Looking Back at the Semester

It seems like a good time to begin review the course...with technology (of course!) So let's take a look back....

What do you remember? What did you miss?

First, I created a Powerpoint presentation and uploaded it to SlideShare. Slideshare let me add some YouTube videos I thought fit nicely! Cool! When finished, I embedded it in a wiki page.

What else can I do with this review presentation? Once it's in Powerpoint, I have lots of options. I saved the presentation as jpg images. That turns each slide into a separate image.

• The slideshow above is in Smilebox.
• I also created a VoiceThread. Click on the link and you can comment on any slide or memory by typing, using a microphone or webcam, or even calling a toll-free number! (Comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.)
  
• I used the slides to create a video in Animoto, one of my favorite tools:

• I saved it as a movie and uploaded it to YouTube:



• I created a new presentation in Prezi. (Watch out! Prezi may make you dizzy! But it is a cool presentation system!)

These are just a few of the many multimedia alternatives to Powerpoint or for delivering a presentation in a different way. For more presentation tools, check out this page in the WebTools4U2Use wiki.

I hope it serves as a good visual review of where we've been and what we've accomplished in a short time!

Which is your favorite way to view the review? Leave a comment to let me know!

What do you think?

Here's a chance to try VoiceThread and earn some extra credit. I think VoiceThread is a good alternative to Powerpoint and allows for collaboration. From the website:

VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or phone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.

Users can doodle while commenting, use multiple identities and pick which comments are shown through moderation. VoiceThreads can even be embedded on web sites and exported to MP3 players or DVDs as archival movies.

With VoiceThread, group conversations are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world. All with no software to install. See: What's a VoiceThread?

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So comment on one (or more) of the three slides. Comments are moderated, so you won't see (or hear) them until I approve them. Be sure to leave your WHOLE NAME so I can give you credit! A text comment is worth 5 points. Recorded or phoned in comments are worth 10 points. Video comments are worth 15 points. You can leave up to three comments, but only one on each slide. You should be able to click on the VoiceThread below to begin (although it is reduced in size to fit and may be difficult to see), or go to the "What Do You Think?" VoiceThread. (Click on the title in the previous sentence!)



Browse more VoiceThreads here.

How Not to Use Powerpoint

According to Don McMillan, here is a humorous yet insightful viewpoint on how people (teachers included) should not be using PowerPoint.



There's a simlar one "Stop Killing Your Students with Powerpoint" at Teacher Tube. Teacher Tube was created in response to the popular You Tube. You Tube's content is user generated and subjects are varied, while Teacher Tube is generated mostly by educators to teach students and fellow teachers. Unfortunately, You Tube is blocked in most schools and districts, but many of the instructional videos posted on You Tube can be found on Teacher Tube. You can also post your own instructional videos there!

Extra Credit

This week you're creating a short Powerpoint presentation. If you'd like to earn 10 extra credit points, try uploading your presentation to SlideShare. Make it private (not that it isn't fascinating!) and send me the URL. When you choose to make it visible only to yourself, you'll be given a choice to get a "secret" URL that you can share with me (or anyone else). Send me that URL. Later you'll have a chance to earn another 10 points by embedding it in your wiki, so check "embeddable outside SlideShare" as well.


SlideShare is a way to view thousands of presentations created by others...and you can use them, too! See some of its powerful features here.

Web 2.0 Overview

Later in this course we'll be looking at some Web 2,0 tools. Here's a brief overview of Web 2.0 created in Flowgram, one the great new Web 2.0 presentation tools available--and an alternative to Powerpoint! You might want to explore this tool--or other Web 2.0 tools for your final project or just to make you more productive and more creative!