University You: Building a learning network with #Twitter (part 1) #edchat #edtech

I wanted to share the following  presentation which I created to help St. Clair County educators begin using Twitter.com to build their learning networks. It's a good starting point for anyone who has never used Twitter, needs to set up an account, and wants to learn some of the strategies for making Twitter work as a professional networking tool.

Making a good first impression with Animoto

Last week I wrote about Google Search Stories as a way to quickly create quick 30 second videos about any topic (including your online identity) using Google's web, image, and map queries. This week I want to focus on how to make amazing videos using your own images and video. Animoto for Education gives educators and students free access to unlimited full length "music" videos using amazing visual effects.

When my principal, Pete Spencer, came to today to request a last minute "Welcome" video for our new student orientation I didn't blink. With Animoto, it's easy.  I uploaded some photos, grabbed a couple video clips, typed in 4 quick title slides, picked out a funky tune from the music library and hit submit.  What do you think?

Why not introduce a new topic, spice up some quotes, or have students demonstrate their understanding of a concept by using images, text and music? PowerPoint is dead, long live Power Point.  

Dive into the Ustream.tv - my #iste10 presentation

I had the unexpected and fantastic opportunity to attend the ISTE 2010 conference in Denver this year. I wanted to make the most of my experience so I signed up to be a presenter in the Social Butterfly lounge. The topic of my presentation was live broadcasting using Ustream.tv to reach learners remotely or for archiving classroom content.

I also used Ustream.tv during my presentation and recorded the broadcast simultaneously.  Due to issues with the conference wifi (it was very good BTW but not ideal for streaming video) my recording ends 9 minutes in.  Still, I feel that it is worth sharing here.  Enjoy. And as always, comments and questions are encouraged.

Go Search Yourself - Link of the week

Here's a fun little weekend project using Google's Search Stories courtesy of Jeff Utecht and his excellent blog The Thinking Stick.

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to present several sessions on Google Apps to the folks Mattawan, Michigan.  I usually include an image of myself stilt walking entitled "Who I Am" to make sure I don't forget to introduce myself.  I was feeling the pull to try a new introduction and Jeff's post about Google's Search Stories inspired me to create the following.

  

I don't "Google" particularly well since both my first name and last name are commonly used words, but I still found a way to convey who I am through search.  This is a nice activity for highlighting the importance of managing our digital identities, and I really like Jeff's suggestions of using Search Stories to do a comparative activity.

I have had a wonderful summer "twibattical" taking a brief hiatus from all things digital, but I'm back and looking forward to an exciting year of sharing and learning with you all.