Saw the full potential of the NoteBook software that authors and presents lessons on the SmartBoards. Thankyou Hannah Russell for taking the time to show me how it works. I particularly liked the split screen display of 2 sources, the URL link, the on-screen touch keyboard (like iPad) and the screen capture and paste functions.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes with using Bridgit software to share those lessons in real time with remote students.
Collaboratively or individually produced concept maps included as a link within a blog post… If this sounds interesting read on for a free solution.
It was created online at…http://www.bubbl.us
A link was generated within the online tool that was then added to this post.
– It can be a private mind map or collaboratively authored.
– It can also be exported as an image (.jpg or.png).
– It is free – A map image can be exported without creating an account but to save, share etc a – free – account needs to be created.
If students were using a blog to discuss/respond/reflect they could produce the mind map and then create a post with a link to the mind map image as I have done here.
Similarly it is another option for collaborative brainstorming activities between researchers, co-authors etc.
It’s worth a look 🙂
Generally, we seem to have ironed out most of the hiccups (mainly linked to people having problems copying the system to Mac formatted disks or by locking the VM system by not shutting it down properly (have to throw out the lock file to restart in those circumstances). Other issues are mainly about the overall technical complexity of having to load up another operating system and then engage with complex set of programming APIs – a real challenge for many of the students.
Been working with Brogan Bunt and Peter Goodall to get an open-source applications pilot up and running. Brogan wants to run his classes in the ITS labs, but with open-source software. The solution has been to install VMWare player in the labs, which allows other operating systems to be used. THen the students bring in a USB specially formatted with Ubuntu (Linux) operating system and a suite of open-source or freeware applications on it. They create a range of sound/media products with them. Then they take it home and use exactly the same software to do their homework and projects. No need for them to purchase expensive proprietory software at home, nor to treck in to uni just to use software. Let’s hope the pilot works well. Cos so far, it sounds fantastic!
Xtranormal is a great tool to create a short movie. All you need is a script. That’s right just a script, no cameras, no lights and no actors, it’s all animated on screen before your eyes. The web-based version is quick and easy to use. I made this is about 5mins.
So go ahead and try it yourself at xtranormal.com.
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/07/12/golub
This was a good read. In a nutshell:
“The crucial question for academics is: What in our current arsenal will the iPad replace? After using the device, the answer surprised me: the iPad makes a lousy computer replacement, but it does a great job of replacing paper.”
The author Alex Golub also discusses the potential for the iPad and iTunes to revolutionalise access to journal articles that we currently rely on our uni’s library to supply, and make it much easier to just get the articles we want (as opposed to the piles of stuff the publishers bundle in to the subscriptions that we never want to wade through, but have to, to get to the stuff we want.)
I had our regular monthly catchup today with Rob Wright, to share innovations and eLearning initiatives. We discussed the possibility of doing a pilot for Media Creation Tools in second session, and i mentioned that the Learning Designers were also interested and possibly the Library staff who also create lots of online tutorials. I asked Rob what he used to create the “how to” video on his blog and he said SnapZpro and also mentioned that the Articulate community used and promoted a web-based serviced called ScreenR.
I used it and am very impressed with the ease of use (no account setup/login as i already have a Twitter account) and the quality of the image and audio of the movie it output is great. Here it is:
Joe: Laptop, wireless mouse, wireless keybard, iPhone, iPad,
videoconference unit, Tv and remote.
Sarah: paper and 4 colour clicky pen.
