Archive for the ‘workshop’ Category

Posting Keynote to web

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Apple-folks, I was asked how to post Keynote presentations to the web for students to review.

First, know that Keynote files are Apple-only. There is a simple export function that will allow you to convert your Keynote presentation into a PC-compatible Powerpoint file. Under the Share menu, choose "Export", and then select Powerpoint.

Keynote export menu

Second, know that Keynote files are not files in the way that we normally think of files, they are containers. That is to say, a Keynote "file" is most similar to a folder. Your Mac knows that this folder belongs to Keynote and that everything inside of it is related, so it treats it as a file - but not all applications know this, and other computers certainly don't. This is why it is sometimes difficult to email a Keynote file; it's like emailing a whole folder - which can rarely be done. And this is why you cannot simply post a Keynote file to your website or CatLink (our in-house Moodle install, for our outside readers).

Back to the original question then, how can we post Keynote files to the web for students? I recommend converting to PDF. You could do it through the Share menu and the conversion dialog shown above - simply choose PDF instead of PPT. This will put one slide on one 8.5x11 page, if students print. That strikes me as wasteful, and so I recommend using the Print dialog, and placing multiple slides on a single piece of paper.

Begin through File > Print, and then follow the screenshots below.

At the PDF button (step 3 above), choose "Save as PDF." This will result in a PDF suitable for students to print, whether they are on Macs or PCs.

As always, if you have questions, please let me know.

Apple Keynote Demo

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Keynote iconBecause Keynote is different enough from Microsoft Powerpoint, and more Mac-folks are using it now, I ran three sessions of a workshop for the application last week. The Apple website does a better job of describing Keynote than I could, so I merely point you in that direction if you are interested in an overview of how Keynote is different from Powerpoint.

If you were not able to come to the workshop but would still like to see what was covered, here is the demo file that was used:

Keynote Demo

There are hints, descriptions, and directions in the Presenter Notes. To see them, go to View > Show Presenter Notes.

I recommend setting your Keynote application to look similar to the screenshot below.

 

Keynote setup
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

 

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Turnitin.com and file formats

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Upload buttonThe anti-plagiarism service that we subscribe to, turnitin.com, will accept student papers in a variety of file formats. On the rare occasion when a student has a word processing program that the service is unfamiliar with, or a file format that the service does not yet accept, there is a simple work-around for students. When they click on the submit button (shown to the right), they can change the first drop-down menu from "Single file upload" to "Cut & paste upload."

Cut & paste

This will allow students to submit a paper from any word processing application, even an online service like Google Docs.

Qwizdom training

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

QwizdomIf you have any interest in using the Qwizdom Student Response Systems (commonly referred to as "clickers") that we have on campus (most commonly used by Grace and Mary), there will be a representative on campus for training on Monday, Oct 19 at 2:45. (I do not yet know where this training session will take place; I will update this post as the information becomes available.) Grace wrote in an email, "In particular, he’s going to demonstrate how to use Qwizdom with PowerPoint, as opposed to importing PowerPoint slides or having to use the plain templates within Qwizdom." This sounds as if the software is far more flexible than it has been, and is therefore even more widely available for us all to use and adapt to our unique purposes.

Using the clickers can not only help your students immediately, but you can also help prepare them for college where such student response systems are used quite regularly.

If you are interested in seeing the clickers in action, hearing more about them in general, or attending the training, check in with Grace or Mary.

Update 1: Mac users, Qwizdom integrates with Keynote, not with Powerpoint, according to the Rep.

Update 2: The training session will take place in Rm 309.

Apple iMovie Workshop

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

At the conclusion of this two-hour workshop, teachers will be able to create movies with

  • titles,
  • background music,
  • still images, and
  • imported video clips (using MPEG Streamclip) on the Apple platform.

We will also cover finding useful still images (via Compfight), and publishing of videos.

Video workshop

Monday, August 10th, 2009

At the conclusion of this two-hour workshop, teachers will be able to

  • find educationally useful videos online,
  • download these videos,
  • convert videos for embedding into Keynote or Powerpoint, and
  • copy scenes from DVDs for educational purposes.

Finding videos

There are literally hundreds of sites on the internet that host videos, and at any of these sites, once is sure to find something of educational value. The trick is finding what you need, when you need it - without knowing exactly what it is that you're looking for. Given these conditions, YouTube is the first - and usually final - stop. You can find videos on almost any topic and related to almost any facet of education, such as a Sterling Engine made from a coke can. Other sources for videos for class include:

Download videos

Using Firefox, download and install the Video DownloadHelper add-on. With that installed, at any YouTube video, you will be able to easily download the video through the add-on's button.

Video DownloadHelper

Alternatively, you can use a program like TubeTV (if you are on a Mac), and Easy Video Downloader (if you are on a Windows-based machine).

If you'd rather not worry about operating systems, then try the bookmarklet provided here. Drag the bookmarklet (provided at the previous link) to the shortcuts bar of Firefox. When you are at a YouTube video that you would like to download, simply click on the bookmarklet, and it will download the video.

Convert videos

The Video DownloadHelper add-on for Firefox, mentioned above, has the built-in capability to convert videos to different file-types. If you do not have that or need to convert a video that you have acquired by some alternate means, then I highly recommend using ZamZar. Here, you can convert a video from your computer into a variety of formats.

ZamZar

To what file type should you convert your video?

Embedding video in presentations

In general, for inserting a video into a presentation on an Apple computer, convert your video to Quicktime .mov format, and for a Windows-based presentation, convert into .avi.

Scenes from DVDs

Get Handbrake! It is not included in the image because this software can be used to easily infringe on copyright, and that would place the school at risk for litigation. If you request it, then you are responsible for its ethical and legal use.

Handbrake allows you to take scenes from DVDs. This is a complicated procedure because movies are actually broken into several small pieces, spread across many different files - and it is all encrypted to prevent illegal copying.

HandBrake

Handbrake can turn an entire movie on a DVD into a single Quicktime file or AVI file. (Remember, Mac-folks want Quicktime, and Windows-people want AVI.) The time required will vary on how long of a scene you are decoding. I recommend closing as many applications as possible while this process is running, and use your plug, rather than battery power. Th resulting movie can be quite smooth if done properly, but it can stutter if your computer is over-stressed or under-powered.

Frosh Summer Tech Workshop

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

The following represents the current curriculum outline for a "highly recommended" summer workshop that will be offered to all incoming freshmen. The eight-hour workshop will be taught by Mimi Mulhern in the Alpha Lab at various times between June 15th and July 16th. Families can see and change their registration on https://www.siprep.org/academics/placements/ using the login and password emailed home by Tom.

SI Faculty, particularly Frosh teachers, should feel free to drop in and see what the students are all being taught. You should expect that every incoming student should be able to:

File Management

  • find, open, save, and close local files located on the harddrive;
  • find, move, copy, open, and save files stored on a network drive;
  • create new folders, and navigate through nested folders;
  • follow standard filename conventions;

Network Skills

  • read and send email through the SI's Outlook Web Access;
  • enter new Tasks and mark Tasks as "completed" on SI's Outlook Web Access;
  • enter new Calendar items on SI's Outlook Web Access;
  • identify key features and practices of email etiquette;
  • register for classes, view assignments, download attachments, post to forums, and take online quizzes in CatLink;

Microsoft Office

Word

  • bold, italicize, and underline text;
  • change font style and size;
  • change the alignment of text;
  • adjust page borders;
  • insert page numbers;
  • insert footnotes;
  • insert and format a table;
  • sort a table;
  • insert and format an image;
  • create columns;

PowerPoint

  • select a predefined Theme and apply it to all slides;
  • insert and format text;
  • insert and format an image;
  • insert and format a table;
  • change font style and size;
  • bold, italicize, and underline text;
  • insert a song;
  • insert a video clip;
  • build elements onto a slide;
  • transition between slides;
  • insert and format shapes;

Excel

  • Insert and format text;
  • sort by columns;
  • Graph two-axis scatterplot;

Digital Video

Students should be able to use both Apple iMovie and Windows Movie Maker.

  • insert video;
  • insert still images;
  • insert and format text;
  • apply transitions between images or scenes;
  • insert a song;
  • export to video file (.wmv or .mov)
  • export and burn video to a CD;
  • export and burn video to a DVD;

In addition to the above required skills, it is desirable that incoming freshmen be able to use Photoshop to:

  • resize an image
  • change an image to black-and-white
  • insert text on top of an image

Summer 2009 Workshops

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

In the right-hand column of this blog is a new page, Summer 2009, which discusses the workshops that I will be offering in August, as well as my general availability over the summer for all things related to educational technology.

Please note that (a) the workshop sessions are open to any and all teachers from any school, and (b) the sessions are limited to 20 participants. Thus, if you are interested in a particular session, please RSVP soon.

Teachers that are new to SI: you are welcome to attend any of these workshops, but do not feel obligated. Part of New Teacher Orientation includes sessions with me, introducing you to educational technology at St. Ignatius.

2009 Summer workshops

Monday, May 11th, 2009

As with last summer, I will be offering workshops in mid-August, prior to our return to work, on various ed-tech-related topics.1 So far, the course offerings list includes:

I will publish a complete list of topics, including schedule and location, prior to Graduation. This is to solicit suggestions from you -

what other topics would teachers at SI be interested in a summer workshop on?

Please post suggestions in the comments field, or email suggestions to me.


  1. I am also available for and happy to work with you one-on-one at any time in August. My July is filling fast with Kairos, a workshop for myself, and a conference in DC.

Google Docs workshops

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Clarifications: Each lunch period workshop is a complete, stand-alone lesson; only come to the one session that suits your schedule. Additionally, because of next week's varied schedule, the sessions will run all week during 4* and 5*. If you're interested, there's no need to RSVP - just come on by with your laptop (location TBA).


I will be hosting workshops during 4* and 5* next week (Monday, March 30 thru Thursday, April 2) on Google Docs. In short, Google Docs is a suite of Word-, Powerpoint-, and Excel-like programs that are hosted online. The advantage of using Google Docs for some student assignments and for collaboration with colleagues is that these documents can be edited by multiple users. There is no worry about an "original copy," or "who has the most up-to-date version?" Instead, there is one single version that is kept online, and everyone uses a browser to access the document. This makes collaboration between teachers or students very easy.

Documents created in Google Docs are stored on the Internet, behind a secure login, so that the documents are accessible from any computer with internet access. You can start a document at school, work on it at Java Beach on one of their computers, and then finish it at your house on your home computer - all without worrying about document versions, emailing the file to yourself, or even using a Flash memory stick. Furthermore, twenty other people could be working on exactly the same document at exactly the same time. These features are incredibly useful in the education market.

For example,

  • here is a presentation made by two students one night,
  • here is a study guide made by four students over the course of a week, and
  • here is a spreadsheet (not being used as a spreadsheet).

Two final comments:

  1. I do not have a place settled yet to hold this workshop, so, if you are interested, please stay tuned for a follow-up email next week. (If your classroom is empty during both 4* and 5* all of next week, and you are willing to let me use it, please let me know.)
  2. You will need to create a login at Google prior to attending the workshop. If you already have a Gmail account, then you are all set!