such popular technology to use in and for the classroom? Here's what the November Learning Group has to say in their article:

Show your students how to become directors, publishers and producers. Help them create authentic, content-rich tutorials for their classmates and audiences
around the world. Screencasting is a quick and easy-to-use tool that can help you
create slick demonstration tutorials in any subject area, using any computer
application. The software allows you to record a movie of what you are doing on
a computer. Along with your movie, you can record voice-over audio to provide a
series of instructions.

No, it is not as slick as Captivate - but did I mention it is free? I played with it a little and found it to be pretty darn easy to create a quick screen cast. Here is my clever first attempt: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cil1QELN. I admit that I didn't look at the tutorial as a good learner should, and I am sure that shows! http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cii3lYtk

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Here are a few of their FAQs:

1. What platforms/browsers are supported?
We're using a Java applet (requires Java 1.5) to do the screen capture and playback so theoretically it should support all major platforms and browsers. That said there are some issues with certain combinations of platforms/browsers. Here is what we've tested on so far:
All Good! - Windows Vista / IE 7.0
All Good! - Windows Vista / Firefox 2.0
All Good! - Windows XP SP2 / IE 6.0
All Good! - Windows XP SP2 / IE 7.0
All Good! - Windows XP SP2 / Firefox 2.0
All Good! - Windows XP SP2 / Opera 9
All Good! - MAC OS X / Safari 2.0.4
All Good! - MAC OS X / Firefox 2.0
Minor Capturing Issues - Linux (Redhat Fadora Core 3) / Firefox 2.0 Please let us know if you use Screencast-O-Matic on any other platform/browser combinations!

2. How much does it cost?
Nothing! It's completely free.

3. Can I export my screencast to flash, quicktime, windows media, etc?
You can export your screencast to quicktime (.mov) format.

4. Can I get better image or audio quality?
The quality of the screen image and audio is reduced since we want to have fast downloads for watching the screencasts. If you'd like to have better quality let us know and we'll work on making that available!

5. What is the max length a screencast can be?
Right now they are limited to 15 minutes each for free hosting.
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For more on screencasting and a quick list of free and not free tools, read Alan November's quick article.

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

K12 Online Conference 2007 - FREE ONLINE Conference

I can't believe I forgot to remind every one about this FREE online conference. If you have attended in the past, you know what a gluttonous, overabundance of resources are shared every day. It is not too late to jump in.

Here is a link to the conference home: http://k12onlineconference.org/
Here is a link to the conference wiki: http://k12online07.wikispaces.com/

"The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2007 conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 8, 2007. The following two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available! "

Hope to see you there!
Lee Anne

ODLA Free Conference - Web 2.0 in Education

You know if it is a "good thing" and it is FREE I'm going to share it with you.

The Oklahoma Distance Learning Association is hosting a FREE conference at OSU - Tulsa this November 5th and 6th focusing on Web 2.0 in Education. The keynote speaker is Wes Fryer, Director of Education Advocacy for AT&T Oklahoma . I'm sure you have heard me mention him many, many times. Check out his blog, Moving at the Speed of Creativity.

Larry Cochran, President of ODLA, shared some of the presentation submissions with us. This list will probably change, but will give you an idea of "what's going on" at the conference and why you should be there.

Presentation submissions are in, and include in no specific order:
1. Camtasia desktop video/audio creation.
2. Free web-based audioconferencing.
3. Podcasting.
4. “Smart” clinical observation system.
5. Negotiating training via Blackboard learning environments.
6. Sprint's WiMAX/2.5 spectrum plans for Oklahoma and national deployment.
7. Web 2.0 best practices.
8. Advanced e-learning development project in a virtual office environment.
9. A team approach to building online web 2.0 courses.
10. Inventing the Future: Safely Empowering Learners in the Read/Write Society (Keynote Address by Wesley Fryer).
11. RSS – What is it good for?
12. Social bookmarking with delicious: It’s about information, collaboration, communication, and access.
13. Digital audio hardware, compression, bit rate vs. quality, software.
14. Animated characters and 3D in course & college communications.
15. Mission possible: Our path to an open source LMS.
16. Unplugging from the commercial software grid: A strategic path.
17. Audacity: A free and powerful audio utility for the web.
18. Two vendor-based presentations are pending.

Looks like a little something for everyone!
Scott and I hope to be both attending and presenting.

See you there!

Thanks,
Lee Anne