I own a total of four video cameras, but lately I haven’t used any of them. I’ve fallen victim to the old adage, the best camera is the one you have with you. And that camera just happens to be my cell phone. Clearly my other video cameras are better than my cellphone, so it would seem. I have a Canon Rebel T1i that shoots HD video, a Panasonic HDC-SD5 that shoots 1920×1080 HD, a Flip camera (remember those), and a Contour Roam helmet cam that also shoots in full HD. I have all of these great cameras and I can’t even remember the last time I shot video with any of them. Yet everyday, I shoot video and take pictures. Yep, I use my Samsung Galaxy SIII cellphone. It’s my stand alone camera these days. But it can’t be as good as the full HD I can shoot with the others, right? Wrong. It’s awesome.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 cellphone has a 8 megapixel camera that shoots full 1080p HD video. Many cellphones these days do, so you don’t really need to carry around a “real” camcorder anymore unless you are a “real” movie maker. So as proof of concept, I set out on a mission to create a video advertisement for our upcoming technology conference. My goal was to use only my cellphone and a web app to edit the video. No complicated expensive software allowed. I figured if I could make something useful, why couldn’t our students. They all have cellphones and there’s no cost after that. Here’s what I did…

I came up with a plan in my head and then secured my actors. I used a mini portable octopus style tripod to hold my cellphone. I shot my actors with the cellphone sitting on a desk and/or chair. I shot an action shot of me running down a hallway by wrapping my tripod around a door knob in the hallway. That was it. Five shots total. Next I opened up the WeVideo camera app on my phone and uploaded the five clips to a new project in WeVideo online. WeVideo does have an Android app in Beta that lets you do a lot more than upload video. WeVideo for Android lets you:

• Easily capture photos and video footage
• Trim, split, arrange and stylize your video clips
• Add existing music, photos, and videos
• Export to social channels
• Sync your mobile content with the cloud

But I want to be fair and only use tools that most cellphone users have access to, so I’m only using the uploader. I did all my video editing online in the WeVideo web application. It was super easy. I just drug the clips into my timeline and added some titles for the speakers on each of the clips. Then I chose a theme, which adds transitions and background music automatically, and then published it. My free account only gave me 480p quality and had a WeVideo watermark in the corner, so I paid .99 to upgrade to 720p quality with no watermark. Perfect. This all probably took 30 minutes, and I was able to create this video below. Click the cogwheel on the bottom right and change the quality to 720p HD. It looks really good in HD.

Are You Registered for the Maricopa Tech Conference?

This process was so easy, I know students would have an easy time producing content for a class. And the best thing about WeVideo is it’s a cloud-based, collaborative video editor that is available to anyone through a web browser, on any device. Students can start a project and invite classmates to collaborate on shooting and editing video for the project. They have free accounts, but also affordable education accounts as well. For $30 a teacher can create projects and invite up to 50 collaborators. Sweet deal for sure. Oh, and WeVideo integrates with your Google Drive. I didn’t try that out yet, but if you look in GDrive, you can add the app.

You don’t have any excuses now. Get your students creating some videos. It’s easy. Even I can do it.

Scottsdale Community College hosted SCC TechTalks 2013, a series of live, 18-minute presentations on how technology has impacted teaching and learning on February 1, 2013. The event followed a similar format to the widely popular TEDTalks and was put on by SCC’s Instructional Strategic Technology Advisory Committee (ISTAC).I was honored to be invited to be one the speakers of this inaugural event and had a great time participating.

Event description: “The thought-provoking talks feature presenters from a variety of professional backgrounds covering an array of subjects — from theater and music to math and science. Presenters include faculty members, tech gurus and students.”

Below is a playlist of all the talks featuring Maricopa’s past and present technology leaders. So go grab some popcorn, get comfy and enjoy the show.

I can’t remember when I first started using SoftChalk, but it seems like it’s been about 10 years. That’s how long the company has been around (since 2002). I’ve been using the tool to help create interactive lessons for my online and hybrid courses. We’ve had it available to us (Maricopa) for quite a while now, but when our current contract expired, we decided we needed to go out for RFP to make sure we were using the best product and paying the best price. I’d never thought much about it until I realized there might be a possibility of having to use something else. But when I express my concerns to my colleagues, all I ever get in response is: “What is SoftChalk?”

Well, that’s part of the problem, not enough faculty know the answer to that question. So the few of us who do know, may suffer the consequences. There will always be a need for an interactive lesson builder,  and I vote that we keep what we already know.  However, if there is something else out there that will blow me away without causing me stress learning how to use it, I’d be open to that too. In the mean time, here’s hoping others in the district find this video interesting enough to start using Softchalk while we await the verdict.

At GCC we have another option for conducting online peer review assignments in the composition course. I previously posted about the option I use in Connect Composition, but today I want to share with you a 2nd way that a few of our faculty are using.  Below is the method that Gary Lawrence uses. I posted previously about his heads up about this process, but this post will give a few more details on how it all works. He even shared a video below that he made for students to show them the peer review process.

It’s not a perfect process, but it works well enough if you don’t have access to Connect Composition. It requires that students have MS Word to be able to “track changes” and leave comments on the documents. There are work arounds for that, but it might further complicate the process. Below is an image Gary created for students to explain the peer review process to them.

And if you missed the previous post, here is Gary’s explanation of how he sets up the peer reviews in Canvas:

This is the way the peer review process works in Canvas: As part of a draft assignment, I usually let Canvas assign the peer reviews automatically. The cleanest way to do that, I think, is to “lock” submissions, so you don’t have a bunch of late contenders to deal with.  So under the draft assignment, I give a due date, and then  I select “more options” (shown in blue box below) and check “require peer reviews,” “automatically assign peer reviews,” pick the number of reviews per student, tell Canvas when to assign the peer reviews (default = assignment due date), and then “lock submits after (date)” to keep it clean.    I also happen to restrict inputs to .doc or .docx files so students can use “track changes” features of MS Word for line comments.

The following is content from my wiki for a presentation I did in the CTLE on creating audio for a podcast last week. You can visit the original wiki page here: http://tinyurl.com/CreatingAudio

Creating Audio for Podcasts Using Audacity

Itinerary for Podcasting Series II Learning Lab

• Overview of recording tools for the Mac, PC and web: (Garageband, Audacity)
• Developing a plan for the podcast
• Equipment needed (hardware)
• Locate and Import Podsafe Audio into Audacity
• Record voice using Audacity
• Edit and Save audio using Audacity
• Export as Mp3 file
• Import into Canvas

Video of Part of this Workshop: Recording Audio Using Audacity

Overview of Recording Software

Garageband

The best way to record music on a Mac is now the best way to record podcasts. GarageBand 3 puts you in the control room of your own full-featured radio station. And new iWeb integration gets your voice on the Internet in minutes.

View a Screencast on how to create a podcast with Garageband

• Handout: Enhanced Podcast Creation Overview with GarageBand

Audacity 

Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

• Audacity ABCs.pdf
• Download Audacity
• Download LAME MP3 Encoder

Developing a Plan

First Things First: The Plan

From Beginner’s Guide to Podcast Creation By Kirk McElhearn

Amazingly enough, this first step is the one many podcasters skip: develop a plan. Before you start recording, think about what you want to say, and organize your show accordingly. Make notes, prepare your interviews (if any), and try to improvise as little as possible. While a completely spontaneous show can sound good if you’ve got the knack, the best podcasters prepare their shows in advance and work hard to provide interesting content. (See Kirk’s Eight Rules of Effective Podcasting) for some tips on creating good podcasts that people will come back to listen to.) There are thousands of podcasts available today, but it’s easy to pass most of them up because they don’t stand out – figure out your angle, and run with it!

1. Choose theme music
2. Design a standard introduction (Your name, show name, date, etc.)
3. Outline your show notes
4. Design a conclusion
5. Outro music

Equipment Needed for Recording Audio/Podcasting

Headsets

Please try to bring your own headset or earphones/mic with your for the workshop. We have only a limited supply.

Cheap Coby headsets at Target for $10. Or go with a USB headset for better quality. I use the Logitech Premium USB 350. It goes for about $50 at BestBuy. We’ll talk more about microphone and headset options in the learning lab.

Inexpensive Podcasting Kits if you want more.

What I use: 

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hands on Section

Record Intro Music

• directly from internet using Audacity or
• upload a saved music file to Audacity (no copyrighted music)
  • Download:   Corn Liquor 20.mp3 or Kick It 20.mp3
  • Visit: Free Music Sites for Podcasting (Not all free anymore)
  • Visit: Podcast Legal Music: Here are some record labels and sites that feature podcast-legal music
  • Get Creative Commons Media by using the Creative Commons Search Engine.

Edit music file

• cut to 8-15 seconds
• fade music out

Record voice directly into Audacity

• Edit audio using tools in Audacity
  • Selection Tool
  • Envelope Tool
  • Time Shift Tool

Export as mp3 file

• via Audacity
• via iTunes

Additional Information

KB to MB Converter from Egret.net

Sample conversion:

30 minute WAV file = 141MB file

30 minute Mp3 file = 26MB file at 128 kbps, 44 KHz (Most common)

OR

30 minute Mp3 file = 3MB file at 16 kbps, 16 KHz

File Formats

File Format Sizes from Cal Berkeley

Links

• How to Podcast
• Beginner’s Guide to Podcasting
• Audacity Wiki
• Podcast Legal Music
• Podcast Spot is the best place to get conversational with podcasting! Create a podcast and share it with your friends, family, or even the world. Just send us your media file and we’ll do the rest.
• Use a Teleprompter When Creating Your Podcast

Below is a guest post from Gary Lawrence, adjunct English faculty member teaching online and hybrid at GCC. He shares his experience with doing peer reviews using Canvas and points out one minor flaw in Canvas that everyone should be aware of to help out this process. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll pass them on to Gary.

This is the way the peer review process works in Canvas: As part of a draft assignment, I usually let Canvas assign the peer reviews automatically. The cleanest way to do that, I think, is to “lock” submissions, so you don’t have a bunch of late contenders to deal with.  So under the draft assignment, I give a due date, and then  I select “more options” (shown in blue box below) and check “require peer reviews,” “automatically assign peer reviews,” pick the number of reviews per student, tell Canvas when to assign the peer reviews (default = assignment due date), and then “lock submits after (date)” to keep it clean.    I also happen to restrict inputs to .doc or .docx files so students can use “track changes” features of MS Word for line comments.

The issue:  Setting up new assignments is fine.  Be cautious using this “lock” function: When the assignment “locks,” the students literally don’t see any more text except the assignment title/due date et al and the words “assignment locked.” The text of your assignment disappears to them.  But you still see it in full.

The main issue is when you copy a course from one semester to the other.  While (I believe) the due date and date for peer review assignments carries over to new dates, the assignment “lock” date DOES NOT — it remains the original assignment date.  So a spring 2013 draft assignment (Jan – May) had an assignment lock date of December 2012, because I copied the contents from a Fall 2012 class.

These occurrences are hard to discover but easy to fix — they are often discovered during class presentations (LOL).  To the instructor, the entire text of the assignment is still there — but there is a little note at the top saying, “Assignment locked December XX,  2012 at 12:01 am”).  To the students, the entire assignment is blank, no text, nothing more than the assignment title, due date, and points.

The fix?  Go in to the assignment, click “more options, and manually CHANGE the “assignment lock” date to sometime AFTER the “reviews assigned” date/time.  My assignments are all due at 11:55 pm, so my “lock” times are 12:01 the next morning.

Requested Fix from Canvas: Make “locked” dates change along with “assignment due dates” and “peer review assigned” dates.   This is currently a manual function to fix and as noted, easy to miss.

To learn more about how to create your own peer review assignments in Canvas, read the next post that shows you how to do that. Gary has a video that I share with you.

Three years ago when we did our last book adoption, one of the features we were looking for was a way to do peer reviews on student essays in an online environment. We chose a McGraw-Hill text because they had a tool that does this well. The tool is called Connect Composition and it comes packaged with our traditional textbook. Also built into our version of Connect is an online handbook, The McGraw-Hill Handbook. But within Connect we have the ability to set up peer review writing assignments. We can schedule the number of drafts we want to have for the writing assignment, choose pre-made review questions or write our own, and choose the size and makeup of the groups. It’s a pretty slick way to do peer reviews, and it’s really easy for students.

Below I created a video for students showing them how to participate in our most recent peer review writing assignment. Feel free to use this video with your own students if you are using Connect in your classes.

Over the past 5-6 years I’ve met lots of interesting people at conferences across the country and online via Twitter. And through this I’ve curated a very nice professional learning network. I’m not sure where I met Mark Isero (Twitter and Google+) originally, but we’ve been following each other on the internet for a while. I’ve been impressed with his work in teaching young kids and now with helping faculty at his school in northern California. Mostly I love his idea to collect Kindles for students at his school through his Kindle Classroom Project. He describes:

The Kindle Classroom Project was created in late 2010 with the goal of offering a set of donated Kindles to lower-income, urban students to promote literacy through reading and technology.

This is such a cool idea, and I really wanted to participate by donating my Kindle. But I had a hard time parting with my beloved Kindle 3. I mean I have a laptop and an Android tablet, but I just love my Kindle 3 with red cover with a built in light for reading books. Even when I find myself touching the screen to try to turn the pages or reach the menu, it obviously doesn’t work that way, but I still love it. But I eventually convinced myself that helping Mark and his students out was more important, and it’s a good cause. Plus it’s time to upgrade my Kindle to the latest and greatest reader. 

So I ordered my new Kindle Paperwhite on Friday and then visited Mark’s blog to fill out his form for donating my old Kindle. On Tuesday my new Kindle will arrive from Amazon and my old one will be on its way to California where I’m sure Mark will put it to good use by giving one of his students the opportunity to read ebooks on a ereader. He shares on his blog that he has received 25 Kindles and  183 ebooks donated so far. That’s great, but I’m sure there are others out there who can help.

If you have an old Kindle laying around your house, you might want to consider donating it as well. Really think about if you’re using it or are you using your fancy new iPad or Android tablet more these days. Or if it’s a Kindle 3 or earlier, consider upgrading to a newer device and donating your old one to Mark’s students. You can even write it off on your taxes. We all need an additional tax break these days.

We’ve been talking about the so called Digital Natives and the Millennials being the tech generation for years. But I just haven’t seen them in my classes. My students have not only not shown an interest in technology, but often struggled with the technology I used in my classes. But not this semester. In the first class of the Spring 2013 semester, the Digital Natives showed up! Yippee!

First, while Cindy (Co-Teacher) was talking about critical thinking with the class, she asked what a word meant. I wasn’t paying attention (Ha!), so I missed the word, but the student sitting in front of me grabbed her phone and started “messing around” with it. I didn’t pay her any mind either until Cindy called on her. She took one last look at the phone and then apologetically said “I was looking it up,” and then recited her answer to the class. She thought she was doing something wrong, but I was secretly praising her. It wasn’t like it was a vocab word she was supposed to have learned before coming to class. It was a spur of the moment, what does that mean type of question, and she gave the answer. Nice work young lady.

Our Learning Community Circle on Google+

During my part of the learning community class, I was teaching students how to get their Google+ accounts set up, and a student asked if she could get G+ on her phone, and if I knew how to get her school email to forward to her regular Gmail account on her phone. I think if I’d let her, she would have asked me how to do a bunch of other stuff too. We didn’t have time, but I was thrilled that she wanted to know, and thrilled that she is already thinking about managing her tech life.

Several students whipped out their phones to pull up their class schedules after we took roll and they were not on it. “Aren’t you Nielson?” one asks while reading her phone. I grabbed it to see that she was indeed not in the right place. I then overheard one student telling the student next to him that she should use the Firefox browser instead that one (IE) because it works better. He didn’t elaborate further, but enough was said to impress me. I hope she listened to him.

But it gets better. Later I announced to students to be sure to check their emails daily, as I would be sending the weekly podcast out tomorrow. After class a nice young man approached me and asked if he would be able to get those podcasts on his iPhone. Why certainly! Let me show you how. So I showed him how to grab the RSS feed from the announcements in Canvas and add it to his iTunes. Later I plan to find a podcatcher app for the iPhone to share with him as well.

All in all it was a great technology day in the classroom. I’ve been so beat down, I was expecting to have more push back about having to use Canvas and Google+, but they all loved it. It’s going to be a great semester (fingers crossed).

I see a lot of online courses where the instructors have created lots of PowerPoint presentations that I’m sure they used successfully in their face to face classes, but those presentations in an online class are missing the most important element – the instructor. Stand alone PowerPoint presentations are just not as effective as a presentation done with slides, so instructors need to transform those slides into a nice presentation with voice included. We have to add the instruction back into the class.

There a many different ways to record your PowerPoint presentations. The most obvious is to use the built in tools in PowerPoint. But I’ve found that method to be overly complicated. The easy is to just record your presentation using a tool like Jing, but if your presentation is longer than 5 minutes or you need to edit the video, you’re out of luck. So unless you buy and use Camtasia Studio, Jing’s big sister, then you’re out of luck. But for this post, let’s go for a free web tool to help us.

Knovio is the tool of choice for this post. Of course it’s in beta. It’s a web 2.0 tool and it’s free.

Knovio™ is an innovative tool for turning PowerPoint® slides into rich video presentations with just a web browser and webcam. With Knovio, you can take static PowerPoint slides to a new level with video and audio presentations that can be accessed anytime on-demand and shared with others through email and social media.

The way it works is you upload your existing PPT slides to Knovio. Then you record video of you talking over your slides. As you record, you can advance through your slides. Knovio will record not just the video of you talking, but it will also record your timing for advancing slides. Once you’re finished recording, the video is pretty much ready to go. The whole process is quick and simple and in minutes you will be creating and sharing personalized video presentations with students.

You have the option to share the video presentation with a link or you can embed the whole presentation into your LMS. I tried it in Canvas and it worked fine. That’s the method I would recommend. You can view an example on the Knovio website.