Technology Integration Showcase 02

Here are two more recent examples of students using technology to demonstrate their learning:

Tupper's Glogster digital poster about The Troops of WWI-- from Lezlee Sprenger's class:

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A screencast of a presentation on Galicia from Seth Jensen's Spanish class (Laura used Screen-cast-o-matic for this).

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Google Forms

Google Forms has a new look.  If you're unfamiliar with Google Forms, it's the survey/questionnaire tool in Google Drive/Docs.  A Google Form is a very easy way to collect information.

For those who have used Google Forms before, here are the two important updates:

• You can now collaborate on authoring a form (just like any other Google Doc).
• You can now specify the destination for the responses.  This will create a spreadsheet file that is separate from the form itself (it used to confuse people when they were the same file).

If you'd like help getting started with Google Forms, please let me know!

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Windows 7 Snipping Tool

If you haven't discovered the Snipping Tool in Windows 7, it's worth checking out.  The Snipping Tool allows you to capture any portion of your screen, so you can then insert the image into a document  (for you Mac users, you can accomplish the same thing using Command + Shift + 4).  I have used the tool here to give you the idea* (and to show you where to find it):

You can add annotations-- such as the red arrow above.
The image is automatically copied into your clipboard, so you can paste it where needed.  You can also save the image for future use.

Teachers and students can use this tool to incorporate screen captures into text documents and presentations.

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*note that capturing an open menu (as in my example) is a little trickier.  Here are the steps (from the Microsoft site):

1. Open Snipping Tool by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, and then clicking Snipping Tool.
2. Press ESC, and then open the menu that you want to capture.
3. Press CTRL+PRINT SCREEN.
4. Select the type of snip you want, and then capture the menu.

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Technology Integration Showcase 01

You may recall that last year, I started posting excellent work that students did using technology in what I called the "Technology Integration Showcase."  Since our help site is now public, I have gotten permission from some of the students to re-post their work here.

If you are a student or teacher that would like to share what you've done, please let me know.  Go ahead and show off-- it may inspire others!

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OK, here are three from last year to kick it off...

1. Here is what Antonio F and Graeme W created when asked by Garett MacCurtain to present their understanding of the fall of Rome: 

Students were given the choice of how to do this presentation. These students used goanimate to produce an animation. Others used Prezi, Lego animation, video editing software, and more.

Rome pt. 1 by antonio and graeme 12 on GoAnimate


Rome pt.2 by antonio and graeme 12 on GoAnimate

Part1: http://goanimate.com/videos/0SykfUI0Obnk/1

Part 2: http://goanimate.com/videos/0S66Tshf4F_Y/1

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2. As part of the final exam in Natural Resources, Mike Burris and Nicole Gorman asked students to create a Forest Management Plan for the Hinesburg Town Forest. Students had used GPS devices to find coordinates, then used Google Earth to create and annotate a map. The map was part of a presentation students did of their plans.

Here is Nik's  (click "Download," then "open in Google Earth."):

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3. Students in Glenn Fay's Thayer Model Engineering course built engaging websites and entered them into a ThinkQuest competition.


Here's a site built by Chris B and Andrew D:
http://consciousconsumption.netai.net/

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Voiceover files in iMovie

I just helped a student who was having trouble with a voiceover not playing in iMovie 11 (voiceovers are the narration recorded directly into iMovie).

We needed to find the actual voiceover file, which turned out to be a bit complicated. Here's the process:

1. Navigate to the iMovie Projects folder.
2. Right-click on the particular project and choose "Show Package Contents."
3. The voiceover files will now appear (they're .caf files).

Here's a tip-- you can drag the .caf files into GarageBand and edit there.

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New Google Forms Editor

The next time you go to make a new Google Form, you will likely notice that there have been some changes to the editor.  The most significant changes are:

• You can now choose whether the responses to the form go into a spreadsheet (as they have in the past) or whether they are kept in the form itself.  
• You can now collaborate on a form, just as you would on any other Google doc.

I just used the new editor myself,  and I like the changes.  Please let me know if you need any help with the new editor.  

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