Audio on a Blog

I've been asked by a couple of people how they can add audio to their blogs. The answer to this isn't as easy and obvious as adding videos through YouTube for example (although we may not ever need to do this again with the new video upload button in Blogger).

As with all other objects we have been adding to our blogs, the audio file has to be stored on a third party site - finding this has been the most difficult part. I've got mine working and it wasn't too difficult. I decided to upload my files (MP3) to my Google Pages account. Google Pages allow you 100MB of free storage which sounds a lot but my short podcast was 2MB so it wouldn't take long to use up your allowance - there must be somewhere else we can upload files to but I can't find it! Once uploaded, you can right click on the audio file and "Copy Link Location". This can easily be hyperlinked and added to your post as below "Hear our Podcast".

Now my favourite part of this: to show a list of all MP3s linked to your site, I've added a Streampad Player to this post. It's easy to choose any audio file to listen to. NB: It may take 2-3 hours before new MP3's appear on the player.

Hear our podcast

Instructional Design

I am currently facilitating Producing and Integrating effective ICT resources into the classroom, with a group of teachers from our cluster. This is part of the GradDipICTEd previously offered by the College of Education and now, since the merger, a University of Canterbury course.

While this course has always had a very practical focus, there is also an expectation that resources are not only created, but are based on sound learning theory. Discussions amongst our group have been a great way of refocusing on all the things we know already, but can have a tendency to gloss over when busy.

This week we looked at two different Instructional Design models: ARCS and ADDIE. The PowerPoint presentations we will be creating are to be designed based on one of these models. As I prepared my presentation to this group, I decided to base it on the ARCS model - the end result was a session that ran smoothly, with participants going away feeling that they had achieved what they set out to achieve. There were only a couple of small things I needed to add to my presentation to ensure this happened - nothing new, but techniques from the classroom which I sometimes forget when talking to adults. These included:

• a short video to get everyone's attention
• explicitly defining the learning objectives of our session
• explaining the relevance of the readings and how they fit into their projects
• maintaining attention by asking a question at the beginning, the answer to which was included in the following slides
• giving opportunities for them to share their knowledge and relating this prior knowledge to the new system we were looking at
• working together to complete the presentation, for sharing afterwards
• modelling the system we were talking about
• reviewing learning objectives at the end of the session.

We came up with this summary of how we could apply the ARCS Instructional Design system.

AttentionRelevanceConfidence
Satisfaction
ATTENTION

Key Characteristics:

• grabbing learners attention
• providing sensory stimuli
• inquiry through questioning
• maintaining attention through a variety of stimuli

Examples:

• thought provoking questions
• 'hooks'
• videos
• links
• audio: oral/music
• photos
  

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RELEVANCE

Key Characteristics:

• what's in it for me?
• advance organiser
• setting direction for learning
• stated learning objectives
• so what?
• tying instruction into learners' experience

l

l

l

Examples:

• sharing learning intentions
• choice of presentation tools, according to learning styles of class

CONFIDENCE

Key Characteristics:

• setting students up to succeed
• explicit success criteria
• high level of student control and involvement
• scaffolding for success

l

Examples:

l

• rubrics
• feedback/feed forward
• 1-1 conferencing

SATISFACTION

l

Key Characteristics:

• evaluation and self-assessment
• intrinsic rewards
• extrinsic rewards
• enjoyment

Examples:

• opportunities to present
• opportunities for further exploration
• gain a certificate/award
• students describe how their new knowledge/skills have helped them

l

l

Videos in the Classroom

Students today take in as much as 50 percent of the information they receive through visual images. Teachers are using visual media such as television, movies, video games, photography, and Facebooking both to engage this "eye-curious" culture and to help students think critically about what they see.

The Washington Post, July 6, 2007

VIDEO BASICS

Videos are a powerful visual resource for your classroom - whether you download them to show your students, or upload students' work to share with others. Some terms you will come across:

Streaming: playing video straight from the internet

Downloading: saving the video to your own computer, to play at a later date (you would no longer need to be on the internet)

Embedding: Add a streamed video to your own webpage or blog. The video would then play from your page - it is not a hyperlink to another site, although it is stored on an external site (you do need to be connected to the internet).

Example of embedded video: When I Become a Teacher ....

Editing: making changes to a video. You can use Windows Movie Maker (free download) to cut away the bits you don't want eg you might only want 5 minutes of a 20 minute video. It's easier than you think.
Help with editing in Movie Maker.

Converting: Changing the format of the video so you can play it from your computer.

VIDEO SOURCES

The Loop
Clickview - try here first! These are fabulous educational videos created for Australian and New Zealand schools. They are neatly divided into chapters, so you can play as much or little as you wish. You can also choose to take them home in your 'schoolbag'; put a few clips together to make a 'lesson' for your students to work through at their own pace; request a recording of a TV programme coming up; use resources supplied with the video. ONLY available as part of The Loop (school, not home).

New Zealand ContentTV New Zealand on Demand View or download full-length New Zealand shows. Streamed only.
TV New Zealand on You Tube popular segments from a selection of New Zealand shows - mostly news and current affairs. Streamed from YouTube, or can be converted via ZamZar.TV3 Current affairs; news; business; science/technology; weather/environment; health and sport videos. Streamed only.

Made for Teachers
Teachers TV 15 minute videos which can be streamed or downloaded.To download a video you must first register with Teachers TV and log in to the website. All of their downloadable videos are available in Windows Media Video (.wmv) format (no conversion needed). More recent downloadable programmes are also available in QuickTime (.mov) format. Most videos also have supporting resources available.
Teacher Tube Videos from teachers, for teachers. Can be streamed, downloaded (and converted via ZamZar), or embedded into your webpage. Some even come with support files! What about uploading some of your own videos here to share with others?!

Video Classroom Videos for teacher Professional Development. These videos cover most subject areas and provide a lot of inspiration for teachers.

International
YouTube A plethora of videos on every subject imaginable. Try searching for something - you might be surprised!

• YouTube do not include a download option, but videos can be dowloaded and converted via ZamZar.
• If you want to play several videos at once, create a 'playlist'. You can save your playlist and access at a later date (you will need to create an account).
• To include a YouTube video in your Slide Show, just copy and paste the URL to your PowerPoint slide.

Google Video Streamed video, many of which have an option to download for both Windows and Macs, or can be embedded straight into your blog (blogger) with the click of a button. Also worth a look is BBC on Google Video.

Internet ArchiveMoving Images library of free movies, films, and videos. This library contains thousands of digital movies which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to videos of every genre uploaded by Archive users. Most of these movies are available for download.

Breaking News Videos from CNN Streamed videos only
Expert Village Video tutorials on all sorts of topics - don't forget to browse through the 'Other' category.
National Geographic High quality, professional videos: Environment; Animals; People and Places. Streamed only

VIDEOS IN THE CLASSROOM

Get ready!

• if you are showing a video to the class, bookmark your video page in advance then open it and let it play through once directly BEFORE the class. This will ensure it plays smoothly.
• if you want students to look at several videos, create a page of links for them. This can be as simple as a word document; add the links to Moodle; or create your own Google Page.
  To add a hyperlink in Word, just type the descriptive word for the video - highlight it - right click - hyperlink - add the web address. Make it look like a 'proper' webpage by formatting the background with a nice texture, and saving it as a webpage. This can then be opened from your browser - your own webpage (for in-school use), complete with hyperlinks!
• locate the class set of headphones, so students can listen without disturbing each other.

To download and convert videos:
Choose this option only if it's impossible to use the internet in the classroom. Preferably save the downloaded video to your flashdrive, or a CD, as space is precious on the school server.

If a downloaded video won't play on your computer, go to ZamZar to convert your video into an appropriate format. For Windows machines, you want a Windows Media Video File (wmv), or Windows Video File (avi).
For Mac users, look for an Apple Quicktime Movie (mov).

Get Creative
Many of the above sites also allow you to upload your own videos. You will be amazed at how engaging students find this activity. Think about Digital Story Telling - you don't need a movie camera, still digital photos can quickly and easily be turned into a movie with narrations, titles and background music using either Movie Maker or, even easier, Photo Story (both free downloads from Microsoft).