Teaching and Learning with Technology Blog

Presenting PowerPoint slide shows with your iPad or iPhone

2011-12-11T22:59:00.001-05:00

Presenting PowerPoint slide shows with your iPad or iPhone

Keynote for Macintosh is well-known for its elegance, ease-of-use, and graphical display tools but PowerPoint is still the presentation tool of choice for most users. Even though Keynote for iOS devices is the de facto presentation app, you can creative an efficient workflow using the desktop version of PowerPoint to efficiently display your slides on your iPad or iPhone (4 or 4S). Additionally, you can use your iOS device to project your presentation to a HD flat screen TV or large projection screen with a data projector.

What you will need

PowerPoint for Windows or Macintosh
Free Dropbox account and iOS app
Keynote for iPhone (4 or 4S) or iPad ($9.99 for one or the other or both)
iOS version 5
VGA or HDMI adapter (optional)
HD TV or data projector with projection screen (optional)

Save to Drop Box

You will need to have a Dropbox account that is set up for synchronization with a Dropbox folder on your PC or Mac.

If you have not already done so go to http://dropbox.com and set up a Drop Box account on your PC or Mac.
Create a folder named PowerPoint in your computer's Dropbox folder.
Save your PowerPoint presentations to this folder (e.g. technology_tools_teacher.pptx), which will automatically be synchronized to your Drop Box server share.

Open in Keynote

Install the Dropbox app on your iPhone or iPad and then start the app.
Locate and open your PowerPoint into Dropbox, which displays the slides in one page but does not index nor display them separately.
Click the curved Open In icon in the upper right corner of the Dropbox screen and choose Keynote.

Wait until Keynote loads - ignore any font substitution warnings.

If you plan to make changes to your PowerPoint, then you will need to re-import the file into Keynote.

Sychronize with iCloud and other iOS devices

You can also synchronize your Keynote presentations with other iOS devices. For example, you could import all your PowerPoints into Keynote for iPad and then sync them with your iPhone.

For your iPac choose Settings > iCloud and add your Apple ID (typical iTunes account) and password.
Choose Documents & Data and turn the setting to ON.
Choose Settings > Keynote and turn the setting Use iCloud to ON.

Present from your iPad or iPhone

With an iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4 or 4S you can project your Keynote presentation to an HD TV using an Apple Digital AV adapter or to a data projector with an Apple VGA adapter. Only the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S support mirroring whatever is on the screen. However, when you press the Keynote Play button, the slides will also display on a HD TV or projection screen for an iPhone 4 or iPad 1.

Annotating iPad Screenshots

2011-11-26T10:52:00.001-05:00

Annotating iPad Screenshots

There are a number of desktop screen capturing and annotation tools such as Jing (Mac and Windows) and Skitch (Mac with Windows version coming out soon). However, there does not appear to be a dedicated iOS app to take annotated iPad screenshots, which are becoming increasingly important for illustrations in blogs and tutorials. As an alternative I have developed an efficient workflow using the iPad's built-in screenshot and the apps Photogene and Dropbox.

iPad Screenshot

Go to the screen you want to save as a picture on your iPad.
Press the On / off switch and Home button at the same time, which saves the image to the iPad's Photos Library. (As confirmation the screen will blank to white for a quick moment to simulate a camera flash effect.)

Press On / off switch and Home button at the same time

Use Photogene to crop and annotate the screenshot

Photogene for iPad ($2.99) is arguably one of the best photo editors on the iPad and includes tools to rotate, adjust color, retouch, add text, and enhance with gradients, framing, and effects. During the export process you can change the resolution and then export-send the final photo to resources such as Twitter, e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, and Dropbox.

Start Photogene and press Edit New in the top menu bar (to the right)
Browse through the iPad's Camera Roll and choose your screenshot
Press the Crop scissors tool in the bottom menu bar and drag the round handles to choose the area you want to keep.
Press the Crop button in the right menu to finalize the area.
Next choose the Text tool in the bottom menu bar.
From the right menu drag a text balloon style to your edit area. Add a text description and drag the pointer to the section you want to describe.

Export the annotated screenshot to your Dropbox share

You will need to have a Dropbox website that is set up for synchronization with a Dropbox folder on your PC or Mac.

Choose Export in the top menu bar (to the right). You can choose the resolution but it's best to keep the highest.
Press Folder and when prompted link to your Dropbox account.
Choose Dropbox and enter a filename.
Press Folder again. If you wish, you can create subfolders within your Dropbox's Photo folder to organize exported images by category.
Press the Share button to save the file as a JPEG image. You can immediately insert the image from your Dropbox Photos folder to a document such as a blog post.

final version of a cropped iPad screenshot annotated with Photogene

Evaluate the Muddiest Point with Online Surveys

2011-11-25T15:53:00.001-05:00

The Muddiest Point

The Minute Paper, One Sentence Summary, What's the Principle, and the Muddiest Point are popular assessment techniques that provide instructors effective feedback on what students have learned during their class. Students typically complete these assessments at the end of class. The Muddiest Point originated in 1989 from Harvard Professor of Statistics Professor Frederick Mosteller’s who asked his students to summarize key points and what more they wanted to know. One of his students perceptively pointed out that there really wasn’t any feedback because students essentially were repeating the professor’s key points and were unable to precisely state what more they wanted to know.

So Mosteller asked what were their muddiest (least understood) points and received many important and concrete results, which he summarized. Based on these results Mosteller would prepare special handouts to address common points of confusion that would be studied by students needing this information outside of class. Mosteller's article describing his experience with assessing student feedback is recommended reading for anyone who is interested in assessment and improving their teaching: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic771890/mosteller.html

Mosteller had his students write down their muddiest points on pieces of paper, which were typed into a summary format and distributed. Online survey tools such as Google Forms bypass the use of paper, retyping the comments and printing handouts, thus faciliating the process of collecting, summarizing, and sharing student feedback.

Example survey question

Once students have submitted their feedback, the Google spreadsheet results can be shared with them as a link.

Reference:

For information about Correlation Does Not Imply Causation refer to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation

Assistive Tablet Technology to Help Students Succeed

2011-11-25T15:13:00.001-05:00

The iPad has created a new technology space between smartphones and laptops/netbooks, providing unanticipated possibilities for teaching, learning, and accessibility. The mobility, extended battery life, and built-in accessibility features of an iPad such as VoiceOver provide opportunities for students with assistive learning needs to succeed using technology that was previously expensive, limited to a computer, and was difficult to learn and use. The "touch and gesture" interface reduces the time to master essential tools that facilitate learning and engagement. Choosing from an enormous library of apps the iPad can be transformed into assistive tools such as a video player with captions, audiobook player with text, voice recorder for recording lectures, distraction-free text reader, text-to-speech converter, speech dictation device, and sound amplifier.

Resources:

Poster

Click to view larger image

Safari iOS 5 New Features and Enhancements

2011-10-16T16:17:00.000-04:00

Although there has been a lot hype about iOS 5 integration with iCloud and Twitter, I was pleasantly surprised by the many enhancements to the latest version of Safari included with the update. Below is a summary of these enhancements, some of them expected, others less obvious to discover.

Multiple tabs are expected of course but the speed and reliability in opening tabs are a welcome relief over my struggles with Atomic Web browser (which will be dropped from my app list).
Navigation is much faster when browsing through web sites such as NY Times. Even browsing is improved within the ANGEL CMS, although there are significant issues with mobile browsing support by Blackboard, but that is a topic for another day.
Tap the Bookmarks icon and choose Reading List to add pages to be read later and synchronized with other iOS devices. (You will need an iCloud account and turn on Bookmarks to enable synchronization.)

Safari has made distraction free reading - made popular with Readability - as easy as the desktop version with the option to listen to the text as well. Simply click the Reader button in the address bar to strip away distracting sidebars, advertisements, and animation. Select text and click the Speak button to have the words read back to you. (Not surprisingly it does not appear that the Speak button is available in iBooks, Newsstand or commercially sold media.) First open the Settings app and choose General > Accessibility > Speak Selection.

Web site: http://cdc.gov/obesity/causes/index.html

AirPrint still requires an AirPrint enabled printer or special software installed on your Mac or PC (see section below). I especially like the Send to Evernote and Dropbox option with Printopia.

Finally with the new version of Safari Mobile you can download attachments and open them with Apple or third party apps that support the corresponding file types (e.g. PDF with Goodreader or iBooks, PowerPoint with Keynote or Evernote) - very nice!

Printing with AirPrint

Although wireless printing is now available with an iPad, direct printing to a wireless printer is restricted to a select number of HP printer models:http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/airprint.html.
There are currently three workarounds that I know, all of which require connecting a printer to an AirPrint enabled Windows or Macintosh computer. The printer can be connected directly via USB or by Print Sharing (which I have not yet tested).

Run AirPrint Hactivator by following these instructions:http://netputing.com/2010/11/11/airprint-hacktivator/. A free, not-so-elegant at your risk solution for MacOS X.

Run AirPrint Activator for Windows by following these instructions:http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/26/airprint-activator-for-windows-lets-you-print-from-ios-on-window/ . A free, not-so-elegant at your risk solution for Windows.

If you have a Macintosh, Printopia (7-day trail, $9.95 for paid version) is easy-to-install and provides an option to print directly to a printer on your wireless network, print a PDF file to the Macintosh running Printopia, send a PDF to Dropbox (in the folder Printopia), and send a PDF to Evernote. The Macintosh must be running and logged on to the same wireless network as your iPad. If you have iWork apps installed such as Keynote or Pages, then you can print selected slides or pages. Follow these steps to install:http://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia/instructions.html

E-portfolios for Learning

2011-03-20T18:47:00.000-04:00

Abstract

It has been generally acknowledged that e-portfolios are primarily developed for ongoing learning, showcase, and assessment and that one e-portfolio system does not fit all purposes. If we are interested in the academic success and co-curricular accomplishments of our students through self-motivation, engagement, reflection, and ownership, then a learning portfolio nurtured over time has significant potential in being developed for life after graduation.

There are many e-portfolio tools and systems available, none of which provides the perfect solution to all institutional assessment and student learning needs. Google Sites for Education has only recently been considered for portfolio development but offers promising solutions to effectively build learning, assessment, and showcase portfolios including artifact storage, privacy control, collaboration, reflection, and ownership. Although orientation, training, and ongoing support are strongly recommended, Google Sites is easy-to-use and provides built-in tools to insert evidence of extended learning from sources such as social media sites.

Additionally please find below related links to student examples, portals, e-portfolio program sites, articles, and publications.

Student Career E-portfolios

A career or professional e-portfolio is a high motivator for students - it's purpose is to get them a job. Employers are increasingly recognizing the value of these e-portfolios as an important supplement to their resumes.

E-portfolios - Assessment of Learning

A summative, assessment or assessment of learning e-portfolio is used by institutions to determine if a student has met specific standards and achieved academic or professional goals.

E-portfolios for Learning

The purpose of e-portfolios for learning (also known as a development, formative, reflective or self-assessment) is to have students engage in their own deep and continuous reflection, learn more about themselves, and take ownership of their e-portfolio over time.

E-portfolio Portals and Programs

MERLOT ePortfolio Portal with examples: http://eportfolio.merlot.org/teach.html
Stonybrook E-portfolios
Clemson University E-portfolio Program

Articles

Using E-Portfolios to Support an Undergraduate Learning Career: http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/UsingEPortfoliostoSupportanUnd/219102
The Promise of E-portfolios to Improve Learning
Reviewers Unhappy with Portfolio Stuff Demand Evidence
Integrating E-portfolios into Your Assessment Strategy
16 Outcomes of Reflection
Is Portfolio Evidence Useful?
E-portfolios Come of Age

Publications

Electronic Portfolios and Student Success: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Learning AACU pub http://bit.ly/fgvOSD with exerpt https://secure.aacu.org/PubExcerpts/VALEPORT.html

Peace Corps Experiences in the Congo

2011-03-19T14:18:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the Peace Corps 50th anniversary I had the privilege of presenting my experiences as a Volunteer in the Congo to a group of Elmira College students and faculty. Below are the Slideshare slides followed by related links that I used for general research, reading, and preparation for the presentation.

RESOURCES

ABOUT THE PEACE CORPS

Refer to links in Slideshare presentation
Learn About Volunteering: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn
http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/about/pc_facts.pdf
PBS and Peace Corps Global Café: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/globalcafe/peacecorps This collaboration site between Peace Corps and PBS provides resources, lesson plans, letters and photographs from students around the world, and a forum for students across the globe to engage in discussion.
Learning Out of Africa: http://abpc21.org/outofafrica.html
Peace Corps Welcome Manual (Mali 2008): http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/mlwb688.pdf

ABOUT THE CONGO

CIA World Fact Book
BBC DR Congo Profile
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/democratic-republic-congo-facts/
Interactive Timeline: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/pushing-the-elephant/timeline.html
Voices on Genocide Podcast: Series on the Congo: http://blogs.ushmm.org/COC2

BOOKS ON THE CONGO

All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo by Bryan Mealer
In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz by Michela Wrong
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
King Leopold's Soliloquy by Mark Twain: http://diglib1.amnh.org/articles/kls/index.html
A Thousand Sisters

DOCUMENTARIES AND WEB SITES - ABUSE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE CONGO

DVD Lumo: A documentary on one woman’s struggles and triumphs in Congo
DVD The Greatest Silence http://www.thegreatestsilence.org/
The HBO web site on the Greatest Silence http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-greatest-silence-rape-in-the-congo/index.html#/documentaries/the-greatest-silence-rape-in-the-congo/detail/resources.html
DVD The Rape of a Nation
The ENOUGH Project: Eastern Congo
Women left for dead—and the man who’s saving them by Eve Ensler in Glamour Magazine (Eve Ensler is author of the Vagina Monologues)
Covering the War in Eastern Congo: A special report (Child Soldiers)
DVD Children of Congo: From War to Witches
Run for Congo Women: http://www.runforcongowomen.org/
Women for Women International: http://www.womenforwomen.org/global-initiatives-helping-women/help-women-congo.php
Raise Hope for Congo: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/
NPR Documentary Push the Elephant: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/pushing-the-elephant/film.html
City of Joy - New hope for Congo's brutalised women: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/09/city-of-joy-congo-women-rape

Enabling Readability on iPad

2010-11-28T08:22:00.001-05:00

Distraction Free iPad
Ever wish you could read web pages your iPad without the distracting clutter of ads, sidebars, and animations like you do with Readability on your desktop browser? Readability's drag-and-drop bookmarklet requires Flash so enabling the button on an iPad requires copying and pasting the Javascript code into an existing Bookmark. Follow these steps:

Start Safari on your iPad
Search for Readability or go directly to http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability
Press the curved arrow icon to choose Add Bookmark.

Select your Settings (for example) Style = Newspaper, Size = Medium, and Margin = Narrow
Check Convert to hyperlinks to bookmarks if you would like all in-article links removed and transferred as references to the bottom of the page.
Press and hold in the Javascript box and choose Select All. Choose Copy to copy the code.

Edit Bookmark

Press the Bookmarks icon and choose Bookmarks Bar
Press the Edit button
To the right of Readability press the > symbol to bring up Edit Bookmark
Follow steps 1 - 4 in the diagram below. Keep in mind that you will need to completely removed the Readability web address and then press and hold in the box to paste the Javascript code.

Go to a web site such as: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/health/28brod.html (Paying the Price for Loving Red Meat)
Press the Readability button in the Safari toolbar.
All of the extraneous banners and sidebars are removed, leaving only the text.

Tip!

If you have Printopia http://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia installed on a Macintosh computer then print the Readability web page to a PDF document in your Dropbox share.
Open the PDF with the Dropbox app and then open it with GoodReader.
Use GoodReader annotation to take notes.

My Updated Collection of iPad Apps

2010-11-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

An October update of my collection of free and paid apps that I use most often. Unless otherwise indicated all apps below are designed specifically for the iPad. Please comment and let me know what apps are important to you!

Articles - So why pay for an app when Safari can browse Wikipedia for free? Article's design makes it a pleasure to read, navigate, and display articles. Pages display almost instantly. There is a table of contents of jump points for for most pages, which allows quick navigation throughout your page. You can bookmark pages and manage them with a Safari like interface. Using the language picker pages can be translated quickly, which is a great learning tool for students.

The WorldFactBook provides a colorful, icon rich interface to the completed CIA World Factbook, which is downloaded locally to your iPad for offline access. Content is updated once monthly. In addition to rapid navigation through more than 250 countries there is a Maps tab for major world regions that can be zoomed in for closer view. The addition of jump points from each of the countries to their description pages is missing however. The Comparison tab compares countries by a number of demographic indicators such as Infant mortality rate and Education expenditures.

I constantly use Photogene to crop and edit photographs or screenshots opened from my iPhone or iPhone Camera Roll. Photogene includes tools to rotate, adjust color, retouch, add text, and enhance with gradients, framing, and effects. During the export process you can change the resolution and then send the final photo in a variety of ways including Twitter, e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, and to a linked dropbox. I especially use Photogene for cropping, resizing, and annotating screenshots taken on my iPad*, which are then saved to my Dropbox Photos folder. The file can then be immediately inserted into a blog page or more precisely annotated with software such as Jing or Skitch

Screenshot cropped with Photogene & then annotated with Skitch

* To take a screenshot of your iPad screen press the power and home button at the same time, which saves the snapshot to the iPad's Photo Library.

Slideshare completed converted its web site to HTML 5 http://www.slideshare.net/html5, eliminating the need for Flash to play slides on mobile devices. Although the mobile Webapp Slideshare is not as efficient and full-featured as a native app, the new HTML 5 version finally allows playing of Slideshare content!

Dragon Dictation - Converts what you speak into surprisingly accurate text. The process is simple: press the recording button at the top of the screen and start speaking - slowly and distinctly with minimal background noise works best. Dragon Dictation processes and converts your speech through online servers and displays the converted text on your iPad screen, which you can either edit, copy, or e-mail. Although Dragon Dictation limits speech conversions to 60 seconds at one time, you can record more sessions to append and build text of a complete recording. You can separate sessions by creating new notes. Press the information button at the bottom of your iPad screen to bring up a help screen that provides tips for effective recording and shortcut speech commands to format your text (e.g. "next paragraph"). Additional tips are available at http://www.dragonmobileapps.com.

Voice Memos – Not to be confused with Apple's own Voice Memos app, which is only available for iPod touch (2nd generation or higher) and iPhone. Although the app is not free (it costs $1.98 - $.99 for the app plus $.99 for the share memos add-on), it is elegant, easy-to-use, saves files as compressed .m4a audio files, allows simply text tagging, and export by e-mail and iTunes file sharing. E-mail exports are limited to approximately 20MB or 40 minutes of recording. Unlike Apple's native app Voice Memos cannot record in the background and does not provide a tool for trimming recordings on the fly.

USAToday Reader. An app browser designed for elegance, stunning images, simple navigation that allows you to easily read the latest in USA News, Sports, Money, and Life. When you open each category in Reader, the information is updated locally on your iPod. You can then take these stories with you to read off-line - simply ignore any not-connected error and continue reading.

NetFlix Subscribers have essentially the same functionally as the full web browser version (manage your NetFlix DVD and Instant queues, view Recent activity such as when your next DVD's will ship, etc.) and can instantly watch TV episodes and movies streamed from Netflix on their iPad in full screen. The quality is excellent and the experience is superb.

Evernote If you have not already done so create a free Evernote.com account and download the Windows or Mac desktop application. (The web browser works well enough when the full application is not available.) Use Evernote to create notebooks of just about anything digital that you can imagine: images, audio uploads, PDF's, web clippings, and of course your text formatted notes. The Evernote apps allows you to access your notes online and add text, voice notes, and images from your iPad Photo library.

Dictionary accesses the Random House Unabridged Dictionary online providing basic definitions with sentence example and word origin. The audio pronunciation tool is embedded in the definition and plays in the background while you read. Dictionary includes a Thesaurus and the Word of the Day.

DropBox – Go to http://dropbox.com and create an account. Install the software on your PC or Mac and place documents that you want to sync to your server account (2GB) into the Dropbox folder. When you edit a file locally it syncs to the server. If you install DB on another personal computer, then it will sync from server to the DropBox folder on that computer. Dropbox displays iPad compatible file formats (e.g. images, music, Office and iWork documents, rtf, and html) stored on your share and provides tools to open them into apps such as GoodReader, Keynote, and Pages. Read these top five uses of Dropbox including copying PDF documents to a special folder (e.g. ebooks) and then marking them as favorites for off-line reading.

Twitterific There are many Twitter clients for iPhone and iPad and choice is often based on personal preference in addition to features. I like Twitterific because it is visual attractive, easy-to-use, and includes . For example tweets are color-code by mentions, replies, direct messages, and personal tweets. Clicking a tweet's embedded URL opens the page within Twitterfic's own pop-up browser. Clicking the Done button returns to the active tweet.

Speak-It! Type or copy and paste text in the "text to say" window and have a synthesized voice speak back to you. You can choose from two American voices (good quality) and two British voices (better quality), increase or lower the volume, and adjust the playback speed. Text can be saved as phrases for future retrieval and then exported as a TTS audio file, which can be e-mail for storage and retrieval. There are a number of application for Speak It! including hands-free listening of online news, playing back text for those who are unable to speak, and assisting auditory learnings with reading text. For long text such as chapters and books, I recommend a solution such as iSpeak It and iTunes.

WordRefer – Web app that accesses the http://wordreference.com web site. Excellent resource for translating words between languages (e.g. English, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, and Japanese), providing many example idiomatic expressions based on the word, and conjugating verbs. Users can also join a Discussion forum to pose questions about word usage in a given language. The app's design is average but provides an excellent reference and communication tool for language learners.

SonicPics for iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad (although not yet native) is an elegantly simple, all-in-one mobile solution for creating audio slideshows — still images synced with audio as they relate to each image — that provide enhanced online and mobile learning opportunties for students as compared to audio only media. The slideshows can be exported as QuickTime chapter videos or uploaded directly to YouTube for instant sharing! SonicPics uses the iPad's built-in microphone and imports images from your iPad's Photo library. Even though the app is not yet native, SonicPics runs without issue on an iPad, which is a natural for annotating audio to images because of its larger screen and built-in microphone. For detailed information on SonicPics read Creating Collaborative Audio Slideshows.

GoodReader - By now most everyone is familiar with GoodReader and would agree that it is the best available PDF reader for iPad.

iBooks - Apple's ebook reader that requires a separate download with any new iPad. You can read, browse, purchase, or upload for free from a large library of books in ePub and PDF format. Be sure to install the latest update, which includes a note tool, flexible color highlighting, and bookmark syncing with iPhone/touches running iOS 4.

Keynote - Keynote for iPad easily and quite accurately imports PowerPoint (Windows or Macintosh) and Keynote (Macintosh) presentations, especially when used with the Dropbox app. From your PC or Mac save your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation to a Dropbox folder (e.g. presentations), open Dropbox on iPad, load the presentation, and choose Open In Keynote, which automatically imports the file including presentation notes (available with the the November 2010 update). The process takes less than one or two minutes depending on the size of your presentation file. The optional iPad VGA adapter allows you to project your Keynote presentation, although it must be in play mode. During projection there is an option to split the iPad screen into the current slide with presenter notes. The projection monitor or screen will display the full slide. In addition the presenter can switch the time display between time elapsed or current time and press and hold down to activate an on-screen red laser pointer.

Reeder is arguably the best and most full featured RSS Reader for the iPad, although app is $4.99. The iPhone version must be purchased separately. Reeder is actually a client for Google Reader and provides options for sharing through e-mail, Twitter, and Delicious bookmarking.

NPR Music is one of the most recent apps that I have downloaded and already I have had the pleasure of discovering, reading about, and listening to several new music groups. You can explore genres by Rock/Pop/Folk, Jazz & Blues, World, Classical and Hip Hop/R&B and browse by Programs and artists. There are live performances, reviews, and interviews to supplement what you listen. Create your own playlist of performances that you want to quickly retrieve.

PlainText - There are not many options to write data from your iPad directly to a Dropbox share. PlainText is one of them, although the app is limited to text only. When you link to your Dropbox account you typically designate a subfolder named Plaintext where folders and documents are stored. It is possible to edit the same document simultaneously (e.g. making changes from another iPad ). PlainText takes care of the merging and syncing for you. Great for taking notes at a conference or distracting free writing. Note: Habilis is an e-mail to DropBox gateway that allows you to e-mail iPad documents to a designated folder in your Dropbox share. For details go to http://www.gethabilis.com.

Mint - Sign up for an account on Mint.com and connect to your online banking, investment, loans and credit card accounts for a quick check of recent transactions and balances. You authenticate through secure login credentials and then establish read-only access to transactions - money cannot be moved or transferred. Mint provides optional online money-management tools and options to send alerts based on transactions and status such as an account that is running low. Note: Mint is not yet iPad native.

Flixster - Search for box office flicks, movies on DVD, and upcoming films that are still in production. The movies are rated using the Rotten Tomatoes or Netflix database and includes a video trailer, PG rating, length, and theatre show times in your area, which is adjustable by distance. Flixster has links to the movie web sites Rotten Tomatoes, Flixster, and Bing. Movies released as DVD's can be rented or purchased through a direct link to iTunes. View and managing your Netflix queue is missing in the iPad version but available for iPhone - iPod touch.

PBS for iPad - Released this month PBS for iPad provides access to a selection of hundreds of videos from new programs and recent PBS archives such as Frontline, Nova, Masterpiece Theatre, and PBS Newshour. There is a short sponsor message each time the app is launched but otherwise all videos play without commercial interruption. The archive provides an invaluable resource for faculty and students, although it is unclear how far back the archives will continue to extend after live episodes pass. You can see a schedule of upcoming programs and episodes and bookmark what you have seen, and share videos on Facebook and Twitter.

Atomic Web - Atomic Web is an excellent alternate browser to Safari that provides tabbed windows, full screen browser display, ad filtering, font size control, and option to save as a web page. The Settings menu includes many customization options and provides VGA out to allow iPad projection to a VGA monitor or projector. The optional iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter is required http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MC552ZM/A

Phonecasting Alternative to Drop.io ?

2010-11-26T10:20:00.001-05:00

During the summer I finally found what I thought was an ideal solution for instructors to easily record lectures or other audio information AND allow students in their classes to do the same. For details read this post: http://teachlearntechblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/voice-record-lecturecasts.html. Unfortunately drop.io will be discontinued by December 15 as a result of its purchase by Facebook. All free (and paid) accounts and data will be deleted by that date. I am searching for an alternative such as those listed in this post http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/2010/10/sad-newsdropio-removed-voice-recording.html but none seem close to what Drop.io can provide.

Do you have suggestions for a service that provides features reasonably close to what Drop.io provided?

Requirements (or reasonably close)

Phone record directly to your account space using a unique phone number. Therefore you (and-or your students) could use any phone - landline or mobile to make the call-in.
Reasonable storage to allow allow a semester's worth of podcasts (100MB provides 400 minutes of recording) and presumably a price model for larger space requirements.
Administrator control that controls access to the podcast site
Guest password for students so they can create their own phonecasts
Option to subscribe to RSS feeds including iTunes
Pre-recorded lectures in mp3 or aac audio files that can be uploaded separately as part of the podcast
Mobile app is preferred
Guarantee that the service will not be purchased and discontinued by a billion dollar bully ;)

A First Look at iPad OS 4.2

2010-11-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

iPad OS 4.2 Update

Recently a number of articles have listed new features in the iPad's latest 4.2 OS release in varying detail of how they may be useful. Below is a summary of my personal experiences with some tips that I learned.

Multitasking

Previously run iPad apps remain suspended in the background in a save state until you retrieve them. For example you can open a slide in your Keynote presentation, switch to a Safari web page, copy text, quickly switch back to Keynote, and paste the text. Third party apps such as Pandora, NPR Music, and TuneIn Radio now multitask so it is finally possible to play music in the background while you run other apps.

To display the Multitasking bar with the most recent running apps quickly tap the Home button twice. Swipe to the left to display another set of running apps. Press any app icon to activate its state, which may be as precise as a position in a web page or a specific slide in a Keynote presentation.

Swipe the Multitasking bar to the right to display a multipurpose controller bar that contains from left to right an Orientation Lock button, a brightness control slider, audio controls (back, play-pause, forward), a volume control slider, and the current audio app such as iPod or Pandora. Note that the Orientation lock will only work for iPad native apps.

Note! If you triple-tap the Home button by mistake then VoiceOver will activate - quickly tap three times in succession to turn it back off.

Airplay to Airport express

If you have an AirPort Express connected to a stereo system or special speakers such as the iHome AirPlay http://www.ihomeaudio.com/discover/airplay, then you can stream music from your iPad using any app that plays audio including Pandora, NPR Music, and Netflix (audio only of course). Press and hold down the blue AirPlay icon to choose the name of your AirPort device (in the screenshot below the AirPort Express is named iTunes Express) by starting the iPod app. The AirPlay device select icon is also available in the Multitasking audio bar and to the right of the volume control slider for any iPad-native audio app. (If the app is not native such as NPR Music then first choose the device destination using the iPod app.)

Note! - there appears to a bug in AirPlay to AirPort Express. Although my computer and iPod touch consistently streams all music to my AirPort Express (connected to a stereo system), AirPlay on occasion disconnects after bringing up the Multitasking bar and is no longer available. After several attempts to re-enable (power down and restart, restarting the AirPort Express router, ) I finally succeeded by choosing Forgetting this network in the Settings > General > Wi-Fi > Choose A Network for the active local wireless network and then rejoining it.

AirPrint

There are currently three workarounds that I know, all of which require connecting a printer to an AirPrint enabled Windows or Macintosh computer. The printer can be connected directly via USB or by Print Sharing (which I have not yet tested).

Run AirPrint Hactivator by following these instructions: http://netputing.com/2010/11/11/airprint-hacktivator/. A free, not-so-elegant at your risk solution for MacOS X.
Run AirPrint Activator for Windows by following these instructions: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/26/airprint-activator-for-windows-lets-you-print-from-ios-on-window/ . A free, not-so-elegant at your risk solution for Windows.
If you have a Macintosh, Printopia (7-day trail, $9.95 for paid version) is easy-to-install and provides an option to print directly to a USB connected printer, print a PDF file to the Macintosh running Printopia, or print a PDF of the document to the folder "Printopia" in your Dropbox folder. The Macintosh must be running and logged on to the same wireless network as your iPad. If you have iWork apps installed such as Keynote or Pages, then you can print selected slides or pages. Follow these steps to install: http://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia/instructions.html

In this example I opened a web page in Safari and then chose the option HP LaserJet 1022 to print the pages.

Folder organization in App tray

I was never really enthusiastic with folder organization on my iPod touch when it is was available with update 4.0. The icons were small and the process too cumbersome to efficiently organize the apps - why bother? The iPad update was a pleasant surprise because using the App tray the process is really easy.

Hold down an app to activate the icon arrangement mode (all the icons jiggle).
Locate two icons that you would like to organize in the same folder. Drag one on the other and release.
Name the new folder and click outside to release it.
Drag the folder to the App tray and hold it there until it snaps in (you have a limit of six so others may have to be removed).
You can now easily switch to different screens and drag related apps into your new folder. When finished keep the folder in the App tray or move it to a screen of your preference. In the screenshot below I have organized News, Audio, Video, and Books folders in the App tray. Things are much easier to find!

What Can Be Done About Childhood Obesity?

2010-08-14T10:04:00.000-04:00

The Twitter Exercise and Motivation Team is a fantastic resource that combines a dedicated blog and the clever use of the hashtag #temt to motivate hundreds of tweeps into getting fit and living healthier lives! I have been encouraged by the collaboration and kind words of support from team members, inspiring blogs, links to useful resources, and insightful tips such as this tweet from @cybraryman1: "Keep motivated to exercise by setting realistic goals & keeping an exercise journal #temt Make time to exercise in your busy schedules". BTW, you can keep track of the #temt exchange and some interesting statistics at the What Hashtag address:http://wthashtag.com/Temt .

As I read another of many disheartening articles on obesity, I thought how educators in the TEMT team could extend its collaborative model by taking steps to reduce childhood obesity through programs in schools. There is an abundance of information on obesity. For example, a Google exact search for "Obesity in America" for the past week brought up 14,300 results. The most significant findings on adult obesity were recently reported by the CDC. In brief the number of obese adults living in the United States increased by 2.4 millions in just two years (2007 to 2009) and in nine states more than 30% are obese. Flip through the pages of this Slideshare slideshow to see how the trend rapidly increased the past 25 years and in particular the increase from 5 to 9 states with rates greater than 30% for the past reporting year (2008 - 2009). The original PowerPoint is located at the CDC U.S. Obesity Trends page.

Obesity trends 2009

The news is even grimmer for children as described on the page Childhood Overweight and Obesity. All statistics stand out but perhaps this one is the most telling: "one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10-15 years were obese adults at age 25 years".

So as educators and collaborators what can we do? What have some of us already accomplished in our schools or communities? One start is to share resources, ideas on how to get started, and stories of success (present or pending). I thought about steps such as having students create a healthy eating wiki as part of a class or school project. Students could learn much from such a project: collaboration to build something really useful that they can take pride and ownership in, the value of nutrition, comparing good and bad calories, family history (recipes), skills in technology (learning how to contribute to a Wiki, add comments, insert links and photos), and so on.

There is a lot of movement in taking steps to reduce the prevalence of obesity, which is encouraging. At the same time the trend is still upward and reversing it will take considerable patience and persistence. The section What Can Be Done lists educational resources for community, schools, and self: food and nutrition, physical activity, technology, success stories, and activities that provide opportunities to raise student awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and empower them to to integrate physical activity as a way of life.

WHAT CAN BE DONE

What Can Be Done - The CDC lists actions steps categorized under U.S Government, States, Communities, and All People.
First Lady Michelle Obama recently launched the Let's Move program that includes resources on food and nutrition, physical activity, and simple steps to success.
Edutopia Article Teaching Kids About Healthy Eating and Avoid Obesity
Alliance for a healthier Generation mission is to "To reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015 and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices" includes Healthcare Initiative, Healthy Schools Program, Industry Initiative, and Kids' Movement. See the video of a success story at one HS in Alabama.
MyPyramid.gov for Kids - resources such as games, posters, family tips, worksheets, and classroom materials.
The CDC has a site on Tips for Parents - Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight
Using Technology to Combat Obesity by the Innovator Educator.

RELATED LINKS

The Joy of Walking

2010-08-12T11:02:00.000-04:00

Greetings all! I would like to share with you my personal experiences in walking for exercise and good health, enjoyment, and the thrill of accomplishment. The beauty of walking to stay fit and feel better is that most anyone can participate and the goals you set are your own.

About 6 or 7 years ago my doctor warned me of my increasing weight (borderline obese), family risk factor of heart disease, and a dangerously high cholesterol ratio (HDL to LDL). He prescribed Lipitor to manage the HDL cholesterol level but recommended regular exercise and diet to manage the other factors. That was the challenge - playing competitive basketball anymore was not an option because of repaired cartilage and aging joints, especially the knees. And I don't use treadmills in large part because I work long hours underground and can't bear the thought of missing any daylight that is left.

BENEFITS FROM WALKING

Manage cholesterol - extended walking will raise your LDL cholesterol but it is gradual and requires extended, regular exercise.
Weight control - Walking can help you lose weight but it must be done regularly and you should improve your diet at the same time.
Opportunities to reflect - walking can be boring for some but take advantage to reflect. Some of your most creative thinking may emerge. You may even want to take with you a voice recorder so you can capture some of your most inspiring reflections. And it's okay if people think you are talking to yourself!
Listen to podcasts and audiobooks, although do be careful of your surroundings. I mix days with podcasts and music or nothing at all.
Find where your local nature trails are and take advantage of them.
Take photographs and share with others
Walking can be social - walk with your spouse, friends, family, and neighbors
You can compete in walkathons for good causes and raise money.
Manage stress - when you improve your health and sense of well-being, then stress will naturally decrease as well.
There is less wear and tear on the joints. The shock factor of a runner's step is 3-4 times a person's weight but walking is usually only 1 to 1.5. Sports such as basketball and tennis can reach a SF of 6 or 7.
Manage asthma - Many folks with asthma report fewer attacks when they exercise regularly and I can attest to that personally. At the end of long walks I enter a "zone" in which there are no effects of asthma - exhilarating! (however, like death and taxes, it does come back.)
Burning calories. There is no question that running burns more calories during the same amount of time - more bang for your buck. However, many of us do not run really fast and all of us could improve our walking speed over time. For example, if you walk for 30 minutes at 4 miles per hour you will burn 165 calories. Running 5 miles during the same amount of time burns 285 calories.
Blood pressure - A study shows that 40 minutes of brisk walking (3 or 4 mph) will reduce blood pressure and this article explains why it works.
UPDATE For baby boomers genes play large role in staying healthy until 65. After that exercise & nutrition more important http://usat.ly/broX9E. In particular read the short version or the in-depth article of why walking 6- 9 miles per week appears to protect the brain against shrinkage in late adulthood.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Most Americans walk less than 6,000 steps per day and many much less than that. I have known of office managers who always work at their desk and can not manage more than 3,000 steps in one day. Get up from your desk often and take short walking breaks.
Purchase a pedometer and start calculating how much you walk. Then set goals to realistically increase your average steps per day. The recommended average is 10,000 daily steps.
Establish a walking route and schedule regular times to achieve your goal no matter how modest it may be.
Finally, I recommend purchasing quality footwear (personally I have had great luck with Nike Air Monarch) and to make sure you have plenty of toe room!

RELATED LINKS

Slideshow of my July 5, 2010 walk from Millport to Watkins Glen and back through New York State's gorgeous Catherine Valley Trail.
More advantages of Walking
You may have already read about the dangers of staying sedentary in your office chair. If not, be sure to read this excellent article "Stand Up While You Read This!"
Running vs. Walking
The Mayo Clinic list other benefits of walking
Wow! Walk Like the Amish
The Omron HJ-112 odometer, which I have owned for several years is durable and accurate. There is a safety clip that catches the pedometer if it disconnects from your belt.
Walking for fitness? Make it count with a pedometer

Phone Recording Lecturecasts

2010-08-11T22:11:00.000-04:00

Introduction

Many instructors prefer the simplicity of phoning in recordings of their lectures with a device that is familiar to them and simple to use. They do not have to worry about extra equipment and software and can bypass the multi-step process of recording with a microphone, saving the recording as a MP3 file, and then uploading the file to a podcast server. Drop.io is one of the easiest solutions to creating phone-in recordings that are almost immediately converted to podcast episodes. The first 100MB of audio lecturecasts is free, which is equivalent to approximately 400 minutes of recording time. If lecturecasts are designed for 20 minutes of delivery, then approximately 20 sessions are available. Pre-recorded lecturecasts can be uploaded separately as part of the podcast.

Getting Started
Go to http://drop.io and create a new drop name that is appropriate for your course and has not already been taken (e.g. mylecturesdrop).
Click the Create a Drop button.
Type your e-mail address that will be associated with your new drop and then click the Done button.

Log on to your e-mail account and retrieve your initial Admin password, which is sent by Drop.io.
Click the Settings button.
Enter your new Admin password and then click the Access This Drop button.

Log on prompt: https://drop.io/mylecturesdrop/login

Click the Access Control tab in the left sidebar and choose Admin Password.

Enter your new password and take note of it.

Click Save Settings.
Choose Guest Password under Access Control and enter a Guest Password for your students.
Click Save Settings.

Click the Guest Permissions tab under Settings and leave only the comment, chat, and download settings checked. These settings allow your students to subscribe to your podcast.

If would like students to contribute to your podcast by uploading files, then check the box Guests can add. Students can also contribute if they know the phone-in number and extension or the Drop.io e-mail address.

Click Save Settings.
Click the Return link to the right.
Under Customize Sidebar > Voicemail click the link Create a free number that you will use to phone in your recording.
Dial the number and extension and when prompted record your lecture, making sure to speak distinctly. When finished simply hang up.
Your recording is immediately saved to your Drop with a filename such as voice-message-friday-13-aug-01-05am-gmt-mp3.
Click the More button to the right and choose Rename to type an appropriate name for your lecture.
Repeat the process as needed until you have completed your lecture series.

Subscribe to a Dropcast (Drop.io podcast)
Go to your drop address (e.g. http://drop.io/mylecturesdrop)
Enter the Guest or Admin password as prompted.
Choose Share > Share Via Dropcast, which will immediately open iTunes and create a podcast with the name "sharename Dropcast" (e.g. Mylecturesdrop Dropcast).

Security Settings

Anyone can e-mail text, images, or audio files to your drop if they know the address, which is based on the drop name followed by @drop.io (e.g. mylecturesdrop@drop.io). Although Drop.io will automatically enter a secret key if users can only view, administrators should nevertheless enter a secret key on their own as follows:
Click the Settings tab.
Click Input/Output Settings in the left sidebar.
Type a combination of characters and numbers without spaces in the box to the right. If you enter "proud58mary" then the new address would be mylecturesdrop.proud58mary@drop.io
Click the Save Settings button.
Note! The Account Login and Passwordboxes in the upper-right corner of your Drop.io page is only for administrators of multiple accounts and does not apply to individual drops.
Uploading Audio Files to Your Dropcast
Prerecorded audio files can be uploaded in addition to your phone in recordings. Click the Add button and follow the steps in the figure below to upload your audio file, which is typically .mp3, .wav, .m4a, or .m4b.

RELATED LINKS

Composing Beat Poetry for Podcasts and Audiobooks

2010-08-11T18:12:00.000-04:00

Introduction

In and of itself the sound and energy of poetry can make learning to write poems a fun, creative process. Using technology students can embellish their poetry by recording the poems they read, adding rhythmic beats, and collaborating to create their own audiobook CD and-or podcast! This post is in the form of a workshop and can be modified to meet the age of your student audience. I tried the workshop with a group of middle school students at a summer camp who rated it their favorite learning activity. Try it out on your own and have fun with your students - they will!

Session Overview

During this session your students will compose beat poetry with Garageband by recording their poems as a voice track, adding pre-recorded music loops, and mixing the tracks. They will send their composition to iTunes, insert artwork, add the lyrics, and label the track to identify the poem’s name, author (the student), and other related information. Once they have mixed and tagged their beat poetry they will rename the extension and then upload the file to a common Web share. The tracks in the share will be available either as a podcast or a downloadable audiobook.

Preparation and requirements

Lab of Macintosh computers with built-in microphone is easier to implement, although external headsets allow students to filter out surrounding ambient sound while recording their poems.
Garageband and iTunes installed.
Shared server space for uploading audio files. Drop.io is recommend for easily sharing files and creating a podcast.
Students will have already written their poems, printed out and ready for reciting. An electronic file is also necessary for copying the lyrics to their poetry composition.
Artwork that complements their poems as .JPG or .PNG images. Students could draw with computer software, scan paintings or drawings on paper, or take photographs.
Handout to guide students through the workshop and use as a reference.

Checking the Microphone Sound

Make sure that all microphones are ready for recording.

Open System Preferences
Click the Sound icon
Click the Input tab
Make sure that Internal microphone is selected unless you are using an external microphone.
Make sure that the Input volume is set at least 50% (75% is shown below), which will increase the volume of your recording.

Recording the Poem

Click the Garageband icon in the Dock.
Click New Music Project to begin.
Using the default settings save your project (e.g. Rattlesnakes and Roller Skates.band) to your Macintosh computer's desktop.
Close the Grand Piano window and Choose Track > Delete Track to remove the Piano loop.
Choose Track > New Track and click to choose Real Instruments.
In the right Track Info choose Real Instrument > Vocals > and Male or Female Basic.

If the Track Info panel does not display, click the Info button:

Important! Choose Control > Metronome to remove the check.
Make sure that the Macintosh webcam-microphone is within recording distance (6 inches or less) to reduce ambient sound.
Make sure that your poem is ready to be read and the Playhead is at the beginning of your voice track.
Click the Start Recording button and read your poem loudly and distinctly.

Click the Stop Recording button to end your recording.
Reposition the Playhead to the track’s beginning and click the Play button.
Click the Play button again or press the Spacebar to stop playback. You can use either to quickly start and stop your recording or music.
Choose File > Save to save your changes so far.

Adding Instrument Loops to your Poetry

Click to turn on the Cycle Region button and then resize the gold region bar until it matches the length of your recording.

Click the Show Loop Browser button
Press the spacebar to play your recording continuously. You can press the spacebar at any time to toggle between playing and stopping your recording.
Choose Kits > Relaxed > Cheerful and then double-click Funky Latin D to play the loop at the same time you are listening to your poetry.

Experiment with different drum loops until you have the one you want for your poem.
Drag the loop under your recording track and at the beginning of the timeline.

Release to place the loop as part of the Drum Kits track. You can drag the loop to the track’s start point if needed.

You can loop regions so they play repeatedly and extend them to fill any amount of space in the timeline.

Move the pointer over the upper half of the right edge of the region. The pointer changes to a loop pointer (a vertical line and a circular arrow).
Drag the edge of the region as far to the right as you want it to keep playing. The region will loop repeatedly to that point.
Notice the “notches” that appear at the top and bottom of the region as you drag it. The notches show the beginning and end of each complete “loop” or repetition of the region.

Region dragged to match the length of the poetry recording.
Play your beat poetry with the newly added drum track!
Click the Reset button in the Loop browser each time you search for new loops.
Repeat the process to add two or three more tracks such as: Electric Bass, Electric Guitar, and Percussion.

Sample Beat Poetry Mix in Garageband

Controlling volume of your tracks

To balance tracks during playback, drag the volume slider for each track like this as you play through your composition.

Sending Your Beat Poetry to iTunes

Now it’s time to send your beat poetry to iTunes and then add data that includes your poem's title, lyrics, and artwork.

Choose Share > Send Songs to iTunes.
After a initial mixdown period, iTunes automatically opens and plays your beat poetry!

Switch to the Garageband window (click anywhere on the window) and choose Garageband > Quit Garageband.
Open your poetry text file and copy the entire poem – you will paste it in another window shortly.
Switch back to iTunes Control-click on the poem name and choose Create AAC Version
Click once on your song and choose File > Get Info.
Click the Summary tab. Check to be sure that the Format is AAC audio file. If not, then choose the other song.
Fill in the blanks with information that applies to your class project. Album Artist and Album should be the same for all students to compile them into an integrated audiobook. The following labels are used in this example.

Name = Complete poem name
Artist = your name
Album Artist – EC Writers
Album = EC Writers Beat Poetry
Composer = your name

Click the Lyrics tab.
Copy and paste the text from your poem to the Lyrics window.

Poetry text added to Lyrics window

Adding Artwork to your iTunes Beat Poem

Click the Artwork tab.
Drag your image file to the Artwork window.

Your image should insert into the window like this:

Click the OK button.
Make sure your song is highlighted and then click the Repeat button twice so that the number 1 appears like this:
The Repeat button is located in the menu strip at the bottom of your iTunes window.
Click to play your song, which will loop until you click the Stop button.

Image of rattlesnake in the poster was taken by Larry Page per Creative Commons license: http://www.flickr.com/photos/igboo/3520378963/

Lyrics of poem "When Rattlesnakes Wear Rollerskates" with permission by author Ken Nesbitt.

Share Your Beat Poetry

Drag your iTunes song to the Macintosh desktop.
Click on your poem’s title in the iTunes Music window and drag the file to the desktop.

Change the last character of the extension from a to b (e.g. mybeatpoem.m4a is changed to mybeatpoem.m4b). The .m4b extension will automatically organize your song as an Audiobook track when copied to iTunes.

Go to the web site (e.g. http://drop.io/classpoetry) and enter the guest password to access the Web share.
Click the Add button and follow the steps in the figure below to upload your .m4b song.

Subscribing to a Dropcast (Drop.io podcast)

You can subscribe to your class poetry podcast in iTunes by following these three simple steps.

Log on with Firefox and go to http://drop.io/classpoetry (use password).
Choose Share > Share Via Dropcast, which will immediately open iTunes and create a podcast with the name "sharename Dropcast" (e.g. Classpoetry Dropcast).
The last poem uploaded will become the first episode in the podcast.

Creating an Audiobook

All metadata in the podcast has been stripped so the podcast can not be converted to an audiobook. Please note that an audiobook must have a .m4b extension.

Why Create an Audiobook?

Easy to find among songs
Skip while shuffling
Cover art for audiobook
All chapters bundled together if the same album name, facilitating organization.
The mobile advantage.
Artwork and lyrics

Log on with Firefox and go to http://drop.io/classpoetry (use password).
Click to download a Zip archive of all the poems by clicking the button in the right sidebar.

Unzip the archive, which will create a folder named classpoetry with all the .mb4 audio files inside.
Start iTunes and choose Preferences > General and check Books or Audiobooks to ensure that the category is displayed under iTunes Library along with Music, Movies, ...
Drag the .m4b files in classpoetry folder to iTunes open window. All files will display in Books or Audiobooks category.
The first file copied is the cover art for the audiobook. Files can be sorted with the sort feature.

Two Months in Quick Thoughts on My iPad

2010-07-05T13:46:00.000-04:00

Quick Thoughts on the iPad

I have spent two months with my new iPad and can say that the experience has been superb with even more expectations as clever apps continue to be designed by inventive people (refer to related links at the end of this post for examples of innovative, unexpected uses of the iPad). I have used the iPad at work, at home (everywhere except ...), outdoors, in coffee shops, and at conferences. Below are quick thoughts categorized under what I really like, what needs improvement, and disappointments (so far). In the beginning I missed having the convenience, typing angle, and protection of the Apple iPad case, which arrived as a backorder one month later. If the iPad in some future version becomes a possible laptop replacement, then I might consider using a keyboard.

What I Really Like

Magic comes to mind when tilting, rotating, and touching the iPad. One should not underestimate the attraction of elegant design, near instant responsiveness, and attention to detail. A quibble - the volume control button could be easier to adjust.
Sure it's obvious but often not stressed enough how important instant access to information can be not only for the techno-savvy and impatient but also for people unnerved by technology in general - immediate feedback is important. For example, NPR Music online takes several clicks and fussing with browser windows before your are ready to play and switch between programs. On an iPad it's a couple of swipes and presses. NPR Music is one cool app.
The USAToday Reader is one of my favorite iPod touch apps and it is fantastic on the iPad. I can quickly look up the weather, news, scores, and share articles by e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook. The design is beautiful, evidenced at its best with Day in Pictures, information is easily retrieved, and yes it is free.
I am not bothered by the lack of multitasking and in fact would argue that less distraction is an advantage when reading, listening, and taking notes. Read this interesting article Understanding Multi-tasking on the iPad: What is it really? Exception: Apple apps such as iPod can play music in the background but 3rd-party apps such as Pandora and RadioTime cannot. The iOS 4 upgrade for iPad when released in late Fall should address this issue.
Dropbox is an essential app, which is available as a share when your iPad is connected to a wireless network. Dropbox displays iPad compatible file formats (e.g. images, music, Office and iWork documents, rtf, and html) stored on your share and provides tools to open them into apps such as GoodReader, Keynote, and Pages.
One of the reasons I purchased an iPad was to read rich content PDF's such as the Horizon Report, Educause publications, The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects book, and the Pew Report. Although the newly updated iBooks app can now handle PDF's, GoodReader is the best available document reader and recently added displaying double-pages, horizontal page-turning, and VGA output.
Keynote for iPad easily and quite accurately imports PowerPoint (Windows or Macintosh) and Keynote (Macintosh) presentations, especially when used with the Dropbox app. From your PC or Mac save your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation to a Dropbox folder (e.g. presentations), open Dropbox on iPad, load the presentation, and choose Open In Keynote, which automatically imports the file. The optional iPad VGA adapter allows you to project your Keynote presentation, although it must be in play mode.
With Netflix for iPad subscribers have essentially the same functionality as the full web browser version (manage your NetFlix DVD and Instant queues, view Recent activity such as when your next DVD's will ship, etc.) and can instantly watch TV episodes and movies streamed from Netflix on their iPad in full screen. The quality is excellent and the experience is superb.
Finally! The new version of iBooks adds a note taker to its built-in dictionary, search, bookmarking, and multi-color highlighting tools. The bookmark index can be synchronized with the same books on your iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4. I am currently reading The Heart of Darkness and taking advantage of these features.
It’s a social device! It's rare to pass around a laptop or netbook for sharing such as browsing photo slideshows and listening to music but an iPad, yes. Think social and collaboration when using apps such as SonicPics for Creating Collaborative Audio Slideshows.
With the excellent built-in speakers, the iPad is the best multipurpose, portable music player ever! You can play iPod music, NPR Music, Pandora mixes, RadioTime radio stations, and much more! The experience is fantastic.

Needs Improvement

The Dock Connector to VGA adapter works with Keynote presentations in play mode, iPhoto slideshows, and iTunes movies that are not protected. There is no audio output. Read a C- review by iLounge. I would put this in the Disappointments list but find it useful for Keynote presentations and am optimistic that more apps such as GoodReader will support VGA output.
I used Pages to take notes during a conference and the process was cumbersome. An efficient note taker that includes a built-in web browser for bookmarking would be better. I am also considering using NoteTaker HD with a Pogo stylus.

Disappointments

Apple did not include its built-in iPhone apps Weather, Clock, and Voice Memos. They are simple, fast, run in the background, and free. For example, it is not possible to set a third-party alarm unless the app is running, which renders it near useless. The lack of Apple's Voice Memos is especially disappointing because no app can match its feature set: simple, elegant design; .m4a compressed file format; built-in trimmer; background recording; and iTunes file conversion. The $1.98 Voice Memos app by Kenditech comes close but does not support backround recording and does not include a trim editor.
Apple does not support enhanced-chapter podcasts (.m4a format) on iPad by design. The full audio of an enhanced podcast plays, but only first the slide displays. This is a setback because enhanced podcasts, which are essentially slideshows played in sync with audio recordings have signficant potential for learning, especially when played on a larger screen such as an iPad. I have submitted feedback to Apple hoping that a change will be made in the future.

Related Links

Creating Collaborative Audio Slideshows

2010-05-30T18:18:00.000-04:00

Creating Collaborative Audio Slideshows

One month ago I received my new iPad and immediately scoured the App Store for interesting free or low-cost apps. I downloaded the usual arsenal: GoodReader, iBooks, Twitter client (Twitterific), Amazon Kindle, and USA Today. Then I happened on SonicPics, which I discovered in my search to determine why enhanced (chapter) podcasts do not correctly display on an iPad. (I have reported this issue to Apple.)

Computer software provide tools to create audio slideshows typcially requires several steps: organizing the images, setting up a microphone, narrating while the slides displays, exporting the file, and then finally publishing it to a web site. The process is cumbersome and portability is limited. In contrast SonicPics for iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad (although not yet native) is an elegantly simple, all-in-one mobile solution for creating audio slideshows — still images synced with audio as they relate to each image — that provide enhanced online and mobile learning opportunties for students as compared to audio only media. The slideshows can be exported as QuickTime chapter videos or uploaded directly to YouTube for instant sharing! SonicPics requires a microphone and imports images from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad's Photo library.

Tip: There are a number of iPod touch microphones available, varying in quality and price - some up to $40 each. I have tried these low-cost mics with good success. For under $5.00 on Amazon the Mini Capsule Microphone is of surprisingly high quality, although it is really small and easy to misplace.

Even though the app is not yet native, SonicPics runs without issue on an iPad, which is a natural for annotating audio to images because of its larger screen and built-in microphone. In addition the iPad Camera Connection Kit allows direct transfer of photographs from a digital camera to an iPad Photo library. Consider these uses to assist with your personal recording, notetaking, and tour guides:

Lecture recording - Use a set of related images or export a series of JPEG's from a PowerPoint or Keynote export and record notes as you touch drag through each image.
Conference notes - Take photographs during the conference and then record your notes and reflections.
Photo tours - take photographs of tours such as hiking and then record your experiences as they relate to each photograph.

The Real Excitement: Collaboration!

I look forward to creating audio slideshows on my own for instruction, sharing experiences, and exploring new ways for engaging learners. However, imagine the possibilities when audio slideshows are created in collaboration, especially on an iPad. Students can create group recordings by touch dragging through images, recording their reflections either spontaneously or by reading from prepared text, and passing the iPad on to the next person. Projects can can be uploaded to YouTube for sharing or exported as an.m4v chapter video, which can be played standalone in QuickTime or Windows Media Player or embedded in a web page. Can you add to this sampling of project ideas?

Tours or field trips - students take photographs, which are uploaded to the iPod touch or iPad using Apple's Camera Connection Kit.
Create audiobooks - students create their own digital image (photograph, drawing, scan, downloaded file) and then upload them to a Drop.io or Dropbox share. Using Dropbox or Droppler app upload the images from the share directly to an iPhone, touch, or iPad Photo library. Students can record poetry or sing songs as they relate to each image.
Language instruction - Using the same scenario as an audiobook expect that students record in a foreign language that they are studying.
Digital Story Telling - Students take their own photographs and then record a story, slide by slide.

In the recent time that I have been using an iPad, I would say that SonicPics has been unexpectedly one of my favorite and most useful apps. I wait in anticipation for the iPad native version.

Improving SonicPics

I have written to the publisher of SonicPics with the following recommendations:

Create an iPad native app, which would improve the interface, add new features such as App sharing and of course improve the resolution.
Provide an option to export slideshows as enhanced podcasts so they can be played back on a mobile device.

Currently iPhone OS 3 does not allow third party apps such as SonicPics to directly transfer media content to iTunes, which would eliminate the currently cumbersome process of file export, Wi-Fi sharing, entering a URL, downloading, and copying to iTunes.

SonicPics Tutorial

E-Portfolios with Google Sites EDU

2010-05-20T22:07:00.000-04:00

iPad version (displays slides as images)

Abstract

There are many e-portfolio tools and systems available, none of which provides the perfect solution to all institutional assessment and student learning needs. Google Sites for Education has only recently been considered for portfolio development but offers promising solutions to effectively build learning and showcase portfolios including artifact storage, privacy control, collaboration, reflection, and ownership. Although orientation, training, and ongoing support is strongly recommended, Google Sites is easy-to-use and provides built-in tools to insert evidence of extended learning from sources such as social media sites.

SUNY CIT 2010: E-portfolios for Learning – Google Sites for Education

Where: SUNY Plattsburgh, Yokum 201

When: Friday, May 28 9:15- 9:45 am

Assistive Mobile Technology to Help Students Succeed

2010-05-20T10:17:00.000-04:00

Title: Assistive Mobile Technology to Help Students Succeed

Format: Poster Presentation PDF of actual poster

Where: SUNY Plattsburgh, Angell College Center

When: Wednesday, May 26, 6:30 - 7:45 pm

The iPod touch is a multipurpose mobile device that provides easy access to text, images, media, and an enormous library of free and low-cost educational apps. The mobility and relative affordability of an iPod provides opportunities for students with assistive learning needs to succeed in the classroom using technology that was previously limited to a computer, was difficult to use, and expensive. The iPod's touch screen interface reduces anxiety for students by empowering them to quickly master essential tools that facilitate learning and engagement.

Using a combination of free or low-cost applications the iPod touch can be transformed into a video player, audiobook player (with or without text), voice recorder for recording lectures, specialized e-text reader, text-to-speech converter, speech dictation device, sound amplifier, and online reader of reference materials. Aside from its obvious use as a stand-alone mobile device, the iPod is an ideal companion for a laptop or desktop computer because of its portability, touch screen interface, and on-the-go access. Listed below are a number of scenarios that provide opportunities for students to improve their success in the classroom.

Scenario - PDF's to Audiobooks

Scenario – Recording Class Lectures

Scenario - Listening to Blogs

Blogs provide important opportunities to reflect and write in an open environment for learning through feedback, revision, and sharing. Converting a blog to spoken text provides many opportunities for students to reinforce learning. Read more ...

Scenario – Mobile Text-to-Speech

Scenario – Reading E-books

Scenario – Speech Recognition

The potential for speech recognition is significant and already practical with new apps such as Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search, although the free version has limitations. Human speech is processed and recognized through online servers that provide opportunities for inputting text without having to type. Read more ...

Notes

Except for the lack of a built-in camera and cell phone capability, an iPod touch connected to a Wi-Fi network and equipped with an optional microphone is closely functional to an iPhone — without the monthly wireless costs. Refer to the section Microphones for a listing of recommended iPod microphones.

Microphones

There are a number of iPod touch microphones available, varying in quality and price - some up to $40 each. I have tried these low-cost mics with good success.

For under $2.00 at Amazon the Mini Capsule Microphone is of surprisingly high quality, although it’s really small and easy to misplace. Buy more than one.
The $8.00 Headset Adapter + Microphone includes a 30" cable and clip-on mic that claims to work with the 1G iPod Touch in addition to the newer 2G-3G models. Plug in a stereo headset and you have a hands-free speaking and listening device - really handy when carrying on phone conversations with Skype.

Resources

iSpeak It: http://www.zapptek.com/ispeak-it
Stanza: http://www.lexcycle.com
Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning: http://www.slideshare.net/mpondu/enhancing-audio-podcasts-for-online-and-mobile-learning
Assistive learning tools: http://atmac.org
Touching student lives in the classroom:
http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=16472 - choose iPod touch for Meeting the Needs of Special Learners.
The Assistive Technology Blog: http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu
Assistive Technology in Education -iPod: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/iPod

Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)

2010-04-23T21:16:00.000-04:00

My Collection of iPod Touch Apps

2010-01-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

iPod touch sales skyrocketed the last quarter of 2009, far surpassing the iPhone in sales towards the end of the year. Except for the iPhone's built-in camera and the obvious advantage that it is a cell phone (and therefore always connected to a network), an iPod touch 2G or 3G connected to a Wi-Fi network and equipped with an optional microphone is closely functional to its more expensive cousin.

There are a number of iPod touch microphones available, varying in quality and price - some up to $40 each. I have tried these low-cost mics with good success.

For under $2.00 price on Amazon the Mini Capsule Microphone is of surprisingly high quality, although its really small and easy to misplace. Buy more than one.
The $8.00 Headset Adapter + Microphone includes a 30" cable and clip-on mic that claims to work with the 1G iPod Touch in addition to the newer 2G-3G models. Plug in a stereo headset and you have a hands-free speaking and listening device - really handy when carrying on phone conversations with Skype.

Additionally, strategies and features that allow off-line reading and browsing of documents that typically require a network connection. And let's not forget that iPod touch users do not have to pay a monthly $100 wireless carrier fee.

Dragon Dictation - Converts what you speak into surprisingly accurate text. You will need a microphone for your iPod Touch of course. The process is simple: press Tap and dictate and start speaking - slowly and distinctly with minimal background noise works best. After 30 seconds Dragon Dictation will process your speech through online servers and display the converted text on your iPod screen, which you can either edit, copy, or e-mail. Although a bit cumbersome you can speak in segments of 30 seconds, appending your text each time so you can dictate for longer periods of time. Although the app is free for now, there is bound to be a paid version with more features.

Dragon Search - Processes search results based spoken text with impressive accuracy, although certainly not perfect. As with Dragon Dictate you will need a microphone for your iPod. The process is simple: press Tap and Speak and say your search phrase distinctly with minimal background noise for the best results. Press the Done button and your phrase will be searched by Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, iTunes, and Twitter. For example, I spoke "Marcellus Shale" and Dragon Search found my tweet sent only minutes before - amazing.

You can edit spoken text in the search box if Dragon Search does not interpret the search phrase as you expect. For instant answers dictate terms according to Google Search features http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html, although the results are mixed depending on phrase syntax. For example say "72 inches in centimeters" or "2 tablespoons in ounces" triggers Google Calculator, which immediately calculates the results. However Google Calculator does not recognize terms such as "square root of 987", although other web sites such as WikiAnswers will provide the answer once you open the page.

Voice Memos – Apple provided this app as part of iPod Software Update version 3.0, which requires a 2nd or 3rd Generation iPod and a microphone with a 3-ring 3.5mm connector. Voice Memos allows recording, trimming, saving as a voice memo, and sharing as an e-mail MPEG-4 (.m4a) audio attachment.

Urbanspoon - Look up area restaurants based on location, type of food, and cost. Selection of restaurants is better than most apps and includes reviews, maps, pricing, and time of day menu offerings. Although Urbanspoon is most effective when searching ethnic cuisines in college communities or larger cities. If you sign up for an Urbanspoon account you can add restaurants and reviews.

Skype – Assuming that you have a Skype account you can use the iPod touch with an external microphone to talk to other Skype users. Although a microphone inserted in the iPod's audio port shuts off the internal speaker, Skype's Speaker button allows you to re-enable the speaker, which obviously is required for two-way voice communication! If you use the "Headset hands free 3.5mm adapter + microphone for Apple iPod Touch" with headphones, then you can communicate hands-free because the adapter includes audio pass-through. The adapter is currently available on Amazon for $7.00.

USAToday Reader. USAToday Reader is specially designed browser that allows you to easily read the latest in USA News, Sports, Money, Technology, Life, and Travel. When you open each category Reader, the information is updated locally on your iPod. You can then take these stories with you to read off-line - simply ignore any not-connected error and continue reading.

Stanza - An electronic reader that has access to a library of more than 100,000 free and commercial book, periodicals, and newspapers that you can read directly on your iPod. Using the Windows or Mac desktop application you can convert PDF, Word, and HTML text into eReader format and share the document with your iPod. The Stanza app allows you customize the fonts, color, layout, and brightness of your books for a decent reading experience on a small screen. You can search, bookmark, and organize your books by category for quick retrieval.

Phone Flicks If you have a NetFlix account, then you can manage your NetFlix DVD and Instant queues, view Recent activity such as when your next DVD's will ship, Recommended movies based on your viewing and rating preferences, and reviews that you may have added. A handy tool to build your queue on the fly!

Photoshop.com Mobile. Open iPod photos into Photoshop Mobile with this simple and easy-to-use app. You can crop, adjust hue, exposure, and saturation, apply a number of effects, and undo-redo changes. The edited photo can be saved to your iPod's Save Photos Library or uploaded to an account space on Photoshop.com.

Epicurious – This beautifully designed app allows you to search and browse by category through 25,000 professionally tested and reviewed recipes. Reviews are useful because they not only rate the recipe but provide useful suggestions for improvement. You can mark favorite recipes for easy retrieval and add ingredients to a shopping list. I can't wait to try out the apple crisp recipe with dried cranberries!

NPR News – The recently recently NPR News app allows you to browse the latest news in text format, many of which are recorded from recent radio broadcast, and share them through e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter. At any time you can search through NPR radio stations by region and play them live if marked on air. Stations also provide a recent archive of recent on demand local performances. Browse through selected NPR Programs by such as All Things Considered and play recent broadcasts or subscribe to the iTunes podcast.

Flixster - Search for box office flicks, movies on DVD, and upcoming films that are still in production. The movies are rated and include a QuickTime video trailer, PG rating, length, and theatre show times in your area. Flixster is well-designed and integrates nicely with other apps. For example, movies are released as DVD's you can rent or purchase them from iTunes or add the DVD automatically to your NetFlix queue.

Who is Hot - With this app I can quickly look up friends and family and determine how far away they live and what the current weather is. It's January and at over 2,300 miles away my son is enjoying California weather that is 70 degrees warmer that where I am at! Maybe I don't like this app after all.

Pandora - Most likely you have an Internet radio account such as Pandora so this app will be familiar to you. You can browse through current stations, create new stations, and bookmark your favorites.

Google Mobile App for iPhone – Blue icon with small g – This gives you

access to all of your Google apps such as Mail (although the ActiveSync for Gmail is more efficient for mail and calendar), Google Apps, Google Reader, and Latitude (http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html).

Lose-It! Expert will tell you that keeping track of your calories consumed and burned is a useful strategy for losing or controlling your weight. COMPLETE THIS.

DropBox – Go to http://dropbox.com and create an account. Install the software on your PC or Mac and place documents that you want to sync to your server account (2GB) into the Dropbox folder. When you edit a file locally it syncs to the server. If you install DB on another personal computer, then it will sync from server to the DropBox folder on that computer. Use the App to read your files off the server. One of my favorite apps! Read these top five uses of Dropbox including copying PDF documents to a special folder (e.g. ebooks) and then marking them as favorites for off-line reading.

Super Search – You can search items quickly by categories such as IMDb, Google Images, Twitter, Snopes, and WebMD without the fuss of starting up the Safari iPhone browser.

Walk Score – Click the Location icon so the app can map where you your iPhone (anywhere) or iPod Touch (has to be on a WiFi network) is located currently. Click the List tab to get a listing of area businesses. You can a walk score based on density of businesses.

Yelp – Something like Walk Score but slicker and a far larger database. Includes reviews for restaurants and if you have an iPhone can automatically call the number in the business’s contact.Something like Walk Score but slicker and a far larger database. Includes reviews for restaurants and if you have an iPhone can automatically call the number in the business’s contact.

For Twitter folks there are the free Twitterific, Tweetdeck, and Tweetie ($2.99) apps.

Speak-It! Type or copy and paste text in the "text to say" window and have a synthesized voice speak back to you. You can choose from two American voices (good quality) and two British voices (better quality), increase or lower the volume, and adjust the playback speed. There are a number of application for Speak It! including hands-free listening of online news, playing back text for those who are unable to speak, and assisting auditory learnings with reading text. The app currently cannot upload files nor export spoken text as mp3 files. Speak It! lacks the ability to remember current playback position and does not allow scrolling of recorded spoken text. For long text such as chapters and books, I recommend a solution such as iSpeak It and iTunes.

WordRefer – Web app that accesses the http://wordreference.com web site. Excellent resource for translating words between languages (e.g. English, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, and Japanese), providing many example idiomatic expressions based on the word, and conjugating verbs. Users can also join a Discussion forum to pose questions about word usage in a given language. The app's design is mediocre but still provides an excellent reference and communication tool for language learners.

Wordling conference and chat tweets

2010-01-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

When I was browsing through Twitter the weekend before Thanksgiving, I was surprised at how quickly Gardner Campbell summarized key points in presentations at the 2009 Lilly International Conference into a steady stream of meaningful tweets. Relatively new to Wordle, (but not to word frequency analyses, which have fascinated me ever since my students used statistical tests of authorship in determining whether Quintus Curtius Snodgrass was really Mark Twain - he almost certainly was not) I decided to create a word cloud of his tweets based on the hashtag #lilly09. The process involved:

Copying all the tweets from Gardner's Twitter page during the time period of the conference

Pasting the results into Word and applying a find-replace to surround #lilly09 with tab characters

Copying and pasting the Word text into Excel for quick column manipulation, including sorting and removing the conference hashtag and unrelated tweets

Copying the text-only results into Wordle and creating the final word cloud, which is posted on Gardner's blog post: Extreme Tweeting Yields Wordle: More on Lilly 2009

The algorithm was relatively straightforward but there were too many steps to generate the final results. Hopefully tools such as Wordle and Tweet Cloud will evolve by providing options to generate word clouds from filtered tweets using search terms such as hashtags.

I applied a similar technique to create a word cloud of the December 16 Edchat session on assessment and sent this tweet: "http://twitpic.com/ttvn2 - Wordle of Formative and Summative Assessments transcript #edchat". Almost immediately a response tweet correctly pointed out that the Wordle missed the conversation (and follow-up reflections such as Greg Thompson Thoughts on Assessment: A Conversation). A quick look at the cloud shows RT as the "word" most often used and a LOT of @user replies. There were approximately 1068 replies and 699 retweets in the session's 1181 tweets - that is indeed conversation!

Created with http://wordle.net

Practical and Educational Uses of Wordle

2010-01-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

Since Wordle was introduced in 2008, there has been no shortage of educational uses of creating word clouds. Below is a list of recent and popular blogs that have published their favorite uses of Wordle in the classroom. If you are new to Wordle, refer to the section below "What is Wordle?" and the useful frequently asked questions page maintained by creator Jonathan Feinberg.

ProfHacker published an article on Using Wordle in the classroom to analyze poetic diction.
The SlideShare slideshow Forty-Three Interesting Ways to use Wordle in the Classroom includes a wealth of ideas for teaching. One of my favorites is Guess the French fairytale.
Rodd Lucier summarizes a few of his clever ideas in the Top 20 Uses for Wordle, including condensing survey response data into a word cloud.
Jennifer Wagner hosts a Monday-Friday Daily Guess the Wordle.
Bill Wolff's Teaching Students How to Write Meaningful Tags explains strategies that help students break down blog posts to write more descriptive tags.
Jamie Keddie describes A Really Useful Wordle Trick on how to include phrases such as "once a upon a time".
Author Scott Westerfeld's interesting blog on eliminating overused words includes a word cloud of his novel Leviathan after the first draft.
Wordle creator Feinberg uses statistical analysis to generate word cloud visualizations comparing Presidential Inaugural Addresses.
Keri-Lee Beasley describes a simple but clever use of Wordle in first-grade poetry writing with a summary of what students learned.
I published a post on Wordling Conference and Chat Tweets.

Wordle Nonsense

Despite many possible educational uses, it is still important to ask why Wordle should be used in the classroom and what are the expected goals for students. Without carefully defining these expectations, Wordle can end up being a new technology toy, resulting in generating nonsensical data without a purpose. What better way to demonstrate Wordle nonsense than creating a word cloud of a passage generated with a Lorem Ipsum generator as shown below?!

Created with Wordle.net

What is Wordle?

With Wordle you can easily create a visual word-frequency cloud of any copied text, blog site, or tags from a Delicious site. In a matter of seconds your beautiful graph can provide information that is educational or useless, but regardless of the result it is fun and quite stunning to look at. Below is a Wordle of President Obama's speech on racism.

Created with http://wordle.net

Speech Recognition with Mobile Devices

2010-01-01T16:31:00.000-05:00

Scenario – Speech Recognition with Mobile Devices

The potential for speech recognition on mobile devices is significant and already practical with new apps such as Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search despite limitations with the current free version. Human speech is processed and recognized through online servers that provide opportunities for inputting text without having to type. Learners who have difficulty typing (or cannot type at all) with the on-screen keyboard can quickly convert their speech into text for applications such as e-mail, taking notes, creating blogs, and searching information on the Internet. Currently the Dictation app is limited to 30 seconds, although it is possible to append the text for each 30 seconds until you have completed your dictation.

Software: Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search

Hardware: iPod Touch with external microphone; Wi-Fi access required (or iPhone)

Process

Attach an external microphone to the iPod touch.
Open the Dragon Dictation App
Press Tap and Dictate and speak slowly and distinctly with minimal background voice.
What you say up to 30 seconds will be processed and displayed on your iPod screen.
You can either edit, copy, or e-mail the text.
For Dragon Search say your search terms, which will be converted into text and then submitted simultaneously to YouTube, iTunes, Wikipedia, Twitter, and Google.

Dragon Dictation - Converts what you speak into surprisingly accurate text. You will need a microphone for your iPod Touch of course. The process is simple: press Tap and dictate and start speaking - slowly and distinctly with minimal background noise works best. After 30 seconds Dragon Dictation will process your speech through online servers and display the converted text on your iPod screen, which you can either edit, copy, or e-mail. Although a bit cumbersome you can speak in segments of 30 seconds, appending your text each time so you can dictate for longer periods of time. Although the app is free for now, there is bound to be a paid version with more features.

Dragon Search - Processes search results based spoken text with impressive accuracy, although certainly not perfect. As with Dragon Dictate you will need a microphone for your iPod. The process is simple: press Tap and Speak and say your search phrase distinctly with minimal background noise for the best results. Press the Done button and your phrase will be searched by Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, iTunes, and Twitter. For example, I spoke "Marcellus Shale" and Dragon Search found my tweet sent only minutes before - amazing.

Instant Answers

You can edit spoken text in the search box if Dragon Search does not interpret the search phrase as you expect. For instant answers dictate terms according to Google Search features http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html . Try this example: say "How many inches in a mile", "72 inches in centimeters" or "2 tablespoons in ounces" to trigger Google Calculator, which immediately calculates and displays the results as shown below. Google Calculator does not recognize terms such as "square root of 987", although other web sites such as WikiAnswers will provide the answer once you open the page.

Reading ebooks

2010-01-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

Scenario – Reading E-books

Electronic readers provide students access to an enormous library of free and electronic books, periodicals, and newspapers that can be directly read on an iPod. Although the use of e-books is already growing, there is expected to be a substantial impact when the iPad and other touch screen tablets reach the market in early spring. All students benefit from reading electronic materials on mobile devices and avoiding having to lug around heavy books. iPod e-readers such as Stanza provide a number of benefits for students with assistive needs. Although the screen is small, students with visual disabilities can change the font, color, background, margins and brightness of the screen to improve visibility. In addition students prefer to read books on an iPod rather than drawing attention to a special-purpose device.

Software: Stanza Desktop for Windows or Mac; Stanza App for iPhone

Hardware: iPod Touch; Wi-Fi access required

Process

Download the free Stanza iPod app.
Run the Stanza iPhone app and use Catalog to Get Books or Downloads to download books in ePub/eReader format from a URL (e.g. http://www.epubbooks.com/book/312/hugo-hunchback-of-notre-dame.epub)
Download the desktop app from http://www.lexcycle.com/stanza and open a PDF, text, HTML, or Word document. Choose Tools > Enable Sharing and choose Shared then Books on your computer to download the open document.
Choose Catalog to open your downloaded and converted e-books ready for online reading! In Stanza there options to annotate text, look up word definitions, and customize the fonts, color, layout, and brightness of the text.

Mobile Text to Speech

2010-01-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

Scenario – Mobile Text-to-Speech

Although desktop software such as Flame Reader and iSpeak It! provide more features, control, and organization of text-to-speech recordings, they typically require a three-step process: convert text to speech, copy the recording to iTunes, and copy the spoken text to an iPod touch. Apps that directly convert text to speech as it appears on the iPod screen can provide advantages over desktop conversion and copying depending on how they are used. In addition to enhancing comprehension and listening at the same time, mobile text-to-speech also enables people who are unable to speak to communicate in person or by phone (iPod users can play the audio over a telephone handset).

Software: iPod touch Apps such as Speak It, Web Talk, and Read 2 Me

Hardware: iPod Touch

Resources: http://teachlearntechblog.blogspot.com - under Menu click Assistive Mobile Technology to Help Students Succeed.

Process

Run the app Web Talk, which has a built in browser and open the web page you want to read.
In preferences adjust the voice, volume, and speed controls.
Press the Play button to listen to page's spoken text.
Use the app Speak-It! to read typed or copied text in the text to say window. Two American and two British voices. Spoken text can be saved but not exported.
Read 2 Me allows importing of text files, although they must be in URL format.

Description of Speak-It!

Type or copy and paste text in the "text to say" window and have a synthesized voice speak back to you. You can choose from two American voices (good quality) and two British voices (better quality), increase or lower the volume, and adjust the playback speed. There are a number of application for Speak It! including hands-free listening of online news, playing back text for those who are unable to speak, and assisting auditory learning with reading text. The app currently cannot upload files nor export spoken text as mp3 files. Speak It! lacks the ability to remember current playback position and does not allow scrolling of recorded spoken text. For long text such as chapters and books, I recommend a solution such as iSpeak It and iTunes.

Listening to Blogs

2010-01-01T14:54:00.000-05:00

Scenario - Listening to Blogs

Blogs provide opportunities for students to read, reflect, and write in an open environment for learning through feedback, revision, and sharing. Converting them to spoken text enhances learning opportunities in different ways by empowering students to:

Listen to blogs if they have a visual impairment.
Read and listen to blogs at the same time to help improve their reading comprehension.
Listen to their writing as a tool to spot repetitions, choppy phrases, awkward sentences, and misspelled words. Listening to spoken text can help students detect lack of rhythm and sentence variation in their writing.

Students can subscribe to the spoken text in each blog post as podcasts, which can synced to an iPod touch for mobile listening, although the text is not copied.

Click the Listen Now button at the top of this post to evaluate the quality of spoken text.

Software: Blogger, WordPress, or TypePad; http://odiogo.com

Hardware: iPod Touch (or iPhone)

Process for Blogger (works similarly with WordPress and TypePad)

Go to http://odiogo.com and submit your Blog URL and e-mail address.
Click the Add Odiogo Listen Button Widget
Log on to your Blogger account
Select the blog that you want to convert to audio.
Click the Add Widget button.
Rearrange the Subscribe to My Podcast Gadget in the Layout menu.
Click the Save button.
Click the Listen Now to hear your blog!
Click the Subscribe to My Podcasts button.
Click to Subscribe to the blog's podcast in iTunes. (audio-only)
Copy the blog Podcast to an iPod touch and listen to the posts!

Recording Class Lectures

2010-01-01T14:36:00.000-05:00

Scenario – Recording Class Lectures

A number of instructors are recording their lectures for course casting that provides opportunities for students to review materials for reinforcement or that they missed. If course podcasts are not available, then students can request permission from their instructor, especially if they are registered through their College's office of Accessibility Services. Equipped with an inexpensive microphone an iPod touch can be used for recording lectures, which can then be transferred to iTunes for conversion and tagging. Lectures can be organized by playlist, topic, instructors, and date to help students find materials for repeat listening and review. The recordings in turn can be copied to an iPod Touch to allow mobile playback using the same method of organization.

Software: Apple's Voice Memos app, iTunes for Macintosh or Windows http://www.apple.com/itunes

Hardware: iPod Touch Gen 2 or Gen 3 (has volume slider bar on side) for recording; external microphone

Process

Attach an external microphone to the iPod touch audio port.
Open the Voice Memos app and start the recording.
Stop the recording, trim start and end as necessary.
Connect iPod to your computer and copy recordings to iTunes.
Tag the recordings.
Copy the recorded chapters to the iPod Touch. Students can read and listen at the same time or listen only.

View PDF Tutorial (opens in new window)

Feminist Agency

2010-01-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

The Women’s Studies Program Presents: The 16th Annual Julia Reinstein Symposium "Celebrating International Women"

Keynote Address by Dr. Jessie Kabwila Kapasula

“Feminist Agency in the Age of Beyonce's 'Single Ladies':Faces of International Feminism in Transnational Popular Songs”

The keynote address refers to three music videos, which can be played by clicking the links below. The referral times in the address are in parentheses.

Keynote address

Music Videos

Beyonce All the single ladies (16 min. 12 sec.)

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/single-ladies-lyrics-beyonce-knowles.html

Neyo Miss Independent (38 min. 51 sec.)

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6M5C-oKw9k

Lyrics -http://www.metrolyrics.com/miss-independent-lyrics-neyo.html

Nalu House Money and Car (42 min. 1 sec.)

Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moex19whag8

Converting PDF's to Audiobooks

2010-01-01T12:45:00.000-05:00

Scenario - PDF's to Audiobooks

For many students comprehension of printed text materials depends on reading and listening to the text at the same time. Although it is possible to scan printed materials into electronic format the process is tedious and inaccurate. Some publishers will provide audio materials in a format that requires a special player such as a Victor Reader. Typically these players are cumbersome to use, bulky, and are not integrated within a student's learning environment. There is also the stigma of having to carry around the device. In this scenario publishers provide searchable PDF files usually by chapter.

Attention! Conversion of copyrighted materials can only be used by students who have purchased the textbook and are registered with the office of accessibility services. The PDF’s and converted spoken text cannot be distributed.

Software: PDF to text converter; iSpeak It! for Macintosh or Flame Reader (Windows); iTunes for Macintosh or Windows http://www.apple.com/itunes

Hardware: iPod Touch for reading and listening; portable media for audio only.

Process

Open the PDF document - typically a chapter file - and convert it to text (Macintosh Preview, Adobe Acrobat, CutePDF for Windows, or http://zamzar.com).
Copy and paste the text into FlameReader for Windows or iSpeak It! for Macintosh
Convert text into MP3 or AAC audio format.
Add the recording to iTunes and then tag the audio recording.
iSpeak It for Macintosh provides options to facilitate tagging, bookmarking, and categorizing the spoken text as an iTunes audiobook. In addition the text is copied to the Lyrics tab.
Copy the recorded chapters to the iPod Touch. Students can read and listen at the same time or listen only.

Converting Text-to-Speech for iTunes and Mobile Playback

View PDF document (opens in new window)

Understanding Spreadsheet Referencing

2009-12-24T13:45:00.000-05:00

Wind Chill Spreadsheet Project

As part of our Information Technology training program in spreadsheets, we ask our student workers to solve real-world problems based on numeric models and graphs. Results are assessed to ensure that student staff is prepared to provide instructional assistance in the computer labs. Understanding the concept of absolute and mixed references in spreadsheets is tricky for many students, especially those who are apprehensive of numbers and have not typically succeeded in mathematics. Students enjoy the challenge of building a spreadsheet model that replicates NOAA's official wind chill chart and creating a follow-up comparative graph. Below are basic instructions that can be revised to include more or less detail, depending on the skill level of your students.

The wind chill index is a calculation that describes the combined effect of the wind and cold temperatures on exposed skin. For example if the temperature is 20 degrees and the wind is blowing at 20 miles per hour, the wind chill index is –10 degrees. The official NOAA formula to calculate wind chill is:

Wind chill = 35.74 + 0.6215T – 35.75(V0.16)+0.4275T(V0.16)

where V = wind speed (mph) and T = temperature (° F)

Please note that a standard formula such as 3A + 4B2 is coded in Excel as 3*A+4*B^2.

Go to http://www.weather.gov/om/windchill and create a spreadsheet that looks like the one in the figure Wind Chill chart. Every numeric cell in the chart should have a formula with the exception of the two starter cells: Wind mph = 5 and Temperature = 40. Color-code the regions in the chart according to the legend below it, although the wavy lines are not required.

You should only have to type the formula once and then use fill down and fill across to replicate it, but first read up on relative and absolute references. Hint: this problem is a bit tricky because it mixes relative and absolute references. Refer to these Excel resources for assistance, although other software such Google Spreadsheets should suffice.

University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire: Excel References Relative and Absolute.
YouTube Video: Mixed References in Excel

http://www.weather.gov/windchill

Wind Chill chart

Using your wind chill spreadsheet create a graph that compares NOAA’s new wind chill model vs. the old model. Refer to the diagram Wind Chill Graph below (the logos are not necessary) as a guide. To create the data for your graph create the following rows in your spreadsheet (below the rows in your wind chill chart). Create a range of speeds from 5 to 110 and the corresponding old and new wind chills.

There are only two data cells: the one to the right of Temp (in this example 15) and the number 5 to the right of Speed. The rest are all formulas! You have the formula for the new wind chill index and will base it on the cell to the right of Temp. This is the formula for the old wind chill index that will need to be written as an Excel formula. Again, keep in mind relative and absolute referencing!

0.0817 (3.71V0.5 + 5.81 - 0.25V) (T - 91.4) + 91.4

Create a line graph based on these three rows and label the title, axes, and legends accordingly.

Answer these questions:

To the right of the Temp cell change the number from 15 to 40. Aside from the obvious that the wind chill is warmer, what overall pattern do you observe?
Keep testing different temperatures and determine the approximate temperature that brings the windchill lines closest together.
What is your general observation of the lines at this temperature?

Wind Chill Graph

Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning

2009-07-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

SUNY CIT 2009: Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning

Where: SUNY Oswego

When: Thursday, May 21 4:45 - 5:15 pm Lanigan 103

Resources: Chapter podcast and YouTube videos.

Slideshare.net Presentation: Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning
Chapter Podcast (subscribe with iTunes) Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning
Chapter QuickTime movie (download and open in QuickTime Player) Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning
YouTube Videos: Demonstrations and tutorials

Customizing an iTunes Audiobook from MP3 files, etext, and images

Play the chapter podcast on your PC or Mac using iTunes. For mobile playback use an iPhone or iPod touch.

Abstract

Course management tools such as ANGEL's Course Syndication or Blackboard's Manage Podcast allow instructors to deliver audio-formatted course materials to their students. Although creating, optimizing, and tagging these audio recordings require planning and preparation, the actual process of creating a course podcast requires just a few basic steps. Students subscribe to the podcasts, typically with iTunes, and organize them in their personal music library for listening on their PC or Mac. Subsequently uploaded episodes (recordings) are automatically delivered to iTunes, even if students are not logged into your course.

Audio podcasts are familiar to most everyone; however, enhancing podcasts with timed images, chapter markers, web site links, and text over audio is less well known. Yet these enhanced podcasts offer promising online, assisted, and mobile learning alternatives that traditional audio podcasts do not easily provide. When formatted for mobile learning on devices such as iPods and iPhones, enhanced podcasts and audiobooks engage students in new, unique, and exciting ways.

Join me in this session as we look at and listen to enhanced podcasts and custom audiobooks, including text-to-speech for assisted learning. Software solutions that create these special materials will be demonstrated including converting PowerPoint presentations into audio-enhanced lectures.

Sending your presentation links to delicious.com/sunycit09

2009-05-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

Dear SUNY CIT 2009 Presenters,

You can send your presentation links to the SUNY CIT 2009 Delicious Web site: http://delicious.com/sunycit09, which typically will be published within 24 hours.

1. If you do not have a Delicious account go to http://delicious.com and create one.

If you need assistance, refer to the Guide to Delicious Social Bookmarking

2. Create bookmark(s) related to your presentation. Include a brief description of each bookmark and add tags that describe it. Include a presentation title tag (no spaces allowed but don't go too crazy with the length) - for example Enhancing Audio Podcasts for Online and Mobile Learning: enhancingaudiopodcasts.

3. For your last tag type for:sunycit09 (note the : after for)

4. Click the Save button and your bookmark will be sent to the Delicious sunycit09 Inbox.

5. Repeat the process for each bookmark.

6. The Delicious sunycit09 administrator will add your bookmark(s), which will appear in the site: http://delicious.com/sunycit09

Audio test post

2009-04-27T15:36:00.000-04:00

Delicious Guide

2009-04-01T22:06:00.000-04:00

Delicious Social Bookmarking

Introduction

Delicious is a popular social bookmarking application that provides tools to quickly and efficiently save and organize your favorite web sites using a browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari. You can tap into the collective knowledge of more than five million users and 150 million bookmarks1 by searching with the use of keywords (tags).

Registering a Delicious Account

Start Firefox and log on to your elmira.edu Web Mail account.
Create a new tab in Firefox and go to http://delicious.com/

Click the Join Now button:
Fill out the form to create your delicious account. Your username must be unique to Delicious and should be easy for others to remember and type. When you have typed your proposed username click the Check button to determine availability.
Passwords must be at least six characters in length and contain at least one symbol or number (e.g. merlin88).
Click the Register button.

You are directed to the Install Bookmarking Tools page. Click Skip this step.
You are directed to the Import Existing Bookmarks page. Again click Skip this step.
Respond to the Delicious verification e-mail and click the link to activate your account.

Creating Bookmarklets

Go to http://delicious.com/help/bookmarklets.
Click and drag the link Bookmark on Delicious to the Bookmarks Toolbar.

Your two Bookmarklets should display on the Toolbar like this:

Adding Bookmarks

Here is the process in a nutshell. Bring up the web site that you want to bookmark and click the Bookmark on Delicious button. Add notes and tags (keywords) based on what is popular, what is recommended, and what works for you!

What are tags?

“A tag is simply a word you can use to describe a bookmark. Unlike folders, you make up tags when you need them and you can use as many as you like. The result is a better way to organize your bookmarks and a great way to discover interesting things on the Web.” For a complete description of tags with examples choose Help > Help Sections > Tags.

The quickest way to access your personal home page (e.g. http://delicious.com/tshuapa) is to click the Bookmarks button.

Let’s locate a web site and post it to your Delicious account. Go to http://google.com and search for “New Burger King breakfast”.
Click the link New Burger King breakfast offering outdoes Whopper - Mar. 29, 2005 and click the Bookmark on Delicious button.
Complete the notes field and click the buttons under Popular to add these tags: nutrition obesity fastfood breakfast calories
In the TAGS box add the tag workshop.
Tags are separated by spaces. If you wish to tag two related words (e.g. fast food) combine them into one such as fastfood. How you tag is up to you. However, consider common tags that will facilitate searching, grouping and organization within your own account and as part of the Delicious network.
Complete your bookmark form – choose your tags wisely for future use.

Click the Save button.
Click the My Delicious bookmarklet in the Firefox Toolbar to bring up your home page.

Popular Tags

Let’s search for the most popular bookmarks tagged as fastfood.

In the top menu choose Tags > Explore.
Type fastfood in the Tag box and click the go button.
Click the Popular link (or go directly to http://delicious.com/popular/fastfood).
Press the Enter or Return key and browse through the list to locate: Fast Food Restaurants and Nutrition Facts Compared.
Click the link, briefly read the web page and add the bookmark to your folder, including notes and the tags: fastfood nutrition calories health fat transfat workshop.

Click the Save button to save your new bookmark.
Click My Delicious to return to your home page.
Common Tags, Related Tags, and Bundles

Go to http://www.fastfoodmaps.com and click Bookmark delicious.
Click maps googlemaps mashups under Popular tags and fastfood nutrition obesity under Recommended tags.
Add the tag web2.0 and add the comments (see figure below) in the notes field.

http://www.fastfoodmaps.com

Click the Save button.
Click My Delicious to return to your home page.
Click the People button to right of Fast Food Restaurants & Nutrition Facts Compared.

The page's URL is http://delicious.com/tag/fastfood and displays a complete user posting history sorted by save date. Top Tags is sorted by most popular in a frequency list that includes tags marked by users (including you) that saved this bookmark. You can explore further by clicking user bookmark collections (e.g. http://delicious.com/andrecardoso) and their bookmarks filtered by tag (e.g. http://delicious.com/andrecardoso/statistics.

Click the Notes tab to list all bookmarks that contain notes

Exploring Delicious Users

In the top menu choose Tags > Explore.
Type obesity in the Tag box and click the go button, which brings up all Delicious bookmarks containing the tag: greater than 17,000 total. (Other tags such as health have more than 1,200,000 bookmarks.)
Scroll through these bookmarks and open the user: or type http://delicious/healthpromotion.
has organized and annotated more than 2,600 bookmarks with Tags and Tag Bundles.

Type obesity in the tag search box and press the return key to bring up the bookmarks containing the tag (more than 70).
Under Related Tags click the + symbol before health to bring up bookmarks that contain both the obesity and health tags.
Finally refer to the bundles Community, Disease, Faith-Based-Wellness, and so on. Users group tags into bundles to make them easier to find.

Sharing Bookmarks with Other Users

You can share bookmarks with other Delicious users by adding the for:auser (e.g. for:maindombe) tag to a new or existing bookmark and then clicking the Save button.

Click the Bookmarks button to return to your home page.
Search for an interesting, educational bookmark, add a short description, and related tags.
Add the tag for:auser (replacing auser with an actual Delicious user). If you are in a workshop, choose your partner’s username. If you working alone, choose maindombe and e-mail another Delicious user on campus to share a bookmark with you!
Click the Save button.
Click the New Mail button to the right of your username:
Click the Save button for bookmarks that you want to keep and add descriptions and related bookmarks.

Adding Users to Your Network

You add users to your network to build a virtual collection of bookmarks with tags that interest you. You can evaluate the quality of these bookmarks by reviewing web page content, user descriptions and tag organization.

Click the Network link under Bookmarks.

Click the Add a user to Network, which is located in the upper-right corner of your screen.
Type maindombe in the username box.

Click the Add button. Maindombe is listed in your network.

Add one or two more users to your network.
Invite others to add your username to their networks. They will be listed as fans in your network!
Look up a URL

In the top menu bar choose Bookmarks > Look up a URL.
Type http://crisisofcredit.com.

Click the go Arrow.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized has been tagged more than 1,800 times in about one month (as of this writing), so it is really popular!

Subscriptions

You can subscribe to Delicious bookmarks based on specified tags and collect them in one place for your review. These tags — single or combined — can be aggregated from the entire Delicious community or filtered by user.

Go to your Delicious personal home page.
Click the Subscriptions link:
Click the Add a Subscription button or link. Type obesity in the Tag box.

Click the Add button. Bookmarks with tags based on your subscription criteria may display immediately, but typically it takes a while for them to appear. Over time older bookmarks will disappear.
If you find a bookmark in your subscriptions list that you like, choose the Save this link, add tags and notes, and click the Save button.
If you want to unsubscribe and remove the associated bookmarks, click Edit icon (pencil) and then click the Remove button.

Delicious RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds are content stored on special web pages that you subscribe to much like Delicious subscriptions. Rather than going to different web sites each time you want to read or download information, feeds deliver the content automatically. You can specify to whom and where it is to be delivered. The format can be text, images, audio, or video (or a combination) structured as articles, news, photographs, podcasts, bookmarks, blog postings, YouTube videos, and so on. You can set up these feeds to be read and displayed in a number of ways. RSS readers or aggregators, such as the web-based Google Reader or Bloglines collect, organize, and display feeds in a variety of formats. In addition, it is also possible to insert RSS feeds into sections on web pages, which dynamically display new items added to the feed.

In Delicious you add an RSS feed by creating a linkroll:

Customizing a Javascript linkroll and then copying and pasting the code to an HTML-Javascript module in your blog, HTML web page, or ANGEL page.
Adding Delicious Linkrolls to Your Blog

Click the Help link and choose Blogging > Link Rolls in the Help page’s footer or type http://delicious.com/help/linkrolls (you must be already logged into your account).
Under Display options fill in the blanks and check the boxes according to your preferences. Use the Preview pane as your guide. BTW, the Javascript box at the top dynamically builds the code as options are typed or entered.

Display options page

Highlight the JavaScript code and choose Edit > Copy.

JavaScript code that is to be copied and pasted into an HTML element in your blog.

Create a new Firefox tab (tabbed browsing is also available in Internet Explorer 7 for Windows or Safari for Macintosh) and log on to your Blogger.com account. Bring up the Dashboard page.
Click the Layout link.
On the right side of the Add and Arrange Page Elements page click the Add a Gadget link, which will bring up the Add a Gadget window.
Under HTML/JavaScript click the Add to Blog button.

In Configure HTML/JavaScript leave the title of your linkroll blank (Delicious already creates a title for you) and then paste the JavaScript code into the Content box.

Click Save Changes and then View Blog to display your linkroll (RSS feed) your blog’s right sidebar. By default it is placed at the top.

Adding Delicious Linkrolls to an ANGEL Course

Click the Help link and choose Blogging > Link Rolls in the Help page’s footer or type http://delicious.com/help/linkrolls (you must be already logged into your account).
Under Display options fill in the blanks and check the boxes below according to your preferences. Use the Preview pane as your guide. BTW, the Javascript box at the top dynamically builds the code as options are typed or entered.

Display options page

Highlight the JavaScript code and choose Edit > Copy.

JavaScript code that is to be copied and pasted into an HTML element in your blog.

Log on to your ANGEL course
Choose Lessons > Add Content > Page.
Enter text in the Title and Subtitle boxes.
Click the Source button to allow HTML editing. All other buttons are grayed out and disabled.
Click in the edit box below and choose Edit > Paste to insert the HTML linkroll code.

RSS Feed based on tag “fastfood” added to ANGEL page

Click the Save button to add the feed to your page.

As you add new bookmarks to your Delicious web site, those containing the tag fastfood will automatically be added to your ANGEL page. Students can click on the actual web site links or the related tags.

Appendix

Bookmark these Web Sites!

Remove distraction and clutter from web pages that you read by installing the Readability bookmarklet. Go to http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability
Want to lose 50 pounds without pain? Do it virtually: http://weightmirror.com

Hunger in Congo

2009-04-01T20:45:00.001-04:00

Congo

February 7th, 2009

Welcome

Melanie who organized this evening’s event learned that I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Congo during most of the 1970’s. She asked that I share my perspective on world hunger based on my experiences in the impoverished central African nation.

Civil War

The world barely knew until recently that the eastern part of the Congo and its people have been ravaged the past decade by internal strife and a five-year civil war. It is too complex to adequately explain this evening the war’s origin and the parties involved, but in short rebels in the country itself and militias from up to nine surrounding African nations were bent on pillaring the Congo’s vast mineral resources such as diamonds, gold, colbat, and coltran (widely used in cell phones). The consequences have been devastating — over four million deaths since 1996, three million of which were caused by starvation and disease.

Living on the Equator in the 1970’s

Before talking about the Congo today, let me step back in time, briefly describing life in small, equatorial Congolese village over 30 years ago. Few people were starving in that region where basic staples were readily available and the cost of goods at local markets relatively low, although the wages of professionals such as teachers were less than $10 per month. However, many people were undernourished and considered tea with sugar (and perhaps a spoon of powdered or can milk) and a small piece of bread a luxury for breakfast. Lunch was rare and dinner and snacks unheard of. Dinner often consisted of cassava leaves (manioc plant that originated in South America) cooked with liquid from ground palm nuts and chikwangue (made from the root of the same manioc plant). Milk was a rare treat and sources of protein such as meat and fish were rationed into small pieces so each member of the family has their fair share.

You can imagine how I felt as a guest to a Congolese family that graciously prepared a large meal in my honor with goat meat, mpondu with dried fish and palm oil, rice, and plantains, knowing that a group of children were anxiously waiting for leftovers. To turn down a people or eat little of what was offered would have been a insult. I often resolved this dilemma by giving a gift of food soon after.

Industrious women would search for sources of protein by scooping up caterpillars (mbinzu) falling from trees during our summer months (on the equator seasons were wet and less wet) and then after cleaning boiling them for immediate use with mpondu or smoking them for future use. As you might imagine, refrigeration on the equator was virtually non-existant except for a weathly fee and some foreigners.

Undernourished small children and their mothers who breast feed them are the most vulnerable to the myriad of diseases, parasites, and infections such as malaria, worms, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles, and diarrhea that are caused by poor sanitation, lack of preventive measures, and medical care.

The almost always fatal Ebola virus that received much publicity in the Western media has caused relatively few deaths, has been localized, and runs its course within weeks. These diseases ravage the undernourished, further weakening their already compromised immune systems and pushing their weary bodies into the vicious cycle of malnutrition, non-stop diarrhea, and and dehydration. The infant mortality rate was (still is) high and in the village and surrounding areas one of out of three children made it to the age of five. More than once on my way to school there would be a mother wailing outside her home or in the streets holding her dead child in her arms.

Perhaps my haunting moment happened when a sickly, unrecognizable old woman (I would have guessed someone in their seventies) with a severely malnourished and near-dead child arrived at my doorstep, begging for food. To my horror it was my former 20-year-old neighbor whose husband was my landlord.

Despite this difficult life for children, I was always uplifted by their incredible human spirit and the smiles on their faces — something that has been etched in my mind forever.

Life in the Congo today

As mentioned over three million Congolese have died of starvation or hunger related diseases in the past decade due to the civil war. Civilian Congolese are still dying daily in large numbers in that eastern region because they cannot return to their homes for fear of being attacked and often hide in the forest where food is hard to find. Acute malnutrition is 16%. The lack of hospitals and clinics in rural areas makes it difficult, if not impossible to access adequate health care.

The country is vast — 2.3 million square miles (about 2/3 the size of western Europe) and has a population of nearly 60 million, about triple the number of people when I was there in the early seventies. The average life expectancy dropped during the past decade from 45 to 42 years in large part because of the Civil War and also due to AIDS, about 1.6 million are afflicted with the disease. Basic math shows that we live on the average nearly four decades than Congolese do. I doubt there is a more compelling statistic that distinguishes our separate way of lives.

There is hope for the future. The Congo just completed its first democratic elections in history on October 29 with the help of 17,000 UN troops to keep the peace and international election officials to monitor the voting. Peacekeepers are patroling the capital Kinshasa in anticipation of violence from supporters of the losing party when the results are made public on November 19.

Grand Plans

After the election the new government has grand plans to improve the country’s economy. The mighty Congo River itself has the potential to generate electricity for much of the country. However, there are significant challenges. Peace and a well-managed government that is not crippled by rampant corruption (The former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko’s government popularized the term kleptocracy) is essential as well as substantial expansion of paved roads, which are only 300 miles for the entire country!

The classic case of kleptocracy - in this sense - often given, is the regime of Marshall Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (which he renamed Zaire) from 1965 to 1997. It is said that usage of the term kleptocracy gained popularity largely to respond to a need to accurately describe Mobutu’s regime.

2009-04-01T20:45:00.000-04:00

About Joe Fahs
After spending nearly a decade overseas in the Congo as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I joined the Elmira College administration in 1984 and have had the pleasure of continuing my work as an instructional technologist through the present day.

For much of my career at Elmira I taught courses in statistics, computer literacy, and hypermedia until I devoted all of my working time as Director of Academic Technology Services. It has been a joy and a privilege to work at a small liberal arts college such as Elmira College and to have the opportunity to impact students and faculty in their use of technology for teaching and learning.

As a consumer of emerging, mobile, multimedia, and social technologies, I look forward to expanding my personal learning network through connection and learning and sharing my knowledge with others, especially the College community. As an example of a social media technology refer to the image below, which is a Wordle tag cloud of a speech that I presented on hunger in the Congo.

Created with http://wordle.net

I invite you to read through my blog that include conference presentations, examples of social media technologies, professional web sites that I recommend, and my interests outside of work. Your feedback is appreciated!

Work Experience

2009-04-01T20:01:00.000-04:00

Work Experience

February 7th, 2009

Employment History

Director of Academic Technology Services October 1984 to present
Department of Information Technology
Elmira College,
Elmira, NY

Adjunct instructor for Graduate and Advanced Studies program September 1993 – April 2002
Department of Continuing Education
Elmira College
Elmira, NY

Adjunct instructor of Undergraduate program September 1986 – August 1996
Department of Continuing Education
Elmira College
Elmira, NY

Honors and Awards

Douglas Anderson Award for Excellence in Administrative Leadership June 2004
Elmira College
Elmira, NY

Professional Societies Memberships

Elmira College Member Representative of Educause (http://www.educause.edu)

Education

2009-04-01T19:15:00.000-04:00

Education

February 8th, 2009

Public Service

Peace Corps Volunteer 1971–1976 and 1977-1978
Peace Corps
Washington, D.C.

Taught arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus in the Protestant second school in Boende, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In my final year was the principal of the secondary school.

Special Skills

Fluent in French and Lingala (African language similar to Swahili)

Education

M.S. Mathematics Education May 1977
Elmira College
Elmira, New York

Professional Registration/Licensure/Certification

Permanent NYS Certification Secondary Mathematics (Grades 7 – 12) June, 1977

Certificate of French (14 weeks intensive training) November 1971
ORT http://www.ort.org
Anieres, Switzerland

B.S. Mathematics May 1971
SUNY Albany
Albany, New York

Courses Taught

2009-04-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

Courses Taught

February 7th, 2009

Teaching

Sampling of undergraduate and graduate courses taught from 1986 – 2002

TEACHING HYPERCARD IN THE CLASSROOM

STATISTICAL METHODS

CSC 1010.30

INTRO EDP (COMPUTER LITERACY)

INTERNET FOR EDUCATORS

MULTIMEDIA FOR EDUCATORS

Curriculum Development

Developed a new graduate course Multimedia for Educators that was approved and adopted by Graduate and Advanced Studies Committee in 1996.