Tasmanian Blogs

Adding clock widgets

Posted by  on Thursday, November 8th 2012     

We have had some classes start joining in global activities such as:

Other global projects you might like to check out include:

Once you start involving your class in global collaborative activities, students start asking questions like:

Why aren’t the students answering my comments straight away?

What is the time over there?

To help students understand time zones around the world, you can always add some widgets to your sidebar, or as a page like Mrs Yollis does.

Here are some websites for clocks -weatherandtime,  world time server, widgetbox, clocklink, timeanddate,

Here is a world clock, set it for Tassie time (click on Tasmania) then hover over the area where you want to know what the time is eg east coast of America.

Here is a post from Ronnie Burt at Edublogs with other widgets to add to your sidebar.

Image: ‘SAF#2‘

category: Adding widgets/code, Web 2.0 tools
tags: , ,

Value of a class camera

Posted by  on Thursday, November 8th 2012     

Do you have a class camera available to use all day long?

Do you share a camera with another class or group of classes?

Maybe you have a smartphone or iPad with a camera connection.

Having a camera in the room all day is a great asset when posting on your blog. Being able to take shots of:

When uploading an image in a post, make sure it is small not the original size. You can make sure this happens by having your camera set to standard size (no bigger than a postcard) with recorded pixels no more than 640. Here are some posts to help you add images to your blog.

Image: ‘Everyone needs a getaway‘

In the comments, tell our readers some more ways to use your camera at school.

category: Web 2.0 tools
tags: , , ,

Using flickrcc to find images

Posted by  on Sunday, September 30th 2012     

This is probably the easiest way to find images to use in your blog post. But some schools have this site blocked so you might need to check with your IT co-ordinator.

How do you use it?

  1. In your blog dashboard, you write your post that is going to include an image.
  2. Go to the flickrcc website linked here – there is a link to this on the sidebar of this blog.
  3. Type your search term in the box – make sure editing is ticked in case you want to make some changes to the image.
  4. Choose the image you want to use. Remember you can find more choices by clicking the blue next 30 button.
  5. Click on the thumbnail of the image you want to use. It will now appear as a larger image on the right hand side.
  6. Above the image you will also find attribution information.

Adding the image to your blog post

Go to your post dashboard and click the upload/insert icon.

Click on from URL.

There are four things you now need to do from the flickrcc screen.

  1. Choose size of image you want to use – small or medium (highlight 1) will be large enough most times.
  2. Right click on image and copy image location. If using Internet Explorer, right click on image, go to properties and copy the address area. Come back to your blog screen and paste this in “URL area“.
  3. Go back to flickrcc and copy highlighted area 3. Back to your blog screen and paste in” link image to area“.  Choose your alignment and click on insert into post.
  4. Copy the first line of the attribution (highlight 4) and add to the end of your post.

Image: ‘Doing some Sisyphus work‘

Now I have shown you three different ways to find images – using Google advanced search, pics4learning and flickrcc.

Which did you find the easiest?

Leave a comment on this post or write your own post about finding and using images.

category: Adding images/video, Web 2.0 tools
tags: ,

Using pics4learning to find images

Posted by  on Saturday, September 29th 2012     

This is a great website where all images are available for educational blogs, wikis, powerpoints and projects etc as long as you give attribution for the image.

On the website is a page giving you tips for searching. Looking at this will teach you better search techniques and will make your searching time more effective.

You also need to read their page on image use policy.

How do you use it?

  1. In your blog dashboard, you write your post that is going to include an image. Then you go to pics4learning to find the best image relating to your post.
  2. Click on browse topics. When the list of topics appears, some will have arrows next to them. This means there are sub-topics as well. So clicking on the topic name next to the arrow will open up more choices.
  3. Under the topic countries, let’s look for Australia and a picture of something related to our history or geography. Found one of Uluru, the well known red rock in the centre of Australia.

If using Internet Explorer or an image saved on a computer

  1. You will need to download the image to your own computer. Check how big the image is. You might have to resize it first so it will fit neatly in your post about 450 pixels maximum width.   By resizing first, re-saving then uploading to your post, it takes up less storage space.
  2. Back to your blog post. To insert an image, you click on the upload/insert icon above the post dashboard.
  3. You are inserting from your computer.
  4. Select to find your image and open it.
  5. The Edublogs platform will crunch your image.
  6. Make sure you have checked the alignment of your image and the size of the image then click insert into post.

If using Firefox or uploading direct from a URL

You don’t need to save the image.

Go to your post dashboard and click the upload/insert icon.

Click on from URL.

Your screen will now look like this.

  1. Go back to pics4learning. Right click on image and copy image location. Come back to your blog screen and paste this in “URL area“.
  2. Go back to pics4learning. Right click and copy link location. Back to your blog screen and paste in” link image to area“.

Choose your alignment and click on insert into post.

 

What about giving attribution from pics4learning?

This is very easy. Go back to the page where your image is on pics4learning. Below the image is a citation area. Highlight and copy this information, then paste it in at the bottom of your blog post.

 

Vernon, Mitch. ar17.jpg. 2006. Pics4Learning. 28 Sep 2012 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>

category: Adding images/video, Web 2.0 tools
tags: , , ,

Are you ready?

Posted by  on Saturday, September 22nd 2012     

Have you started getting organized for school next week?

I spent a few hours yesterday with a couple of new teachers, Mrs Fall and Ms Thomsett,  who are just starting blogging with their classes this coming term. They have got their first post ready for students when they head back to school next week.

Have you seen those classes taking part in the student blogging challenge? I notice Mr Price and Mr Woolley have registered their classes already. Lots of ideas for students and teachers to write posts and use different web 2.0 tools to present work on their blogs. Register your class here, then check out the participants page to find more classes to connect with. Students can also visit other student blogs at this spot.

I won’t be holding the evening sessions over the next few weeks as I am heading to Perth, Western Australia for the ACEC2012 conference (Computers in Education really) and have decided to do some touring while I am over there. When I return I will hold online sessions again on a Monday afternoon from 3.00-4.30 which might be easier for teachers to just stay at school for half an hour or so rather than find time in your busy homelife at 7pm. I will send each of you an email closer to this time though.

Please keep visiting each others blogs, leave great comments and write interesting posts. If you have any questions, please send me an email through your blogs Inbox on your dashboard, through my DoE email or via my tasteach56 account at gmail.

Image: ‘Class photo‘

category: Information

Using Google advanced search for images

Posted by  on Thursday, September 20th 2012     

This will be a step by step tutorial on how to use Google advanced search to find images and get attribution for images to use in your blog posts.This is probably the hardest way to find an image to use.

  1. Go to Google search and put in your search term(s) eg Tasmanian Devil
  2. Choose images only on left sidebar – wow over 1 million images to choose from
  3. But how many of these are able to be used in my blog?
  4. Top right corner, click on the option wheel and choose advanced search.
  5. Go to bottom of this page and under usage rights choose free to use or share
  6. Click on the blue advanced search button
  7. Oh, now I only have 44 images to choose from.
  8. I would choose an image from a site that might have something to do with Tasmanian Devils rather than a person’s blog. They might have copied the image without permission.

This is the image I chose to use – sounds like fotopedia is a reputable site.

  1. Hover over the picture and click on the link
  2. I am now at fotopedia site and can see the image was actually from a flickr site, so fotopedia are not the owners of the image.
  3. I click on the flickr link and am now at the original site of the image.
  4. I look on the right sidebar and find the license information and I can use it.

I have now created a screencast showing the above steps for those students who are more visually inclined. This is the first time I have used Screenr so hope it works well.

 

Now how do I download the image and give the attribution?

  1. I don’t want an image that is too big, so I click on Actions above the image, and choose view all sizes.
  2. For blogs the small size is generally big enough. Click on this.
  3. Make sure your blog post has been written and you are ready to insert your image.
  4. Click at the beginning of the line where you want your image to appear.
  5. Click on the upload/insert button above your blog post. Choose from URL.
  6. We now need the URL of the image, usually starts with farm4.static or something similar if a Flickr image
  7. We also need the link location which will start with flickr.com or similar

If using Internet Explorer

  1. Right click on image, then properties. Copy the image URL or address. Paste into URL area.
  2. Go back to image, and highlight the location of the image from the top of the page eg flickr.com etc, copy and paste into the link image to area.
  3. Choose where to align the image – I usually choose right .
  4. Insert into post.
  5. To give attribution, write Image: Source at the bottom of your post. Highlight Source and add a link to the flickr.com location you should still have copied on your clipboard.
  6. WOW! I have finally found an image, uploaded from the URL and given attribution.

If using Firefox

  1. Right click on image and copy the image location. Paste this into the URL area.
  2. Follow from step 2 for Internet Explorer.

I will create a screencast on how to upload and add attribution when I write the post about using flickrcc for your images.

Image: Source

category: Adding images/video

How to: find and insert images

Posted by  on Thursday, September 20th 2012     

A post looks a lot more interesting if you have included an image, as long as it relates to the topic you are writing about.

But where can you get these images?

I’ll Google it

NO NO NO

Not every image on the web can be used in your blog. You need to find ones that have a creative commons license and then you need to give attribution to the owner of that image somewhere on your post.

What’s attribution?

A note to show that someone else took the photo and they have given you permission to use it.

But how can I know that?

Well check out my next few posts where I look at using Google advanced search, Flickrcc and Pics4Learning. Notice I have a link to each of these in my sidebar as well as other sites to get music, clipart and images to use.

In each post I will show you how to find and insert images to your posts as well as give attribution for the images. I will also mention how to do this using Internet Explorer and Firefox, because both need to be done differently.

Image: ‘A Picture Says A Thousand Words‘ by dullhunk

category: Adding images/video, Information
tags: , ,

Making global connections

Posted by  on Friday, August 24th 2012     

earth_from_space.jpg - Earth from Space

An important part of blogging is making global connections. But this can be difficult to do, if you don’t know any other teachers or students around the world, only those in your own state or school. Here are a few guides that might help you on this task.

Students: If you have your own student blog, join the next student blogging challenge which begins in September. Find out how to register your blog at this link, then each week starting 9th September, visit the blog to get the activities to try over the next week. Once you have registered, start visiting the other students who are also in the challenge. You might like to add some of these student blogs to your blogroll, especially if you visit that student often.

Classes: You can also join the student blogging challenge as a class. Find out how to register at this link, then start connecting with other classes that are similar in age to you.

Teachers:

  • Have you joined Twitter yet? This allows me to have lots of resources at my fingertips as well as lots of professional development which costs the school nothing and only my time for me.
  • Check out the hashtag #globalclassroom in a search engine. Lots of links to projects happening around the world.
  • Visit the globalclassroom blog to find out about projects on a global scale. These educators also have a wiki with lots of projects mentioned.
  • Want to connect with blogging?  Then look at quadblogging or blogdipping.
  • Do you have a Skype account at your school? Perhaps take part in a mystery skype call.
  • Join the iEarn projects where students have a real voice and can make a difference in the world.

But even if you don’t do any of the above mentioned things, by writing interesting blog posts,  visiting other blogs and leaving high quality comments you will start making connections.

  • Students at Oatlands grade 8 have been asked to join with another grade 8 in Iowa, USA.
  • Mr Weir 3/4 has been asked to work with another grade 3 class in Pennsylvania, USA.
  • Mr Price 3/4 has been asked to join with a class in Stittsville, Canada.

Image source: (NASA-GSFC), NASA. earth_from_space.jpg. 11.07.2002. Pics4Learning.

category: Global connections, Web 2.0 tools
tags: , , , , , ,

Using embed code

Posted by  on Wednesday, August 1st 2012     

 

Help is on the way, elevator, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL.JPGHave you been visiting other blogs and seeing:

  • class pets
  • Vokis
  • revolver maps
  • Animoto slideshows
  • videos
  • photopeach slideshows
  • flag counters

and wondering how you can add them to your blog?

You need to use embed code.

Instead of me writing a complete post about how to do this, I am going to send you to another blog which already has it set out step by step.

On your class blogroll under “Get help here” you will have a link to Edublogs Help and support. This is the very first place I go to if I want to find out how to do something with my blog.

Once on that page, go to the Edublogs full user guide which categorises the posts that will help you improve your blog.

Or teachers, you  might want to visit the Handouts, worksheets and PD page. Some great things to use in case the internet goes down during a blogging session. There is also a curriculum corner with lots of fantastic ideas for using blogs in class.

You will notice students will need to have at least author responsibility if adding images and other media including videos and embed code to their posts.

If I can’t find the answer at Edublogs help and support, I will next go to the Edublogger where Sue Waters from Western Australia and Ronnie Burt from Texas, USA write informative posts about blogging. Again there is a link to this on your class blog sidebar blogroll.

PS If you have a Smartboard in your room and have the notebook version 11, there is a Voki widget tab where you can add embed code in your notebook pages.

Image: Source at flickr

category: Adding widgets/code

Online meeting

Posted by  on Tuesday, July 24th 2012     

This afternoon, I sent an email to all the teachers who have class blogs with the eSchool. I know I left it very late, but I invited them to an online meeting using Blackboard Collaborate. The meeting was from 3pm till 4pm today.

It was great to have Mr Weir attend just before he headed off to his staff meeting. I would like to have these meetings perhaps once a fortnight or month as a way to pass on information about blogging as well as a way to share what is happening with our blogs and try to help each other. Below is an image of the main screen where I asked participants to add a smiley face to where they live in Tasmania.

Here is the script of what was said in the chat area of the room. Mr Williams  from Cooee also turned up after I had saved the image and chat. I can also use this live room to visit your class at their computers  from the computer at my house.

Joined on 24 July 2012 at 2:10 PM

Moderator: g’day Michael

Moderator: looks like it is working at Glen Dhu

Michael: Afternoon. Sadly we have staff meeting, but yes it is working at Glen Dhu !

Moderator: have you been in one of these rooms before?

Michael: No, it’s very bright and colourful,

Moderator: thinking of using once a fortnight at a certain time for the eSchool blogging teachers to help with queries etc

Michael: Yes, that would be a great idea. So much to learn but slow and staedy gets there

Moderator: yes we are now up to over 20 blogs begun

Moderator: and you already connected overseas with Mrs Schmidt

Moderator: have you found link for her class blog yet?

Michael: Excellent. Guess we need to make the committment to ensure chn stay interested.

Moderator: yep, if the teacher is not committed then the students lose interest as they don’t feel they can use it at school

Moderator: here is link to her class blog http://mrstinaschmidt.edublogs.org/

Moderator: thanks for coming will let you head to staff meeting now

Michael: Thanks, catch you soon.

Moderator: to leave room, top left corner file>exit

Do you think this would be a valuable way to communicate as a group?

What day and time would suit you best?

Would you prefer after tea so about 7pm once a fortnight or month?

category: Information, Web 2.0 tools
tags: ,
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