Hi -
Last month I had each of you signup for a few free magazine subscriptions. When I got home tonight after class, my October issue of Technology and Learning was here. This months issues featured three articles that we discussed in class this evening.
1. Downloading YouTube Video - According to the article, the authors liked Zamar (and was able to move the file to his ipod). He tested several tools and like Zamzar, a free online file conversion service.
Here is the link to the article
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604743
"To use Zamzar, you can either upload a file or enter the file's URL, then choose a format you want to convert to, enter your email address (to receive a link to the converted file), and click Convert. I chose to convert to MP4 for my iPod. It took about three minutes for the conversion, and a few minutes later I received an e-mail telling me the file was done and giving me a link to download it."
Article 2 - Tablets
Tablets Dispensed article by Miguel Guhlin
A look at how to make the best decision when purchasing a slate or convertible (tablet, notebook/computer).
Article 3 Bandwith for streaming video
How Fast Is Fast Enough? (bandwith)by Karen Greenwood Henke - The issue of bandwidth is increasingly the question of the day at schools nationwide.
Read one of the articles, try the YouTube download here is a link to the class wiki(posted under Web 2.0 Tools and YouTube)http://lunenburgtech.pbwiki.com/Web+Tools Make a post here in the blog sharing your experience!
Do you have a blog or a wiki? Tell us about it on the class wiki site http://lunenburgtech.pbwiki.com/Your+Wiki's+and+Blogs+-+Post Click on Your Wiki's and Blogs - Post in the sidebar.
Also, I posted tonights notes on Tablets and Office 2007 (Thanks Sarah!)Notes from tonight on Vista/2007 posted in Using the Tablet PC (and Office 2007 tips) wiki page . I will continue to look for updated content for Office 2007.
Go Sox!
17 comments:
The following are the instructions from Pam Vallee about video downloads:
Go to www.orbitdownloader.com
Download to your computer
Go to You Tube or other site that has videos you want to download.
Hover mouse over the video and cick Get It button
When Create New Download box appears, click OK
Orbit will create an FLV file and save it to you Downloads folder on the C drive
You'll need to i nstall an FLV Player to view the video:
http://dl.orbitdownloader.com/flyplay/Install-FLV-Player.exe
You can also save it to your thumb drive by click browse instead of saving to CL/Downloads. The trick is to download the FLV Player to your school computer too.
I tried the Zamzar site and received a "you can not do that because there is no file extension" Maybe it is an apple thing.
I use media pirate
(www.mediapirate.org)
Once you go to the site you paste in the url. Grab it and it will download it right to your hard drive. You then add the .flv extension and you can view it in the free flv viewer (free download).
The same site has a link to
www.mediaconverter.org
which will convert the videio to any format you choose and download it to your computer.
I downloaded a Honda commercial and it took less than 1 minute. I did it with the .flv and then I also converted it into a mp4 file.
Easy as pie. Since the files are on my computer I can transfer them to school and use them without the internet and the issues with bandwidth.
OK. The bad news is I completely killed the front page of our wiki a few minutes ago. The good news is I was able to revert to a previous version and make it go away. I will try uploading my youtube video here.
I tried orbit this week and I was not that successful, yet. I asked Pam Vallee to assit me on my computer at school and she had difficulty as well. On thing to keep in mind with the directions she gave us is to activate the "get it" portion of orbit. You may want to deactivate it when you are done because it will keep popping up over everything you do. After I tried this, I read Article 1 and I will try different ways.
I read both of the articles and I guess I don't have too much to say about them except that it seems like keeping current with technology is a never ending process for everyone, especially school districts. As soon as you get approval and funding for some technology, its old news. Don't mean to be pessimistic, but......
I think I agree with Sara. Things seem to become old as soon as press hits the market. On the other hand this last 2 weeks have been so hectic I can only get on here on my prep!!!
Oh yeah and I think that I Like this format better than the wiki sorry.
I too tried Zamzar and recieved the same message as Steve did. I don't think it is an apple thing....I am going to try the other two that were commented on the blog.
I also created a wiki but....I really don't like it as much as a blog. (Though I haven't really used that either...) I think at my grade level that blogs and wikis are really suitable.
I mean are not really suitable for my grade level....
I have to agree with Sara in regards to keeping updated with technology. There are so many new devices that are coming out monthly, weekly or even daily, whenever you buy something new, it becomes old.
Also, I think that sometimes technology is updated to fast that many people are left in the dust. I find that there are many people that still don't understand the old technolgy and are really afraid to try the "new".
In retrospect, some people are still trying to use the "old-new" technolgy and are unable to get comfortable with it before something else comes up. Prime example was when our MEC NET changed its look....I found that some people were lost because of the new updated service.
Okay, I think i rambled enough..
My point is...Sometimes i feel that developers need to slow down a bit with reinventing things so that the average person can breath and learn what they all ready have...
I apologize if my comment seemed a bit negative but....that is just the mood i am in at this time....
I have been working on a wiki with the Student Council kids at the high school. I LOVE IT!! The fact that 30 kids are accessing the page, sharing information for next year's homecoming and thinking about other ways to use the space, is very cool. The kids are loving it too and find it very easy to use. They are so proud of it! Check it out at lunenburgstuco.pbwiki.com
Sarah,
Wow! You rock! That is fabulous, especially with the delegating of responsibilities. I just love it! I tend to mull over these new technologies, but I think the "dive in head first" philosophy seems to be more productive.
It goes back to what Mike was saying. If you don't act and master a technology relatively quickly (two years), it will go and change on you!
Ending my comments and so very happy my grades are DONE.
Jessie
I enjoyed reading the article about keeping technologies current in schools. I agree with Sara's comments about the difficult task that this is. Unfortunately by the time that a school recieves new technology it can be a big lapse of time before the technology is actually being utilized in the district. After getting the technology, districts still need to wait to have it installed and then be trained in it. We have been waiting for a long time for someone to set up the smartboard here at the primary school. We are anxious to utilize and explore with it but unfortunately noone has been able to find time to hook it up for us. So, the smartboard is sitting in an empty room waiting for someone to answer our emails and hook it up. Now that is frustrating.....
It's great to see all the comments this week.
In our class wiki I posted a link to David Warlick's post about being life long learners
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/05/09/of-course-i-think-it-matters/
"Sadly, we are a generation who was taught how to be taught — not how to teach ourselves. It’s one of the many reasons why the experiences that our children have in the classroom must become much more self-directed, relevant, and rich. They/we need to learn to teach ourselves. Teachers shouldn’t need professional development. They should be saying, hey, I’m going to teach myself how to do that this weekend. It’s about life long learning. Not about a life of being taught.
I think Web 2.0 is all about learning again! Remember, teaching is also about coaching students. Introduce the the wiki concept and see what happens. If your not ready to do this with a class, then try creating a wiki in your personal life to share information.
Sarah - Your wiki is growing and looks great. I noticed all the other pages in our sidebar.
You are teaching your students to communicate in a more collaborative model. Your students are learning a skill they will be able to use in other content areas and other areas of their life. A few of my students have emailed me links to their college blogs and wikis that they are using! Keep us posted on your student feedback!
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