TCC 4-4 Cindy's Links

This month we are looking at some odds and ends. First is related to the PBL post from this issue. After that we have Twitter, Slidedog, and other presentation apps. 

When collaborating with people outside school/US you need to know what time it is in where you are and at the other site. The app Time Zone Converter was recommended by Dyane Smokorowski (KA 2013 Teacher of the Year) on the Learning is Boundless webinar on Intel Engage. Some information for the PBL article also originated in this webinar also.
This is from Dennis T. O’Connor’s Scoops for E-Learning and Online Teaching. He spotlighted Using Twitter In the Primary Classroom which has some great ways to use Twitter to connect with others.
Some presentation additions:
Slidedog is not just another PPT replacer, according to their site you can “create seamless playlists from just about any type of presentation media.” It supports Word, Powerpoint, PDF, Excel, Prezi, video, photos, and webpages with Chrome. And emaze which uses Flash alternative HTML5 for use on Apple/PC without issues. This online slide presenter offers many templates and tools including a group for education.
And an App: CreatorVerse. Wikipedia says “Creatorverse is primarily focused on creativity and building...Inspiration for Creatorverse, including the logo, originates from the popular device, Newton’s cradle, which demonstrates conservation of momentum and energy via a series of swinging spheres.
It uses physics rather than code.”   

Enjoy!

TCC 4-5 Putting It All in One Place

Here are more efficient ways to do things at a school which blocks some of our favorite tools, like Dropbox or Google Drive. Some of the information is about software choices in my school district: SchoolInsites and Promethean. But you may be able to use 

First another look at the SlideDog. It isn’t a completely new concept...just a new way to look at it. Your talk is sequenced from one file to the next within this tool. So you start with a video, go into a PPT, then open a document then go back to the PPT...you get the idea. All without having open files in the taskbar. And without the time spent getting  it all set up again and again. Along with this you get audience participation and feedback. (See last issue for more)
But did you know that is possible with your usual classroom tools? ActivTip #91 on ActivInspire deals with how to make a unit flipchart with a table of contents which links to the pages needed  and would return to the TOC. This along with the newer feature which allows you to embed videos, link files, and move by using actions encourage putting all your needs in just one flipchart. When doing this or sharing a flipchart be sure to save the additions within the flipchart. These things can also be added to PowerPoint (and other wanna-be’s) slides so you don’t need a new presentation for each day. You just use the TOC to skip to the needed day or page needed. (The note about saving applies here, too.) HowTech.TV has short videos on table of contents and linking pages so that navigation is easier in a unit long presentation.

With flipcharts you can also add timers and other needed helpers to the pages as you go so there is no looking for that during the class. 

Another place which will help with keeping things at your fingertips for class is the file manager in your school website. We have mentioned that this can replace Dropbox, Google Drive, and other cloud storage which might be blocked at school. In the file manager you files have a unique URL which you can find when you view files. Just copy that address and add it to your lesson plans or to your flipchart/PPT. These files can be private to you and only shared using this URL. Students can access any they have a URL for, but are not able to see other things stored there unless you make it public.
Gathering all materials needed for what you are presenting at the planning stage can save minutes in class and hours of you time when you have to find what you used last year.
The interactivity is possible also: either Learner Response System(LRS) from Promethean for audience response or you can use sites such as Socrative, EverySlide or  PollEverywhere if students have devices of their own or are part of a 1-to-1 program.

Enjoy!