iPad Apps (iMovie & Forms)

October 2 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |No Comments

By Carlo Daniels, Instructional Development Services Graduate Assistant

iMovie for iPad

Apple’s iMovie for its mobile devices is a powerful and simply effective video editing tool that utilizes only the touch of one’s finger to tap, drag, and swipe to create exciting trailers and movie compositions. One can choose from existing videos or photos straight from one’s iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone or simply make new footage right in iMovie to insert into one’s video project.  When creating a movie trailer or customized movie, one can select and mix-and-match from a variety of Hollywood-like templates with colorful themes, quality soundtracks, and editable titles and for many different movie genres.  In addition, trailers contain pre-set storyboards that indicate which types of video shots to use, which makes the whole process fast and simple.  More video editing options allow for frame freezing, splitting clips, audio adjustments, etc.

iMovie for iOS takes advantage of  web-sharing features by allowing one to share created videos in up to 1080p HD on Facebook, Youtube, CNN iReport, and Vimeo. Other sharing options include sending an email from the Camera Roll, using iMessage, and project sharing between Apple mobile devices with iTunes.  iMovie for iOS is great for educators who utilize teaching with iPads, iPod touches, or iPhones for video projects like public service announcements, advertisements, video journaling, etc. And the multiple sharing options make it great for students/educators who are always on-the-go.  One disadvantage; however, is that iMovie for iOS differs in its user interface from its iMovie for Mac OS counterpart. Click on the following link for further tips and support: http://www.apple.com/support/ios/imovie/

Purchase iMovie for the iPad from the iTunes App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imovie/id377298193?mt=8.

Forms for iPad

Serving as a client app to Google Doc’s Forms feature, this app allows one to look at forms created in Google Forms in a very easy-to-view layout on one’s iPhone/iPad.  For more information on Google Docs, click on the following link: https://docs.google.com/

Google forms created from your PC or Mac that are viewed on one’s iOS device are displayed with optimized margins and font sizes, thus eliminating the need to fiddle with a form on the device with your finger by pinching, zooming, enlarging, and scrolling up and down and left and right.  It is great for educators who need students or others to conveniently fill out forms right on their mobile devices.   What is more is that the app contains an advantageous offline mode where one can simply enter information into forms previously downloaded on one’s mobile device.  Inputted information will then be sent once the device re-connects to the Internet.  One disadvantage; however, is offline only works with forms containing single pages and reverts themes to the plain settings.  For further information, please visit the following link: http://NextApps.info/tag/forms

Purchase Forms for the iPad from the iTunes App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/forms/id396855682?mt=8.

Tech Tip for Forms: Working in Offline Mode

By Brittani Carter and Amanda Richards, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistants

In order to use the “Forms” application in an environment without WiFi, you have to turn on the “Offline Mode”.

In order to use your form in the “Offline Mode” you need to upload your form from “Google Docs” onto the iPad.

In order to turn the “Offline Mode” On you have to locate the plug icon at the lower part of the screen as pictured below.

Once you are in the correct mode, touch the outside of the box, and this will allow you to go back to your “Forms” screen and enter your answers and hit submit.

After you submitted your answers it will direct you the screen showing you that your answers have been recorded.

If you have more than one person who is participating in the survey, select the “Go back to the form” link to enter the next set of answers.

If you’ve completed the form, select the “Forms” button located at the top right corner.

Selecting the “Forms” button will bring you back to the main screen. At the bottom of the screen, tap the Plug icon.

This will bring you back to the screen that allows you to “Show Answers “or “Upload Answers”.

When you reach this screen you always want to make sure you have WiFi connection before you choose “Upload Answers”.

iPad App (Coach’s Eye)

September 18 2012 by arichards in Tech Insights |No Comments

By Nicole Dobyns, Instructional Development Services Graduate Assistant

This week we are featuring another iPad app, Coach’s Eye, which has been purchased for use with the iPad cart in the Technology Resource Checkout. Remember, the new iPad cart is available for faculty reservation to use in the classroom. Stop by the Interactive Multimedia Lab in Horrabin 104 to make a reservation or call 298-3076.

This app is a video analysis app that can be used in many different settings. For those faculty working with student teachers, this app might be helpful in watching some of the sample teaching videos and giving feedback for students. Other applications include using the app to analyze video of a golf swing or swimming stroke. Really, this app can be used to analyze any video.

Video anaylsis with this app is more than just a voiceover. Coach’s Eye allows you to draw on the video to highlight something of interest in the video such as a teacher’s eye contact or the angle of a golfer’s arm. Another great feature is the ability to either record your own video with one of the built-in iPad cameras, or to import video from a source that you already own. With importing your own video, you can open a file that has been emailed or imported to the iPad via iTunes when connected to a computer. Another option for importing video for analysis is to use a camera connection kit like the one pictured below.

The camera connection kit allows you to use a SD card from a camera or the camera itself with a USB cord to load pictures and videos directly to the iPad. The allows a user to skip the step of downloading a video from an email or using another service like Dropbox to retrieve the video.

If you want to show off your video analysis to your friends, Coach’s Eye also has the option to post the video to a social networking site or through a text message if you are using an iPhone or Android to use this app. You can also share videos to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

If you are still unsure on how to complete tasks within Coach’s Eye, click here to see tutorials. http://www.coachseye.com/examples.html. If you access the link be sure to click on the tutorials tab to get to the how-to videos.

To purchase this app visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coachs-eye/id472006138?mt=8 .

TechTip – Navigating Coach’s Eye

By Amanda Richards, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

To begin analyzing a video find the video on the opening screen of coach’s eye or upload a video by touching the plus button in the upper right hand corner.

Once you have picked a video to review you can preview, favorite, analyze, or share the video. To favorite the video, touch the star. To edit the name of the file, touch the pencil.

To start analyzing click analyze.

Make sure that you familiarize your self with the video as well as the tools within the program before you begin recording.

In order to record your voice comments and what you mark up you must click the red record button at the top of the screen.

As pictured to the right you will find a toolbar on the bottom left hand side of the screen.

The top icon creates a square

The next icon creates a circle

The third tool from the top creates a straight line.

The tool with an arrow creates a line with an arrow at the end.

The last tool can be used to write freely or to draw.

Underneath the tools you have to options to undo/redo.

You can watch the video in slow motion by touching the switch that says Slow on/off.

The last icon on the bottom left side of the tool bar is the play button.

If you want to choose a different color for any of the tools you can do this by double clicking the tool.

In order to fast forward and rewind use the brown reel at the bottom of the screen.


iPad Apps (Keynote, Numbers, Pages)

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |No Comments

By Carlo Daniels, Instructional Development Services Graduate Assistant

The Technology Resource Checkout (TRC) within the Instructional Development Services has a brand new iPad cart with 20 iPads for faculty reservation and checkout to use in the classrooms!  A number of apps have been purchased and installed on the iPads and we will be spending the first two blog posts this semester highlighting some of those apps.  In this first blog post we will be focusing on the iWork apps (Keynote, Numbers, and Pages).

Keynote

Keynote from Apple is a very dynamic and useful presentation app that offers a great intuitive interface for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.  Originally a program for Mac computers and being redesigned for Apple’s mobile devices, the Keynote app allows one to touch and tap to create powerful presentations with incomparable smooth and fluid visual effects and transitions.  Users have the ability to select from a variety of themes, animations, fonts, etc. and can take advantage of using built-in presentation tools such as an array of charts and graphs with attention grabbing 3D effects.

Keynote is also great for educators that are always on-the-move and transitioning between multiple device platforms or that want to share their presentations with other instructors for editing on different platforms. Keynote takes advantage of Apple’s iCloud online storage system, allowing people to be able to start working on a Keynote presentation on one Apple device and continue editing it on another.  Microsoft PowerPoint users also have the ability to utilize similar shared editing by being able to view or edit their files with Keynote through iTunes file sharing or downloading a file via email or from icloud.com. People using Keynote also have the option of copying presentations to a WebDav service for further file sharing options.

One disadvantage is that not all animations and effects transition neatly from working on an iMac to an iPad.  Use the following link to gain some helpful tips on what works and what doesn’t: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4114

To read more about the Keynote app or to purchase, visit http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/keynote.html.

Numbers


Numbers is Apple’s spreadsheet creation app, which is compatible for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. It allows one to chose from a collection of templates that adhere to the appropriate work, home, or school scenario for one’s spreadsheets.  What is nice is that Numbers already comes with formulas and functions (over 250) that have already been built in, so users can simply add their data to build tables and charts.  Other customization features include editing fonts, photos, graphics, shapes, charts, 3D effects, multiple tables, etc.  Numbers also allows one to view any table or chart as a form, enabling a user to easily enter data on the go and over time.  Educators can take advantage of this feature as a means of taking attendance or perhaps by having students keep a journal for an assignment: The uses are plentiful!

Numbers also enables one to open and view Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and allow the option of exporting created files in either Excel or PDF form.  In addition, sharing of files can be done either through email, iTunes, iWork, and WebDAV.  One disadvantage with Numbers is that it can have a slightly confusing interface with a lot to take in at first:  Be sure to use Apple’s the in-app guide to be certain to clear up some of the more confusing aspects of the program.

To read more about the Numbers app or to purchase, visit http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/numbers.html.

Pages


As Apple’s official word processing app for its mobile devices, Pages allows one to create documents with a wide range of options.  Touch and tap to choose from an assortment of templates for letters, reports, posters, invitations, etc. and add graphics, styles, and colors to enhance text.  The iPhone and iPod touch version of Pages allows for easy navigation in the new landscape mode, which features the options of typing with one’s thumbs (as if texting), verbal dictation (on iPhone 4S), and automatic zoom to text as one types.

Educators can make use of Pages by creating documents on the go and sending them to students.  What is more is that Pages is also great for design as one has the ability to add movies and pictures from the Photos app; create and modify images, shapes, and polygons with custom frames, shadows and reflections; and make nice 3D charts and tables. Editing is also more intuitive than ever allowing you to simply tap the Info button to adjust margins, tabs, etc. Utilizing Apple’s iCloud system, Pages allows one to edit documents on whatever Mac device you are on and automatically saves your work as you go. Pages also lets one open files and export files in Microsoft Word format or PDF so many people can view them. In addition, the program also supports sharing of files through email, iTunes, iWork, and WebDAV.  One disadvantage; however, is that it isn’t compatible for saving to Dropbox, which is also the case for Numbers and Keynote.

To read more about the Pages app or to purchase, visit http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/pages.html.

TechTip:  Sharing Your iWork App Documents

By Nicole Dobyns, Instructional Development Services Graduate Assistant

Sharing documents using the iWork apps can be easily done when using an iPad. Documents from Numbers, Keynote, and Pages can all be shared using the same method when these programs are used on an iPad.

The first step is to find the wrench icon, which gives you several different options for tools. You will want to touch “Share and Print.”

Once you touch “Share and Print,” you are then given a number of options as shown above.

  • Email presentation – you can email the presentation to someone if you have email set up for use on your iPad
  • Print – you can send the presentation wirelessly to a printer
  • Share via iWork.com – this site is no longer available for sharing use. The site was a beta test to see how it worked, and Apple decided to take it down.
  • Send to iTunes – this gives you different options to retrieve the presentation in iTunes as a Keynote file, PDF, or Powerpoint. This essentially puts a file into iTunes that makes the file accessible on your computer.
  • In order to utilize the iDisk option, you need to have an account set up using Apple’s MobileMe.
  • In order to utilize the WebDAV option, you will need to be connected wirelessly to a server.

Be sure to remember that you need to have the document that you plan on sharing open for use. If the document is not open, then you will not be able to find the little wrench icon where you will find the option to share or print your documents.




Live Binders

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |No Comments

By Amanda Richards, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

Live Binders is a website that works as an online organization tool for URL’s, PDF files, pictures, movies, power points, and word documents.  Instead of saving a list of URL’s and having information in different places you can use Live Binders in order to collaborate your resources, organize them neatly, save time, go paperless, and view a combination of links and files in a book format. Along with creating your own personalized binders you also have the opportunity to search through binders that other users have created.

When creating a binder you have the option of making your binder private or public. If you want to create a binder that is private but you still want to be able to let friends see the binder you can then use the share tool to share the link to any specific binder. Another exciting tool in Live Binders is the use of the Google auto fill feature.  When creating a binder you have the ability to type in a couple of key words and Google will bring up websites that are relevant to your topic. You can then sort through the content moving each tab to the left or right, or choosing to delete a tab. As a student I have found this tool particular helpful especially when just starting a new project or paper.

Creating a Live Binders account is simple and free! In order to sign up simply go to LiveBinders.com, create a username and a password.  Currently there is not a paid subscription available, however there is a section for upgrades where the creators have a questionnaire on what paid subscription features would be useful.

There is a link to a webinar recording put on by “Classroom 2.0 LIVE” at http://live.classroom20.com/1/post/2011/02/livebinders-tina-schneider-barbara-tallent-and-team.html that covers Live Binders and its educational uses.

For more information please visit http://www.livebinders.com/.

Tech Tip – Adding Resources to Your Binder

By Nicole Dobyns, Graduate Assistant Instructional Development Services

Creating a binder in LiveBinders is really simple. This tech tip is going to take you through step by step on how to create a new binder for your personal use on LiveBinders.

First, you will want to create a new binder by clicking on the link on the left side of the page as shown below.

Click the highlighted area to create a new binder.

Once you have clicked on, “Start a Blank Binder,” you can add all the details of the binder like the name, description, privacy settings, and even create a password to protect your binder even more.


Once you have filled out the form like the one below, click, “Create New Binder,” and you are ready to add tabs and other resources to the binder. You can use this binder just like you might in a professional setting or for class where you can add tabs to it, and add documents. One huge difference is the ability to add websites as sources within the binder.

Adding resources to the binder can be really fun. Start searching for things that relate to your topic. You can websites, PDF documents, Word Documents, pictures, and movies. Your blank binder will look like the picture below. The first source we are going to add today is a website. Simply copy and paste a website from the address bar in a browser, and copy it to the “Enter a URL Box” as shown in the picture below.

Once you have found the URL you would like, copy and paste it into the box as shown above, and then click insert. Once you insert the website, the site will show up in the binder as it does below. This makes for easy navigation around the sites within your binder.

Adding documents, movies, or pictures will help to make your binder even better. To add a document simply click the “Edit Menu” button on the right side of the page.


This will bring up a menu at the bottom of the screen where you can add different types of files and change some of the more advanced settings of the binder. When you open the Edit Menu initially, it will start out in the Binder Properties. Under Binder Properties, you can change the description, title, author name, category, and privacy you might have changed when you created the binder initially. 

You will want to click on Upload File as highlighted above, and that will bring to a different screen like the one below. Click on “Choose File” and you can go browse on your computer for a document movie or picture to upload to your binder.

Once you have found the file you want to put into the binder, click upload. Now, you do have the option to upload directly to a new tab or a new subtab. I recommend using one of these two options in order to make this process easier. I am choosing to upload as a new tab for our purposes here.

Once you have clicked “Upload to New Tab” your picture, video, or document will appear in the new tab as shown below. Now you know the basics of how to add different kinds of resources to your LiveBinder. Have fun!

MentorMob

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |No Comments

By Hayley Dallmann, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

Researching a topic and having a hard time fishing through thousands of pages and information to find what you’re looking for? Finding the right information is not always the easiest thing to do. MentorMob is the perfect free online application to help you with this problem.  MentorMob was founded in October of 2008 by Kris Chinosorn.

MentorMob gives you the ability to create “Learning Playlists.” Creating and editing Learning Playlists is a free and easy process. It allows the user to gather important and useful information that has been found and put it into a playlist, all based on one certain topic.  These learning playlists can contain links to articles, video and timelines about a topic that an educator can then share with their students and others.  Playlists can be made public or private.  If made private the playlist will be un-editable by others.  If made public others can join in and collaborate and edit the playlist to add useful content that they have found to grow the playlist collaboratively much like Wikipedia.

MentorMob gives searching the Internet a sense of organization so you don’t have to stumble through useless information that usually sends you straight in to a dead end.  The objective of MentorMob is to allow the user to spend more time learning and less time searching for what they need.

For more information on MentorMob please visit http://www.mentormob.com/.

TechTip- MentorMob Playlist Creation

By Melissa Gatza, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

Creating your own playlist on MentorMob is simple and fun. In just a few steps, you can add your content and begin sharing with the world or use it privately.

When creating a playlist, you first enter information, which includes the title of your playlist, a description of the playlist, whether it is for recreational or academic use, the categories that the playlist falls under, and important topics the playlist can be tagged with.

After selecting “continue”, you can dictate how private you would like to keep your playlist in the “Privacy Settings”. You can choose whether everyone or just you can see the playlist and whether everyone or just you can add and remove content within the playlist.

After selecting “Save & Add Content”, you can finally put material into your playlist. Selecting the plus sign anywhere in the playlist box will give you the screen to add content.

Insert the URL of your content and then select “Next”. You can also upload your own file to the playlist.

Add a title, a description of your source, whether it is an article or a video, and then choose the most appropriate user skill level for your content. Then, you may choose to select a thumbnail picture to represent your playlist entry.

After you select “Save”, the source will be added to your playlist. You may then grab and drag the items to reorganize the, or choose “Done editing” to publish your playlist.

Stormboard (Formerly Edistorm) (Online Brainstorm/Planning)

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |2 Comments

By Melissa Gatza, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

****  Edistorm has been updated and the name has been changed to Stormboard. For more information check out the website ***

Edistorm was inspired by Thomas Edison’s idea factories, which is a concept more commonly known today as brainstorming. Edistorm enables multiple people to collaborate online, allowing for large brainstorming sessions. These sessions can be conducted online in real time anywhere in the world by using a “sticky note interface”, that works for both workplace and classroom purposes.

Businesses can collaborate from halfway across the world, while students would be able to collaborate from their own homes- taking group projects to a new level. By simply placing a sticky note on the digital board, everyone who has been invited to the brainstorming session (known as a “storm”) has the ability to see and edit it. This editing feature allows discussions that could lead to better, richer ideas. Words aren’t the only things that can be placed on their sticky notes. Users have the ability to upload images and add a url to a YouTube or Vimeo video. Sticky Notes can be placed onto one of 20 different board template options that range from business friendly to classroom friendly.

Creating public storms and participating in any storm is completely FREE.  But with different paid accounts you can create different private storms that only you and those you invite will have access to.  Edistorm has two different pricing categories, one for normal users, and one for schools and educators.  Normal pricing is $19/month for 2 active storms, $39/month for 5 active storms, and $99/month for 20 active storms. The Educational pricing gives you the option to utilize one active private storm for free if it is used for a classroom.  For more storms, $49/year will give you 2 active private storms, and unlimited public storms for 2 classrooms. $99/year will provide 4 active private storms with unlimited public storms for 12 classrooms. While Schools and Districts can create customized plans by contacting Edistorm. These customized plans include custom branding, a custom web address, and school login integration.

Many of Edistorm’s features make it ideal for using it in the classroom. Students can work in groups on assignments such as papers and projects from home, while teachers can collaborate on topics such as cross-subject lesson planning.  When all participants have been added to a storm, participants can add sticky notes to the board with their ideas. They can then have discussions and comment on the ideas posted and vote on their favorite ideas. These discussions and comments can also be created into an instant report for either Excel or PDF by the storm administrator.

For more information please visit http://www.edistorm.com/

TECH TIP – Organizing Notes and Voicing Your Opinions

By Carlo Daniels, Instructional Development Services Graduate Assistant

When brainstorming ideas in your “storm” you can enter ideas via the sticky notes on the left side of the screen as indicated in the picture below. Once you come up with a few ideas, a plethora of options exist to make organize your notes to your liking.

The following picture showcases an example of a storm full of ideas.  As you may notice, you can also upload images to the sticky notes via this button icon  and upload video as well using this icon , which are both located right above the sticky notes on the left side of the screen.

Sticky Notes containing your ideas can also be color-coded for categorical organization. You can do this by changing the color of your sticky notes before you enter a new idea on the left side of the screen or by clicking and dragging to highlight some of your already created ideas as indicated in the picture below. Highlighting notes also allows you the option of sorting what notes you want in columns.

Each sticky note also contains a vote count as indicated by the  icon button and a comment section as indicated by the comment button.  Each user that your storm is shared with also has up to ten votes that they can cast on an idea.  Either click on the collection of green dots (votes) on the left side of the screen and drag them to the appropriate note to cast a vote (as shown below) or simply click on the  icon button.

Finally, to add a comment to an idea and/or view other people’s comments about it, click on the comment button ( ) on a note. You will see a pop-up window that looks like the one below.



Dipity (Create Timelines)

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |1 Comment

by Amanda Richards, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

Dipity was developed and founded by Derek Dukes and BJ Heinley in April of 2007.  Their overall idea was to create an online visual representation of history that would enable better research to be conducted by users of the Internet.

Dipity is a free digital timeline creation website that allows users to organize the web’s content by date and time. Users can collaborate to create and share interactive and visually engaging timelines. These timelines can include video, audio, images, text, links, social media, location and time stamps.  Dipity timelines can help to increase traffic on your website or blog spot while also increasing user engagement. There are 5 types of accounts that are available through Dipity depending on the frequency or detail that you will need for your timelines. The free personal version allows you to create 3 timelines that feature 150 events and you are provided with the standard design package and 50 MB of space.  Paid plans provide some extra options and start at $4.95/month on up to $99.95/month.  Students do get a 20% discount on any of the paid plans.

Dipity provides a very high potential for use in the classroom.  Students can use it to research topics, events, or people and then create their own timelines and print them out to turn in as an assignment.  Faculty can use it to search and find timelines that others have made that pertain to relevant classroom topics and share them with their students as handouts or show them on a projection screen or interactive whiteboard and have the students interact with it.

Tech Tip–Adding Resources to Your Timeline

by Nicole Dobyns, Graduate Assistant Instructional Development Services

Adding resources to your timeline is very easy to do, once you learn how to add one resource adding any different kind of resource is a very similar process.

First, I want to show you how to create the timeline. When you have created a username and password for Dipity, you will come to a screen that looks like this:

At this screen you will want to edit all the fields as you need to, and then click continue. You have now created a timeline, and you are ready to start adding resources. You can add many different types of resources into your Dipity timeline. Today I am going to show you how to add a YouTube video. First, make sure that you have created a timeline.

This is what the screen looks like once you have created the timeline and are ready to add events.
First, you will want to click on the events tab while you are looking at all the resource options. Type in a title and description, and then click on photo if you would like to add a photo.

From here, if you would rather have a video, you can skip the above instruction, and go down to video URL. You will want to copy and paste a URL from a site like Vimeo or YouTube.
You will need a YouTube or Vimeo link (or some link that has a video), so you will need to go to the website and copy and paste the URL from YouTube.

Once this is done, you will want to click, “Add Event,” in order to add this event to your timeline. This is the easiest way to add resources to your timeline. If you have a website that can fulfill your needs, then you can paste the website URL into the link box, and you will have a link on the timeline for people to click.

If you go this route, be sure to add a picture to the event using the part of the above form that looks like this:

You will want to add different resources once you have created the timeline. The resource that I showed you today is how to add a video or a picture to your timeline. All of the other options to add events to your timeline are very similar in nature, and very easy to use once you have the hang of using Dipity. If all of your questions are not answered here, please come by the Interactive Multimedia lab to learn more. There will be workshops on Dipity in the coming weeks.


Museum Box

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |No Comments

by: Carlo Daniels – Instructional Development Services, Graduate Assistant

Museum Box Site Logo

The concept of creating a museum box was taken from the anti-slavery campaigner, Thomas Clarkson, who collected artifacts in a box that illustrated his anti-slavery arguments.  Such artifacts ranged from African crafts to transportation ship diagrams.  Museum Box draws from this very concept: It is a free online application that allows for one to create an online display of “artifacts” collected in a virtual box in order to describe and/or craft an argument for a certain topic.  Artifacts are a conglomerate of media files that include pictures, links, video, text, audio files, PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, PDF files, etc., which can be appended to the faces of virtual cubes organized within a box.  Examination of  media cubes within a box is made possible for anyone viewing a box and the number of cubes present within a box can be determined by the creator. One can also add multiple shelves or “layers” to a box to allow for organization of additional cubes.

Originally, creating a box on the site served as a means to visually showcase artifacts about historical figures or events; however, educators and students can now be found using Museum Box to showcase all sorts of academic subjects.  Museum Box could be used to create effective presentations, or to organize their information, pictures and video.  The site also contains a gallery of user submitted boxes from teachers and students, which site viewers can view and comment on.  All of the above features can be made possible if an educator registers his/her school for a free account within the Museum Box website.

Strengths:

  • Unique method for students to create their projects
  • Incorporate video, audio, text, files, and hyperlinks
  • Can assist with persuasive writing projects and compare/contrast arguments
  • Can be used as collaborative assignment
  • Interesting and fun alternative to the usual written papers or other type of presentations

For more, please visit http://museumbox.e2bn.org

Tech Tip- Customizing Your Museum Box

by Hayley Dallmann, Instructional Development Services, Student Lab Assistant

Now that you know what Museum Box is all about, you will now learn how to customize your box to appear how you want it. As a user, you are able to change the following preferences for your museum box: the amount of  layers in your box, how many cubes you would like, the colors and the textures.

The  photo above shows how your Museum Box looks before any customizations and changes have been made. It appears to be wood grain style. This is also the screen that you will go to, to add different multimedia into your box.  To customize the settings of your Museum Box you need to click on the “Change Box” icon in the lower right of the screen.

To change the amount of layers that your Museum Box will have, look to this window. Simply click the amount you would like,  1, 2 or 3 layers. This will change the box for you.

The next area that can be changed is the number of Cubes that are included in your box. You can choose from 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 cubes. Simply click the number you would like and it will change.

Once you have chosen how many layers you would like and the amount of cubes, you are now able to change the color and textures of your box. There are three options, you can change it to yellow, silver metal or keep it wood. To change this, click on the color/texture you would like.

This is your box before any changes have been made.

This is an example of what your box could look like if you make changes to it. Once you are done making your changes, you press “Change Box” and it will bring you back to the main menu where multimedia can be added into your Museum box.



Zunal.com (Online Webquest Maker)

February 3 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |1 Comment

by: Nicole Dobyns Instructional Development Services, Graduate Assistant


ZUNAL Online WebQuest Maker

What is a WebQuest?
A WebQuest is something that can be used for many different types of learning experiences. A WebQuest also gives the students the initiative to learn on their own, and it takes collaboration to learn when using a WebQuest. ZUNAL is a website that aids in creation of WebQuests, and it allows the students to discover information on their own.

To start, we need to define a WebQuest. What is it? According to Zunal.com, “Professor Bernie Dodge of San Diego State University defines a WebQuest as an inquiry-oriented activity that uses resources on the World Wide Web. WebQuests pull together the most effective instructional practices into one integrated student activity. These Web-based projects use World Wide Web sites to help students develop problem-solving and decision-making skills. WebQuests are interesting and motivating to teachers and students. An effective WebQuest develops critical thinking skills and often includes a cooperative learning component. Students learn as they search for information using the Web, following a prescribed format that focuses on problem solving and authentic assessment. A well-written WebQuest requires students to go beyond simple fact finding. It asks them to analyze a variety of resources and use their creativity and critical-thinking skills to solve a problem. WebQuests help students analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. There are two kinds of WebQuests, short term and long term.”

Types of accounts
With ZUNAL there is a Basic account and a Professional account for individual use. With the Basic account you are only allowed 1 WebQuest, the user cannot edit existing WebQuests, there are ads, only have access to a limited amount of modules, and do not have access to ZUNAL Sites. However, if you decide to get a professional account one has access to create 50 WebQuests,  the user can edit existing WebQuests, no ads, more modules to use with the WebQuest, and there is access to  ZUNAL sites. There is also the option to buy a membership for a group. This membership gives Professional access to all those members of the group. This is a good option for professors teaching about WebQuests. However, the free Basic account still gives everyone a viable option to have access to the basics when it comes to learning about WebQuests.

The cost for a pro account is $20 for 3 years. You read that correct! It is only $20 for 3 years, that is quite a steal if you are looking to use WebQuests on a regular basis in the classroom.

As for the group plans, there are two different options for pricing. Option 1 is for 30 users and costs $99 for one year, and each user account has the amenities of a pro account. Option 2 costs $199 for 100 users, and has all of the amenities of option 1.

User Interface
The user interface of ZUNAL is pretty straightforward for anyone that is new to the website. If you want to upload an image, there is a button to click that says add image. If you want to add a Google ™ or YouTube ™ video, there are buttons for those as well. Really, the hardest decision when it comes to ZUNAL is deciding on the content for the WebQuest and what resources you really want to use for the WebQuest.

For more information visit http://zunal.com

Tech Tip- Entering Resources into Your WebQuest

by Melissa Gatza,  Instructional Development Services, Lab Assistant

Zunal offers multiple options which allow you to include an unlimited number of resources with your WebQuest. From attaching a file or a URL to adding a video link from a popular video website, you can enhance your WebQuest with varying types of documents and media. This is found in the ‘Resources’ section of your WebQuest creation area.

Add a File

Adding a file allows you to attach files from programs from Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to name a few.

  • Simply select the ‘Add/Attach a file’ box
  • Then, select ‘Browse’ and select the file from your computer that you would like included in the WebQuest
  • Then, add a description for the file to allow you to easily find it in the list of resources.
  • Select Save Now to save your resource. The following screen will pop up:

Add a Website URL

You can also add a website URL so you, and viewers of your WebQuest, have immediate access to the online resource of your choosing.

  • Select the ‘Add Website URL’ box
  • Insert the URL of the website into the first text box.
  • Then, Enter a title for the web address
  • If wanted, you can enter a description for the site.
  • Select Save Now to save your resource.

Add Video (YouTube; TeacherTube, Google)

You can easily add a video from YouTube, TeacherTube, or Google Video to your WebQuest.

Once you obtain the URL for the video you wish you insert into your WebQuest:

  • Select the button of the type of video you would like to add. (YouTube, TeacherTube, or Google Video)
  • Paste the web address into the text box.
  • Next, insert a description of the video.
  • When you have completed the steps, select Save Now, and your resource will be added to the WebQuest.

When your resources have been added, they will appear on the WebQuest, to change the order in which they are displayed, select the Update Resource button. Here is how they will appear once they have been saved:


Weebly

January 25 2012 by jbutcher in Tech Insights |1 Comment

Web Creation Made Easy

by: Michael Crumm, Instructional Development Services Lab Assistant

Do you need an online web presence for your class, organization or club?  Are you looking for an easy-to-use tool that gets the job done quick and painlessly?  Look no further than Weebly, a website creation tool with simplicity in mind that still comes packed with tons of features! Oh, and it’s FREE!!!

What’s Weebly?

Weebly is a San Francisco based company that was founded in 2006.  They provide a web-based, website creation tool that seeks to make publishing web content as easy as possible.  They are a Y-Combinator startup and were listed as one of TIME Magazine’s Top 50 websites of 2007.

Weebly provides their website creation services free of charge, but to add more advanced features, there is a small fee.

Simple Setup, Robust Features

Website creation can be a complicated task, but with the help of an application like Weebly, even someone with very little computer savvy can make a great looking website.  Simply create an account at http://www.weebly.com to get started.  Once you have an account created, you can begin to develop your site.  Adding items to the page is as simple as dragging and dropping the type of content item you want into your page.  You can create as many pages as you like, and link them together to create a full web presence for your organization.

Basic Features – Basic features include items like paragraphs, paragraphs with a picture, pictures, titles, divider bars, etc.  These simple items create the basis for your page layout.

Multimedia – Upload pictures directly to weebly to create an online photo gallery.  If you’re already using Flickr, you can use the built-in Flick integration to display your photos.  You can also upload files and embed them for download, or even embed a Google Map to show off a location or destination.  YouTube videos can also be embedded directly into your pages.

Revenue – Revenue features enable you to see items on your page.  You can choose from multiple layouts for your products, and tie them to either PayPal or Google Checkout for online payments.

More – Forums, contact forms, surveys and polls are all at your disposal, either directly through the weebly site or with integration with another tool, such as PollDaddy.

We’ve touched on most of the features available through Weebly in this list, but there are still more to discover.   Consider evaluating Weebly for your simple web design needs.

Easy Publishing

Weebly’s entire website creation process takes place in the browser, so there are no files to upload.  The changes you make are saved as you make them, and once you’re happy with your site, all you need to do is press the large, orange “Publish” button.  That’s it!

Educational Uses:

  • Class Website
  • Portfolio Website
  • Webquests
  • Creating Educational Websites to display students works and knowledge

Weebly TechTip:

by: Amanda Richards, Interactive Multimedia Lab Assistant

The cool things that you can add to your website by simply finding the icon, also called elements, and dragging it into your work space on the bottom part of your screen.

Cool things you can add and where to find them:

In Multimedia tab:

Photo gallery

File

Flash

  • Upload flash .swf files

Google Map

  • Show map with surrounding streets.

Flickr Photo Slideshow

YouTube video

In More tab:

Feed Reader

  • Used for updated feed on what is going on with your website

Custom HTML

Divider

  • Creates straight line to add divisions to your page

Forums

  • Create your own forum to add to your page in order to bring in readers or customers browsing your page.

Online Bookings

  • Allow browsers to see when you are available and make appointments with you right over the web.

Online poll

  • Create your own poll from the website poll daddy to post polls about different things on your page.

Contact form

If the browser wishes for you the manager of the site to get in contact with them they can fill out a contact form so you can get back to them quickly and effectively. http://support.weebly.com/support/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=18

« Previous Page — Next Page »