New Presentation Software
Yesterday I spent the afternoon learning about new software called freemind. This software has many new purposes. It's useful for students to create an essay outline, business folks to keep track of ideas & notes during a meeting, and for instructors to present material.

I'm not a big fan of Power Point. I tend to focus on discussion and questions, and I use Power Point as a way to introduce questions and keep track of students' responses. I will include pictures and links to it, but I find it frustrating at times moving from Power Point to the Smartboard, and to the Internet. It can be time consuming...and annoying. Power Point presentations also seem to take forever to build (at least for me). I'd rather have notes with links on them and have the links open and move through the points. Well, Freemind helps me do that.

I can create a visual outline without using bullet points and moving through screens. Students can see all of my links while I talk about each one. My points can be created into links and link to files, videos, websites, and more.

I tried it for the first time last night. I created a lecture in an hour (finding links, photos, etc.) and I used it in my lecture this morning. Students seemed to respond well to it. Although it was a lecture, there was a lot of information they could take in while I talked about particular points and link to different items. The best part was that my notes were organized and the links I needed where at my fingertips when I needed them without having to toggle between Power Point, the Internet, etc. If anything, it helped me stay organized.

So check it out!




Wednesday, February 25, 2009 | Category: , | 3 comments

Must See Website!
This reference page came through our library. It's amazing. On one website, you can see the front page of over 700 newspapers worldwide. The site also contains an educator link that has lesson plans on how to use the front pages in a classroom. It's mostly for K-12, but it's still interesting. It's also an interesting way to see what's going on in many cities and states across the world. What biases are apparent on the front page? What do the editors deem the most important to include on the front page? These are the questions that are interesting to investigate.

The Newseum is an actual museum in Washington, DC and there are several links that convince visitors to take the trip. All-in-all, it's an interesting visit and perhaps a way to keep up on the news...one caveat: if you're interested in reading an entire story that continues on page 2, you'll have to visit the original newspaper site and perhaps purchase the paper or a subscription.

Enjoy!
Saturday, February 07, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

What is a Good Teacher?
This is an interesting article from msn.com about what makes a good teacher. Some of the items in the list are rather general, but it's still rather interesting.
Friday, January 09, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Need Audio Online?
The Problem

This past semester I was given the task of teaching a poetry and drama class online. This seemed simple enough: have students post discussions following the reading and write a number of small essays analyzing the reading. There was one catch, however. The class was meant to fulfill a performing arts requirement for AFA degree seekers. How was this to be accomplished in an online class? This is especially difficult in a rural area where students do not always have access to the best Internet connection, computers, or computer skills. So, not only did I need to create a class that had never been taught online before, but I also had to develop a way that students could create a performance without requiring sophisticated and complicated technology. That's when I discovered Gabcast.com.

The Solution

Gabcast.com is a website in which users create an account and phone in “episodes.”


Subscribers use a toll-free number from several global locations and simply punch in the channel number and the channel password over the telephone. There is also a conference call option in which members enter a channel and a meeting password. The site is free up to 30 minutes for conference calls and up to 200 MB for episodes. Audio files created over the phone are automatically saved to the Gabcast channel. There’s no need for the caller to enter save or any complicated code. It’s just like leaving a voicemail.


The episodes can be published to the web, incorporated into blogs, or remain unpublished. I asked students not to publish their recordings due to copyright laws; however, some students’ readings were posted because of the nature of the material. Viewers can listen to the episodes by visiting my channel.

Usage is simple. I created a class account, provided the password, and had students call in their readings. Students had the option of recording a drama scene or reciting a poem. I uploaded each episode into Blackboard so everyone could listen and critique each recording. It was a highly successful exercise and students had positive feedback about the activity.

Although this was used for an English course, this can be used for recording lectures, directions to assignments, or participating in conference calls. A variety of material already exists that could be accessed as supplemental material. In fact, entering “math” in the search box provided at least 9 pages of results. Certainly, there is a use for Gabcast.com across disciplines.
Happy recording!
Monday, January 05, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments