PixiClip Attempt

PixiClip is the video tool I am most disappointed with. It is touted as being a good alternative to having an interactive whiteboard. You combine images you create or upload, with pencil and marker drawing, text, and sound or video. I did not upload an image. Instead, I chose the pencil tool, and drew a very sad depiction of "over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go". I don't draw well, to start with, but trying to draw with a mouse and PixiClip made me feel like I was in kindergarten. I was not able to add my voice to the image, for some reason. The tool was very frustrating. A search of google images showed it being used successfully with uploaded problem images, that kids would then solve, using PixiClip tools. That seems like a much better use than actually trying to draw an image with the tools! I guess this could be good for Pictionary using vocabulary words, etc. Here is my very sad attempt.

Powtoon Video

I experimented with Powtoon this morning.  I chose to use one of their templates, and just edited it to suit my needs.  I think Powtoon would be great for creating library announcement videos, like the one I made for my book club.  Animoto seems to be a great choice for featuring multiple pictures of library events, or students at work, or student art work.  It could also showcase a project, from start to completion. 

Check out my powtoon video.  It's also on the book club page of my web site.

Animoto Video

The first video tool I tried out this week was Animoto.  It was pretty easy to use.  I uploaded a number of photos from my computer, added text, used one of their styles for the background, and selected music from the site.  I did have to create an account to make the video, and I' m on a free trial for 14 days, with no credit card info needed.  I didn't see an option for a free 30 second video.  I saw an animoto video on one of the library websites I looked at last week, and think that this is a tool I will definitely use in the future.  Check it out at http://animoto.com.



                      

Cool Website Tools

During the past week, I have been exposed to some pretty cool website tools.  I have already used a slideshow, which allowed me to have rotating book covers with links.  Here are some other ideas that I've gotten from other sites that I found and those that were shared by others.

• Symbaloo, http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcK1fiV, allows you to make a grouping of icons linking to your favorite websites, and display them attractively on your website, or other location.  I hope to be able to use this on my tech tools page, so patrons can link to all of the amazing gadgets that are available.
• Shelfari, http://www.shelfari.com/, is a "virtual bookshelf" made possible by Amazon, for the purpose of selling books.  It makes an attractive display of book covers for a website, and allows you to connect to information about each book featured.  It also has a social feature, so I'm not sure if my personal shelfari could safely be added to my page, but I plan on looking into it.
• Wonderopolis, http://wonderopolis.org/home, allows you to add a nice widget to your page, so kids can connect to the site, and find the answers to things that wonder about, like "why do dogs bark during thunderstorms?"  This is wonderful, random trivia!
• One website, http://halekulalibrary.weebly.com/, allowed students to participate in several activities interactively.  Students were asked to record a reading of their poem through flipgrip, http://flipgrid.com/info/.  This too might be worth exploring.  This site also asked students to participate in an answer garden, and displayed the results.  Finally, it connected to a blog page within the site, which allowed students and others to comment on posts.  I hope to add at least one interactive element to my page.

Weebly Library Websites

This week, we were tasked with finding good examples of library websites.  I found two great websites, both hosted through Weebly.com. 

http://firstcoloniallibrary.weebly.com/   The website of First Colonial High School Media Center in Virginia Beach has a lot to offer.    I was immediately attracted to its' clean, uncluttered look, and 3D, wood-grain background.  The home page is largely dedicated to promoting books.  It has several sections, including "coming soon in the movies", "hot new titles", and "trending titles and authors".  Each features rotating book covers very effectively.  One of the drop down menu titles is technology tips.  It provides an extensive listing of presentation tools with links, and some have pdf direction files available too.  

http://www.chhsmediacenter.com/   Collins Hill High School Media Center, located in Georgia, is another great high school library website.  The home page is filled with staff and student book favorites, along with attractive book covers and descriptions.  One of the menu titles, tech tools, has a ton of humorous, creative photos of students, staff and student groups caught in the act of reading, with the text, "read" overlaying the photos.  Students are reading on the sports field, while doing handstands, etc. 

This site even provided a link to a slidedoc that they put together on making a Weebly website.  http://www.slideshare.net/hfrilot/easy-website-creation-with-weebly.  Hopefully it's as easy as they make it sound.  I'm heading in that direction now!

Voki Library Rap

I had a lot of fun with Voki!  Meet my new avatar :)

Podcasting

I currently teach FACS, which stands for family and consumer sciences.  Our curriculum focuses on teaching workplace readiness and life skills.  I found a number of very useful podcasts that directly relate to my curriculum at the following site:

http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/resources/podcast.php

This site is full of podcasts that teach money skills.  If you want to learn about taxes, retirement, debit, credit, or spending money wisely, this site has a podcast for you. 

All of the podcasts are short, and would easily hold a high school student's attention.  There are several podcasts that will help teach students about how to responsibly use debit cards and the importance of establishing good credit.  I often have students visit assigned websites and gather information as part of their lesson.  These podcasts will be a great resource to enhance personal finance lessons.  I think the students will enjoy listening the experts talk for a little while. 

I believe it would also be advantageous for students to learn to create podcasts themselves.  One of the best ways for students to learn is to have them teach lessons from time to time.  Students in my class could collaborate on group podcast projects, teaching themselves and their classmates about important aspects of personal finance. 

Using Audio Tools in the Library and Classroom

This past week, we were introduced to a number of different tools for creating audio recordings. Some of the simpler tools are Vocaroo and Audiopal. Both of these sites can be used for short recordings, where accompanying animated characters are not necessary. Voki, another tool, is unique, in that it allows students and teachers to create talking avatars. Blabberize allows students to add talking mouths to animals or people in photographs that they upload. I tried Blabberize, but got a little frustrated trying to get the animal's mouth to open correctly. I will have to play with the audio animation options later. Students can use all of these tools to add recorded book reviews to the library website. I use Edmodo in my classroom, and love it. I can see students uploading audio files to their Edmodo discussion posts, or perhaps audio book reports, or current event reports to share with the class. They may choose to use their own voices, or take on an alter ego.

Audio Test #2 - Audiopal

I used Audiopal for my second audio attempt.  I loved that it had the option of text to speech.  I was able to type in what I wanted to say, and have my recording be in the voice of Simon from the UK! 

Audio Test #1 - Vocaroo

For my first attempt at adding audio to my blog, I decided to use Vocaroo.   Vocaroo allows you to record audio, right from your computer microphone.  If you're not happy with your first attempt, just try again.  Once you're done, Vocaroo will generate an embed code.  I tried to use the embed code to add the file, but was unsuccessful, so I have added the link instead.  You can also download your new audio file, if you like.  Vocaroo is very straight forward and user friendly, with the exception of the embedding difficulties.    You can make your own audio recording at http://vocaroo.com/. 

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0K4nVMs4XPZ

Canva Infographic

Here is my latest experiment!  I made an infographic using http://www.canva.com.  Canva has a great selection of templates, and I chose an infographic template to work with.  You can also make posters, cards, presentations, and posts for social media.  Did you ever wonder where all of those images with quotations on Facebook came from?  Canva is definitely one source.  Now you can make your own! 

 

I like the tools that Canva offers, but it has its' limitations, or perhaps I have my limitations.  I could only find a limited number of  text sizes to choose from, and did not see a way to use italics.  Additionally, there are a ton of wonderful images to choose from, but the majority of them that you would actually want to use cost $1.00 each. I was able to find a few free images through Canva for use in this infographic, but my choices were severely limited.   It is possible to upload your own images, as well.

 

Canva is another great tool from the sandbox!