Tag Archives: tools

Edublogs webinar overview – “ESL with e-stuff”

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Introduction

For this session we were joined by Jane Curry, who is @parrpakala on Twitter, and a group of her students. Jane and her students talked with us about some of the “e-stuff” they use in their English language learning. The students also told us a little about their backgrounds and former school experiences.  Checkout the recording to hear and see this exciting session.

The Session

The session was informal and was very much a conversation with Jane telling us about some of the e-activities her students undertake and then the students joining the conversation and answering some of our questions about their learning.

Jane uses her “Youth Class Blog” as a thread for the activities and Web2.0 tools she uses with her students. Recent activities include a VoiceThread.

Jane also records her students and uploads the videos – fantastic for language learners to see and hear themselves speaking the language.  We watched one of these videos where Lan talks about the school she went to as a child.

This session was itself another Web2.0 experience for Jane’s students who overcame their shyness to join in, answer questions and tell us a little about their own thoughts and experiences.

Conclusion

For me this was a really exciting session! I love it when we have students involved in webinars in some way and would be delighted for it to happen more often.

Next Webinar

Our next session is an Edublogs “Serendipity” session on Thursday August 18that 23:00 GMT/UTC (Afternoon/Evening USA) or Friday August 19th at 7am West Aus, mid morning Eastern States Aus depending on your timezone (check yours here) – in the usual Elluminate room. This is one of our fortnightly unconference sessions where we invite you to bring along your “hot topics” and “burning issues” for our poll on the topic

Edublogs webinar overview – “Is this video worth watching virtually?”

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Introduction

Apologies all for the delay in publishing this overview – a combination of #RSCON3 at the weekend and preparing professional development sessions for colleagues has kept me from finishing this post. This was an incredibly useful session at least for me! I am frequently irritated by videos that take forever to load when I click on them and as a consequence I rarely view embedded videos. Although the purpose of this session was to explain how to re-size videos appropriately so that they could be used practically in a virtual classroom eg Elluminate context I think that there are much wider applications for anyone uploading video for others to view. Phil did a brilliant job particularly as he was also coping with the idiosyncracies of the Elluminate replacement – Blackboard collaborate. Checkout the recording for the full session.

The Session

Throughout the session Phil showed us, and discussed, a number of examples of different sized files and talked about the impact on resolution. One of the issues we face with video is the need for trade-offs between size on the screen and file size which affects download time.

Next there was quick look at some of the file formats in use with reference to the need to choose one of the very common ones to ensure that the majority of viewers will have an appropriate player. We were introduced to Phil’s favourite video player/converter – the VLC Media Player – a free download.

The formal part of session ended with a demonstration of the conversion process and a look at the need to experiement a little to find out what works best. However there was some continuing discussion and experimentation with the new Blackboard Collaborate interface – including a collection of images posted on the whiteboard.

Conclusion

I know I will refer back to the content of this session because one of my objectives for the near future is to explore and use video more often. Because of issues with bandwidth and download costs for my students it has always been something I have tended to avoid apart from occasional links to pre-existing videos. However if I can produce videos that are not too demanding on infrastructure I will use them more because they can add an extra dimension for my students.

Next Webinar

Our next session is an Edublogs “Serendipity” session on Thursday August 4th at 23:00 GMT/UTC (Afternoon/Evening USA) or Friday August 5th at 7am West Aus, mid morning Eastern States Aus depending on your timezone (check yours here) – in the usual Elluminate room. This is one of our fortnightly unconference sessions where we invite you to bring along your “hot topics” and “burning issues” for our poll on the topic

Edublogs Serendipity webinar overview – Google+ playtime

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Introduction

This session gave us all some exciting Serendipitous learning. We actually over-ran by a very long time because as we neared the end of the scheduled session we decided to try a Google+ hangout. So the recording is rather longer than usual!

The Session

Naturally with the very recent release of Google+ beta this was one of the proposed topics for the session and came out the clear winner in the poll for our topic.

We started with a quick poll on who was currently experimenting with Google+ We found that only two of us in the session and a third – temporarily away but tweeting until he rejoined the session were currently exploring G+

We started with a whiteboard for thought and ideas but soon moved to Application sharing using my Google+ page as the stimulus to discuss what we knew of the functions and features. As those of us already using G+ talked about our experiences to date and tried to answer questions from those as yet to join we also sent invitations to the others so that they could join.

InviteGPlus

The discussion moved on through sharing information about how circles work and then on into hangouts. We were all keen to try a hangout and after a bit of time spent and trial and error – mainly due to the fact that several of us were still in the joining up process, those of us still in the session were able to join the hangout successfully. I kept my Elluminate microphone live until all of us were in the hangout, where the discussion continued as we played with some of the features.

I hope that some of the others in the group will add their comments to this post about their impressions of how the session as a whole worked and also their thoughts about Google+

Conclusion

This was a very exciting session to be part of. I always find sessions where we are not only in an Elluminate room but also use a second application where we can communicate as a group (as we have done in the past with GoogleDocs) to be particularly fascinating. I think with a little careful planning around managing the audio we could successfully integrate a Google hangout and an Elluminate session which could have advantages for viewing videos and perhaps for other purposes.

Our Next Session

FineFocusSmallOur next Webinar is an Edublogs “Fine Focus” session. This week (as a spinoff  from a number of recent questions raised about playing videos in virtual sessions) Phil will be showing us how to adjust videos so that they are less bandwidth hungry and looking at some of the resulting “trade-offs”  in ” Is this video worth watchingvirtually?”   Join us on Thursday July 28th at 23:00 GMT/UTC the time for you will vary depending on your timezone (check yours here) Thursday afternoon/evening in the USA, late night Thursday in Europe, and Friday morning in Australia – in the usual Elluminate room

Edublogs webinar overview – “Can I also do that virtually?”

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Introduction

Another exciting session with a number of those presenting at  “The Reform Symposium (#RSCON3)”  joining us for Elluminate learning and practise. Again we focussed on using Elluminate with a similar “roller coaster ride” to our last FineFocus through some of the tools and features from the moderator perspective. There was a lot of stress  as BlackboardCollaborate is rolling out its Elluminate replacement and people were concerned they would need to suddenly learn a completely different interface!

The Session

As for the last two weeks this was a fast moving and very interactive session with a high level of participation particularly through text. I felt I was talking, answering text questions and demonstrating /illustrating constantly. This always leaves me with the resulting concern of talking too much!  The session overview can really only give a feel for what we did. Access the  recording for a complete look at this buzzy session.

As with the FineFocus two weeks ago and with last week’s Serendipity This was very much a participant led session in terms of direction. We had an initial whiteboard for participants to suggest what they needed from the session and I had “How to” slides and examples available for a variety of Elluminate tools and strategies in case they were needed. We started with a whiteboard for people to indicate what they wanted from the session. One of the questions was a very big ask!

“Can you give us a step by step list of things to do in order to use Elluminate successfully in our #rscon3 session”

While I started replying and demonstrating/explaining some answers to other questions @philhart put together a fantastic quick list of steps!

Phil12stepsResize

As with our last session of this type the whiteboard of requests and the questions asked throughout the session determined the entire direction of the session including which slides I actually used. Sometimes it was quicker/easier just to demo “off the top of my head”

Early in the session we made everyone moderators so that they could see all the tools and also explore their functions. Activity was rapid and we looked quickly at uploading slides, the pros and cons of video images, using multimedia, application share and webtours with opportunities for “playing” throughout.

We finished as usual with  feedback polls (which were very positive about the session) and a best “takeaways” whiteboard.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this session it is always exciting to have people wanting to find out about Elluminate , and I feel that these sorts of sessions are really good for me also. They keep me on my toes and stop me getting complacent about my own Elluminate skills and knowledge.

Next Webinar

SerendipitybsmallOur next session is an Edublogs “Serendipity” session on Thursday July 21st at 23:00 GMT/UTC (Afternoon/Evening USA) or Friday July 22nd at 7am West Aus, mid morning Eastern States Aus depending on your timezone (check yours here) – in the usual Elluminate room. This is one of our fortnightly unconference sessions where we invite you to bring along your “hot topics” and “burning issues” for our poll on the topic of the day.

Edublogs Serendipity webinar overview – Using Elluminate as presenter

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Introduction

This session was exciting! For me it also felt very strange as I had to leave half-way through so Phil (@philhart) was the main facilitator from the start, and I caught up with the second half of the session from the recording which is well worth a watch and listen. The reason for needing to leave early was an interview at work for a advanced standing as a lecturer – what is known in Western Australia as  “Advanced Skills Lecturer”. For those of you who were in the session when I mentioned this – I was successful!

The Session

We had several people who are due to present at “The Reform Symposium (#RSCON3)” who were keen to learn more about using Elluminate from the presenter’s perspective so this was the chosen topic at polling time.

We started with a whiteboard for people to add anything specific they wanted to know about and this informed the entire session. We made everyone moderators so that they could easily access the extra tools they will see as presenters. The session was terrific with masses of interaction, discussion and sharing – truly Serendipitous with everyone sharing their own Elluminate knowledge and with instant learning going on through experimentation. Takeaways were very positive.

TakeawaysResizeIn answer to a couple of the questions raised that were not fully clarified due to lack of time.

1. It is possible to use a YouTube video – there are at least three possible ways: a) WebTour which will just take everyone to the link via their own browser (usually but not always starts immediately); b) do it by putting the link into the multimedia library (in my experience this doesn’t always work); c) put the link on whiteboard or in chat for people to access (it is good practice to make the link available in chat/whiteboard anyway.

2. Using Prezi – not ideal it can be application shared but app share is not generally very good with anything that frequently updates or is “swoopy” and also not good for anyone with a slow connection.

3. Links can be shared on whiteboard or in chat. On the whiteboard you need to use the “A” tool the text edit one is not consistently clickable. Also the link needs to be “on top” ie if you circle it then it won’t be clickable

Conclusion

This was a fantastic session and Phil did a great job especially as he was “thrown in the deep end” with respect to the chosen topic. He is a very experienced and brilliant Elluminate facilitator but a little less familiar with all the tools and capabilities than myself.  If you are about to, or might in the future be presenting/facilitating and Elluminate session then this is definitely one to catch!

Our Next Session

FineFocusSmallOur next Webinar is an Edublogs “Fine Focus” session. Again this week (by request) we will be taking a further look at using Elluminate from the presenter’s pont of view in ” Oh and can I also do this virtually?”  Join us on Thursday July 14th at 23:00 GMT/UTC the time for you will vary depending on your timezone (check yours here) Thursday afternoon/evening in the USA, late night Thursday in Europe, and Friday morning in Australia – in the usual Elluminate room

Edublogs webinar overview – “Can I really do that virtually?”

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Introduction

This session was really exciting! With “The Reform Symposium (#RSCON3)” coming up in a few weeks we were joined by several of the presenters looking to increase their Elluminate experience before the conference. The session was one of our semi-regular ones that focus on using Elluminate and on this occasion we took a “roller coaster ride” through some of the tools and features from the moderator perspective.

The Session

This was a fast moving, highly interactive and participative session. The overview can really only give a taste of events!  Catch the recording for the full flavour of this lively session.

This was very much a participant led session in terms of direction. I had “How to” slides and examples available for a wide variety of Elluminate tools and strategies in case they were needed. We started with a whiteboard for people to indicate what they wanted from the session. This and the questions throughout the session determined what slides were used and what we did!

Initially we took a quick look at setting up your screen to suit you, the importance of doing an audio check especially if you are going to be presenting or speaking at all, and at the most used of all the Elluminate features – the whiteboard.

The next part of the session was to make everyone moderators so that they could see all the moderator tools. After this the questions and activities came thick and fast. During the rest of the session we briefly explored (giving opportunities to “play” where feasible) many of the features of Elluminate that make it such a great webinar platform. Time just flew by so that we over-ran our usual end time.

WordleTakeawaysResize

We finished with some quick feedback polls which were entirely positive about the sessions and finally as usual a whiteboard for our best “takeaways” from the session.

Conclusion

This was a fantastic session! I really love these sorts of sessions where I am having to “think on my feet” to try and keep up with the pace of the action, answer everyone’s questions and step through tools on request. As always this was a terrific learning experience for me – I have my own “takeaway” which I didn’t put on the board at the end because I was answering questions. This is an improved understanding of how the whiteboard works with live links – for which many thanks to Rodney (@techyturner)!

Next Webinar

SerendipitybsmallOur next session is an Edublogs “Serendipity” session on Thursday July 7th at 23:00 GMT/UTC (Afternoon/Evening USA) or Friday July 8th at 7am West Aus, mid morning Eastern States Aus depending on your timezone (check yours here) – in the usual Elluminate room. This is one of our fortnightly unconference sessions where we invite you to bring along your “hot topics” and “burning issues” for our poll on the topic of the day.

Edublogs webinar overview – “Show & Tell”

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Introduction

This session was a little different –  discussion in a previous Serendipity session gave rise to the idea of taking a brief look at how individual teachers use a tech tool of their choice. Thus the “Show and Tell” session was born. We had three fantastic short presentations from Rodney (@techyturner), Tracey (@mmebrady) and Sandra giving us great insights into exciting ways to use technology with our students.

The Session

The session was recorded as usual – including some preliminary chat about the wildlife in our respective backyards. Please let me know if you access the recording.

CompositeResize

Rodney started proceedings by telling us about “clickers” and the many applications of these in his classroom. He explained that he is able to get instant feedback on student understanding and how much the students enjoy using the clickers. This prompted text chat discussion and questions about the range of activities that can incorporate clickers.

Tracy told us how she has used GoogleVoice in her classroom and has utilised the students’ own mobile devices – a great solution for someone who has little technology available in their classroom. Because Tracy teaches French the oral dimension is critical and Tracy has used GoogleVoice to enable her students to respond orally to questions posed by her Voki.

Sandra finished off the session by telling us about how she has used “Max’s Toolbox” with very young students. This is an interface that is used within an MSOffice environment and has icons and tools that are simple to use. Sandra showed us how Kindy students have created simple slides on themes relevant to them.

Conclusion

This session was excellent – it was a fantastic way to share teaching strategies and tools, without the pressure on one individual to fill a whole session. Three seemed to be just the right number of presenters and we had lots of discussion and questions around the topics. “Show & Tell” is definitely a theme to repeat!

Next Webinar

SerendipitybsmallOur next session is an Edublogs “Serendipity” session on Thursday June 23rd at 23:00 GMT/UTC (Afternoon/Evening USA) or Friday June 24th at 7am West Aus, mid morning Eastern States Aus depending on your timezone (check yours here) – in the usual Elluminate room. This is one of our fortnightly unconference sessions where we invite you to bring along your “hot topics” and “burning issues” for our poll on the topic of the day.

Edublogs Serendipity webinar overview – Tools we use most & why!

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Introduction

This session was fun with lots of tools shared and discussed. Also I started the recording at the proper time this week, there was a lot of audio discussion as well as text chat and the recording is well worth catching if you missed the session.

The Session

Our chosen topic was “What tech tools do you use the most and why?” We put the title on an empty whiteboard and then each added the tools we use most.

ToolsWordleResizeThis gave us a great selection to talk about! We only managed to discuss a small number in the time available, and even then we scarcely touched on the “why” of using particular tools. Because we all found this session both useful and interesting and felt that there was so much more we could have discussed we are going to try something a little bit different in the upcoming Fine Focus session, by continuing the theme of tools we use most and inviting YOU to tell the group about your most used tools.

Show and Tell Invite resizeWe already have one volunteer who DM’d me after the session. Please join us and add your voice to the session. Let me know if you would like to “Show and Tell” and what tool you plan to talk about (so we can avoid doubling up).  My Twitter ID is @JoHart or you can use the Contact Form on my “About Me” page

Conclusion

This was a great session and was definitely one of those where we just didn’t have enough time to talk about everything. I left resolved to investigate several tools that were new to me – although the available time for that is extremely limited at the moment!

Our Next Session

FineFocusSmallOur next Webinar is an Edublogs “Fine Focus” session. This week in “Show and Tell” We invite volunteers to do a 10 minute “Show and Tell” about one of the tools they teach their students about. Check out the Invitation above – let me know if you would like to “Show and Tell” If you haven’t used Elluminate before we can help with anything you would like to do.  Join us on Thursday June 16 th at 23:00 GMT/UTC the time for you will vary depending on your timezone (check yours here) Thursday afternoon/evening in the USA, late night Thursday in Europe, and Friday morning in Australia – in the usual Elluminate room

Edublogs Serendipity webinar overview – Presentation

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Preface

If you access the link to the recording it would be great if you would just leave a short comment on this post to let me know. I would really like to know if it is useful to people when I post the overviews & recording links

Introduction

For this recorded session the topic chosen was from the Wallwisher and was on best presentation practice, however as we were a small number we diverged from this and discussed and shared examples of  the options we use ourselves.

The Session

We started the session by sharing (on the whiteboard) some of the ways that we present our information to others. With a small group these were inevitably limited in number, as I think most people have preferred tools and styles of presentation and will usually use those if practicable.

AgesOfPresentationsTOONresize

We moved on to discussing and sharing (through application share) some of our own personal examples of how we present information eg interactive PowerPoint, webpages with embedded links and customised Elluminate whiteboards developed on a PowerPoint base.

Conclusion

This session was great for gaining insights and ideas from how others present information. My takeways include a need to learn how to make the internal interactives work in Powerpoint and also to take a closer look at using a web page as the thread to link a series of information presentations.

Our Next Session

FineFocusSmallOur next Webinar is an Edublogs “Fine Focus” session. This week’s session  “Blog or Wiki? Pros and Cons” will be an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of blogs and wikis as tools for different learning situations. Do you know the difference? Do you want to use either or both? Do you currently use either or both? Come along – share how and why & discover how others use them. Join us on Thursday Feb 10th at 23:00 GMT/UTC (6pm USA EST, Midnight CET) or Friday Feb 11th at 7am West Aus, 10am NSW, depending on your timezone – in the usual Elluminate room

In the Future

If you are a regular visitor to our webinars you will know that we alternate “Fine Focus” sessions on specific topics with “Serendipity” the unconference sessions where we choose a topic by poll at the start of the session. Sometimes the very fact of being asked for “hot topics” or other ideas for discussion or learning tends to make our minds blank. This has prompted me to start a Serendipity Wallwisher for topic suggestions. Please visit the wall and add your ideas for Serendipity topics so that we have more choices to consider. Some of these ideas might also form the basis for future “Fine Focus” sessions.

Serendipity Webinar Overview – Web2.0 Tools

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Introduction

This weeks Edublogs Serendipity “unconference” webinar (recording here) was lively and full of great contributions from participants through audio and chat as well as on the whiteboard.

Overview of the Session

The topic of choice by a good margin was “useful suggenstions for Web2.0 Tools employed in the classroom”. We approached this by asking for favourites to be put on the whiteboard resulting a rapidly filled space and the potential for a great Wordle!

WordleWeb2Tools

We then invited people to talk about those they had added to the whiteboard. This led to some great contributions about what the tools can be used for and examples of how they are being used in class. Of course we ran out of time and it just wasn’t possible to look at all the tools. However it’s a terrific list of tools to explore with more (and some links to other lists of tools) mentioned in the blended audio and text chat conversation as you will hear/see in the recording.

Overall a very interactive session which provided much food for learning and seemed to be enjoyed by all!

Next Week

FineFocusSmallOur next Webinar is an Edublogs “Fine Focus!” session a mix of “Talk Time” and “Tools and Strategies” where we will compare issues and strategies around classroom management in the face to face and virtual contexts in “Students are students – real or virtual!”

Join us on Thursday May 6th at 23:00 GMT/UTC (7pm USA EST, Midnight BST) or Friday May 7th at 1am CEST,7am West Aus, 9am NSW, depending on your timezone – in the usual Elluminate room

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