Around the World in 24 Hours with Periscope

Watching and Interacting with Periscope App

Recently, I have been watching and interacting with many Periscope live broadcasts. One of the ways I considered how this app can be used in schools is by showing broadcasts from around the world in social studies, science, and world language classes, though broadcasts of other kinds fit other disciplines. For instance, I created several broadcasts at the Mark Twain House and Harriet Beecher Stowe Cottage at Noon Farm in Hartford, CT that would work in an English class.

Traveling Around the World with Periscope

During the course of a day, I took screen shots from Periscopes that I watched and uploaded them to iMovie to create a video illustrating how the app takes us around the globe.

To create the video from the multitude of screen shots I had, I decided to focus on broadcasts from four people I have been following on Periscope.

This is my first attempt at the process of using screen shots from Periscope broadcasts to create an iMovie, and although the process was time consuming, I learned a few tricks to facilitate the process next time.

So here's the final version. Would love to know what you think and what suggestions you have for follow-up videos to share my experiences with Periscope.

Following the Four Who Did the Periscope Broadcasts

The four people whose Periscope broadcasts I used have Twitter accounts where they tweet out links to Periscopes in progress. You can click on their images to find them on Twitter.

Euro Maestro

Claire Waddington

Giulio Base

Dick Danger

Suggestions and Questions

So let me know your thoughts about how to use Periscope. Leave a reply. If you have suggestions of how I might share my Periscope experiences, would love to know those.

Some of My Favorite Tech Tools for Course Integration

As another semester comes to an end and I reflect on the tech tools I used this semester, some are ones I have used in the past, and some I tried for the first time. I was teaching Educational Research this semester, which requires another whole toolkit than when I teach educational technology courses.

1) I made greater use of Google Forms to create surveys. Whereas I have used this tool in the past to collect input from students, I used it almost every other week this semester. Again, I embedded the surveys on my Google Site, but the increased frequency of use helped me on a more ongoing basis to assess student needs and what needed more emphasis in the course. I will definitely follow this pattern in the future of frequent use of the surveys. I also like the updates Google made to the Form templates, which allows for customizing the look and feel of surveys. Here is one example of a survey I created using the new look options.

2) In the past, I closed each course with a quick Animoto recap of students' research proposal topics. I did this again this semester. Right before the last night of one of the courses, I saw a post on Richard Byrne's blog about using YouTube's Slide Show creator in lieu of Animoto. I decided to try it out, using some of the same images I used in the Animoto version. The hardest part about using the Slide Show option as a first-timer was getting the timing right for adding captions. Here are the two final versions, one done with Animoto, and the other with the YouTube Slide Show feature. Neither is precisely how I would like finished product to look, but under the pressure of needing to prepare the presentations in time for the last class meeting, I compromised time for quality.

Animoto Version



YouTube Slide Show Option


3) Once again, I used Google Sites for uploading all course materials. Given I taught two sections of the course, one in a 15-week format and the other in an 8-week format, I needed two separate sites. Because Google Sites enables creation of many sites for free and the frequency with which I need to create sites, this tool serves my purposes well.

Quick screen capture of part of one of web pages on the site

4) Google Docs was a dream for giving feedback to students on an ongoing basis, especially in a writing intensive course, with different parts of the written project due on different weeks. Students also made use of Google Docs for us to share ideas. Further, we experimented with using Padlet for students to brainstorm topics for research study proposals.

This worked well, especially because students did not need an account to share their topics using Padlet. Here is our Padlet. Once we moved into more detail with our proposals, however, Google Doc worked better for sharing ideas.

Well, that is just a few of the ways I used tech tools in the course. Not a tech-based course, it was intriguing to see how seamlessly tech is integrated into a traditional of courses. I found using thee multiple tools much easier than Blackboard for a course management option. Students in the course also used tech in new ways for their presentations. One person used Kahoot to engage all of us, as well pulled out our phones to interact with a set of questions. Another demonstrated Class Dojo, as a behavior management tool, given her proposal was on the use of technology to minimize classroom behavior challenges. It was good to see that students on their own in a non-tech course opted to use specific tech applications for their presentations.

Looking for Some Book Read Alouds for Young Children

A professional colleague in the language arts area recommended the StoryTimeMomShy channel on YouTube.

My colleague noted her kindergarten child has been glued to the read-alouds. What a wonderful way to develop a love of literature in young children.

I am embedding some of the stories for you to preview, but recommend going to the StoryTimeMomShy YouTube site to see all the stories available, and expect more will be added. 

You can also check out StoryTimeMom's website for more information:

Do these read-alouds look like something you would use in the classroom or recommend to parents? I am new to  StoryTimeMomShy channel, but subscribed, so I am ready to recommend it to parents and teachers when they seek a source of read-aloud sites.

Let me know what you think. Have you heard of StoryTimeMomShy? Do you know of children who watch the read-alouds on the channel? Where do you go to find online read-alouds for young children?

Survey about Some of Your Favorites

This is the survey I created while doing a screencast tutorial on:

• How to use Google Forms to create a survey
• How to embed the survey in a Blogger post. 

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Responses are submitted privately to my Google Drive, as you will see when you listen to the YouTube tutorial.




Here is the tutorial. Turn up the volume on YouTube, and set the volume on your device accordingly to follow along.

Sometimes, it is more convenient to use a survey in a blog post to collect information than to rely on posted comments. The survey allows for collecting the responses in a spreadsheet for review and analysis. Also, use of a survey in a blog post enables respondents to reply without their replies being public on the blog.

Moving Along with Our Favorite Children's Books

So we started a VoiceThread in class tonight. This was the first time we used the program.

Here is what we have so far, and we will add more comments next week.

VoiceThread.




We then experimented using two apps on the iPad to make quick videos. Our goal was to compare the three tools for creating a photo story about children's books.

We won't edit the versions completed on the iPad. That was not the intent. We just wanted to compare different tools to deliver comparable content.

On the iPad, we first used the free version of Shadow Puppet, which allowed us to upload 10 images. We then audio recorded our comments about each of the books. Next, the final version was transferred to the iPad's camera roll, so it could be accessed there to upload to YouTube.

We next experimented with iMovie on the iPad. We did not have the limitation of 10 images, but we also kept each of the clips to 15 seconds to keep the final video short. We used one of the music tracks in iMovie, but did not use other features, except to audio record ourselves for our allotted 15 seconds. The final version was uploaded to YouTube.


Here are the two versions.

Shadow Puppet Version

iMovie on iPad Version

So what do you think so far? Would you consider doing a collaborative photo story like this one with students?

We also used Padlet to create a bulletin board of our favorite children's books. It was easy for us to collaborate online using the tool. Here is what we have so far, shown in a screen shot.

Watch These Cute Kids React to Older Technolgy: How Far We Have Come

This video speaks for itself, so watch and enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment.

My New Favorite Digital Story App: Shadow Puppet

Why didn't I know about this free app sooner. This morning, I downloaded it to my iPad, went through the screen shots of how to use the app, and within a minute, I was up and running.

For my first attempt, just grabbed from my iPad camera roll some photos I had left over from a conference on campus at the University of Saint Joseph. Some were blurry, but as I was just experimenting and wanted to find out how seamless using the app was, I just used what I could find quickly that related to a single event.

So, uploaded a few of the pics right into the app. Then just audio recorded whatever came to mind for each photo, and saved the final product. Wanted to see what the share options were from there. For simplicity sake, selected share to email, and sent the video to my own email and to a colleague who helped plan the event captured in the video. She emailed back to say, "Love It."

Mind, you this was a first attempt, and when I opened the video from email, I could see it could use lots of improvement, but also wanted to find out from there if I could upload to a site like YouTube or Vimeo. The options were several. First, I selected from the emailed video to download, which I did on my Mac, and then I selected the option to share the video on YouTube. Worked like a breeze.

Feeling confident, decided to try my hand on a second video. Went back to the iPad, and made another one, this time also including a quick video I had in the camera roll. Found out the free version of Shadow Puppet allows for uploading 10 photos or videos, but was content with that. Went through the same process as outlined above, audio recording a quick narrative, sending the saved video to my email, accessing it from there, downloading it my Mac and then sending it out to YouTube.

Here are the two videos, but mind you, these were done quickly. As soon as I free up more space on my iPad to store more photos and videos, I plan to play with Shadow Puppet further.

First Attempt:

Second Attempt: Tried to find clearer pics on camera roll and selected one of the videos in the camera roll.

Do you have a favorite app for making quick videos? How do you envision using an app like Shadow  Puppet in the classroom?

Update: I tweeted out how much I enjoyed the ease of using Shadow Puppet and got a reply from the company, pointing to a page on its site with some samples. I am including a link to find the example of how the app was used by one teacher for students to tell about their art projects. Take a look and listen to what the students had to say: "Stories, Reflecting on Art Projects." While on the site, also notice the other examples, lesson plan ideas, and information about using the app to meet Common Core Standards.

So who could ask for anymore? Sure you need an iPad or iPhone, but grab one from a neighbor if you don't have one, and try out Shadow Puppet.

If you explored around the Shadow Puppet site, let us know what you found of interest.

Teacher Motivation and the Start of the School Year

Justin Tarte, Director of Curriculum and Support Services for the St. Louis, MO schools created this slide show presentation and uploaded it as a video to YouTube. He used it for the opening of the school year, and since he posted a link to it on Twitter, others have asked permission to use it. YouTube rights show the video can be shared, so here it is, and let me know what you think. What do you think are effective ways for school administrators to open the school year?

 

On another note, a Texas school district superintendent creates live videos to share with the public and posts them to YouTube. Here is the opening video he used last year, and just wondering what you think of school superintendent's using social media to communicate with the public in this way.

Watch This 2nd Grader Demo Evernote

Teachers have been using Evernote to record students at work, but in this video, a 2nd grader explains how she is using Evernote to improve fluency and other skills. She also gives a quick overview of the use of Evernote for recording and storing purposes. Take a look, and tell us what you think. Do you know of classrooms where Evernote is being used in this way?



The teacher is Mrs. Gleason, who has other classroom videos on YouTube. Check Mrs. Nicole Gleason's Feed on YouTube to learn more about what is happening in her classroom.

I recently heard from Mrs. Gleason and she sent me to another video from her class on students developing fluency. Here it is.

Anyone Can Create Digital Stories

This short video presents a good overview of the digital story process. I like the index method for creating a storyboard or collecting ideas, but eventually I prefer to see my narration typed because reading from handwritten notes, whether I am reading them or someone else, is not as crisp as typed ones. However, if you're making digital stories with a group of students, notecards or typed notes cut out in strips for each student might work well to move the script along.

 

 For those using PhotoStory 3, here is a 7-minute video that incorporates the features you will need to use, including the reminder to also save your work as Project, so you can go back and edit it. Remember, if you need to download PhotoStory 3, only do so from the official Microsoft site. Other sites offering the download may be bogus and result in also downloading a virus. This is true for downloading in general, so exercise caution every time you try to download from any site.

 

Questions about the digital story project can be posted to our EDUC 584 Google Community which will expedite others seeing it in the event that they too have the same concern or have the answer to one of your questions.

Did You Know You Can Record a Video Right to YouTube?

The YouTube Upload feature has several options. An earlier blog post reviewed How to Upload Videos to You Tube, but you can also use the Upload feature to record a video, assuming you have a webcam or built-in camera on your computer. Many newer laptops come with a built-in camera for recording. Here is a screen capture to let you know where to find the Record option in YouTube, so you can record right in front of your own screen with YouTube capturing the video for you.

So get into your favorite outfit, grab the props for background scenery, and know what you want to say before you begin. You can also try the feature on a mobile to allow for moving about as you record.

If any of try out the process, let us know what you think.

Have You Ever Forgotten Your Password

It's the weekend, so thought I'd pass along this video for your entertainment and reflection.




On a more serious note, what strategies do you suggest for remembering passwords?  What strategies do you suggest for keeping passwords secure? Do you teach your students about the importance of safeguarding their passwords?

Experimenting with Embedding Rough Draft of Digital Story into a Blogger Post

When your digital story is completed and processed, you have several ways to embed it in a Blogger post. To demonstrate two methods, I quickly made a rough draft of a digital story that still needs lots of editing. Because we need to embed an early draft for feedback, I decided to use this rough cut to demonstrate the process.

I created the draft with iMovie using photos that I had stored in a file. After I created the story as a project in iMovie, I exported it to Media Player, thereby creating a file I could upload. Because this is a rough draft, I used the saved file with the lowest resolution for uploading.

Method One: I uploaded the video to my YouTube account. (Another blog post contains a tutorial of how to upload to YouTube. See that post: How to Upload Your Video to YouTube.) Once the video was uploaded, I got the "embed code" from YouTube's "Share" option. I copied the code, returned to this post, and used the "HTML" view to paste the "embed code" into the post. While I was in the HTML view, I changed the width and height of the video, though you can skip that step if you like. I then switched back to the "Compose" view. Here is the video embedded from YouTube.




Method Two: Blogger has a Video upload feature. The icon to upload is located right next to the icon for inserting a picture. I clicked on the Video icon and used the first option: Choose a file to upload. I located my saved iMovie in Media Player and clicked on the filename. Then clicked to begin the upload process. It took a few minutes for Blogger to upload and insert the video.

When your digital story is ready, let me know if you have questions about embedding it in a Blogger post.

In addition, I would remind you, thanks to Kelly (see comments), to use Vimeo for uploads. You can embed videos uploaded to Vimeo to into blogs, but also once you save them there, you can easily access them in school. Fewer schools block Vimeo than YouTube.

If you have a few minutes, please complete the feedback form. Scroll through to see the entire survey. Thanks.

How to Upload Your Video to YouTube

As you work your way through the digital story telling project, when your first draft of the video is ready and processed and saved as a file, you can upload it to YouTube, which will ease embedding it into a blog post.

This short video walks you through the process of how to upload your video to YouTube once you have a YouTube account. On another note, if you don't already have a YouTube account, you should consider having one to save your favorite YouTubes. YouTube also enables organizing your favorites into categories.

For the digital story telling project, you will be embedding in your blog two drafts of your video, an early draft and a final draft. In addition to using YouTube to upload videos, there are other video sharing sites, and you can also use Google Doc. If I find a good tutorial on how to use Google Doc for this process, I will post it.

Lip Dub: Collaborating World Wide

As some of you know, I've been participating in an online course, the Educational Technology Massive Open Online Course (known as ETMOOC). There are thousands of people in the course. We get a chance to participate in various ways, and we can select how and when we want to participate. One recent project was a Lip Dub, and I am sharing the final video to illustrate how people from around the world can collaborate online. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.

Little Kids, Big Potential

In browsing through blogs this week, I found a link to this video in Abbey Menard's blog post, "Whoa." I clicked on the link and recognized the name of the teacher, Mrs. Cassidy, who posted the video to YouTube in 2010. It's amazing to see what these students were doing back in 2010, not that long ago, but at a time, when many teachers were barely having their students blog, use wikis, or try Skypes.

Granted Mrs. Cassidy has considerable experience with the tech tools and has them in her classroom for students to use, but most of all, the message is that these students are communicating and learning in new ways. View the video, and take a few minutes to leave your reaction.

Thanks to Abbey for posting the link to the video. Visit her blog for other information. Busy as a Bee.

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Coincidentally, just today a tweet came across my Twitter feed that linked to a recent blog post Mrs. Cassidy wrote on the Innovative Educator blog, 5 Rewards of Teaching Young Students to Blog. If you're not convinced about the power and potential of teaching young learners to blog, you might check the post. Perhaps you agree with some points and disagree with others. After checking her blog post, 5 Rewards of Teaching Young Students to Blog, let us know your thoughts. Do you see rewards in teaching young students to blog? What issues do you see in young students blogging?

Crash Course: YouTube Channel--How Students Study Today

Yes, students use YouTube to help them study for school. CrashCourse offers some excellent and entertaining videos for students to brush up on what they're studying in English, social studies, and science classes. Check this list below of subject areas and the number of videos presently in each category.

Even if you don't teach high school, you should be aware that high school and even middle school students are going to sites such as CrashCourse and other sites to review for school.

I am posting three examples from CrashCourse to give you an idea of how the videos work and their quality. I have sent some high school students to CrashCourse, and they reported the site was helpful.

Here are two for English classes: one on Emily Dickinson and one on Catcher in the Rye:

Here's one for social studies:

Check CrashCourse to see the collections of videos available. How do you feel about students using sites such as CrashCourse? Would you send your students to such a site? Should you as a teacher be aware of the kinds of videos available online to help students study? Do you provide a list of videos for your students to review at home?

The Voice of the Active Learner

Scott, Boylen, the teacher whom two of the sections of Integrating Technology and Literacy hooked up with for the KidBlog exchange, posted this video on Twitter. Thought I would share it with you. Am interested in your reaction to it. The connections with Scott's classes will continue, but now the Manchester Cohort will also (maybe?) set up their own KidBlogs for the students in Iowa to write responses.

Okay, those in the cohorts, what do you think would make a good topic to use for the Manchester Cohort students to use for their first post on KidBlog?

So, here's the video Scott shared. How do you think his 7th and 8th graders will react?

Tap Into Your Creative Self

I'm taking a course now, and the story of why is a story for another day. In the meantime, someone in the course shared this video on her blog, and thought I would pass it along to see if it inspires others. Let me know.

Digital Learners

I was on YouTube viewing a video, and this one listed in the sidebar caught my eye, Youth and Digital Learning. It was uploaded to YouTube in 2006, but wondering about its relevance today. Has the situation changed much since then? Does this video speak to how kids are today? If you were to update this video, what would you add, change, or delete?