Abbotsford Waiting

I thought I'd create a movie (slide show) of the photos I took yesterday before the storm. It was expected to be a crazy destructive thing but it slipped rather discreetly to the south of Abbotford, the thunder and lightning being relatively subdued.

The sky, however,  proved to be dramatic and ever-changing - so I tried to capture its evolution until I sprinted back home via the bike path in time to watch the weather on TV (not as much fun). The ominous clouds reminded me of our intimate experience of a cyclonic force storm on the NSW/ Queensland border which I captured for a very early blog post here a few years ago (here is the link)



I use Create Movie in Picasa for a quick product, and also scanned itunes with a word search 'storm' to locate an mp3 file to add an audio track. This took all of about 7 minutes and then I uploaded the movie file to my account at Vimeo (my preferred hosting site till something better is found).

It took 30 minutes to 'wait in line' to convert, then I returned to Vimeo (it'll send you an email to politely advise that it is finished) to grab the code for adding it to the blog post. Voila! A movie created without a video camera... and no mucking around.

Time to help the Muckaty mob: not in anyone's backyard...

Read about this interesting project and consider pledging your support:

'E'mpowering your Powerpoints and putting them 'out there'

When I finally caught up with a friend over lunch the other day we decided to make it a working meeting at a cafe with wifi in Rathdowne Street so that we could refer to e-stuff as we talked. The subject: how to 'e'-mpower her Powerpoint presies and find the best internet platform for her photography students to share and discuss their photos.

Whilst she's a very experienced commercial photographer who successfully uses Facebook and a blog to further her business networking, she has only recently joined the training fraternity and hadn't given much thought to using Web2 tools to enhance and extend her face2face teaching, probably because in the first few months she's been wrestling with the basic pedagogic issues of delivering content and engaging her students with the best activities to activate their learning.

Once the meal was out of the way, we got the macbook and the netbook out and flicked through one of her presies. I could quickly provide a few tips to improve her slides. She wisely requested my Top Three, so here they are:

1. Determine how much text you want to include and its purpose (headings, dot points, captions for photos, links to websites, thought provoking questions) and strip out the text that would be better part of your oral delivery or discussion.
2. Pull out the material that would better be presented in the form of a Handout - this is the text-rich technical stuff that students might have to refer to again and again.
   Of course, the question remains, what to do with that handout (after you've photocopied it and handed it out)? It could be uploaded using Scribd or Issuu or even uploaded to Google Docs and the link put in the Presie, that way, anyone who missed the class can still get a copy.
   Having removed your Handout, consider how to make it work a lot harder for you, ie set a task that requires the students to refer to it, integrate the subject content, apply it and then synthesise it in answer to your Questions (see next point).
3. And, finally, make your students work harder, ie some of your presie will pose problems or ask questions rather than simply provide content.

We discussed a few more aspects of the layout of the slides like making use of the design templates and including hotlinks, and she showed me how Presenter View works (so that you can see your notes and the trainees can't!) but we didn't get to inserting narration, video or voice files. Nor did we discuss in detail how to publish the presie on the web so that students can revisit it and those, who have missed the session, can catch up.

Having been around the block a few times with publishing slide shows and presies, I suggested unreservedly to try SlideShare, a ubiquitous app for publishing your presies (there are a lot of others but this one endeared itself to me when I managed to work out how to add voice narration and synchronise the slides and voice).

Web sharing and discussing photos
Our photography trainer would like to have a place for the students from her three class groups to share their photos and discuss them. She might also post links to new resources, course materials and events. What should she use that is quick to establish and maintain, and easy for those to pick up who have little exposure to the internet?

A Facebook (Closed) Group would meet all the above needs but only for those people who are already using Facebook and those who are willing to join for this purpose. Some people have a healthy distrust of the Facebook (its privacy settings have been the subject of some bad press) and these people would be excluded from this valuable networking.

Another option we didn't get around to discussing is Google+. Provided that her students all have or are prepared to open a Google (gmail) account, they can operate a discussion group, here called a Circle. Actually, the exclusivity of the circle requires the co-operation of all 'members' - it's not as secure as a Facebook closed Group... so friends of the students might 'drop by' too.

If they choose to, they can Hang out together too (live webconferencing which integrates seamlessly with the Google+ Stream).

And, being part of the Google suite of apps, it links nicely with your Web Albums (if you're using Picasa). And Picasa offers a lot more than Facebook Photo Albums (like local storage, basic editing and neat slide shows, called movies).

STOP PRESS

One of my Google+ mates just shared a notice about a giant Photographers' Hangout where you can listen in and join the discussion amongst some of the world's best (or nerdiest) photographers. I'm not so sure how that web live chat-fest is going to be mediated when 5,000 punters just drop by... here is how it works.

Premieres Oct 4, 2011 at 6:30 pm EST (11:30 pm London).

Sit back and relax, while watching the most engaging photographers on Google+ talk shop. Using Google hangouts, we will have in-depth conversations on interesting topics and facets of photography. Join and interact with inspiring photographers; ask questions, share your enthusiasm and expand your horizons.

Using a mix of platforms, you will be able send us your questions via Google+ and Twitter. We will have six spots in the hangouts taken by our moderators and the guests. The remaining spots will be filled randomly, based the questions that you post in the comments and on twitter (https://twitter.com/photohangouts). 

It's time for my lunch companion to do a quick straw poll to ascertain what her students think about the options.

I think Google+ will be the new social networking 'place to be' for people to engage on a particular topic of interest, like photography. It's clearly less limited than Twitter and better focused (no pun intended) than Facebook, its integration with Web Photo Albums being an added bonus.

Blog blog blog Blah Blah blah

Blogging has its attractions for many of us who have something to write, and, hopefully, some sort of an audience out there in the ether. I started this particular blog with an idea to simply try out this medium: but what content and which audience?

Initially it was going to be driven by my interest in the local area: planning and environment issues associated with this fascinating locality - an inner-suburb on the edge of hectares of Yarra parklands and the buzzing cultural life of the inner North.

But this did not really eventuate: it's a blog with one voice and I had little to contribute for an audience of family and friends.

It eventually proved to be very handy for posting short reports whilst travelling and linking photo albums at Picasa. It was working successfully for me but not for my readers. They didn't seem to get it! I emailed the link regularly with instructions for clicking the 'photo to take you to the linked album'. Even my nearest and dearest either didn't bother or couldn't work it out!

Interestingly, when I finally caught up with an interstate friend who had subscribed, he provided insightful feedback: 'we didn't like it because it was too impersonal' - so that 'public voice' I had adopted was not compelling for friends and family: not enough personal stuff - the stuff I don't like reading in blogs!

I prefer this blog to be an avenue for reflection on my experience of e-technologies for use in teaching and learning. Not an e-portfolio but an e-scrapbook.

I've decided to leave music and concert reviews to the professionals and the DIYers who are much more dedicated (and talented) than me. See No Depression for an impressive and gigantic blogging community (I didn't realise it was a NING when I joined - I thought I was subscribing - must remove myself!)

My friend, Cara, starts a Wordpress blog

More recently, after years of postponing the development of a website for our local residents' association, I decided, as unpaid secretary of such, I would take the plunge and start a blog. I chose Wordpress, rather than Blogger, because it seemed more sophisticated, emulating a website with multiple pages and other publishing possibilities. My experience confirmed all this - I still find Blogger clunky. And the Wordpress site is humming with activity.

Admittedly, I promote it to a large email contacts list and publicise each blog post on our Facebook account. We've had a significant number of contributions in the form of Comments on posts (I moderate for a modicum of civility rather than agreement) and one other contributor (the most controversial blog post, so far). I'm encouraging others in the group to find their voice and expect their engagement might increase over the next few months as they follow the trajectory in Viewing stats.

So - why have a class blog?

The adult ESL group I see twice a week are writing reports and narratives of (theoretically) 200-300 words. They are also expected to develop basic computer literacy - email, browser and Word skills. There is a wiki for students, ostensibly to showcase their oral work (podcasts and videos), and photos from events and excursions, and to be a hub for course content (including links to other online language learning resources and websites). The wiki is closed to the centre's community given students' reluctance to have their images and work publicly available.

I decided that it is not feasible to attempt to teach students to edit the wiki. They could have their own pages but there are administrative workload implications (for me) and we just don't see them often enough for them to gain the minimum skills to become wiki-workers. So how could they publish their writing and share it with others?

What's 'Posterous' in Turkish?

Well, actually, it's not really a 'word' in English so you won't find it in your bilingual dictionary (in fact, I'm not sure if 'blog' is in your dictionary either...)

I chose Posterous for the class blog because:

1. You can simply email your Post to the web address and it's therefore dirt simple to 'post'.
2. I hadn't seen the various Matrix instruments developed to aid you, with scientific precision,  to choose the best fit blog app for your purpose.
3. It seemed very easy to sign up a bunch of bloggers (they can even have their own blog with the same account as well). I was wrong - at best, it's idiosyncratic, ie weird...
4. Retrospectively, I've noticed that Replies have as much prominence as the original post and that whenever someone replies to a post, the post appears at the top of the hierarchy (so the posting order reflects the reply activity) thereby giving replies added prominence.
5. The author of each contribution (including replies) can be readily identified by their photo avatar.

Early impressions have been mixed:

• students are having trouble remembering their email and passwords (yes, it will develop important digital literacy skills in remembering passwords and practising ruthless accuracy in typing them);
• Students complain of receiving too many email notifications (one for every post and reply, it seems) - we'll have to turn that particular feature off in each of their settings);
• they're mixing up the email address (@posterous) with the web address (.posterous);
• one person got assistance from her computer teacher who kindly uploaded her Word document into Scribd and then embedded it as a reply to someone else's post - when all that was needed was a copy and paste from the Word doc into an email! (We want to teach them to fish not procure the fish for them via some circuitous route);
• the theme or interface is a little unexciting and confusing (thinking about improvements....)

Early emerging benefits and unexpected applications, include:

• students are engaging with each other's work using a Web2 application in a social way: ie. publishing, clicking 'like' to show that they've read someone else's work, giving feedback via replies;

• the whole class can undertake 'writing workshops' by viewing a post together (via projector) and suggesting changes to fix errors and improve written expression;
• teacher can provided immediate feedback via Reply and has Administrator privileges enabling her (me!) to highlight and/ or correct errors, or draw students' attention to model usage of a particular language structure;
• a body of evidence is being collected (without bothering about printing and filing) for assessment purposes; 
• teacher can start a topic for discussion and students can all contribute a reply;
• other teachers can subscribe and/or become contributors (thereby promoting the blog as a legitimate form of online communication amongst the centre's community of students and teachers (can't wait for that one!); and
• we can 'mine' the posts in order to publish some in the periodic Reading and Writing newsletter (rather than file pieces of paper - for the editor to type up - in a folder on the mantelpiece).

I'm pleased to say that the above list is even more comprehensive than that I read today at Free Technology for Teachers.

Around the block: built form, art and nature

This is going to be a quickie post just to introduce the slideshow. I've linked to the photo album at Picasa Web Albums (rather than included a movie) so you can view them on demand. Just move your mouse over the image and click. You'll then be taken to the Album at Picasa.

Yesterday was chilly and the sun came and went. Winter is hard - the sun is low in the sky and there is no pretty foliage on the exotic trees - just long shadows and eucalypts.

Around the block 25 and 26 June 2011

The art exhibition at C3 was a total surprise: I hope interiors are accepted in this round the block challenge! I usually drop in to C3 at the Convent on the way back from yoga so it's a legitimate trail. I was totally blown away by 'Numan' and 'Hanging Garden' and little Angelina obliged to lend these installations perspective. She was equally intrigued and engaged with them. Thanks Greg and Angelina.

The street art is a mere fraction of the public creativity around here. I'd like to snap more on another walk.

Finally I cheated: the coffee was 'created' in Carnegie later after a countery at the Rosstown. And the little creatures were 'sunbaking' on my back window sill, originally from Hermannsburg, they crave some solar radiation in this hard winter...

Flippin' Video for Dummies Part 2

When you're presenting a video to a formal gathering like an AGM, it's a good idea to run it from your PC hard drive rather than from the internet. So just copy it to your USB stick and remember to grab the CORRECT one as you leave home that morning...

And just in case the USB stick malfunctions - or you take the wrong one - arrrrgh! put a copy of your precious video in the cloud at Dropbox. In the unlikely event that you've taken the wrong USB stick, you can simply download your flippin' video from Dropbox.

Allow plenty of time for this download process. How much time? you may ask. About 3 flippin' hours for a 350 MB video. That's right. The download finished about 15 minutes after the end of the AGM.

When all else fails, ask someone at home to peddle over and hand deliver the correct USB stick (as long as you live within 20 minutes of your workplace). It works a treat.

Postscript: now if you absolutely have to play (another) video directly from the internet, play it through before your guests arrive, so it will play without interruption (buffering) on demand. And NEVER navigate away from that particular web page or else all that preparation was a waste of time!

Flippin' Video uploading for Dummies

Spent most of the weekend trying to upload a 'little' video to one of the hosting sites available for our work wiki.

What a smorgasbord! I felt like Goldielocks.

There's Teachtube - just for education - perfect! Except they only accept videos smaller than 100MB and there's my Latest Favourite - Vimeo a 'respectful community of creative people'. It's quick and cute but unfortunately only takes videos up to 500MB, or is that 600MB? I dunno and don't care because the video in question is 689MB.

So I cast my eye around to blip.tv which I seem to have used before (I've got videos floating everywhere in the cloud, it seems). You can grow old waiting for videos to upload at blip.tv and there is poor communication on their side when they spit the dummy after 2 hours and a big zero has uploaded.

I googled Best free video hosting sites and nearly fell for Viddler - it's got great interactive tagging and comments facilities which I might eventually use. But luckily I watched all their talking head how-to videos before going through another lengthy sign-up process and found a limit of 500MB for those too stingy or poor to pay.

Well, what about Youtube? I hear you ask. Unfortunately whilst they seem to accept anything, there's no privacy controls, and many of my students have a healthy contempt for having their faces appearing all over the net. So I think I'll just go back to the Flippin' software and split the finished product into Part 1 and Part 2, thereby getting around the limitations of free hosting sites.