Tech Tip: Record your screen

There are some great tools out there for recording your screen.  Well terrific, but why would you want to record your screen?  If you ever want to show someone, or somestudents how to to do something the screen recorder can be helpful.  There are two I recommend.  The first is for WIndows and the second is for Mac.

Windows: Expression Encoder 4

This is a free download (there is an older version called Windows Media Encoder that is also free) It allows you to record and capture your screen and some basic editing.

Mac: QuickTime

With the latest release of QuickTime X and MAC OS Snow Leopard you can record your screen and share it to YouTube, or with your iTunes library.

Either way you grab it recording your screen can be very helpful.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Share video the eMedia way – Tip #1

Using video in class can be really rewarding and engaging.  Most teachers know that.  Utah teachers have a great resource in eMedia.  A library of mostly video resources that you can use to help enhance your classroom.  As I used these in class I came up with 3 ways to effectively use them over the next few weeks of the Tech Tip lets look at ways to effectively use video in the classroom.

Tip #1

Share videos in class using the NTTI Standards

The National Teacher Training Institute has developed several strategies for effectively using video in the classroom.  Most of the strategies develop organically as we use video in the class.  They are just good techniques that good teachers gravitate toward.  Things like previewing video become fairly obvious when we hear stories of unexpected statements, or images even in educational videos.  Images or statements that may be appropriate in a different environment of with a different age group.  Providing a focus for watching the video is also a natural fit for most teachers.  We recognize the value of the video or we wouldn't show it, but we need a focus that helps students learn from it.

Visit the NTTI link for more detaiils about the strategies and video clips demonstrating the various skills.  Visit UEN's own eMedia library for great resources to share in class.

Wednesday Web of the Week: Copyright and Fair Use VIDEO!

Ever wonder what you can use?

For more suggestions on how to appropriately use and cite video check:

• http://www.uen.org/policy/copyrightguidelines.shtml


• http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_in_online_video/

Tech Tip Tuesday: Build a simple Podcast!

What is a Podcast? Well a podcast is a compound term created from iPod and broadcast. A podcast is nothing more than an audio file that is posted on a web server usually on some regular schedule. When properly hosted they can be subscribed to via iTunes. Mac users have long had GarageBand to help them create audio files. If you are looking for an easy way to create Podcasts or any advanced audio file and are using a PC or a Mac but want something a little simpler than GarageBand there is another great source out there. Audacity is a free opensource solution to audio editing. It can be used for a variety of purposes including creating podcasts. For some more info on how to use it check out the Faculty Lounge Archive: Audio Editing and Recording with Audacity

You can get Audacity for free here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Welcome to Widescreen!

If you have a newer laptop and or projector they are often compatible with wide screen views. To take advantage of this in PowerPoint you must set up your PowerPoint to display in widescreen. You can follow the instructions on Wendy Russell's Post here or check out the video below or click here for a link to a large screen version of the video:

Why Cite sources in the Digital Age

There are at least three good reasons to cite sources in our digital age.  Here they are listed in increasing order of importance.

1st

And I believe the least important.  Now, that is not to say unimportant.  We need to cite sources to obey copyright law.  Most trouble with copyright can be avoided by appropriately citing sources.  Teachers often point to Fair Use Copyright doctrine or the Teach Act 2002 as valid reasons for using information, but this does not excuse proper citing of sources.

2nd

I think the second most important reason for citing sources is: Modeling good behavior for students.  In our modern day with plagiarism and copyright violation so easy, it is easy to take the approach as a teacher of just using what is necessary to get the job done.  After all, it's all out and available for the public anyway right?  Well...sort of?  Information that is found in 3 independent sources can be considered general knowledge and is exempt from the necessity of citation.  The challenge with this is that items of a multimedia nature are not always public domain, even on government or other websites since the work may have been commissioned and the images or video may be copyrighted materials, subject to licensing and royalty agreements.  We should cite sources to provide a good example for students of giving proper credit and not presenting others work as our own.

3rd

And I really think this is the most important reason!  We should cite sources properly so we can find the source again should we need to.  Ever accidentally deleted a photo out of PowerPoint?  Have trouble finding it online again?  If we cite our sources well we can find these resources again.  Some may not be essential, if all you need is any picture of a giraffe it is fine, but if what you need is a picture of a giraffe and you lose it, having citations can save the day.

So, how do you navigate this jungle in a digital age?

A couple of suggestions

Understand the difference between formal and informal citations.  Formal are the tried and true citation formats for MLA, APA or other defined styles.  Informal are just that, informal methods that accurately reflect where information was found but don't follow a formal style sheet.  A tendency on the web for citing sources such as flickr, youtube and picasa is to cite the user:  i.e. photos from flickr user: covili

For more formal citation help try: Citation Machine