SMART-Stop Week #2: Locking, Layering & Infinite Cloning

Week 2: Locking, Layering & Infinite Cloning

Set-up:
1. These tools can be used on both new Notebook files OR files downloaded from the SMART Exchange.
2. Either way, open the file you would like to change.

Nitty Gritty:
1. Locking - all objects can

I ♥ These Sites!

I have been searching for FAR too long for a website that would convert videos from the Flip video output format (MP4) to a format that would work in Windows Movie Maker without a fee, without a huge logo being stamped on the video, without frustration with the user interface, without asking me technical questions in language I didn't understand, and that wouldn't crash half-way through the hours it was taking to convert the video. At last I found one; you might have heard me cheer across the county the first time I realized it worked! And I am happy to report it has worked every time I have tested it and as an added bonus ~ you don't have to download the program to your computer!

The website is: www.online-convert.com. It converts other things as well, though I haven't tested the others out. It is very user friendly but I did create a short video in case you want to see (one I also had to convert, lol, to get it to post here). If the video does not work it is likely a temporary blogger issue, not a conversion issue... promise!

So, another site I love is the one I used to create the previous video... http://www.screenr.com/. This site allows you to make a screencast ~ a video of what you are doing on your computer screen. In the classroom, a screencast could be posted to a blog or website and students can get the directions on how to use a computer application on their own desktops and review it at their own pace... no more repeating directions over and over in front of the classroom! This site is free and is internet based... no download of software required! You do need to register to save your video.

Want to use just a clip from an existing video from YouTube in your instructional presentation? This site ~ http://tubechop.com/ ~ allows you to focus on only the part of the video you hope to share... no awkward in front of the class searching for the right part of the video! After you have "chopped" the video the site offers several ways to share the clip (link, embedding, etc.).

One more just for fun: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-the-Heart-Symbol-Using-a-Computer! I have been wondering the trick behind creating a heart (like the one used in this blog title) and today I figured it out! On a laptop hold down FN, Alt, and L at the same time. ♥ If you substitute other letters for the L, you can get other symbols (and annoying beeps if you pick certain letters). ☻☺♣ ♠ Gotta keep up with the kids you know!

More Than YouTube

As you already know, the Internet is a wealth of information, but sometimes it is too much information to wade through. I am going to bring your attention to a few specific sites today that will be useful to you when you are gathering instructional resources. Multimedia resources have become a significant part of life in the 21st Century. With the introduction of YouTube and online video streaming students have access to more video clips than ever. Educators can take advantage of many of these free resources and open a window to the outside world for their students.

Video clips are great instructional tools when used appropriately. Make sure that when you show a video you set the purpose for your students and ask them to draw conclusions from the video. Many instructional strategies can be used while students watch a video. (Think-pair-share, similarities and differences, graphic organizers, summarizing and note taking etc.)

If you like the idea of YouTube but you’re looking for something with an educational focus here are some free video sharing/hosting websites:

www.techertube.com
www.schooltube.com
www.video.google.com
www.snagfilms.com/films/
www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php
www.teachers.tv/

Some other sites that may have resources for your content area are TV network sites such as Discovery Channel and The History Channel. Check these out and see what you can find this week. You may want to show one to grab the student’s attention at the beginning of the lesson. Or maybe you want to add it t your blog or webpage so students can view it on their own time and submit a response as homework. As always if you need help planning or implementing one of these ideas, contact your ITRT!

TMI (Too Much Information)

Too much information can be crippling when trying to stay up-to-date and in-the-know at work and at home. As teachers, we check our school email and personal email. We listen to our school, home, and cell phone voicemail. We read professional blogs, hobby blogs, news blogs, and our Facebook pages. We get all this information from our desktop, laptop, iPod, iPad, Kindle, Droid, Blackberry, etc. That is information overload!

Recently, the ITRTs attended the VSTE Conference, (VA Society for Tech. in Ed.), in Hampton. One of the sessions that I attended was all about using the right tools to avoid information overload by Tim Stahmer.

Too much information has been a problem since Gutenberg’s Printing Press got started in the 1400’s. As professionals, we can organize ourselves one tool at a time and let the term “TMI” roll right off our backs.

My first suggestion would be to Keep it Simple and Straightforward (KISS). Think about Marzano’s instructional strategy of using advanced organizers to help us sort or organize information. We can use the same organizational concept ourselves that we use with our students. In this case, the organizing tool is Google Reader. Google Reader will aggregate all of the information we like to read about online and put it in one spot for us to read when we are ready.

RSS Feeds and Google Reader

You might have seen the RSS icon in your web browser or web page and not realized what it was before now.

Tim Stahmer sums up RSS feeds easily when he explains that email is known as a “push” technology and RSS feeds are known as “pull” technology.

Using RSS

When you open an aggregator, it goes out to each of the sites you have in your list and pulls in the new information found on the RSS page. It then makes everything in all the feeds you’ve selected available to you in one place.

Think about it this way. RSS is like email in that both bring lots of information into one place making it easy for you to read and process.

Email, however, is a “push” technology. You have no control over who sends a message and when it’s sent. Someone else pushes information to you.

RSS, on the other hand, is a “pull” technology. You decide the source of the information and when you want to receive it. You are in control. And, since you choose the sources, there’s no spam.

Can't access YouTube at school? Click here for the CommonCraft Video: RSS in Plain English.

As always, contact your ITRT if you need help getting started. This is a great first step to get organized and in control of the information you consume!