Post 19: avBlogger (Record Voice/Video)

Userplane's avBlogger is a great Web2.0 tool that lets one record audio and/or video.

• Fully web-based. Just register on their website (avblog.userplane.com)
  
• Record -> Play -> Save -> copy/paste coding into your blog or webpage.
• Many possibilities (like recording for foreign language, giving a speech, etc.
  
• Select the Play button below to listen to my first audio recording.
  

A/V Blog
by Userplane

Post 18: RSS --- Really Simple, really important

Always chasing information? Spend too much time locating your favorite sites to see if any new content (feeds) have been added? Yes, del.icio.us (see Post #14) is very helpful for locating your favorite 'static' sites, but the logic is really backwards. Why should you do all the chasing?

Enter RSS. Often called Really Simple Syndication, this process simply collects all the sites of your choice (called aggregating) and 'pushes' all the updates back to you, and all in one place.
This 2-minute video says it all (video 2)

Key Advantages of RSS to Educators:

• Students that blog their assignments or research or reflection/journaling -> all updates will be sent to the instructor in one place. No more chasing.
• Or, when researching any topic, simply subscribe to the leading news agencies, data-rich blogs, and other key resources and let them syndicate (push/send) you updates as they become available.
  
  
• Keep track of news, podcasts, photos, blogs, just-about-anything of interest.
• Reading on the internet requires two separate skills: one, the quick analysis to find what is worth reading, and the second, a switch to slow analysis to carefully consider what has been found. What RSS does is allow students to make this distinction, to receive content as "bits" easy to scan, and then to select what they want to read.

Subscribe to an RSS feeder today. Bloglines is a favorite for most folks, and here is a nice step-by-step tutorial; but if you're already a Google fan, go with Google Reader as it integrates nicely. FeedBurner (recently purchased by Google) offers site statistics and much more.

Other great RSS tutorials and information:

• Reading & Writing - Blogging and RSS (exceptional!)
  
• Web2.0 Tutorials [RSS]
• Signing up for Bloglines
  

Post 17: Cite Referencing (MLA Citation Maker)

Students and teachers often use information off the Internet to produce a report, presentation, lesson plan, web page, etc.
Examples typically include images and text. Giving credit to the authors is always recommended, and an industry standard for the correct format is called MLA.

Using an online tool called MLA Citation Maker is as easy as: 1) click on the appropriate category, 2) fill in some basic information, and 3) let the online software do the rest.

This great tool will generate the correct format and all one has to do is copy/paste it their document.
OLSIS, ."MLS Citation Maker." OSLIS.1 Jan. 2006. 15 Oct. 2007 .

Post 16: The Doug and Dale Team

Following my demonstration to a small group of students and administrators at Sprague HS, the Adkins brothers (both master teachers) went to work.

• The building principal approached both of them to begin implementing a plan to expose Web2.0 tools to the staff. The three of us met for several hours to refine a plan of attack --- which was little more than to take some of the ideas they began shortly after the presentation.
  
• Dale developed a Blog to post his Lesson Plans and important links for his Science classes. Parents and IEP folks are always requesting this information!
  
• Meanwhile, Doug developed a Blog to post the Lesson Plans for a Teacher Workshop on 'Blog Design' whereby each department would spend one hour in the lab and leave with their own Lesson Plan Blog.
  
• Doug also started a 2nd Blog to share ideas with staff and students. And most exciting, he now has all his students create their own blog for his course (and they are all posted in a table of contents).
  
• And Ms. Thompson posted Spanish 1 Lesson Plan Blog that also includes Audio recordings.
  
• What I appreciated most about this process is all of this occurred within 1 week after the initial presentation to a small group of students and several administrators who were in attendance.
• Shift Happens (and very quickly) when you work with the right people. Find an administrator who will support change, and find your 'lead teachers' who have vision and the respect of the faculty. That is a winning combination.
  

Post 15: Ustream.TV (live broadcasting)

If you have a webcam and a microphone then here's a great tool for live andio and video broadcasting to a worldwide audience. If you don't have a webcam, then UStream still broadcast (like a radio) using only audio (voice).

One feature I especially like (besides being fully web-based and free) is the ability to record your broadcasts (video and/or audio only) which can then be posted to your blog or website for playback at any time.

• It's SPAM free, Safe and Secure Site, Parental Controls for Minors, Privacy Settings - Puts You In Control, and ZERO tolarence for Inappropriate Behavior.
• Once you're registered, this tool is as simple as hitting 4 buttons: Start Broadcast, Start Recording, Stop Recording, Stop Broadcasting.

Use your imagination for educational applications, including:

• Daily or Weekly Live Broadcasting (invite others to watch and listen).
• Record and deliver a speech; Playback and re-record until it's perfect; then submit it (the URL) to your instructor. If you record using the video (as well as the audio) it's like giving it live in front of an audience you don't have to look at :)
  
• Record your foreign language words/phrases, practice, and submit to your instructor.
  
• Record a F2F interview (Live and/or recorded) and post on your Blog or Webpage.

Here's a link to my UStream video's. It's pretty empty, but I wanted you to see the options.

Post 14: del.icio.us (delicious) Social Bookmarking

del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website, which means it is designed to allow you to store and share your favorites/bookmarks on the web instead of inside your browser.
Here's a great 3 minute video that says it all.

• This has huge advantages, as you can now access your bookmarks from anywhere, anytime, no matter whether you're at home, in a library, on a friends computer, or accessing the Internet from your cell phone, Blackberry, or iPhone.
• Second, you can choose to share some (or all) of your bookmarks publicly so friends and co-workers can view them for reference, amusement, collaboration, or anything else.
• Simply enter the URL and as many 'tag' descriptors as you wish and let them do the managing. You can place their Toolbar on your browser, or go to their website, login, and voila -> there sit all your favorite sites.
  
• Another beauty of this tool is their use of tagging. When you use their tool to add a Favorite/Bookmark it is called tagging. You enter key words to describe the site. Then, to locate the site in the future, simply use their 'Search' box and type in any key word(s) and voila -> guaranteed to locate the link you're looking for.
• Awesome tool --- go sign up now at http://del.icio.us
• Add this into your IE Toolbar
• Add this into your Firefox Toolbar
  

Post 13: YackPack Live Voice (Chat Tool)

1-touch, 2-Way Audio. Fully Web 2.0.

• Another great feature of YackPack is a live voice tool they call Walkie Talkie Widget.
  
• Schedule a time to have everybody meet at your Blog (or website) and hold a Live-conference or work session?
  
• Simply press the 'Live' Button to Talk. Everybody else listens.
  (the image in this Post is just a picture. Use full LiveVoice button at top of Blog)
  
• Take turns, or talk all at once. It's Live, it's easy, and it's a great tool for collaboration.

A demo of this tool is located at the top of the vertical navigation bar in this blog.

Talk LIVE to anyone currently viewing our blog. It as simple as: 1) Speakers turned on to Listen; 2) Microphone turned on to talk, and 3) Press the LIVE! button and begin talking. Voice over IP technology is wonderful.

Post 12: What the heck is Jott? [audio to text]

This post was created by using my cell phone.

• Using new Web 2.0 software called Jott I am able to call a 1-866 number, state the recipient (like 'Blogger' or 'myself' or Andy) and just talk.
  
• After I hang up, Jott takes over and converts my audio into text with amazing accuracy.
  
• It then posts the converted text to my blog or sends it as an email including both the text and audio to the recipient.

No typing, just talk.
Click here to listen

Post 11: iPhone post to Blog

I'm cruising the countryside in central Michigan and experimenting with my sons new iPhone (he's driving, of course). Amazing, innovative, incredible tool.

• Used the iPhone Maps feature (map and linear instructions) to direct us to a small music store and arrived without a glitch.
  
• Opened up the iPhone Browser and processed my Email. Connection speed wasn't the greatest, but what can one expect in central Michigan.
• While in the browser, I opened up my Blog and posted this.
  
• We also used the iPhone to watch a full length movie . This device has the highest resolution of any device currently on the market.
  
• Also listened to music (8 gigs holds alot of songs --- and data, too).
• Of course this device works anywhere (either WiFi or satellite).

Who needs a laptop when traveling?