Project for EDS 231

For the project I created a VoiceThread presentation. I wanted to create a lesson that students could access outside of the classroom, but still interact with other students. I first created a presentation in PowerPoint. I saved the slides as .png files and uploaded them to my account in VoiceThread. I wrote a script to go with the slides and recorded comments to the slides in VoiceThread. I tried to create a movie using PowerPoint slides by saving the slide presentation as a .mov file. But I didn't like the way it looked. I then tried to create a movie in iMovie, but the slide frames were cropped. So I added created some other slides and then created audio and video comments. I invited everyone in the class to view the VoiceThread and add comments.

While I like the mini lesson I created I think that the best use of this application would be for shorter, student generated presentations like the presentation that my daughter created. It was very easy to do and she had a blast creating it!

Well, nobody's perfect

Well, OpenOffice crashed and I lost a day's work. Oh well. The lesson is save, save, save.

It's done!

I have finally finished my presentation in VoiceThread. Here is the link/location:
http://voicethread.com/share/551370/

Please feel free to add comments to the video. Experiment with the different types of comments!
You will need to create a free k-12 VoiceThread account in order to comment.

I had problems getting a creating a movie that I liked in PowerPoint. I tried to edit the PowerPoint movie in iMovie, but the frame size on the slides were too big. The slides kept being cut off. So I added a few more slides and created a video comment as an example. I still can't draw and talk at the same time!

Templates created for thesis

I created templates for the thesis document in Word and OpenOffice. For word, I created both a .doc file and a .dotx file. The .dotx file can be used with the project manager/template feature in Word.

In order for Word to find the template, it needs to be placed in the following folder:
/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates/.

I created templates for OpenOffice as well. The .odt file is a document. The .ott is a template file. OpenOffice looks for the template files in:
/user/user_name/Library/Application_support/OpenOffice.org/3/user/template/

To use a template in OpenOffice, select the templates icon at startup and look in the my templates folder.

I think that these will be uploaded to a server at UCSD. Jim will let us know where we can access them.

Open Office rocks!

I finally got tired of all of the bugs and oddities that I was running into with MSWord 2008 for Mac. The final straw was the "can't save file" bug that nearly lost me a good deal of work. I finally cut and paste the section that I could not save to a Google Doc and then had to reset my machine!

So I moved my document over to OpenOffice. What a difference! When I tried to create a .pdf file in Word, I ended up with 14 different .pdfs because I was using both portrait and landscape page layouts in my document. With OpenOffice I ended up with one .pdf, correctly formatted. If you want to know more about OpenOffice check out this site http://www.openoffice.org/. There are a few formatting differences between OpenOffice and Word, but nothing drastic. The help files are very complete and actually helpful! I will create a thesis template in OpenOffice for anyone who is interested.

Can't talk and draw at the same time!

Well, the drawing tool is neat, but I found out that I can't talk and draw at the same time. My brain goes into overload! I have added a "movie" that I created in PowerPoint. I forgot to export the soundtrack with it, so the movie is silent. I think that I should still be able to add comments to it in VoiceThread. My husband said that he tried to send a phone comment, but I have not seen it yet. I am going to try to add a video comment tonight.

Can do audio and drawing at the same time

I found out that you can do audio and drawing comments at the same time. So I am going to re-record some of the comments and use these features. I am also going to try to create a video that I am going to insert as a comment or as another frame.

Audio added for the VoiceThread

I have added my audio comments for my VoiceThread comments. Please feel free to look at the project and add you comments. You will need a VoiceThread account in order to post comments. Fortunately, you can set up a k-12 account for free. The site is www.voicethread.com. I am now looking into enbedding videos in the presentation.

Here is the link to my latest video:
http://voicethread.com/share/551370/

Update on the project

I started to record comments on the slides . I split up and simplified some of the slides. The recording of the audio comments is really easy.

This is another test blog

Here is a VoiceThread video that my daughter created:

http://voicethread.com/share/554147/

Her VoiceThread creation helped me get great information about how the audio commenting worked. Plus she was excited to have her story made into a video. This would be a great tool to use for audio visual projects for all subject areas.

Test

This is a test to see if I can see a VoiceThread video from the blog.

http://voicethread.com/share/551370/

This is a link to my unfinished project. More to come later.

Updated the presentation

I updated the presentation to include pictures of shapes on real life objects. I think that this makes the visuals more interesting. I added the link to the handout webpage created in Google Docs.

Fiddling with the worksheet

I was not really happy with the way that the word document was imported into Google Docs, so I saved the document as a .htm and imported it that way. The table formatting was preserved, but the pictures disappeared. Fortunately, the drawing applet in Google Docs has all of the different geometric shapes, so I was able to add them in later. I am going to save the handout as a web page so I can add a link to the page in the Video Thread.

I am using the notes capability in PowerPoint to write a script for the audio portion of the VoiceThread. I may have to play with the audio timing a bit. After I record the audio, I will add some visual comments to help clarify the lesson. Then I will invite everyone to play too!

How can social networking sites be used educationally?

I really had to think about this. Much of the research I have seen on this (which is really not that much) indicates that there is a problem overcoming the school/social barrier. Students will use the site if required, but will not willingly continue using the sites after the class has ended. Perhaps one way around this problem is to use the social networking sites to network across classrooms or schools. This would be a great way to set up "pen pal" relationships or collaborate with other school sites on science or math inquiry projects. The collaboration could occur with students of other nations too.

This last year I applied for and was granted a school seismograph. However, it has been difficult staying in touch with the other teachers that I trained with. Perhaps Facebook, Ning, or even Linked In would be a good application for use to use to share information, ideas, and earthquake files!

The social networking sites that I am most familiar with are Linked In and now Ning. I like the sharing of information, but I would like to have more freedom to post static information on the page, such as important links etc. The way that the EDS Facebook page would be most useful for me is for sharing information with other teachers. Maybe there can be a link to a lesson plan repository. Or a link to a different delicious accounts. Also a list of what teachers are teaching where. A blog about what research is currently being done by the EDS department would be interesting too.

Clarification

Wow, I just read my last post and it did not make sense! I meant to say that VoiceThread allows the user to set a time between each slide transition, but it is the same time for each slide (as opposed to say PowerPoint that allows transitions to be set for each slide).

Some workarounds needed

I uploaded the .png files I created of my PowerPoint presentation. I am going to have to time my audio carefully. Voice thread allows the user to set that each slide is up before it transitions to the next slide, but the interval is the same for each slide. I played around with the comment features. I will have to make sure to mark all of the initial comments I make as part of the lesson permanent. Next task: record the audio. I plan to use my Mac's built in microphone. That's all for now!