Using Blogs as Class Pages

Here is an example of how a blog, sample homework blog, with minimal changes can be used for a class. The moderate comments option would be turned on so that all comments are emailed to the teacher, who can then post or delete comments.

Setting up a Moodle Account

Please note that as of August 29, moodle was not live to the web, it should be soon. If you would like a new account please contact Derek Parker or Alan Dick.

Open another webbrowser, or internet explorer window, and follow the steps listed below.

You will start the moodle program by simply typing "wilson" into the address bar for your web browser.

The school's moodle website, KESPER, will appear.

A login box will appear below the calendar on the right of the moodle start page.

Click on "login" and use your first initial and your last name as your username and use your username as your initial password.

After you have logged in, go tothe upper right hand corner of the screen or the login box where you logged in and select your name and on the next screen click on the button that says "change your password."

You have likely been given creator permission and so you may now go to a course category and create your course. Please use the name on the report card when naming a new course, if you are unsure of the name please contact Derek P.

Presentation Ideas from the Web

While trolling the web looking for a blog who's address I had lost, I came across several blogs/sites of interest. The first is Technology Enhanced Learning and it is just that. That website lead me to Presentation Zen, a good site, well actually a set of sites by Garr Reynolds. He presents a set of presentation tips that includes creating and presenting in PowerPoint - or without it. Image below is from one of the postings at Presentation Zen.

Using PDF Files and Making PDF Files

Most of us use PDF documents, but we may not realize that we can copy and paste parts of PDF documents and that we can make PDF documents using the school photocopier. This first fact means that you can make tests and work sheets more quickly and the second means that you only need to photocopy (scan) something once and it is emailed to you as a PDF file to use.

To copy a part of a PDF document in Adobe Reader, click on the camera button and then select the image or text that you wish to copy, You may then copy and paste as normal. In Adobe Acrobat, you follow a similar procedure and you can capture images, or text. In the case of copied text, it may be pasted into a word document and then edited.

Derek P. can set up an account for you with the school photocopier that will allow you to access the scanner options.

What's a Wiki?

"Simply put, wikis enable anyone and everyone to create content online using easily understandable tools. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia created by users from around the globe... Not surprisingly, K-12 schools are also taking advantage of the opportunities for "collaborative construction" that wikis provide." (Wild about Wikis 2006)

I am trying out PBwiki and WikiSpaces (here's the start of a school tech ideas wiki) for use with my classes. The second site, WikiSpaces, has ad free wikis for educational use and the wikis support pictures, customization, and permit restricted access. They also have some great (and less than 2 minute) tutorials with video and voice for setting up a wiki.

A full article about wikis, their uses, and great links, is available at TechLEARNING.

We should also be able set up wikis within Moodle once it is up and running.

Using Windows Movie Maker and Flickr

I recently tried out Windows Movie Maker. Here is an example that will open in a new window of what I created for a first attempt one afternoon using photos from class, ESY Views of Nature (wait for it to load and the transitions are a little too quick). The program may be useful as an instructional tool; I may use it as part of lab instructions, as background for a simulation or investigation, or have students create 10 to 30 second videos. I think you could create videos just like the movies from BigPicture SmallWorld presented in the past post without too much difficulty.

The Flickr website may also be a useful place to post pictures or host pictures for a blog that does not support a lot of images. It seems to work well and the controls seem to be fairly intuitive, but then I've only used it once to upload and group one set of photos. I have put the links for both in the posting for the "Views of Nature" Posters posting on the room A207 blog site.