BP_14 Motion

Well, here it is. This is a project that I created using Motion. It was kind of fun and I am happy with how it turned out. There are several things that I would change or tweak, but I do like it. The tutorials really helped me quickly and easily find the features I wanted to work on.
Motion allows me so much control of what is happening on the screen. I have full control of all of the parameters within the video. There is so much there however that it seems a little overwhelming at times. The nice thing is that you can scaffold your learning and learn features as you need them.

Here is my Motion video.

BP_13 Motion

Good things come to those who wait - well not really. I had every intention of going through the tutorials for Motion from the beginning and going through each lesson sequentially. Well, I became impatient and jumped ahead and chose some of the lessons that I really wanted to jump into. This is one of the really nice things about lynda.com. I can look for specific features and skills when I want them or I can go through each lesson sequentially.

Motion Screenshot

I really wanted to create a project of my own, so I decided to look for features within Motion that I wanted to work with. I also was looking for ways to easily take templates and make changes or customizations. As I was working with Motion and creating a project, it was nice to be able to jump to a specific tutorial and see how to perform the action.
I absolutely love working with Motion. It will allow me to create some of the graphics and videos that I have been wanting to create. However, there are so many features that I don't understand how they work or how I can control them. I am hoping that lynda.com will provide me with the tools to learn Motion and become adept at using it. I am currently working on a project which I will post as soon as it is done.

BP_12 Motion

First off, I have to say I am amazed at all of the resources and training opportunities that are available at lynda.com. I had never heard of this site until I started the EMDT program. I absolutely love it. The range and scope of opportunities is amazing.
I have been doing Final Cut Pro for years, but have never had the time or opportunity to sit down and learn Motion. I did dabble in it a little when I first loaded Studio. I was very intrigued with the application, but was totally overwhelmed once I started using it. I had difficulty with the interface as well as the wide variety of setting and parameters. So I put learning Motion on the shelf for a later date.

Motion Screen

Well, here I am at a later date. When I went to Rena's blog and saw that she had gone through the tutorials for Motion, I thought this would be a perfect time and opportunity for me to learn it. Until I saw her post, I did not realize that Motion was available. Not only am I fulfilling a requirement for the class, I am learning something I always wanted to learn.
So I have started and am almost all of the way through Chapter 1. These are basics that I mostly knew from dabbling in the project, but there were many things I missed. I also felt that it was a good idea to get the basics down before creating a small project.

AR Reading Mind Maps - Weeks 2 - 4

BP_11_OMM_Tagxedo

The Web 2.0 app that I chose for my video this week is Tagxedo.

BP_10 Comment to Tracy Bockler

Please follow this link to read my comments for Tracy Bockler. Tracy reviews the tool Poll Everywhere which utilizes the technologies that today's learners like to use.

Poll Everywhere

BP_9 Comment to Mark Dohn

Please follow my blog comments for Mark Dohn's blog on Readability. You can read my comments by following this link.

Readability

BP_8 Tagxedo

One of the Web 2.0 websites that I have really enjoyed working with is Wordle. It is a great program and I was going to blog about it. However, while creating a nice word cloud on Wordle, I came across a Web 2.0 tool called Tagxedo. It is a program like Wordle, but it takes it to a whole new level. I really like this tool on many different levels. First off, it is a really engaging tool for creating some nice visualizations using the words or text you are working with. What separates it from Wordle is the ability to have some interaction with words on the website. You can also have your words conform to various shapes. There are also many other parameters that you have control of that you do not have with Wordle. You can load custom shapes, have many more options on how to save your files and have a choice on what size you want your word cloud saved as.

This would be a great tool or resource in the classroom as it can be a great way to review or introduce vocabulary. Not only can the words be used, but you can create them in the shape of what you are studying. For example, if you were doing a unit on North Dakota, you could point Tagsxedo to the Wikipedia site for North Dakota to grab keywords about North Dakota. Then load a shape of North Dakota and the words will fill that shape.

This is currently a free site and it is still in beta. On the site they state that there will be a pay version in the future, however they also state there will always be a free version. You do not have to register or sign up to use the site.

The website is -  www.tagxedo.com/

BP_7_OMM_Go!Animate

This is my commercial for Go!Animate. This a a great tool for creating animations for use in the classroom. This would also be an excellent tool for students to use. They would be able to create exciting and engaging presentations.

GoAnimate.com: GoAnimate Trailer by mcoppin

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Click on this link to see a full sized version.

BP_6 Mark Dohn: A Man, A Class and A Blog

Follow this link to read my comments on www.aviary.com . Mark has found a wonderful resource that has lots of photo and video editing applications.

www. Aviary.com

BP_5 Bridging the Gap with Amille

Follow this link to see my comments on Amille's review of the Web 2.0 tool - Internet4classrooms.com

Amille's Review of Internet4classrooms.com

It is a great resource for classroom teachers.

BP_4 GoAnimate!

The Web 2.0 site that I have chosen to review this week is Go!Animate. This site claims that anyone can animate. I was somewhat skeptical about this claim. In the past, I had tried out several other Web 2.0 sites as well as several software packages.  I was not able to find anything that was easy to use. Most of them required that the user know the mechanics of animation or required that the user be good at drawing. You had to be able to draw and know technical aspects of animating. These sites or software packages claimed that animating was easy and anyone could do it. So when Go!Animate claimed that anyone can animate, I was going to make them prove it. Well, their claim was true.

GoAnimate.com: FS Blog by mcoppin

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

With Go!Animate it is very easy to create some really impressive and entertaining animations. You can add many features that add a lot of polish to the animations. You can create your own characters, add various backgrounds, add speech or text bubbles, add music, add props and add special effects. With the basic package which is free, you can create animations up to one minute in length. When you are finished with your animation, you can download it or share it on various social websites.

Go!Animate can be a great resource for the classroom. Teachers can create engaging and entertaining animations. This would be a great way to differentiate instruction. Students would easily be able to create animations to demonstrate what they know. Not only are they demonstrating what they know about the content, they are able to learn how to create animations. 

Another really nice feature of the site is that it prohibits use of inappropriate content or language.

BP_Diigo Group

Quite honestly when I first looked that the Diigo site, I thought to myself - there is no way that I will ever use this site as a tool. I set up my account and started looking at the various tools and felt that it was just not going to work for me. I am used to using my bookmarks within Safari and darn it, it has worked for me so far. Why do I need to go to another site and populate it with links? It felt to cumbersome and unnecessary. However, I decided to watch the videos and look at some of the features that Diigo utilizes outside of the website. I added the Diigolet bookmark and went to the web and began testing. While I have only been using it a short while, I admit that my first impression was probably wrong. During our Wimba session, Rena talked about it being a powerful tool for research and collaborating with others. I can see that now. As I started adding bookmarks, highlighting articles and adding tags, I started to realize that this is really a powerful tool. It is not just a tool to save time, but it is a way to gather, organize and synthesize the information I am researching. But I am seeing benefits well beyond my action research project. It is a tool that I will use professionally and personally. In the past, I would bookmark pages only to wonder where and what I bookmarked. I would then go through the annual ritual of cleaning out my bookmarks because I didn't know why I bookmarked them in the first place. Diigo looks like a tool that will definitely be a tool I will use in the future.

BP3_Flixtime

I had been searching for an online tool that would allow me to create quick videos from photos that showcase student work. I needed to be able to not only showcase their projects, but also share them with parents and family. I also wanted to find a tool that was easy for my teachers to use to showcase what is happening in their classrooms. I needed something that was easy, contains step-by-step instructions and is easy to publish.
The Web 2.0 tool that I found for this is Flixtime. Flixtime is a tool that can be used to create really beautiful looking videos from your photos. Flixtime makes it easy for students and teachers to quickly and easily create and share videos. The process is quite simple.
1. You select and upload your photos.
2. You choose the music you would like.
3. You choose the title you would like.
4. You render your video.
5. You share your video.

Here is a quick video I put together showcasing a project I started called "Accessing the Artist Within".



With Flixtime, there is a basic plan which is free. The basic plan allows you to create videos up to 60 seconds and allows you to share it online. Upgrading to other plans gives you access to other features such as longer movies, the ability to edit transitions and the ability to download your video.
I can see plenty of uses of Flixtime for both students and teachers. Many of the teachers that I work with take a lot of photos when they are working on projects. This will allow them a nice way to present their projects as well as have material for their portfolio. The students can use this to create projects, showcase what they have done and they can also use it within a portfolio.

BP2_iGoogle Screen Shots

ETC iGoogle Site

I had been using iGoogle for several years. However, I had only been using it periodically and not as a home page. I decided that after creating all of these pages for my Full Sail project, I would now start using it as my home page.
As a home page, I will start populating it with information that I will use for educational and professional purposes. I did not know however that I could create different tabs or pages on the site. This will be very useful as I will now be able to create areas that are very specific to my interests.

iGoogle Home Page

FSO iGoogle Site

When I first signed up for iGoogle several years ago, there were very few gadgets that could be placed on the page. Most of the gadgets were very basic at that time. As I look through the gadgets now, I find many of them to be very useful. They look to provide me with the information that I will need at my finger tips. As I add tabs and gadgets over the next several months, it will be very interesting to see how much I use them. I will also be interesting to see how easy or difficult it is to break old habits and ways. Fall is a very busy time for me with lots of things going on. Not only are there lots of things going on, but there are lots of different activities happening. This means that I have huge amount of information to sort through and organize. These tools were designed to save time and effort as well as making things easier to access. I hope that this will be the case. If this is indeed the case, this site will be a huge benefit for me.

AR/CBL iGoogle Site

BP1_Google Reader

My Google Reader

I have not been using Google Reader as an RSS aggregator. However, I have been following RSS feeds using Apple Mail. This has been a very effective way for me to follow RSS feeds. I like having the RSS feeds in my Mail application as I check my mail many times during the day. When I check my mail, I check all of my feeds. It will be interesting to see what benefits that Google Reader has over getting the feeds in my Mail. I typically do not visit websites on a regular or scheduled basis. Therefore it will be very interesting to see if I will follow Google Reader.
I follow many RSS feeds on a daily basis. Many of them have as many as 100 updates during the day. I usually follow RSS feeds such as:
Free iPhone Apps for Education
Free iPhone Music Apps
iPhones Education Apps
iTunes Store: Top Free Apps
These feeds provide information whenever a new app is released or updated.
I also follow many other websites that are very specific to my job. These sites are very specific to assistive technology. This is how I keep on top of what is happening in my profession. I also am able to keep track of new technologies.
I also follow what is happening with Apple computers in education. I like to see how technologies (especially Apple technologies) are being used in new and innovative ways. There are so many exciting things happening in education and educational technology, that I feel compelled to keep in top of them and follow what is happening.
I am not sure if I like the specific layout of Google Reader. The initial setup is not real appealing to me, but I will give it a shot. I will give it a try for a month and maybe I will change my mind.

http://atmac.org/
ATMAC is an excellent site for information on how Macintosh computers are used in the world of assistive technology. The thing that I like best about this site is that it is run by a user of assistive technology. It gives me a great insight into assistive technology from the perspective of a person who uses it.

http://www.assistiveware.com/
I follow the Assistiveware website because they make amazing software solutions for persons with disabilities. The solutions that they create are all on the Macintosh platform. They also create apps for the iPhone and iPad. I use these solutions all of the time with users I work with and it is extremely important that I follow what they are doing.

http://www.assistiveware.com/podcasts.php
I follow this website because it is contains videos of users of assistive technology and how they use technology to succeed. These are amazing testimonials on how technology can have a positive impact on people's lives.

http://assistivetek.blogspot.com/

This is a blog that has great information on new technologies in the field of assistive technology. They also cover workshop and trainings that are being offered in the field as well as showcasing best practices. I like this because it is not from someone in the industry, but a practitioner. The info is very up to date and current and it allows me to keep a tab on what is happening in the field. It also provides me with alerts on what is new in AT.

http://www.ted.com/

How can anyone not have TedTalks on their Google Reader. It is an amazing source of information as well as inspiration. Much of the information that is conveyed through the videos is very pertinent to us as educators.