Blabberize History

I had a great idea about how we can use Blabberize in the classroom. For those of you not familiar with Blabberize, it is a website that allows you to upload a picture and make it talk. I thought it would be cool to use it in history class. This is a good way to get historical figures to "talk" to the students. All you need to do is find a picture of the historical figure, upload it to blabberize.com, and talk as if you are that person. I prerecorded what I wanted him to say with audacity and then tweeked my voice. I chose Ben Franklin to test this idea. Check him out below. You'll have to excuse the sound quality, I didn't have a microphone handy and I was using the one that is built into the laptop. Also, pretend that the few seconds of silence at the beginning aren't there.

Scheduling Activotes

The Activotes are becoming pretty popular. I created an online calendar that I will update as people request them. Let me know as soon as you know you need them so I can post it on the calendar. To check the calendar, go to http://mrruddle.wikispaces.com/Cff+Schedule . There is also a link to it on my website (mrruddle.com under the cff schedule link). I will also put my schedule on the calendar so you can see when I will be out of the building.

History Tours in Google Earth

I recently received an email on the CFF Coach Listserv about a project two of my fellow cff coaches have been working on. Jason Heiser and Ian McCoog have created a wikispace that contains .kmz files that allow you to follow different historical events. The site is still getting started but they have done a fantastic job. Kudos to them for taking a fantastic idea and running with it. Check out their project at http://historytours.wikispaces.com

Google Doc Forms

Google Docs recently announced the addition of Forms. You can use forms to automatically gather data for a spreadsheet. You can either email the form to people or give them a url to go to. I have tried this and it is exciting. I was planning to use it for online assessments. To create form, open a new spreadsheet, type the questions in the top line, and click the share button. You will now see an option to create a form. If you choose not to type the questions in the top line, you can add them after you have clicked share. See this page for more info. Once people have completed your form, the information will appear in your spreadsheet.

Video Chat With Multiple People At Once

I wanted to make everyone aware of ooVoo. ooVoo is program similar to Skype but you can video chat with up to six people at once. You can also use ooVoo to send video messages via email. If you use online chat clients or video conference software, ooVoo is a free download and definitely worth a look. Please visit http://www.oovoo.com

Promethean Planet

For those of you who have a Promethean Board, be sure to check out Promethean Planet. Promethean Planet is Promethean's free online resource center. There are many great things you can find on this website, but the most exciting are the resources. Teachers from across the world have uploaded their flipcharts for you to use. There are also resource packs that provide you with more images and graphics. The nice thing is that you can open the resource packs from the website and they will install into the appropriate location in ActivStudio. Just make sure you have ActivStudio closed before you open the resource pack. There are tons of resource packs. One I would recommend is the Action Objects Resource Pack. Oh yeah, if you have a flipchart you are especially proud of you can upload it to the Planet. If yours is determined to be the best of the month, you could get chosen to be the monthly “Teacher Feature”. The winner of this title can receive a FREE IPOD.

Aside from the resources, the site also provides news, professional development, user guides, and a forum. The forum is set up like a discussion board where you can post comments or questions and others can respond. If you have any questions, chances are that someone has already asked it. So, take a look at the forum. Some other sites you may want to check out are prometheanworld.com and prometheanlearning.com.

Promethean Board Training - FREE and online

For those of you receiving Promethean boards, there is a free online course provided by Promethean. The course is title “Level 1 – Foundation Skills Course”. The purpose of the course is to show you the capabilities of Activstudeo. I have not completed the course for myself, but I plan to do so as soon as I get some extra time. I realize that those of you involved with the Classrooms for the Future grant may be reluctant to begin a new class because of your experience with the Embedded Learning course. Unlike the Embedded Learning course, this is not required. And, they are some other benefits.

· Its Free

· There is not time limit

· You work at your own pace

· There is a manual available online

· You receive a certificate at the end

In addition, there are fully interactive tutorials and there is a forum available if you need assistance. According to Promethean’s website, the only things you need to know how to do prior to the training is email and work a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).

The course is divided into ten topics.

1. Getting Started
2. Organizing Your Flipchart
3. Working With Text
4. Working With the Shared Resource Library
5. Working With Drawing Tools
6. Working With Images
7. Working With Numbers
8. Working With Other Applications
9. Finishing Your Flipchart
10. Working With Special Interactive Tools

There are only two assessments that are 20 questions each. They are after Topic 5 and Topic 10. You are required to answer all of the questions correctly to pass the assessment.

Once you successfully complete the course, you will receive an Activstudio Foundation Skills certificate. The certificate will be in the form of a PDF (portable document format). Also, you will be permitted to upload a flipchart to Promethean Planet.

There are also two other classes available, but they are not free and they have a time limit

Level 1 - Advanced Skills Course - $50 - 90 day time limit

Level 2 - Curriculum Developer Course - $299 - 6 weeks (4-5 hours per week)

Level 3 – Training and Coaching Course – Currently being developed