Avatars - Your Virtual Self

Creating avatars in education can help get the creative juices flowing and create safe images to post of the students online.    Here is a list of ideas for using avatars in classrooms:

• Create book trailers with the avatars representing the characters


• Teachers can put their avatar in their powerpoints to get the kids attention.


• Create a new character and create a story about it. (Great for the Build Your Wild Self website)


• Write instructions on how to create a character - swap descriptions to see if they can recreate it


• recreate characters from the novel.  What do you picture that they look like.


• All about Mii poems with picture of the avatar attached


• Use the avatar to represent the student online.


• Put the avatars in famous places and points in history.  Have student write about the place and or event from a first person point of view.

Here are three kid-safe resources for creating avatars:

Mii Avatars

If you are a Wii user you have created a Mii before, the avatar that represents you in playing the games.  There is online option to create Miis that can be saved as jpgs or png files. Export the avatar as a transparent png file and put yourself in famous places. by placing the Mii on top of a photograph.  I've used PowerPoint for this since you can group the two images and then save the group as a picture file.

Create your own Mii - http://www.myavatareditor.com/

Directions to create famous Miis:  http://www.miicharacters.com/

Lego Avatars:

Mini-Mizer -

Allows users to create a Lego Avatar complete with accessories custom and backgrounds.  To save the creation you have to do a Print Screen and then paste into another application like PowerPoint to crop the image and save it as an image file.

http://www.reasonablyclever.com/mm2/mini2.swf

Become an Animal

Build Your Wild Self - Start off designing yourself as a human then you can add animal parts and set a background.  Final Products can be printed with information about the creature you created and a name for your creature.  Another option is to save a version as a desktop backgrounds.  You can right click on the print version and save the image as well as doing the print screen option as with the Lego character.



This was really my favorite one as the art work is beautiful and the ties into science are amazing.  One idea:  Have students create a creature for their habitat and explain how that creature lives.

__________________________________________

I'll be adding to my avatar resources at: http://www.diigo.com/user/robiny/avatars

Any other ideas for using avatars in class?

Embedding YouTube in PowerPoint 2007

With the upgrade on campus from Office XP to Office 07 there was a need to rewrite the directions on embedding YouTube into PowerPoint.

Embedding a video allows for the presenter to stay within the PowerPoint environment and to filter out the ads and info that may surround the video on the internet.

Here is a powerpoint with the YouTube Video linked and the video embedded:   embed

Directions to Embed in PowerPoint 2007

Note: Your computer must have internet connection when showing the PowerPoint in order for the video to work.

1. Look to see if the “Developer” ribbon is available on your toolbar.  If it is NOT:
   
   
   
   1. click on the Microsoft Orb (see red arrow)
   
   
   2. Click on “PowerPoint Options” on the bottom of the window.
   
   
   3. Under the “Popular” tab check S”Show Developer tab in the Ribbon”
   
   
   4. Click “OK”
   
   
   
   


2. Open the Developer’s Ribbon and click on the “More Controls” option in the Controls box.


3. Scroll down and select the option “Shockwave Flash Object” and click “OK.”


4. On the PowerPoint slide click the mouse and draw a box where you want the video to be.


5. Right click on the box you have just drawn and select “Properties.”


6. Open Internet Explorer and find the video you want to embed in your presentation:
   
   
   
   1. Copy the URL in the address bar by highlighting the address and Ctrl + C
   
   
   
   


7. Return to PowerPoint


8. Paste the URL in the Properties Box in the “Movie” section.


9. Change the URL by:
   
   
   
   1. 
      
      
      
      1. Delete the “watch?” portion of the address
      
      
      2. Replace the “=” with a “/”
      
      
      3. Example
         
         
         
         1. From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSVfYwdGSsQ
         
         
         2. To: http://www.youtube.com/ v/aSVfYwdGSsQ
         
         
         
         
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   


10. Other items to change in the Properties Box:
    
    
    
    1. Loop – If you want the movie to play through once and stop select “False”
    
    
    2. Playing – If you want the movie to start automatically when the slide loads – “True” – Otherwise change to “False” if you want to click on the movie for it to start.
    
    
    
    


11. Save your PowerPoint.


12. Run the presentation and you should see the movie begin.

Here are the directions with screenshots in pdf Form: Embed a YouTube Video into PowerPoint 2007

New Year's Resolutions: PowerPoint

With the New Year I thought I would focus on a few New Year's Technology Resolutions.  The first one is: "I will learn to avoid the commons PowerPoint mistakes."

PowerPoint is a great tool for getting information presented to a group of people, but too often we try to make PowerPoint do too much for us.

Here is a humorous look at the ways we go wrong with PowerPoint:



(If the video is not visible - you can also see it here: How NOT to use PowerPoint!)

Here are some guidelines to go by when making OR assigning powerpoints:

1. Keep it Simple!

• No more than 6 lines of text per slide and each line should have no more than 6 words.


• No paragraphs! (This is a presentation tool and not a research paper)


• Limit graphics, animations and Wordart


• Sound effects should enhance the presentation and should only be used sparingly.  Remember sound can slow things down and get old very quickly.


• Your presentation should not be more entertaining than you are.  It is the background not the main attraction.

2. Make it Readable!

• Font size should be at least 28 pt.


• Backgrounds should be subtle colors and be consistent.


• Font colors should stand out on the page.

3. Proof Your Presentation:

• Spell check is your friend!


• Stand back about 6 feet from the screen and make sure the slides and easy to read and that the colors work together.  Also check any charts or graphs to make sure they are legible.


• Check for animation and sound errors.  If you get tired of waiting for the animations to run, chances are your audience will too.

Anything else you can add on making a good PowerPoint?

Embedding YouTube in Powerpoint 2002

In the past few weeks I have seen several good lessons that include showing video clips from YouTube. Sometimes switching from a website, back to a powerpoint or other file can be a little confusing while you are also trying to teach and keep the kids engaged.

Embedding the YouTube video into your Powerpoint allows it play right in the powerpoint instead of having to open another window for the internet.  Here is a quick video tutorial on how to do this:



Here are the written directions from a previous posting:

Find the movie you want to embed and find the URL:

• 
  
  In the address bar is the url  - highlight that info and copy it.
  Ex. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcqJoE_78a0


• 
  
  You must change the url by deleting the “watch?” and replace the “=” with a “/” |
  Ex. http://www.youtube.com/ v/YcqJoE_78a0


• 
  
  Note: http://www.youtube.com/ - will always be the same
  The end string “YcqJoE_78a0” is specific for each video.

To Embed it into PowerPoint:

1.   Open a Slide

2.   Go to View – Tools – Control Toolbox

3.   Click on the more controls button (hammer) and scroll down to find Shockwave Flash Object.

4.   A cross-hairs will appear for the cursor – so click and drag a box where you want the video to appear.

5.   Right click in the box and choose “properties”

6.   A properties box will appear  - scroll down to the item titled “Movie” and paste in the URL for the video.

7.   Save – view show.  The video will play once you double click on it, just like embedding on a website.

Ways to Share Student Work - Outside of the Building

The idea that when students create for a real-world audience online the quality of the work is better, got me thinking about what were some other ways to tap into this world.

Last year we published folk tales students had written as audio files.  Those files were posted on a blog and the students could then share those stories with friends and family.  How powerful to have a student that proud of their work that they wanted relatives who lived several states away to see what they had done for a school project!

I thought I would dedicate a few postings to ways we can share student work outside the walls of the building.  My last 2 postings talked about blogs and ways to share the written word, this post will concentrate more on non-writing assignments -  thinkart work, collage, poster, powerpoint, etc.   As always - be careful about protecting identities and make sure you have permission for work to be posted before proceeding!

Powerpoints

In previous posts I have shared two online sites for uploading and sharing PowerPoints,  SlideShare and Slideboom.  Slideboom I liked for the ability to add narration to the powerpoints and keep it intact in the upload process.

In both of these programs users could leave comments on the presentations.  So mom or dad could take a look at the powerpoint that the student turned in and make a comment about the work, or ask an extending question to their student.   This would be a good way to do a gallery exhibition as well to have students watch each other's presentations and leave comments about them.  Please be sure to go over with students what makes a good comment and what expectations your have about that activity.

Photo Sharing

Places like Flickr and Bubbleshare allow you to upload photos and allow you to provide written comments on those photos.  Videos or Photos can also be embedded into your blogs, wiki, or other web page.  Settings can be done to private, but always keep in mind what is on the interent is not always private even under the best of circumstances.

Play around with leaving comments if you like on some of my family photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52767672@N00/

Voice Threads

If you want to see what it looks like on the web page: http://voicethread.com/#u179553.b220782.i1152354 Please leave a comment on the photo and add to the conversation.  Comments can be audio files, web cam shots or typed text.  You can also add video and stop to doodle on it or make comments.  Comments can be moderated.  They also have an education spot for teachers to use.

Coming Next- Google Docs.

Web Wandering Wednesdays - September 24th

SlideBoom - Previously I had shared about SlideShare as a way to share and embed powerpoints onto a web page.  Another option is SlideBoom.  What I like about SlideBoom is that the sound that you have recorded on the powerpoint transfers over.  Also the links stay active.  I have embedded a powerpoint I found on the site that explains how to add sound to a powerpoint.  A great teaching idea for absent students or at home reviews!

Emebedding PowerPoint with Slide Share

So many teachers have created wonderful powerpoints to use in their teaching.  The problem then is how to give access to the presentation for the students who were absent, or maybe for those who would like to review the materials later.

No matter what site you choose to house your teacher web page, space is always an issue.  Powerpoints are space hogs and can eat up the alloted space very quickly.

One solution is to outsource or find a third party source to house the powerpoint which leaves the space on your website for other types of files.

SlideShare is a site that I have used lately for presentations, and most recently for the school web page.  This website allows you to upload powerpoints up to 100mb in size and then you can link to the file or embed the file onto any website.  Viewers can choose to view the powerpoint full screen or in the provided window, but they don't have to download the file or have powerpoint on their compter to view the files.

How to use the site:

1. Sign up for a free account.


2. Click on "Upload"


3. Browse for your presentation (more than one file can be chosen at a time).  Note - for PowerPoint 2007 users, the web site asks that you have saved your presenation as a .ppt and not a .pptx file.


4. Choose your settings:
   
   
   
   • Name your file (or keep the name it has),
   
   
   • Enter tags or key words so it can be searched
   
   
   • Set the privacy levels (if you keep it public others can use your work - a nice way to give back for the ideas you borrow from others)
   
   
   • Give a brief description
   
   
   • Decide if you want others to be able to download the file, or only view in online.
   
   
   • Click on "Publish"
   
   
   
   


5. It could take a few minutes to make the file available for viewing.  once it is converted, you can link to the file, or embed it onto your website.


6. To Embed your powerpoint:
   
   
   
   • Click on the file to open it in slideshare
   
   
   • Locate the Embed code on the right side of the screen.
   
   
   • Copy the code
   
   
   • Paste it into the blog, wiki or web page of your choice (note: the code is html and will need to be pasted in html mode)
   
   
   • Save and test the file.
   
   
   
   

Here is an example of what it looks like once embeded.  (This was a powerpoint I used this summer in training.)

Wiki Summer Training2

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Here are is an example of slideshare embedded on a wiki page:

• http://teachwiki.wikispaces.com/WebQuests08

Here is the link to my account on slideshare:

• http://www.slideshare.net/robiny

Another nice thing about this program is that you can search other people's powerpoints and use them in your teaching.

So give it a try and let me know what you think.

How to Podcast - sort of...

This post explains a work around to posting audio files when you don't have the space to host and stream the files.

Back in the fall the US History teachers wanted to post student created audio files and videos quickly (24 hours turn around). We didn't have a space to host these types of files for easy access.  I could handle the video portion with the help of TeacherTube.  But where to host the audio files easily?  We decided to try TeacherTube as well, but first needed to transfer the audio to video files.  Here is our solution:

1. Gathered audio files (created with Audacity) saved as wav files.


2. Created a splash page using a PowerPoint slide and saving the slide as a jpg.


3. Using PhotoStory 3 - import the PowerPoint slide. (Note: take off the pan and scan option in customize motion - scanning across text slides can be annoying!)


4. Import your audio file. 


5. Preview the file to make sure the entire audio file plays.


6. Save the project and save it as for best for playback on your computer.

We then uploaded all the video files and the "audio" files (now videos) to Teacher Tube.  This allowed us to embed the files into the student's wiki pages. 



This started the school on the path to podcasting, even though this was technically not podcasting.  Now we have a blog space that can hos the files and provide the syndication needed to classify it as a "podcast."

YouTube on PowerPoint

Did you know that you can embed YouTube video into PowerPoint 2002?  I just figured this out and wanted to share what I learned.  This only works when the computer you will be showing the powerpoint on will be connected to the internet.

Find the movie you want to embed and find the URL:

• 
  
  In the address bar is the url  - highlight that info and copy it.
  Ex. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcqJoE_78a0


• 
  
  You must change the url by deleting the “watch?” and replace the “=” with a “/” |
  Ex. http://www.youtube.com/ v/YcqJoE_78a0


• 
  
  Note: http://www.youtube.com/ - will always be the same
  The end string “YcqJoE_78a0” is specific for each video.

To Embed it into PowerPoint:

1.   Open a Slide

2.   Go to View – Tools – Control Toolbox

3.   Click on the more controls button (hammer) and scroll down to find Shockwave Flash Object.

4.   A cross-hairs will appear for the cursor – so click and drag a box where you want the video to appear.

5.   Right click in the box and choose “properties”

6.   A properties box will appear  - scroll down to the item titled “Movie” and paste in the URL for the video.

7.   Save – view show.  The video will play once you double click on it, just like embedding on a website. 

 

That's it!   A few more steps than embedding it online, but a nice trick to know for making teaching presentations.

TurningPoints in Action

So now that you have seen how to create a presentation, the question remains, "What type of presentations should I make?"

Here are some ideas and examples taken from teachers on campus:

• Quizzes or Tests- While I never recommend running a  test or quiz completely on TurningPoints, it is a good way to gather information from students after the test as to what they did answer and how the class fared as a whole.  The class data can be used to determine what needs to be retaught and what does not.  You can also look at the per student results by using the "Reports" feature under the "Tools" menu.


• TAKS Review - Putting TAKS like questions up and having the ability to go over test-taking strategies and to see how the kids are thinking is a powerful tool.   The 2004 and 2006 Released TAKS tests have been created for you.  Let me know if you need a copy of those.


• Reviews for Tests - Several teachers have created Jeopardy Review games in Turning Points.  You can group the class into teams and track to see how the teams are running.


• Teaching Slides with Check for Understanding Questions - Present several slides of information and insert question slides to see how well the students are following along with the discussion, or learning the concept.  Here is an example of this from the 8th Grade US History Teachers: Indian Removal Act.

 So what are some other ideas of using Turning Points in your class?

Turning Points 2008 - Getting Started

Something I wish I had when I was teaching was a way to get instant feedback from students to see if they were "getting" what I was teaching, besides the look on their faces.  It would have been nice to know where I needed to stop and reexplain before the test came around.  New technology allows that to happen.  Student Response System translate those stares into answers.

 Student Response Systems are very useful in getting instant feedback about what students know and don't know.  You can reteach concepts right then and there instead of waiting until the papers have been graded and analyzing the results.

Turning Points 2008 is a student response system that partners with PowerPoint in creating interactive slides.  So if you know PowerPoint, getting started with Turning Points is a relatively smooth transition.

I have created 3 video tutorials on the program, as well as a 2 page quick start guide for those who would like to get started or need a refreshers with the new upgrade.

Turning Points 2008 Quick Start Guide - word document

Turning Points - Part 1 - Setting Up a Template - Step one in getting set-up correctly is creating the template for your presentation. 

Turning Points - Part 2 - Creating Question Slides - Turning Points gives you various chart options and has some pre-made slides to choose from.

Turning Points - Part 3 - Users Lists and Session Data - Users lists let the program know who responded which answer to each question.