Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Best Practices in Web Page Development

Here are good sites for developing better user experiences for users of your website.

  • Yahoo's Steve Souders - 14 Rules for Fast Web Pages
    (PPT, video lecture)
  • Plaxo's Joseph Smarr - High-Performance JavaScript
    (video lecture)
  • Yahoo's Matt Sweeney - Web 2.0: Getting It Right the Second Time
    (video lecture)

Other Best Practices for the Web videos from Yahoo Videos

Monday, November 10, 2008

SCORM-Compliant Content Editors for Course Design

SCORM is an acronym for Sharable Content Object Reference Model.

Connexions - Rice University (cnx.org)
OpenLearn - The Open University
SoftChalk (commercial product)
uDuTu Online Course Authoring (Moodle Plugin)
eLearning XHTML editor (exe) - open source (creating new styles)
Reload Editor 2004
Xerte - University of Nottingham (open source)
Microsoft Learning Essentials for Office 2007
CourseLab

Web Conferencing Tips

Here are some easy tips to help web-conferences run smoothly.
  • Send out Agenda and all Documents to be distributed ahead of time.
  • Initiate the connection/conference 15-minutes early ( to make sure technology works).
  • Set documents to be released by all users, and allow documents to be saved from the session.
  • Send out motions and reports ahead of time.
  • Use “track changes’ when editing motions in "application sharing" - so that all users see the updates simultaneously.
  • Let users know ahead of time if web-cams are preferred to be used or not.
  • Inform users how to keep their microphones muted until they have something to say.
  • “Share” the presentation role with those who are presenting materials - so that they have control over the pace of the slides, etc.
  • Have people introduce who is speaking before making their points.
  • When a group is meeting in one room, pass around the headset / microphone so that remote users can hear. Also make sure that the “Group” can see the WebConference screen (for Chat comments – and also to “enforce sharing” of documents under discussion through the web conference interface).

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Portable Voice Recorders and Audacity

I have a couple digital voice recorders which allow me to record lectures, interviews, and conference presentations which I can later share electronically.

Two of the recorders create files in the Microsoft WMA format, but my favorite (and FREE open-source) editing program, Audacity, does not import WMA files.

I use Apple's iTunes to convert the WMA files to WAV files (which can be edited in Audacity).

Here is the process.

Go into iTunes.
Use the menus EDIT > PREFERENCES >
[ADVANCED]..[IMPORTING] >
IMPORT USING: WAVE ENCODER // SETTING: AUTOMATIC

The use the menus FILE > ADD FILE TO LIBRARY, and select your WMA file(s).
As they are added to iTunes, the WMA files will be converted into .WAV files

The imported files are normally stored in your
MY DOCUMENTS > MY MUSIC > iTUNES > iTUNES MUSIC > UNKNOWN ARTIST folder
(or another subfolder if there is identifying track information from your recording device).


Screenshot of the iTunes Advanced tab showing the sub-tab for Import

Monday, October 27, 2008

MP3 Uses in the Classroom

Mp3 player - the Creative Zen V

Sure, iPods and MP3 players can be used to listen to content in face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses, but how can students be engaged in learning through use of their portable music players.

Most MP3 players also have a microphone and a recording function - so that you can use the MP3 device as a portable audio recorder.

Here are some interesting uses to consider.

1. Training Health Care Professionals
What does a normal heartbeat sound like? An abnormal one? What does chest congestion sound like in different areas of the lung? What about common phrases in different languages, such as "where does it hurt?" and "how badly does it hurt, a little, some, very bad?"

2. Interviewing Professionals
When students interview professionals working in the field, they can gain critical insights into the work roles they will soon be performing. When students record these interviews, they can concentrate more on the professional and using active listening rather that furiously scribbling notes. The recording can be reviewed later to prepare work for the homework assignment.

3. Audio Tour Guide
Can't afford to take the class on a field trip? Consider doing a walking tour through the site you wish students to visit and then give your students the audio files along with a map which indicates which audio track is associated with each location at the site.

4. Practice Vocabulary and Pronounciation
Ohhh... those latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Remembering them and learning to pronounce them can cause fits! Students can take advantage of using MP3 players in learning any language or vocabulary list.

5. Watch YouTube Videos and Photo Albums
Many MP3 players also can play MP4-format videos and display JPG-format photos. There is a free online site which allows you to download iPod style versions of online videos at http://converttube.com/

6. Research Via Podcasts
There are thousands of free, educational podcasts available as free subscriptions through iTunes. A quick search through the iTunes Store may expose you to some great supplementary (or required?) sites to which students can subscribe for additional course content.

7. Student Presentations Students who would otherwise present a PowerPoint or other presentation in front of a classroom could record their presentation and send the instructor and other students their PowerPoint and audio file. Viewers could click through the presentation as instructed, and audience members could provide feedback through posts on a discussion board or blog connected to the student's presentation.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Voki is a Talkie


Get a Voki now!

This is an incredibly cool tool for online. Voki.com allows you to create an avatar, record some audio, and then combine the two to create a talking character for your online course site. Use these characters as introductions to case studies to add interest and engagement. I'm trying to figure out if there are ways to capture the video of separate characters to build up a story line which goes back and forth between characters (as a normal video would). I'll post later if I come up with a simple solution.

Comical Content

2 panel cartoon.  In first frame, character says 'Yes it is. It allows users to create their own content...' and second panel the character says 'Just like me. I'm a Web 2.0 creation from ToonLet.com!'


If you have very little artistic ability, Toonlet.com is just the site for you.
Easily create cartoons using their built in tools. For each of your characters, you can specify hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, body, arms, and other attributes, and then you can stretch, move, and rotate any of these parts -- which is helpful in having your characters express emotion and movement. Save each of these snapshots of your character - and then simply click them into the cartoon cell you wish to edit. Add some words, and presto! Custom comical content!

Wordle.com Turns Your Words into Art

Tag cloud showing words in various sizes based on frequency they were found in a webpage
I stumbled upon a great new site that turns your words into art.
wordle.net generates a word-cloud from your writing, and the size of each word is related to the frequency to which you use the word.

My example above comes from my "Growing Your Online Course" article at www.PedagogyOnline.com.

The application is free to use, and it allows you to cut and paste content into an edit window, or allows you to scrape a blog with an RSS feed, or allows you to enter in the username of a del.icio.us user.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Updated Teleprompter Script

Updated Teleprompter Script for Word 2007


Here is an updated macro script for Microsoft Word 2007. This turns your script into a WHITE text on black background, auto-scrolled text.

Remember that you can continue to use your MOUSE's SCROLL WHEEL while this macro is running - in case the script gets ahead of your (or behind you).



Sub VideoPrompter()
'
' VideoPrompter Macro
' Macro created 8/13/2007 by James Falkofske
'
' Autoscroll Window
Dim PauseTime, Start, Finish, TotalTime
Dim i, iMax As Integer
Dim i1, i2, i3, i4 As String
Dim fTiming, fFontSize As Double

'How big should the text be?
i3 = InputBox("Enter the Font size in points", _
"Font Size", 32)
fFontSize = CDbl(i3)

'How many lines of movement are needed?
i1 = InputBox("Enter scroll-down-clicks for script", _
"Teleprompter Motion", 1000)
iMax = CInt(i1)

'How much of a pause between each movement of script
i2 = InputBox("Enter the delay moves (decimal seconds)", _
"Movement Timing", 0.35)
fTiming = CDbl(i2)



With Selection.PageSetup
.LineNumbering.Active = False
.Orientation = wdOrientPortrait
.TopMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.BottomMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.LeftMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.RightMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.Gutter = InchesToPoints(0)
.HeaderDistance = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.FooterDistance = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.PageWidth = InchesToPoints(8.5)
.PageHeight = InchesToPoints(11)
.VerticalAlignment = wdAlignVerticalTop
.TwoPagesOnOne = False
End With

ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.ForeColor.ObjectThemeColor = _
wdThemeColorText1
ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.ForeColor.TintAndShade = 0#
ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.Visible = msoTrue
ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.Solid

Selection.WholeStory
Selection.Font.Size = fFontSize
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Zoom.PageFit = wdPageFitBestFit

For i = 1 To iMax
PauseTime = fTiming ' Set duration.
Start = Timer ' Set start time.
Do While Timer < Start + PauseTime
DoEvents ' Yield to other processes.

Loop
'Move down a small scroll increment
ActiveWindow.ActivePane.SmallScroll Down:=1
Next i

End Sub

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Productive Photoshop Sites

Sometimes you just need to go back to pre-school for some cool "show and tell." Show me something I've never seen before, and tell me how you did it.

To satisfy my curiosity (at least regarding Photoshop), I found a cool new site which provides links to large numbers of tutorials about Photoshop.

The site, http://www.photoshoplady.com/, presents thumbnails from each of the tutorials, so that you can quickly spin through the topics until something catches your eye.

Also, Adobe has a set of RSS tutorial feeds at http://www.adobe.com/support/rss/. I'm a fan of RSS feeds in iTunes, to pull down feeds and then review them on weekends (normally listening to audio casts while running errands and shopping for groceries, and viewing video casts while weight-training).

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Speaking Your Mind

James with Computer Headset
Online courses normally expect both students and faculty to do more writing. Giving comments back to students can be made easier by recording your feedback and then sending your students the resulting MP3 files. Not only is this faster than typing out your feedback, but it also allows your personality and sense of humor to directly reach the students.

To meet accessibility standards, you'll need to poll your students to find out which ones would like and can use audio files. For the students who do not want audio files, post a list of their names near your computer - so that you can remember to provide written feedback instead on their works.

There are a number of audio recording tools which allow you to create MP3 files for your students. I personally prefer to use Audacity with the LAME plug-in (to create MP3 files). Audacity and LAME are open-source software tools which can be used without fee.

You can even save yourself some time while recording! If there are some standard types of mistakes students make, you can record that information once, and then "cut and paste" it into other recordings.

If you do not already have a computer headset with a microphone, I can recommend the Microsoft Lifechat 3000. It is a USB-connected device, so that it works on any computer, and it has the benefit of lower noise (normal sound-cards pick up a lot of line-power hum and suffer from microphones that pick up other electrical interference). On sale, this headset is about $30.

You might also use this technique to give feedback on other graded assessments, such as essay exams, projects, presentations, and discussions.

CAUTION: You probably do NOT want students to submit assignments or questions as audio files. It is a lot easier for you to "quickly scan" a text-comment than it is to listen to an entire recording (think about how you might prefer an email instead of an extensive voicemail message).

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Office 2007 Add-In

Screenshot showing the plug-in for searching

There is an add-in for Microsoft Office 2007 that helps you search for commands, options, wizards, and galleries. Type in what you are looking for and the available commands show up to "click."

Find the add-in at:
http://www.officelabs.com/projects/searchcommands/Pages/default.aspx

and go to the right panel under TRY IT to download the add-in to your computer.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ensuring Online Course Quality Experiences

The following is a list of Needs that should be discussed when designing online programs and courses.

Need: Student Preparation

  • Technical preparation (IMS use, homework file uploads and naming, network use from on/off campus, common quirks and workarounds)
  • Self-motivation and responsibility
  • Access to hardware / software

Need: Support Services to Students

  • Technical help
  • Library services
  • Tutoring (online services versus on campus services)
  • Advising and registration (online program plans that show sequence for completing all online)
  • Marketing and promotion of available online courses
  • “One-stop” contact for students needing help; standard answers, tracking, and forwarding issues
  • Feedback mechanisms to students (after registration, after “certification,” new opportunities and courses, etc.)

Need: Faculty Preparation

  • Technical training
  • Pedagogy and instructional design training
  • Assessments for online
  • Communication strategies for online courses
  • Best practices

Need: Course Offerings

  • Suitability of course and content
  • Strategic importance of online courses (what are the institutional reasons for offering online courses)
  • How instructors are recruited (and which incentives are provided to course developers?)
  • Courses which support lifelong learners (continuing education in addition to program completion)
  • Integration with customized training and workforce development offerings

Need: Course Design

  • Standardizing navigation, location, and document naming
    (Syllabus, Course Schedule, Grading Rubric for ….)
  • Accessible (508 ADA)
  • Rigor
  • Assignment descriptions and grade assessment
  • Tracking of students (demographics, preparation, and performance in courses)

Need: Feedback and Improvement

  • Faculty self-assessment
  • Peer review
  • Student surveys
  • Dean’s review

Monday, May 19, 2008

Best Practices in Online Learning - Sites

The following are some sites relating to Best Practices in Online Learning.


Just for Fun -- SHIFT Happens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhnWKg9B2-8

Standards for Online Courses

Golden Idea graphic
I found that the Tennessee Board of Regents has developed some templates and standard expectations for courses that are delivered online.

Of note is that faculty are expected to become proficient in Microsoft Frontpage in order to develop HTML content for courses.


The standards begin at:
http://www.rodp.org/faculty/standards.htm

It also appears that online courses require a "proposal" mechanism in which faculty must list the course information and also information about their own training and skills related to online technologies.
http://www.rodp.org/RODP_Course_Proposal_Form_f07.doc

Expectations of online faculty are listed at:
http://www.rodp.org/faculty/expected.htm

These are the types of standards which I believe support the success of online course designs which lead to the success of students in online courses.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

OOOPS, I did it (finally) - FEATURED on YouTube's Homepage

Photograph of James
I guess I really did it this time....
Below you'll find a blog about "American Election Song" that I did to demo how online sites like YouTube could be used to create collaborations between students at a distance.
Well.... I guess on April 9th that the video was featured on the HOME PAGE of YouTube.
So far it has gotten over 300,000 views!
WOW!!!
Here is the link to the video on YouTube.
You can hear the FINISHED version of the song at:
(make sure to listen to this!)
My best friend, Chris Snow, deserves much credit for putting my lyrics to music and using his beautiful voice to record the song.
This is amazing, and it flatters me that so many people have sent me emails of praise about the video (and song). Great, great, great week!!!
James

Friday, February 15, 2008

Instructional Design Tips for Online Courses

California State University, Chico has developed some good resource materials for faculty who are developing online courses.

http://www.csuchico.edu/tlp/resources/rubric/rubric.pdf provides a series of rubrics to show Baseline, Effective, and Exemplary tactics/processes/information to include in course designs.

A checklist document which provides easy "check-offs" of design considerations is at:
http://www.csuchico.edu/tlp/resources/rubric/instructionalDesignTips.pdf .

The University of Louisville has best practices advice for designing online learning courses at the site http://delphi.louisville.edu/faculty/ids/ - which starts off the list of tips with "Start Slow" because your students may not have taken online courses before.

Virginia Tech has a great primer for new designers at their page http://www.edtech.vt.edu/edtech/id/index.html - including explanations of some popular teaching techniques in distance education (Audio Tutorial, Goal-Based Scenarios, Case-Based Teaching, Guided Design, Cooperative Learning, etc.).

Desire2Learn in Court with Blackboard - Lufkin, TX

We all knew it was coming, and it has arrived!

Blackboard's patent infringement suit against D2L is finally in court. According to the article at the Chronicle of Higher Education's online site, the case was filed in Lufkin, Texas, where juries have a reputation of protecting patent owners.

Luckily for the rest of us, Blackboard issued a promise last year not to take action against the three largest open source projects, which are Moodle, Sakai, and ATutor.

Desire2Learn has a blog site which is tracking the patent-infringement suit.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Critical Design Factors in Online Course Structures

When you are developing online and hybrid courses, it is important to take the following design principles into consideration.
  • Overexplain everything
    Students can always skim materials, but they can't comprehend what you were "thinking" when you were writing unless you are specific and comprehensive.
  • Provide specific examples / samples
    Students will use samples and examples as benchmarks, and this also helps ensure that students understand any special formats, designs, or structures you expect in your assignments.
  • Author content in small “chunks”
    Creating your content writings topic-by-topic makes it easier to shuffle if the publisher releases a new version of the textbook. Also, it makes it easier to modify assignments, resources, and website URLs if they are stored in smaller, separate documents (rather than contained within a larger content writing).
  • Author content to be time-insensitive
    It is best to use your NEWS area of your course site to link to specific time-sensitive materials (website links, for instance). Doing so will limit the numbers of materials that will need to be updated each term
  • Accessible formats
    Make sure to caption all photos and graphics and transcript all audio and video segments. For more information about accessibility, view the site http://www.w3c.org/wai/
  • Note requirements in catalog and Week 1
    If you expect students to own and know how to use Microsoft Word 2007, make sure that you state it in writing in catalog and course schedule notes (students should be aware of your expectations and requirements before they sign up for the course). It is recommended that you publicly post your course syllabus; doing so will allow students to fully understand your course policies and expectations prior to registration.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

More Great Video and Audio for Instructors

KQED in northern California produces a large amount of content for public television and public radio.

They have made available a large number of video and audio segments available to the public. Curriculum guides are also available for instructors.

Check out the page for educators, and then click the TV/RADIO tab to begin exploring the media content.

KQED.ORG

Monday, September 24, 2007

Video Feedback with $100 Point and Shoot Camera

When critiquing work or collaborating, sometimes there is no good substitute for "face to face." However, with $100 point and shoot digital camera, you are pretty close.

In the following video clip - my best friend Chris Snow came up with some music for lyrics I had previously sent him. He's squashed down the video to about 4MB so that he could send it through email - but his $100 camera actually renders pretty good video and audio when uncompressed.

Consider this as a great way that you could give feedback to students on projects and papers. What about students using video for collaborations and peer critiques (as demonstrated here)?

Incorporating video technology into your online class does not need to be expensive or complicated.

Click on the picture to launch the video feedback file.

movie clip of Chris Snow
http://www.metrorichmedia.com/pods/AmericaElectionSong.mpg


American Election Song
Lyrics by James Falkofske
Music by Chris Snow (http://www.snowtunes.com/)

There are times when I question, what is right and what is wrong
But in this presidential election, I’m just prayin we can get along
There are too many problems, that aren’t just red or blue
Gotta find a uniter, a leader who can pull us through


   A-mer-i-ca, A-meri-ca, A-meri-ca
   Open up your arms, and embrace the world
   A-mer-i-ca, A-meri-ca, A-meri-ca


We all live on this one blue marble, just a fly speck in the universe
Global warming, ozone depletion, oil energy becomes a curse
Making babies, making buildings, making vehicles without restraint
We believe the patient is thriving, even though the pulse is getting faint


   A-mer-i-ca, A-meri-ca, A-meri-ca
   Open up your eyes, and save the world
   A-mer-i-ca, A-meri-ca, A-meri-ca


We no longer love our neighbors, we make no effort to connect as friends
And our children become strangers, watching T-V from birth to Depends
We build our private castles, becoming prisoners within the walls
If we need to talk to a fam-i-ly mem-ber, we grab the cell to place the call


   A-mer-i-ca, A-meri-ca, A-meri-ca
   Open up your hearts, and love the world
   A-mer-i-ca, A-meri-ca, A-meri-ca


What will our great-grand-chil-dren, think of what we leave be-hind
Mortga-ging our whole exist-ence, acting as though we lost our mind
Instead of working sixty-hours, and falling asleep in-front of the television set
Reduce, re-use, recycle, and live within the pay we get


   America, America, let’s save the future, from our selves
   America, let’s lead the way again
   America, America, America
   Open up your minds to another way
   America, America, America

Friday, September 21, 2007

New Free Music Service with a 30-day "hitch"

There is a new online music service that is delivering music and video content for FREE, however, you are obligated to view their website (and their advertising) on a regular basis in order to keep the music playable.
Screenshot of the Spiral Frog website


http://www.spiralfrog.com/

As quoted from the SpiralFrog website:

How come there's no cost – what's the catch?
SpiralFrog is an ad-supported Web site. We sell ads on our pages to advertisers who want to talk to you. And we give the majority of that advertising revenue to the music publishers and labels who own the music you're downloading.
Most of our song and video downloads take a short, consistent amount of time to complete, during which we encourage you to keep discovering new areas of the Web site. Every page you visit allows us to serve more advertising, thus building the revenues we can pay to the content creators.
We do NOT ask you for a credit card. But we do ask for your time and attention. And, for that, we thank you…

You are required to log in every 30-days to keep your account active, and there are currently no limits to the number of songs you can download. If you fail to renew your membership every 30 days - your files become inaccessible after a total of 61 days. And -- SpiralFrog is sharing advertising revenues with music publishers -- so everyone wins (advertisers get verified exposure, publishers and musicians get paid, and users get free music and video).

This is a great concept that is likely to catch on with users.


Tuesday, September 11, 2007

UPDATED - Video Prompter Macro Script for Word

NOTE: Someone sent a message asking "where does the macro go?"
In Microsoft Word 2003, go into TOOLS > MACROS > MACRO > EDIT (an existing macro) and then paste in the script to the new "computer coding" window that appears. Then do a FILE > SAVE on that window and close.

To run the script, you go back into TOOLS > MACROS > MACRO > (name of your macro) > RUN.

For more information, consult Microsoft's tutorial for Word 2003 at:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP051894201033.aspx





Here is the updated script I have for Word that serves as a Video Prompter.

The features now include:

  • Choose the scroll speed
  • Choose the font size
  • Automatically change to screen-width document display
  • Automatically change to white font on black background


Sub DownBit()
' Created by James Falkofske

Dim PauseTime, Start, Finish, TotalTime
Dim i, iMax As Integer
Dim i1, i2, i3, i4 As String
Dim fTiming, fFontSize As Double

i1 = InputBox("Enter number of Lines to Move", _
"Teleprompter Motion", 100)
iMax = CInt(i1)

i2 = InputBox("Enter Delay seconds between moves", _
"Movement Timing", 0.35)
fTiming = CDbl(i2)

i3 = InputBox("Enter the font size in points", "Font Size", 32)
fFontSize = CDbl(i3)

With Selection.PageSetup
.LineNumbering.Active = False
.Orientation = wdOrientPortrait
.TopMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.BottomMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.LeftMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.RightMargin = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.Gutter = InchesToPoints(0)
.HeaderDistance = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.FooterDistance = InchesToPoints(0.5)
.PageWidth = InchesToPoints(8.5)
.PageHeight = InchesToPoints(11)
.VerticalAlignment = wdAlignVerticalTop
.TwoPagesOnOne = False
End With

ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.ForeColor.ObjectThemeColor = _
wdThemeColorText1
ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.ForeColor.TintAndShade = 0#
ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.Visible = msoTrue
ActiveDocument.Background.Fill.Solid

Selection.WholeStory
Selection.Font.Size = fFontSize
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Zoom.PageFit = wdPageFitBestFit


For i = 1 To iMax
PauseTime = fTiming ' Set duration.
Start = Timer ' Set start time.
Do While Timer < Start + PauseTime
DoEvents ' Yield to other processes.
Loop
'Move down a small scroll increment
ActiveWindow.ActivePane.SmallScroll Down:=1
Next i
End Sub

Monday, August 13, 2007

A $250 Video Camera and Lots of Time

Video capture image of Chris Snow playing guitar

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E1ldL42KKUs
shows a video that I shot with a $250 video camera for my friend Chris Snow, who is a singer/songwriter. We both have more time than money, so we avoided the professional video crew and did it "homebrew."

The video footage took about 4 hours to shoot, and then about another 10 hours to edit, using Adobe Premiere Elements (academic price $65 from www.academicsuperstore.com ).

The most difficult part was getting all the various video clips "in-sync" with the music.

The quality of the results posted on YouTube are not very good compared to the actual file that we rendered. However, hosting your videos on YouTube is free (free account and no bandwidth charges).

Granted, this video does not have the aesthetics of a major music video, but it does a pretty decent job of getting the visual and auditory information tied together. And, the total cost of the "setup" was just over $350 (including the cost of a tripod for the camcorder). Typical charges for production are $1200 per finished minute of video (or about $4800 for this 4 minute video).

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Video Prompter Design

Video Prompter design sketch I am working on the design of a video-prompter that can be used to help faculty record videos.

The problem with most designs for video-prompters is that the one-way mirror used "reverses/flips" the text (it gives a "mirror image"). This creates a great deal of difficulty because special "teleprompter" software must be used to reverse the image so that it appears correctly to the narrator/subject.

In this design, I am creating a "periscope" which uses a mirror to flip the image once (upward) and then a piece of regular glass to again flip the image (outwards). When the interior of the box is painted black, the plain glass acts as a false-mirror -- giving back a reflection from the surface.
At the same time, the video camera shoots through the plain glass toward the subject.
Because the image the subject sees is the same that is coming from the monitor, ANY content can be used on the teleprompter window.
This means that faculty can use PowerPoint slides, scripts, websites, or news articles as their "source materials." In addition, the script window can be resized to a portion of the screen and a "video monitor" window of the recording can be shown (so the instructor can see themselves while recording in a "picture-in-picture" type of setup).

If and when I build this, I will take some photographs and post a sample video of the unit in action.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Cheapie Teleprompter Using Microsoft Word

Here is a quick "hack" which will prove useful to those who are trying to develop a teleprompter for recording their video.

One of the problems with scripts is that they are hard to "scroll" in timing with the recording. This creates stumbles and fumbles on the recording.

I've written a quick MACRO for Microsoft Word which allows the user to enter in a couple basic parameters, and then their script will automatically scroll at the speed they enter.

To complement this, I suggest that this be used on a laptop positioned about 5 to 7 feet away from the subject (at the camera position) and that 36-point font be used with page margins set to 0.3 inches (which gives maximum "display" of the text on the computer monitor). This will help avoid the subject's eyes from "darting back and forth" noticably as would happen if the user were closer to the laptop screen and the letters were smaller.


Here is the code:
Sub DownBit()
' DownBit Macro
' Autoscroll Window
Dim PauseTime, Start, Finish, TotalTime
Dim i, iMax As Integer
Dim i1, i2 As String
Dim fTiming As Double
i1 = InputBox("Enter number of Lines to Move", _
"Teleprompter Motion", 100)
iMax = CInt(i1)
i2 = InputBox("Enter Delay seconds between moves", _
"Movement Timing", 0.35)
fTiming = CDbl(i2)

For i = 1 To iMax
PauseTime = fTiming ' Set duration.
Start = Timer ' Set start time.
Do While Timer < Start + PauseTime
DoEvents ' Yield to other processes.
Loop
'Move down a small scroll increment
ActiveWindow.ActivePane.SmallScroll Down:=1
Next i
End Sub

Friday, July 13, 2007

Burks Oakley and Ray Schroeder: Top 20 Technologies

I received the list below through a MnSCU list-serve which was from SloadCWiki.
Burks Oakley and Ray Schroeder created a list of Top 20 Technologies.
This is a great compilation of sites! I've added a brief description of the functions/services each site provides.

  • Blogger http://blogger.com/
    blog (digital diary) site
  • PBWiki http://pbwiki.com/
    wiki (online collaborative webpage that groups can edit, similar to WikiPedia)
  • Podomatic http://www.podomatic.com/
    podcasts (user-created "TV/Radio station" in which users create and delivery their own online video and audio programming)
  • Flickr http://www.flickr.com/
    photo-sharing site
  • Google Docs http://docs.google.com/
    collaborative word-processing and spreadsheets
  • Google Calendar http://www.google.com/calendar/
    collaborative calendar allowing users to share schedule and events with others
  • GooglePages http://googlepages.com/
    web page creation and hosting using built-in WYSIWYG editor
  • Del.icio.us http://del.icio.us/
    public bookmarking of webpages; tagging of pages to quickly find similar content
  • MySpace http://www.myspace.com/
    social-networking software allowing personal profiles and "about me" information
  • Citizendium http://www.citizendium.org/
    online and "reliable" encyclopedia using expert editors to write and review content
  • YouTube http://www.youtube.com/
    free video clip hosting service encouraging users to post original videos plus video-clip (webcam) feedback to other users
  • Gliffy http://gliffy.com/
    create flowcharts, process diagrams, and room layout diagrams (similar to Microsoft Visio)
  • Skype http://www.skype.com/
    Voice Over Internet Protocols (VOIP) - allows computer-to-computer phone calls for free, or computer to land-line and "voice-conferencing" (up to 10 lines) for modest expense ($29.99 per year for unlimited calling; additional SkypeIn number for $60 per year allows a "phone number" for land-lines to call your computer/voicemail)
  • Kartoo http://www.kartoo.com/
    Visual-based web search engine, showing results in spatial diagrams with interconnecting web-lines
  • Elluminate vRoom http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/
    Web conferencing/collaboration with up to 3 individuals (free)
  • Second Life http://www.secondlife.com/
    Virtual world in which you create a character and interact with other characters
  • Odeo http://www.odeo.com/
    Audio podcast hosting site allowing users to post music, lectures, and audio shows.
  • Digg http://www.digg.com/
    Dynamic news site. Stories "rise in the ranks" depending upon how many users "digg" that story.
  • Xdrive http://www.xdrive.com/
    online backup site to securely store up to 5GB of content (photos, video, music, documents)
  • zoho http://zoho.com/
    online-based office suite (similar to Microsoft Office / Open Office) which also includes tools for Wiki, project planning, and web conferencing

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Sunrise on Lake Superior

Sunrise on Lake Superior viewed from Duluth

Today wraps up the D2L Fusion 2007 conference. It has been an excellent event! (Fusion07D2L)
The key inspirations I am taking away are to:

  1. Make stronger pushes to have students create materials in accessible formats (especially for group and peer-review learning activities).
  2. Make smarter use of common-documents inside "learning object repositories."
  3. Create libraries of "sample media" that faculty can use in creating course content and learning objects.
  4. Encourage better institution-to-institution sharing of resources and training materials.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

D2L 2007 Fusion conference in Duluth

Image of Lake Superior at night from Duluth
This image is a night shot taken of Lake Superior from Duluth.


I have found a few great tips from the D2L 2007 Fusion conference being held at Duluth.

Here are a few items to share.

Begin each online course with students writing an e-biography which includes who they are, where they came from, what they've done, what they plan to do, and what they enjoy.
This will help build community at the very start of the course, and it is a great ice-breaker that helps the instructor identify backgrounds of students.

Student e-folios are rarely accessed by businesses, and therefore, there is less of a need for a campus to "host" the content. It might be a better strategy to have students build and post content in "off-campus" tools and then use the "campus e-portfolio" as a database with sets of links to objects and assets that likely exist off-campus.

Students need to be made aware of how to create accessible documents - so that peer review activities allow all students to access and use the content created by others.
Some of the features is proper document organization and use of structures.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Virtually There!


Campus Virtual Tours seem to be a hot item.

Not only do they help prospective students get familiar with the layout of major buildings, but they can also help communicate the personality and priorities of a campus.

Here are some sample sites that each provide a different method of delivering the virtual tour experience.