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.

True or False

I saw this video on Good Morning America yesterday and was amazed!

 

Watching this I thought of a few questions I would ask students if they watched this in class with me:

• Is it real? 


• What evidence do you have to support your opinion? 


• Is everything posted online real? 


• Is everything "caught" on video tape real? 


• Can you believe everything you see/read online? 


• How can you verify your information?

This video is not real, but was put together for a commercial.  But the rumor went around that this really happened.  Just a thought on how to address the need for critical thinking skills when using online resources.

Any other ideas out there?

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."

Web Wandering Wednesdays - June 4

This week's installment is short, just a simple video from YouTube.  I love this video as a way to show students that just because you don't "get" it the first time, it still can happen.

Testing The Waters for iPods in the Classroom

Final exams are wrapping up and by all accounts it looks like our little experiment is working out well.  What was it?  I have been exploring using iPods in the classroom and had mentioned the possibilities to a colleague on campus.  She ran with the idea and next thing I know we have all the final exams recorded and saved as mp3s so that students who need the test read to them can listen and move at their own pace.  I thought I would share what we have done, and see if anyone has ideas to help out for the future.

1. Using Audacity each test was recorded. 
   
   
   
   • Pauses between each question is important. 
   
   
   • Break up large tests into several different recording files.  This allows for students to better manage what they are listening to.
   
   
   
   


2. Files were saved as mp3 files.  Remember to do that you need to download the required dll file.
   
   
   
   • Establish a naming convention so if files were to be put on iPods, the files are easily accessed.
   
   
   • Edit the ID3 tags so that you have a naming convention that works for each test.  Once again it makes it easier if the recordings are going to be loaded on an iPod or other mp3 player.
   
   
   
   


3. An internal web page was developed so that all the files were easily accessed by clicking on links.  This kept the tests secure and helped the students navigate easily between different sections of the test.


4. The tests were given/  Students came into the lab and using the internal web page choose the correct test and were able to pause and rewind as needed.

So did it make a difference?  I haven't seen the test scores, but the students seemed very focused and the teachers facilitating the testing rooms were happy and not running around trying to keep everyone on task.

The next step?  Now that we have a handle on this, we can continue to record tests and load on iPods.  Also we can begin to develop different teaching/study aide files and podcast them out through the help of blog sites.

One small step for Web 2.0, but a huge step for our campus. 

Suggestions? Ideas?  Has anyone else had experience with this and have insight on the next step?

Collaboration Beyond the School Walls

I was reading a friend's blog recently, explaining how to make good use of your summer.  One of the ideas was to explore projects with other schools in other areas.  That started me thinking - telecollaboration has been around for a while, but not until recently has it been made so easy.  Connecting with other schools is easy with the aide of wikis, blogs, email, skype, etc.  Our students are already linking with all sorts of people around the globe through facebook, myspace, gaming sites, etc.  Some of this is good and some not so good.  But the idea of linking and working with other groups is an irristeable hook  for our already connected students.

So how do you do it and where do you begin?  Start with asking yourself a few questions:

• What do you hope to gain through the project? 


• What learning is going to take place? 


• Is approaching the subject matter this way going to add to what students need to learn or just distract from it?


• Do you have the time, support, and equipment needed to make it happen?

Here are a few good links to get you started. 

• About Telecollaborative Projects -  a basic overview of telecollaboration


• Telecollaborate! -step by step details on how to plan, create and implement a project


• Links to Current Projects - lists various running projects.  Some are closed for the year, but a good place when looking for ideas.


• 2Learn - Requires a registration to gain access to project resources and tools.


• ePals- Emailing another classroom through epals is a good starting point

Do you have any ideas?  Anything holding you back?

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.