Educational Technologies Center http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog technology consultants for faculty Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:57:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Visualizing Visualization: What’s Available for Your Subject Matter? http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/23/visualizing-visualization-what%e2%80%99s-available-for-your-subject-matter/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/23/visualizing-visualization-what%e2%80%99s-available-for-your-subject-matter/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:57:43 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1903 read more »]]> A picture can be worth a thousand words, and that picture can help make a connection or help you remember a concept. Visualization is defined as any technique used to create images, videos, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message. Education and visualization have gone hand in hand in classrooms for decades. Graphs, images, diagrams, videos have all integrated themselves into curricula and syllabi, but with access to personal computers and hand held devices, an educator may ask themselves, what tools are out there for me to create a new generation of visualization for my class? What tools can I use for my subject?

If you are an educator that uses charts, diagrams, and mindmaps, you may be interested in services like Google Charts API, Freemind, bubbl.us, and Prezi. Charts, diagrams, and mindmaps, may seem like simple tools, but they are great and simple visualization tools that help drive points home that simple text can not. Prezi is a more animated solution to a mindmap or simple diagram (for example, you can zoom in on a section of the diagram, add video, add images, or jump from section to section on the mindmap or diagram).

If you are an educator (say in History), that uses a lot of dates, timeline visualization tools may help your class remember the order of events discussed for a certain subject. Timerime is a web based application that allows you to not only input dates, but also add images, online videos, Google Maps, and music that go along with the dates on the timeline. You can interact with the time line by scrolling back inside the web browser. Dipity is a web based timeline creator that allows you to add images, video, and RSS feeds to your timeline. What is also another nice feature about some web based applications is that you can publish your timeline on different services like Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress (blogging site).

If your discipline calls for text analysis, like text clouds, tools like Wordle may be up your alley. To create a word cloud on Wordle, you copy in your text to Wordle, then Wordle makes an image of all the words that are in the text you provided. The more frequent a word is mentioned in the text, the bigger the word is in the word cloud. Another web based tool that scans text is Newsmap. Newsmap is different in the sense that it grabs the most recent news stories from Google News. It groups news based on subject (National, Word, Sports) and gives each subject a color. The news story that appears larger, is the news story that is receiving the most coverage at that time. You can turn on and off different subjects and even add different countries’ current news (to compare what’s top news in the US versus another country). Newsmap may be a big benefit for anybody studying Political Science.

Different science disciplines may benefit from visualizations created by Google Earth (Geology), or the WorldWide Telescope site (Astronomy). Google Earth gives the student a 3D look at the geography of the world, something its sister, the 2D Google Maps can not provide. You can tag places in Google Earth the same way you would in Google Maps. Not only will the student experience the natural geography in a 3D model, but cities with buildings and landmarks will be represented in 3D space too. Google Earth is a free download is is available for mobile devices. Google Earth introduces the class to the concept of geolocation (identification of the real-world geographic location of an object.) The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) can run as a cross platform web based application (or as a stand alone client using Microsoft Silverlight) that allows for a student to virtually view space through their computer. The application includes 3D models of the planets, constellations, Hubble telescope images, radio studies of the sky, and even multimedia guided tours of different topics like galaxies and supernovas by leaders in the astronomy field.

Disciplines like digital arts and architecture have many visualizations that demonstrate to a student a space or model either on paper or a virtual 3D space. Free visualization tools like Blender 3D (3D modeling and animation tool) and Google Sketchup breathes 3D life into a 2D sketch. Google SketchUp’s layout is more for the architecture student (a very simple CAD alternative and measure objects and space in different units), than Blender 3D. Blender 3D can produce detailed 3D models and animations, but lacks simple features like units for measuring. These tools are not limited to just the subjects of digital arts and architecture, they can be used to build 3D models and spaces for many other subjects.

Visualization can be used for any subject, in multiple forms, and delivered in different ways. Feel free to explore the tools mentioned above and add them to your classroom experience.

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/23/visualizing-visualization-what%e2%80%99s-available-for-your-subject-matter/feed/ 0 Talking Back: Using Technology to Facilitate Student Discussions http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/19/talking-back-using-technology-to-facilitate-student-discussions/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/19/talking-back-using-technology-to-facilitate-student-discussions/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:12:16 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1899 read more »]]> The key component in any classroom is the discussion students have with their teacher and with their peers. Many educators feel the discussion is a magical part of learning concepts and should be fostered in as many ways possible. One such way to engage students in a discussion is to use today’s technology. From simple text tools like a real time chat room and an asynchronous discussion forum, video chatting, or recording voice messages for other students to hear, there are plenty of options in technology to engage students in discussions.

Text based tools like chat rooms and discussion forums are a simple and great way to introduce a layer of technology in a class. Text based chat sessions or forums also give a channel for students to explore a topic that arose during a class discussion but the class ran out of time to explore it deeper. Chat sessions and discussion boards (forums) also give a voice to students that may not as vocal in front of peers in a face to face class setting.

Another tool that can facilitate student discussions is voice recording technology. Technologies that are already packaged in Blackboard such as Wimba are great ways for students to hear a person. There are other audio recording tools like Audacity that are free and can have more robust features like cleaning up audio, adding effects, or saving as different file formats. An example a of class that uses voice recording tools for discussion are language courses. Language courses use audio recording tools because it gives the students the opportunity to hear the way they are speaking or pronouncing a word. They can also get feedback from the instructor or their peers on how they can improve their grammar or pronunciation. Music classes may use voice recording technology as a way to critique other peers on diction and technique when singing. Voice recording technologies can also be used in communications classes as a way to give peers feedback on their speech and speaking techniques.

Video chat technologies can be used to connect face to face with people that can not travel to the classroom or as a way to meet as a group if the weather is hazardous. Video chat can add a human touch to a discussion. Video chats have been used to connect guest speakers with students and also used in classroom activities to foster student relationships with other students, other campuses or schools that are a distance away. There are plenty of applications to choose from to connect via video chat with others such as Skype (or Skype built into Facebook) or Google + hangouts. Deciding which application to use for the entire classroom may be difficult, but you have to make sure that all your students have access to it and are able and comfortable in using the technology.

One or all three of these options can be used in the classroom to produce great results. Discussion is a vital processes in education. Try one of these options and see how you reach your students and make the classroom discussion a more fulling experience and environment.

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/19/talking-back-using-technology-to-facilitate-student-discussions/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to Change Your Site Menu in OpenScholar http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/18/screencast-how-to-change-your-site-menu-in-openscholar/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/18/screencast-how-to-change-your-site-menu-in-openscholar/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:01:41 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1894 read more »]]> This screencast shows you how to move items and change their order in your site menu, delete items in the menu, add links to the menu, and add different items within your OpenScholar site as menu items (for example a blog post or an announcement). This screencast is for OpenScholar version beta 2.12,

[jwplayer file="StreamAS/flash/etc/screencasts/openscholar_site_menu.mp4" streamer="rtmp://flash.princeton.edu/bc" provider="rtmp"]

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/18/screencast-how-to-change-your-site-menu-in-openscholar/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to Set Your Front Page in OpenScholar http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/13/screencast-how-to-set-your-front-page-in-openscholar/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/13/screencast-how-to-set-your-front-page-in-openscholar/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:31:19 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1882 read more »]]> This screencast will show you how to set your front page (or landing page or the page people first see when going to your site) in Open Scholar. You have the option of using your bio as your front page or selecting a path (another page) as your front page. Please note that this screencast is for OpenScholar version 2.12 beta.

[jwplayer file="StreamAS/flash/etc/screencasts/openscholar_frontpage.mp4" streamer="rtmp://flash.princeton.edu/bc" provider="rtmp"]

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/13/screencast-how-to-set-your-front-page-in-openscholar/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to Add a Twitter Feed to Your OpenScholar Site http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/12/screencast-how-to-add-a-twitter-feed-to-your-openscholar-site/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/12/screencast-how-to-add-a-twitter-feed-to-your-openscholar-site/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:58:06 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1877 This screencast will demonstrate how to add a Twitter feed (your own or another person’s) to your OpenScholar site. This screencast is for OpenScholar version 2.12 Beta.

[jwplayer file="StreamAS/flash/etc/screencasts/openscholar_twitter.mp4" streamer="rtmp://flash.princeton.edu/bc" provider="rtmp"]

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/12/screencast-how-to-add-a-twitter-feed-to-your-openscholar-site/feed/ 0 Mobile App and site review: Lightbox http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/05/mobile-app-review-lightbox/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/05/mobile-app-review-lightbox/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:09:38 +0000 lemasney http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1831 read more »]]> English: A collage of an image modified with 1...

Image via Wikipedia

Lightbox is a free Android application that ties tightly into a photography social media site at http://lightbox.com

It is described as:

“a place to capture, enhance, & share your moments. Your photos are automatically organized into a timeline of postcards on Lightbox.com. Keep them private or selectively share them with friends, family, or the entire Lightbox community.” (source)

You can go to lightbox.com and sign up for a free account, after which you can save the photographers and designers who you want to follow, as well as upload photos from your desktop. After installing the free app from Android Market, you can use your Android based phone to upload photos directly to Lightbox and share them on other social networks like Facebook and Twitter in a few clicks.

One notable thing about this application is that it offers many of the features that iPhone users enjoy with the currently iOS-only Instagram app, including simple effects, cropping, and virtually instantaneous uploads. It could certainly be used to track the image-based objects that students come across for a visual class project, or used to simply collect the interesting visual items that a faculty member might come across in their research.

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]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/05/mobile-app-review-lightbox/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to Change Your Theme in OpenScholar http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/04/screencast-how-to-change-your-theme-in-openscholar/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/04/screencast-how-to-change-your-theme-in-openscholar/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:08:55 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1727 This screencast will show you how you can change your theme (appearance) in OpenScholar. Please note you are not able to edit the CSS in your OpenScholar theme.

[jwplayer file="StreamAS/flash/etc/screencasts/open_scholar_change_theme.mp4" streamer="rtmp://flash.princeton.edu/bc" provider="rtmp"]

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2012/01/04/screencast-how-to-change-your-theme-in-openscholar/feed/ 0 Screencast: Using Wimba Voiceboard Feature in Blackboard to Record Audio http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/21/screencast-using-wimba-voiceboard-feature-in-blackboard-to-record-audio/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/21/screencast-using-wimba-voiceboard-feature-in-blackboard-to-record-audio/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:13:13 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1693 In this screencast, we’ll go over how to add a Wimba Voiceboard to your Blackboard course and how you can record audio inside a Wimba Voiceboard.

[jwplayer file="StreamAS/flash/etc/screencasts/12_21_wimba_audio_bb.mp4" streamer="rtmp://flash.princeton.edu/bc" provider="rtmp"]

 

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/21/screencast-using-wimba-voiceboard-feature-in-blackboard-to-record-audio/feed/ 0 Screencast: Embedding YouTube Videos into Blackboard Course with Mashup Tool http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/21/screencast-embedding-youtube-videos-into-blackboard-course-with-mashup-tool/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/21/screencast-embedding-youtube-videos-into-blackboard-course-with-mashup-tool/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:05:05 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1685 The screencast below will demonstrate how you can use the Mashup Tool built into Blackboard to embed YouTube videos into your Blackboard course.

[jwplayer file="StreamAS/flash/etc/screencasts/12_21_2011_bb_embed_youtube.mp4" streamer="rtmp://flash.princeton.edu/bc" provider="rtmp"]

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/21/screencast-embedding-youtube-videos-into-blackboard-course-with-mashup-tool/feed/ 0 Human Japanese-Language Learning Software At HRC http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/20/human-japanese-language-learning-software-at-hrc/ http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/20/human-japanese-language-learning-software-at-hrc/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:18:57 +0000 angelab http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/?p=1663 read more »]]> Human Japanese is a software that we have installed at the HRC. It’s a great software if you are a beginner in learning the Japanese language or if you want a refresher course. What I like about Human Japanese is that it doesn’t approach the language in a memorization state of mind. You learn about the Japanese language, how it works compared to the English language and grammar. Each chapter is broken up into small sections going over concepts. The software also includes quizzes in matching, conjugation, and vocabulary. Each Japanese word is accompanied with a audio sound clip to help you pronounce the word properly. Once you use the software here at the HRC, and you want to use it on your own devices, Human Japanese has an Android app and an iPad app. The screenshots below were taken from the software running in the HRC.

]]> http://etcpanel.princeton.edu/blog/blog/2011/12/20/human-japanese-language-learning-software-at-hrc/feed/ 0