Well that's it!

I've come to the end of my 21 Things Project, and it has been informative, interesting and fun!  Now I need to go back to the beginning and refresh my skills, before using the resources with students or staff!

My South Park Alter Ego

This is my South Park Avatar: Me on a beach somewhere, with a cocktail!

Myscriptfont.com

This website enables you to make your own font and use it in Word. Well it was awful before Blogger converted it to the font below!

This is Jessie’s font, it’s awful. Must try better.

Glittery Images

You can also glitterfy images:

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]

Gliterry Things!

Glitterfy.com allows you to add glitter to text, or pictures:



[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]

My Aura

I successfully managed to create an Aura with the Aurasma software and now have a performing seal on the Book Sale notice in LLC1!

AR Campaigns

I looked at quite a few of the 'campaigns' on the Aurasma site and my favourite one was 'Working the Cloud' which is an AR aura that advises businesses on how to get the best use of Social Networking sites to promote their business.

it's easy to see how this software is useful for marketing purposes, it's gimmicky and it's a fun way to find out about products, much more interesting than someone handing out flyers, or reading advertisements.

Aurasma - Thing 18

This is a fun way to view the world!  some of the examples are fascinating.  I'm now going to have a go at making my own Aura..........watch this space.

Augmented Reality Examples!

I wasn't quite getting the hang of augmented reality until I found some examples: 

Augmented Reality Examples

Augmented Reality

With the help of advanced AR technology, (for example adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. 

If you want to know a bit more have a look at these article from The Guardian:

Information on Augmented Reality

DebateGraph Times Out!

Just noticed that the DebateGraph I embedded in an earlier post timed out! I've embedded it again but it will probably time out again!

My DebateGraph Mindmap

Continuing with the 21 things theme below is my latest creation:

DebateGraph

DebateGraph is a dynamic online software which allows the collaborative creation of maps with layers. So let's get going and see what it has to offer.

Continuing with MindMaps

Pearltrees - Pearltrees is an online software which allows users to collect, organise and share URLs, notes and pictures.

I don't like this one as much - but it is interesting.

Embedding the Mindmap

Here goes, what you should see below is the embedded MindMap from Bubbl.us: If you can't see the mindmap click on the plus sign until the zoom is 100%.



Now all I have to do is find someone with a Bubbl.us account to share the 21 things with in editable mode.  Come on you lot, get a move on............please

And.........on to MindMaps - thing number 17

I'm going to look at 3 different applications that offer MindMaps:

Pearltrees
Debategraph
Bubbl.us

Staring with Bubbl.us - a free collaborative software for brainstorming and creating mindmaps.  You can find your way round Bubbl.us in a matter of minutes and produce professional mindmaps, easily and quickly and it is so easy to insert a hyperlink in a bubble :-)

Pearltrees:

Onwards and Upwards - thing Number 16 - Action Buttons

This is something that I know how to do - so just a wee refresher necessary here! :-)

My first Video using Animoto - Flowers and Places of Interest

Life is Perfect

15 is Animoto

This is a brilliant piece of software which allows you to make short free videos, or longer ones if you are prepared to pay for them.  

It took me just under 4 minutes to make one!  It's really user friendly and easy to use, and I can predict that students will absolutely love this. :-)

Click the link below,sign up, and try it out!

Animoto

Pinterest

It's good!  It's very good.......... and also very user friendly.  A fantastic resource and collaboration tool.  I'm sure the students will love using Pinterest - particularly the Photography students.

I'm off to add this one to my new Prezi now!  ;-)

Thing 14 - Pinterest

Pinterest is another social bookmarking site - but on this one is dedicated to photo-sharing.  It is so popular it is the third largest social networking site, after Facebook and Twitter.

Prezi

Well I've spent some time today refreshing my Prezi skills by creating a new Prezi entitled 21 things.... this will be a work in progress as I've actually only completed 13 things to date!  Watch this space.

Oh and I've managed to change my time settings now, so it doesn't look like I've been posting in the middle of the night any more.

Thank you Heather!

Number 13 - Unlucky for some!

But not me! very lucky for me as this one is Prezi and it has been mastered - just need to remind myself how good it is!  The students love it and it's so easy to find re-usable prezis which should cut down preparation time for teaching staff, as there's a lot of good material already created.

Tweeting in Education

Right then how could we use this technology to enhance learner experience.

Have a look at this website for tips:  50 Ways to use Twitter

and this one: Using Twitter in Education

And moving on swiftly to Thing Number 12 - Twitter

Twitter is a site for ‘Microblogging’  What does this mean?  you get 140 characters per tweet.

Signed up and ready to tweet! and it's so easy!

Opinion!

So what do I think of Poll Everywhere?

I think it's a very useful collaboration tool - much more efficient and easier to use than Smart Response Software, and you don't need all the equipment ie handsets etc.  

The only problem would be the cost to the student if using their mobile, but having said that most of them get free texts on their contracts, and the alternative is using the web to respond.

I can see this being very useful in a classroom situation.  :-)

Continuing with Thing Number 11 - Collaboration Tools

Here is my first ever poll!  Using Polleverywhere.com

My Wall - 21Things

I've successfully created a wall and would like to share this with you:

Created with Padlet

Number 11 - Collaboration Tools

Collaboration tools allow people to express their thoughts on a common topic. It works like an online sheet of paper where people can put any content (e.g. images, videos, documents, text) anywhere on the page, together with anyone, from any device. 

Formerly known as Wallwisher. 

Padlet gives you gives you a blank wall and you can put anything you want on it, anywhere. Simple, yet powerful.

Short appraisal of Flickr

I can see why this site is popular with some people, it's an easy way to share photographs and organise online albums into different categories.

It's useful to be able to link pictures directly into Blogs.

Perhaps the Creative Media/Art/Photography students would be able to benefit greatly from having a Flickr account.

Flower

Shared via Flickr

Flower, a photo by @Doug88888 on Flickr.

Almost Halfway! Thing Number 10

Thing Number 10 is Flickr.... so what's this all about.  I have heard of this one but never used it.......so here goes............

Delicious Bookmarklet

It's easy to see how useful this tool is for our students (and staff).  

Everyone knows how easy it is to add favourites or bookmarks on a pc, however when working on a network it's not so easy as the favourites and bookmarks are only saved on individual pcs, and even then someone else using that pc can add or delete bookmarks from the favourites.

This makes the bookmarking tool invaluable, as you can save your most useful links and recall them quickly from any pc or laptop.  

Excellent! 

Interesting Fact

Founded in 2003, Delicious was acquired from Yahoo! and rebuilt by AVOS. Helmed by YouTube founders Chad Hurley & Steve Chen, the site was relaunched in 2011 with a new focus on curation and discovery.

So what is Delicious????

Well apart from the obvious answers: chocolate and red wine; cup cakes; rib-eye steak cooked medium rare..........

Delicious is an online bookmarking tool, which, according to my Invigilator this evening, the knowledgeable Trev, has been around for at least 10 years.  I'm ashamed to admit I've never heard of it!  I'm about to create an account and no doubt will be reporting shortly on this tool to let you know what I think.

It's interesting that Heather has chosen the name HeatherFeather1289 

hmmmmm  she's as light as a feather, looks 12, but has the wisdom of an 89 year old - that's my theory!

Delicious

No I've not been 'pigging out' during the AAT Assessments.  This is the title of Thing number 10 - hooray for the AAT students, I'm whizzing through my 21 things in their presence.

Waiting on replies!

My 2 colleagues will be pleased!  I've emailed both quizzes: one to Will and one to Chris..........now I just need to find something for Mark to test :-)

Sorry guys.......I had to email them to a friend.........and my other friends would be thinking "What planet is she on?"  ........... then again I think perhaps you both think that at times!  I can hear you both saying "at times!!" :-)

Still on Quizzes......

ProProf - an alternative quiz!  I prefer Quizlet.........

ILT » Online Exam maker

The Journey continues - Thing Number 9 is Quizzes

Oh how exciting - a wonderful site called Quizlet!  it can do all sorts of magic with your questions!!

Tagul Example 2 - 21 Things

21 Things in Tagul!  How cool is this!

Tagul - Thing Number 8 - Gorgeous Tag Clouds!

Tagul is a web service that enables you to create beautiful looking tag clouds which you can then embed on your Blog or web page.  The words in the cloud can be interactive ie you can create a link to web sites from the individual words! How clever. Example 1:

 

Embedding Videos in PowerPoint - Thing 7

This one was relatively easy for me as I already knew how to alter the embedded code in Youtube, however I still learned something as I did not know you could control the length of the video by altering the code.

Very interesting - and this technology is already being widely used in teaching.  It is easy to see why it is so popular with staff and students.

Thing Number 6 - youtube

A little video - called Flag Hippo!

My Embedded Map

And here it is below:


View Journey South in a larger map

Google Maps & Google Earth - Thing Number 5

Google Maps provides Zoomable maps focused on an address or post code. Maps can be searched by business category, and it also provides driving directions.  To find a location you simply type in the postcode or address.



View Larger Map

Hmm direction No 44 in getting from Japan to China is Jetski across the Pacific Ocean...........think I'll pass on that one :-)

QR Codes - Thing Number 4

A QR Code is a cell phone readable bar code that can store website URL's, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses and  any other alphanumeric data. QR stands for Quick Response.

Below is the QR Code I have created for my personal email address:

This one is for Southport College Telephone Number:

And finally a QR Code for a Youtube clip on QR Codes:

Using RSS Feeds in Education

I can see how useful this would be to students and teaching staff - allowing quick access to current new/information on curriculum topics.  This would cut down the amount of searching and enable students' to quickly evaluate information.

For example if you have a student that is doing a project or a paper on global warming then the student could actually create an RSS feed that would bring any news about global warming to his newsreader (aggregator) as soon as it was published.

If you want detailed information on how to create and use RSS Feeds click on the link below which takes you to a website giving more details:

RSS Feed Disappointment!

Unfortunately I have discovered that my RSS feeds do not work in Google Chrome Browser, therefore if you want to see the data rather than the HTML code please look at the Blog in IE browser.

Thank you.

Using RSS Feeds -My Experience!

I need a bit of practice!  I found it quite frustrating at first, then discovered that it was because I was using Google Chrome.  Feeds work much better in Internet Explorer Browser.

After a bit of patience I managed to get 3 Feeds in my Blog.  One at the bottom - the BBC Home News Feed, and 2 above the Pages section, which are linked to relevant images!

My Useful RSS Feeds

From an educational point of view I looked at feeds that would be useful for my students and have subscribed to a few BBC news Feeds:

BBC News - Business (gives up to date current news on Businesses, this is particularly useful for my Business Studies students)

BBC News - Technology (for my IT students)

BBC News - Education (relevant for the staff more than the students)

I've also subscribed to the government Traffic news feed for the Motorways:

http://hatrafficinfo.dft.gov.uk/feeds/rss/CurrentAndFutureEvents/M6.xml

This one is very useful for me as I travel up and down the country visiting relatives!

Another good one for travel news is the RAC feed.

Thing Number 3

Thing 3 is RSS Feeds

Feeds are known as RSS ('Really Simple Syndication') which are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.  They are dynamic and real time so the information delivered is up to date and accurate.

So what have I learned about Widgets

Educational Use for Widgets

There are all kinds of widgets available that can potentially enhance learning including widgets containing dictionaries, words and facts of the day, calendars, converters, translators, and photos.

In fact some widgets have been designed purely for use in education.  Click on the word Education here to link to a  website which offers a wide variey of Free widgets.

Instantly add live computational knowledge  to your Blog or Website!eg this Heart Disease Risk Calculator:


or this BMI calculator:http://www.wolframalpha.com/widgets/

Useful Widgets

The Multiple World Clocks would be a very useful widget for Travel & Tourism students, or indeed those who travel around the world a lot or have friends in far flung places!



And a very useful widget for any student/traveller is of course a Weather Widget,  the one above,  I have customised for Birkdale Golf Club in Southport:

This weather forecast is generated by the Met Office Weather Widget

Installing a Widget

Right!  I've just had a quick look and found a pretty Clock Widget which I have installed below:

The unfortunate downside is that most Widgets I have found today come with inbuilt advertisements that can be quite annoying when you click on the Widget.

Using Blogs in Education

Now that I've completed Thing Number 1 -  Blogs, I can see how this technology can be used in teaching sessions to enhance the learning experience, making it creative, fun and interesting but at the same time adding to teaching resources for the tutor as it can be used to assess students' learning and track progress on a continual basis.

Below is a link to a Website which gives more detail on how Blogs can be very useful tool for integrating technology in the classroom:

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47

Interesting Fact No 2

There is a setting in Design, Advanced where you can set the colour of your Post Title to change if you have clicked on it!  It's in Links, and Visited Colour.  Thanks to Heather for helping me find this, as one of my Post Titles had turned grey and I had no idea why!

My Preferred Learning Style

I've just completed a Learning Styles quiz and the results indicate that I am a Visual Learner, which surprises me a little as I would consider myself to be a Kinaesthetic Learner becauseI like hands-on learning.  Perhaps the truth is I'm both!  It was an interesting little exercise the link is below if you want to have a go at the quiz!

http://brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/pages/VAK_quest.htm

Setting up Web Links

This is a simple process - all you need to do is copy the URL, go back to design view and navigate to the post/page where you want to create a Web Link, select the word or phrase then click Link and paste the URL in the dialogue box that appears:

For example I am going to link my favourite book page to the phrase below and when you click it, it will link directly to My Favourite Book Page:

Pride & Prejudice

Blog Tips

Below is a link to the  Daily Blog Tips Web Site:

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/

This site gives some useful tips including this one:


http://www.dailyblogtips.com/33-ways-to-instant-blogging-failure/

Update on Favourite Book Page

I've now had time to update my favourite book page with some images and quotes - makes it a bit more interesting and hopefully explains better why I like the book so much.  Tomorrow I am going to insert a link..........Watch this space! :-)

Interesting Fact

I've been doing a bit of research on blogging and there are lots of tips and advice on the Internet.  One of the tips is not to be too formal and to make your blogs more like interesting little stories rather than boring factual data.  Well that's actually 2 of the tips!

It's true - I looked at a few examples of Blogs, and those I found most interesting were the more informal and story-like blogs.  The formal and factual blogs soon lost my interest. :-)

I'll share some more of these tips with you in future Blogs. :-)

My 21 Things

How exciting, I've begun my 21 Things Project today.  This Blog is going to be dedicated to the Project and I shall keep everyone updated on my progress.

Thing Number 1

Number 1 for me is creating the Blog - although I've dabbled a bit with various blog software in the past few weeks, I'm still learning and updating this Blog will help me develop my blogging skills.

This project will definitely improve my skills in new technologies and enable me to cascade the skills to teaching staff, hopefully encouraging them to use the various new dynamic software and resources available to make their teaching sessions fun and interesting for students, thereby enhancing the learning experience.