Looking for ready-made resource materials?? Below is a quick view of the tools reviewed this week (as per the course page) with lecture notes attached ("useful to know"):
Thanks to Micheal Coghlan's review of Week 1, we also have a fantastic summary of the research and discussion undertaken by the group RE: YouTube, TeacherTube, flickr, Delicious and Toolboxes. These discussions will help us determine the most appropriate use of these tools for our teaching methods.
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com
Flickr is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to host images that they embed in blogs and social media. (Wikipedia).
Useful to know:
- Stores photos and videos
- Can also access CC images (advanced search)
- TAGGING is essential - give the photo as many keywords as possible
Other interesting websites and resources:
How to use it educationally (forum):
- Deborah: asking participants to search for a visual link to the learning they are undertaking and to share it with others.... sort of like the photo-language tools; and think of the diversity of images we will all get to share.
- Michael : see http://teachingwithflickr.wikispaces.com/ for many more examples of how people are using Flickr as a teaching tool. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/4090354867/ for an example of using the Flickr Notes tool to label images.
- Ian: Flickr would be an excellent platform for any topics/subjects relating to art, design and photography as it is a great way for them to easily upload and to share in class or globally.
Delicious
http://delicious.com
"Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows you to tag, save, manage and share Web pages all in one place. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet." Delicious Getting Started
Useful to know:
- Cloud computing
- Add delicious browser buttons via www.delicious.com/help/tools
- Efficient
- TAGGING is essential - give the site as many keywords as possible
- Can share your sites with other users
Other interesting websites and resources:
Pros
- All your bookmarks are in one place
- It helps you find websites you may find useful again
- You can work from multiple locations on a number of different computers
- Allows you to keep your bookmarks even when your computer crashes – or you have an accident with the coffee!!
- You can set up RSS – one of the most powerful tools in Delicious as it allows you to read websites others are following – which is particularly relevant if they are an expert in an area in which you are interested in
- It keeps track of new and relevant information on the web
- It allows you to discover new links via common tags
- You can share websites with students and peers through the use of tags
- It makes searching for resources much faster. (Bismark)
- If used as a search tool the stuff that is not useful has already been filtered out by your network .(Stephan)
Cons
- You need an online connection to access your bookmarks.
- If there is an inconsistency of terms (e.g. singular vs plurals), it may be difficult to “link” to all websites in the category
- Does it promote information overload?
- I have found the site a little awkward to use due to difficulty in finding “help” on this version (updated Sept 29 – so a lot of the “help” sites appear to be out of date) – consequently, I am not sure that I know how to get the most out of the site – probably with practice and use!!
How to use it educationally ….
This website can be used:
- To find and store links for student research groups
- To recommend books
- For professional research
- So that students can find resources at home and access them at school or vice versa
From the forum:
- Michael: If everyone in a work team agrees on a specific tag, and then uses that tag for *everything* you save at Delicious, then you don't have to search multiple accounts. If make up a tag like 'ourstuffoct11' or something, that everyone uses, you just search Delicious for 'ourstuffoct11' and it will show all the resources your team has tagged.
- Michael to Bismark: A URL of http://www.delicious.com/mikecogh shows all the links of this person. However, http://www.delicious.com/mikecogh/youtube shows everything he has bookmarked about YouTube.
How can I use it?
· Students and teachers: bookmark relevant books, websites for projects, or further reference – would be great for building on over time.
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com
YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos....Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, although media corporations including CBS, the BBC, UMG and other organizations offer some of their material via the site, as part of the YouTube partnership program. Unregistered users can watch the videos, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. (Wikipedia)
Useful to know:
- Moodle now automatically embeds web address (?may need to push "share" button to get code?)
- Iframe for Ipads
- Mike Wesch's legendary 55 min "Intro to YouTube" @ http://ksuanth.weebly.com/wesch.html
- YouTube clips can be downloaded as mp4 files using Keepvid" and embedded in Powerpoint - ?illegal. Perhaps not if only used for a class or on a site that requires a login??
Other interesting or useful resources:
Forum notes (as per Ian):
Previously I have used this site to upload my teaching content/ examples/ video files of the subject matter to allow my students to view them at their own leisure.
Pros
· Youtube allows the student to view/ pause/ re wind media clips again and again to gain mastery of a certain subject/topic.
· Apart from my own uploaded content, Youtube is a massive repository for all manner of subjects from anatomy to zoology- literally from a to z.
· Most of my students are used to using Youtube so there are no adaptive issues and it is in a genre they are happy to use- plus some students think it is cool for us "oldies" to be using what they perceive as something only they can use and or understand.
· I believe that the use of Youtube can overcome barriers in learning and literally bring learning into their mobile lifestyles.
Cons
· Some institutions may have a ban on Youtube access.
· Another possible downside is although it is a massive repository as mentioned above, not every media file in there may be of a teaching acceptable standard. So unless specific links are given to students they may get lost trawling through the millions of files available or may actually find one that isn't completely accurate.
Overall
Good site, easy to upload into, massive potential repository but possible question marks on accuracy of content as it is not vetted before upload. (Michael adds – vetting content could be a valuable class exercise.)
TeacherTube
www.teachertube.com
TeacherTube is a video sharing website similar to, and based on, YouTube. It is designed to allow those in the educational industry, particularly teachers, to share educational resources such as video, audio, documents, photos, groups and blogs. The site contains a mixture of classroom teaching resources and others designed to aid teacher training. (Wikipedia)
Useful to know:
- Great for uploading your own videos - especially if you have learners who can't access YouTube because of firewall issues
- HOWEVER, moderators review videos prior to uploading to the site - can take 24 hours
- Harder to find info than on YouTube due to the volume on YT
- Has own educational section
- Can upgrade photos, audio, video and files
Other useful or interesting websites:
Forum notes (as per Ian):
From the outset this site has more of a community feel about it. The sites owners have described it as "We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners." This distinction clearly differentiates the site from Youtube as it is teacher/learning specific.
Pros
· Ability to upload lesson plans, teacher notes to complement teaching videos.
· The site itself feels very user friendly which is comforting for new users. Also embedded is the ability to customise content and the interface which is ideal for differentiated groups of learning.
· The site also promotes a sharing ethos amongst educators that Youtube doesn't.
· Great benefit for teachers and trainers in my agency especially with the restrictions on many other sites. (Robert) (Stephan also posted a list of YT alternatives.)
Cons
· Only one so far- tried to upload a video- took ages- very laggy. Was slower than Youtube.
· Searching for topics frequently fails (Kathe)
Overall
· A better community spirited site especially for educators. Offers sharing and customisation which Youtube doesn't. Very user friendly.
· Maybe more laggy than Youtube
How the tool can be used in an educational setting
Youtube and TeacherTube would be used in a very similar manner. I have used Youtube to upload teaching videos and Smartboard sessions to allow my students to view at their own leisure and as many times as they want too. This content can be viewed, paused, re viewed again and again; can be viewed at home, on their own pc's or mobile via their own mobile phones. Teachertube allows for the same type of participation but also allows for lessons plan uploads.
Other comments:
- Deborah: upload student content and viewing it on youtube is a great idea .. I will use that during the next month for an assessment task. We provide content via our youtube site and add the links to our Moodle platform.
- Mandy: lots of short snippets of info can be used for discussion starters or topic starters.
- Naomi: I went straight to the top 100 resources to limit my own aimless searches. I found different types of multimedia that have been shared and categorised into subject matter, making it very simple for both non and the technologically minded to find resources.
- When someone asked whether you could use forums as 'video discussion boards' Michael and Stephan posted some examples using Eyejot (http://www.eyejot.com/). It is a video email tool but also provides embed code for putting in web pages, or forum postings.
Flexible Learning Tools
http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au
Flexible Learning Toolboxes (Toolboxes) are high quality, cost effective interactive e-learning and assessment resources featuring scenarios, images and activities. They are designed for use by training providers, industry and business and support online delivery of recognised training packages for the vocational education and training sector.
Toolbox materials now come in two formats:
- an integrated learning program incorporating a number of units of competency. These programs are available on a CD-ROM for installation on a server or for use on a stand-alone computer.
- a learning object format allowing users to download smaller self-contained components of content for free. Learning objects generally support an element or unit of competency.
Flexible Learning Toolboxes provide you with options to attract new learners and markets with online resources at a fraction of their development cost.
Who to contact?
Useful to know:
Other interesting or useful resources:
- Need support - how to use Flexible Learning Toolboxes website and to search for learning objects, download them and incorporate the learning material into your training
Forum notes:
- Mary provided us with the official blurb: "Flexible Learning Toolboxes (Toolboxes) are high quality, cost effective interactive e-learning and assessment resources featuring scenarios, images and activities. They are designed for use by training providers, industry and business and support online delivery of recognised training packages for the vocational education and training sector"
- The toolbox materials now come in two formats - (1) an integrated learning program incorporating a number of units of competency, available on a CD-ROM for installation on a server or for use on a stand-alone computer. (2) a learning object format allowing users to download smaller self-contained components of content for free.
- There are currently 110 toolboxes connected to 190 qualifications and supporting over 1,000 units of competency. So they are designed to support nationally endorsed training packages and be used by Registered Training Organisations.
- The toolboxes cost around $400 and come with a teacher guide and installation booklet.
Why are these useful?
- They seem ready made cost effective collections of materials that can be incorporated into online and blended courses. The free learning objects also look really good.
- Kathe: one advantage of Toolboxes and learning object subsets is that they are directly related to training packages, so don't need to worry whether the stuff is relevant. We have been using the Hairdressing toolbox for over 8 years, but since we went to Moodle 3 yrs ago, we know find it easier to put an individual learning object into a lesson in a course.
Possible cons
- They often need modification if they come from an old toolbox series, with lots of links broken and the package will have been revised. But this is not difficult once you have done it once or twice. Your state toolbox champion can help with this process.
- A problem with simple upload of a scorm into Moodle is that any coursework associated does not record or mark.