It’s surprising to me that in 2010, there are still big districts that are blocking all Web 2.0 apps — wikis, blogs, etc. These are some of the most powerful tools we have for differentiating instruction. I have to think
iTunes import settings
I noticed recently that when I updated my iTunes software, it reverted my import settings back to AAC. Not very nice of it. (As background, AAC is the default audio setting on iTunes. It works great with iTunes or an
Open-licensed music for your multimedia projects
Engaging your students in creating standards-based projects is a great way to differentiate instruction. But what to do when your students want to rip their favorite CDs to include music in their project? If you are posting the work online,
Blogging and Web 2.0 in schools
Blogging in schools is a great way not only to convey information, but to engage students in learning. Some of the ways teachers use blogs with students are to give writing prompts, have students respond to reading, do formative assessment,
Chroma key in Windows Movie Maker
I have been asked many times how you can do “green screen” in Windows Movie Maker. (This technique, also known as chroma key, lets you import a background image, for example, the Taj Mahal, and then composite in video of
Flipshare conversion to WMV
I’ve reported here earlier about an easy way to convert Flip camera movies to WMV files so that you can import them into Windows Movie Maker. Imagine my surprise last week when several folks in a workshop I was facilitating
Auto-create Moodle glossaries!
(cross-posted from K12 Open Ed) Moodle glossaries are great, and there are so many ways to use them. Content can include everything from vocabulary to FAQs to fact-of-the-day to picture story starters. You can build them yourself as a teacher
The engagement gap: listening to student voices
“Engaging the Voices of Students: A Report on the 2007 & 2008 High School Survey of Student Engagement” from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University is an important piece of research that I think everyone in
New open educational resources project
Many of you know that I have gotten very involved in the area of open educational resources (OER) as a tool for differentiating instruction. If you aren’t familiar, OER are materials used for teaching and learning that are free from
Flip tip
A while back, I wrote about a way to convert the MP4s that the new Flip cameras create into WMV files, so that they are able to be imported into Windows Movie Maker. If you have an HD camera, though,