Google Search Stories Video Creator in Education

Update: Google Search Stories Video Creator is no longer supported :(

While looking for a quick and painless way to highlight some key ideas for my classes in a creative way, I was reminded of Google Search Stories Video Creator.  Below are two short videos I created and uploaded to YouTube with in a matter of minutes. I will use the first one to highlight key concepts students in my Second Language Acquisition course should know at the end of a weekly reading/discussion. This second video is a result of a brainstorm that shows key components I want to include in a Tech for Teachers course I am in the process of creating.

Second Language Acquisition Video

 

Educational Technology Video

Google Search Stories Video Creator is literally as easy as one, two three.  1. Type in key words/phrases and select the type of search you want Google to do: web search, images, maps, news, blog search, product search, or books. 2. Choose music from a limited selection  3. Upload to YouTube. 

This is pretty basic, but it  gets the job done and is simple enough for students to learn and use with limited time.  I wish I could adjust the speed and have more control, but this activity could be used as a stepping stone for engaging students in video productions where given the right tools, they problem solve how to do just this.

Met Ed: I was reminded of this tool by Richard Byrne on Free Technology For Teachers where he suggests students use it to make documenting the research process a bit more exciting.  I like the idea of having students demonstrate the main ideas in a reading by pulling out key phrases and creating videos with Google Search Stories Video Creator.  Students could also use it to create an advertisement for a product  where each search term represents an aspect of the product that is revealed at the end.  There is room for creativity and integration in various content areas!

How could Google Search Stories Video Creator support student learning and engagement in your class?

TED Ed Initial Lauch

It's no secret that I'm a big TED Talks fan, so today's part 1 launch of TED Ed's You Tube Channel put a smile on my face.  Chris Anderson gives the background Behind Today's TED Ed Launch. Chris explains that the "prime goal... is short lessons that spark curiosity. That deliver memorable 'aha' moments. That make learning thrilling."  Sounds good to me!  Watch the introduction video below.

The Playing With Language short featured playlist caught my attention.  Questions No One (Yet) Knows the Answer To already sparked my curiosity.  Chris's own video is the intro to the series that could promote discussion and be a spin-off to classroom discussion.  You can watch it below.  Also, check out all of the other featured playlists, which include Awesome Nature, How Things Work, and Inventions that Shaped History.  I know I will.

TED Ed is inviting teachers to share lessons and contribute.  It is inviting animators to contribute too. Stay tuned for the launching of part 2 next month which promises to "open up a new section of ted.com devoted to TED-Ed and offer some powerful new tools to teachers." Sounds interesting.

Happy exploring or maybe even contributing!  Feel free to explore my related past TED Talks posts here.

First Annual Open Education Week March 5-10

The first annual Open Education week will be held March 5-10 online and at various locations around the world.  It “is about sharing, reducing barriers and increasing access in education.  It includes free and open access to platforms, tools and resources in education (such as learning materials, course materials, videos of lectures, assessment tools, research, study groups, textbooks, etc.)” (About Open Education).  There will be more than 40 online webinars related to the topic of open education.  Check out the schedule and links to webinars here.  Follow the hashtag #openeducationwk.  

You can explore the site prior to the conference.  Read the welcome post.  Find out FAQs about Open Education, discover resources, and explore participating organizations.  They represent some amazing possibilities! Check out current projects.  Wikiwjs is an Example of a National Strategy on OER.  It is an example showing how the Dutch have been sharing from primary school to universities.  Here’s an interestng  link to OER K-12 BillPasses in U.S. Washington State.

Check out two of the featured presentations:  David Wiley in his TEDx NYED video and Cathy Casserly CEO of Creative Commons.  It’s interesting stuff!

As a side note, I discovered this through +Jason Neiffer of Montana Digital Academy at a time I was questioning the relevance of Google +, Twitter, etc in education.  I’ll keep at it.  Thanks Jason, and thanks for the follow!  It looks like Jason will be in a panel discussion with OER in K-12 Thurs, March 8 9 am Central.  It’s a bit early morning for me; the good news is that it sounds like the webinars will be made available after the sessions are over.

...Connect... Collect... Create... Share...

Part 1: Bringing Science and Language Alive with Dance and Art

This term, my College of Ed. class is looking at the importance of using hand on activities, realia, manipulatives, visuals, etc. to make abstract concepts and new vocabulary more tangible.  They are discussing the importance of connecting learning to real life experiences and things that their K-12 students can relate to.   Recent topics have spun around making concepts in math and science accessible to English language learners in ways that build upon language development and differentiate by level.

Below are some related videos for bringing science alive in ways that have the potential of connecting to language and the student's lives.  (Stay tuned for an upcoming post highlighting some in math.)  Watch them with your own learning process and classes in mind if you are a teacher.

Watch John Bohannon: Dance vs. Powerpoint a Modest Proposal (11  min).  This has become one of my favorite TED Talks, which is not an easy feat since I am a big fan.

Here’s one for the young learners and those of us who just like to watch colors combine.  Watch Sesame Street: OK Go-- Three Primary Colors.

Minute Physics has RSA like “Cool physics and other sweet science- all in a minute!”   Weigh a Million Dollars With Your Mind caught my attention with this question:  A million dollars is a ton of money-- but how much does it weigh?

Met Ed (Application Questions):  How can you use some of the concepts in one of these videos to bring science alive, make it accessible to a variety of learners, and build on language development?  What approaches do you take to accomplish these in your classes?

Happy lesson planning TCE students!

For the Love of a Book

Warning.  Once you start reading, you may not be able to stop thinking.  TheFantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is an extraordinary video that I will revisit many, many times.   Like a favorite tattered book, I can see gaining something new from it each time one watches it.  My kiddo and I have watched it several times, pausing and making connections each time we see it.  I can’t wait to connect it to one of my classes!

Can you spot some of my favorites in the video?  My further investigations have turned many of my long held opinions into mush!  The many and varied points of view I have encountered do not confuse, but enrich.  I laugh.  I cry.  I seldom understand things but…  I go round and round the mulberry bush.  Why does the weasel go “pop”?  Does it matter?  If life is enjoyed, does it have to make sense?

And what a gorgeous baby grand piano.  I’m fairly certain it is the same one my grandma plays in her living room!  My grandparents are after all two of the people who encouraged my love for books and writing and embracing the unknowns in life.  If you don’t know what I’m rambling about, begin by watching this video.  And then for the love of a book, pick one up and experience it!  Digital ones do count ;- )  Here’s a link to the app.

How does TheFantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore touch you? Those of us who love literature, writing, flying words that buzz in silence, just can’t stop.  Watch The Joy of Books and then read, share, and read!

This relates to my past post What’s a Book?  Is This a Book? I’m fairly certain it will relate to a future one.

Happy reading and writing!  (Happy birthday Grandpa!)

You Are Your Words, Right?

The American Heritage Dictionary has a fun, simple site called You Are Your Words that allows you to create a self-portrait with your own words. Upload a picture or use your computer's camera to snap one, copy and paste something you write, and then share it by downloading it to your computer or sending it to Facebook or Twitter.  Be forewarned though that your creations may appear in the public gallery on the website.  I didn't see any statement saying this was a possibility, which brings up an important connection to the concept of digital footprints.   We need to have ongoing discussions with our students about this idea.

For fun, I uploaded a picture of my puppy and copy/pasted an upcoming post I wrote.  The picture on the left is the result.

Met Ed (application):  I see multiple benefits of integrating art into writing and the use of typography!

a.  I could have my adult students do this as an optional assignment.  I wouldn't require it due to the sharing feature on the gallery and could offer word clouds as an alternative. (See my earlier post about word clouds.)  It would be fun to have each student write an introduction on my online classes and then use it to create a word self-portrait to share.  

After creating these, powerful discussions could arise about the topic you are our own words.

b. The site seems to work okay with animals as well.  A class could write something about a class pet or animal they study and make a word portrait of it.  The concept of you are our own words could be extended to animal rights and asking questions surrounding giving voices to animals.

How could you use You Are Our Own Words site or the basic concept in your class?  Feel free to share if you have similar sites or apps that work for you.  I also use a similar free app called aTypoPicture-- Amazing Typographic Picture (a wordfoto).  

Happy creating!  (You know you love typography in education, even if you say you don't. Wait, you are your own words, right?)

Update: Aug 2012 A reader notified me that the site was not currently working.  I hope they get it functioning again.  It's a fun site.
 

 

Here are a few related previous posts:

Word Clouds: Tagxedo, Wordle, Tagul, and Wordlings 

Illuminated Text and Kinetic Typography Bringing Reading Alive

Duolingo and Luis von Ahn's Ted Talk

I recently came across the Duolingo site which is in beta.  It sounded interesting enough to pursue getting a beta invite, but it wasn’t until I watched Luis von Ahn, a creator of that mildly annoying CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA anti-spam image that requires us to type what we see in order to prove we are people, that my attention was peaked.

Luis’s description of the background and his role in CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA  are noteworthy.   It’s remarkable that this process helps digitize books.   Beyond that factoid, what caught my attention are his reasons for creating Duolingo and his belief in its potential to harness crowd sourcing to get 100 million people to translate the web in all major languages—not a small undertaking.  This endeavor is worthy of discussion when looked at from a linguistic and second language acquisition perspective, a social networking perspective, and in light of the topic of motivation.

Watch the 17 minute TED Talks with Luis von Ahn entitled Massive Scale Online Collaboration below.  Also, check out the creativity of CAPTCHA art!  I like the humor of this one.  You will not want to miss the CAPTCH Vimeo which resembles Jabberwocky!  It's worth watching.

 

What do you think? 

Count Down To Digital Learning Day and Beyond

February 1,2012 is Digital Learning Day.  The motto is “Empowering teachers.  Promoting Innovation.” Find out about the day, partners, events, contests, blogs, and more here.   Register to watch webcasts on the morning of February 1^st .  They include sessions entitled Leadership and Innovation, Instructional Strategies Session, and Effective Teaching and Learning Opportunities. 

The toolkits will be relevant long after February 1^st has passed.  There is a lot of useful digital learning information to explore on this page alone!  

Get involved locally, virtually, nationally, or any way you want. Consider hugging a computer teacher as a start.  (Here’s a virtual one for you, Dad.)  Just pass on the digital love.  

See recent related  posts: 
Google in Education Provides Nice Resources
iBooks 2, Textbooks, iBook Author, itunes U First Impressions
Google Science Fair and TEDx Women Winners from 2011

Happy digital learning!

Google In Education Provides Nice Resources

Google “revamped” its Google in Education site last week, announced the launch of Google+ Google for Education page, and highlighted its booklet Google in Education: A New and Open World for Learning. The Googe+ page looks like it has potential for dialogue.  The booklet shows some ways Google is implemented in education across the globe.  The site makes it nice to have so much Google information related to education in one place.  It has links for teachers, organizations, and students, and one that highlights its news and calendar.

I’m eager to take a closer look at the classroom videos on the You Tube for Schools.  It would be exciting to participate in some of the professional development opportunities.  The classroom tools is convenient for quick access to all of Google’s educational resources.  My first impression is also that it is nice to see some student examples.  I particularly like the Google Sketchup information and can attest to how Google Sketchup can integrate fun and learning.  There are some videos showing students in action, lesson plans, and more.  

The timing of these is interesting in comparison to Apple’s recent education announcements.  Read our most recent related posts:  iBooks 2, Textbooks, iBooks Author, and iTunes U Initial Impressions and Quick Byte: Google Science Fair 2012 and TED x Winners from 2011.  The Google in Education site can now be accessed in our Ed Sites page as well.

Happy Googling!

iBooks 2, Textbooks, iBooks Author, and iTunes U Initial Impressions

At the Apple Education Event on Thursday, January 19^th in New York, Apple announced iBooks 2 and textbooks, iBooks Author, and iTunes U app.  Watch the keynote video below to see them in action.

My first impression was that this links into what we’ve talked about since the beginning of this blog.  It connects to several of our earlier posts such as our Digital Curriculum Discussion and What’s A Book? Is This A Book?  We have talked about the possibilities of digital curriculum as a disruptive force in education to help differentiate instruction since we met, so this caught our attention.  We don't believe technology such as digital curriculum should replace the teacher or that one should be swept away with the flashiness of new gadgets, but we think it has potential to make some positive changes in education. Does Apple's announcement contain the solution or does it have hints of movement in the right direction?

Here’s a breakdown of our initial thoughts on Apples new educational releases.

iBooks 2  and Textbooks (On the video, iBooks 2 runs through minute 23.  Textbooks runs from minute 33 to minute 43.): The textbooks can be accessed through iBooks 2.  We’ve read various perspectives but have come to the conclusion that this is a move in the right direction in terms of textbooks. We both love the interactivity shown in the keynote. There will be no going back from this type of interactive textbook format!  Will all of the textbooks be this interactive?

The note taking feature is great. Also, having the dictionary as part of the book is a nice concept.  It would be good to see this linked into various online dictionaries, including bilingual ones.  As an ESOL teacher, I’d like to see a feature for subtitles to be turned on/off in the videos. Is this asking too much?  From the perspective of an online instructor at the university level, I hope quality texts become available for higher ed. as well.  Although it would be nice, it’s hard to imagine the price of $14.99 sticking for a university text. While I’m dreaming, I’ll place a request for a way to collaborate and discuss the content as an extension of the text.  What if it were a worldwide discussion and collaboration with public and private chat rooms or wiki spaces built into the text?

Just for fun, download the free The Beatle’s Yellow Submarine from iBooks 2.

iBooks Author (On the video, iBooks Author begins at minute 23 and ends at minute 33.): iBook Author allows you to make your own books and to integrate them with iBooks 2 and potentially iTunes U.  I’d love to try it, but I will have to borrow a Mac computer in order to.  There are some obvious large accessibility issues on several levels for education with Apple’s roll-outs.  Kacey was able to play around with the iBook Author software for a few minutes and thought it seems very easy to use.  She could easily drag documents, etc from Word. However, she felt there were only a few templates and hopes Apple will be adding more to keep it interesting.

We both think the concept of  iBooks Author seems like it has enormous potential in education! We could see using it in some manner in any of the classes we teach-- both in the hands of the student and teacher.  As an online instructor, it would be ideal to be able to easily make some of my lectures more interactive by using this type of tool if all my students could access the end product.

           

iTunes U (On the video, iTunes U runs from minute 47 to minute 57.): I’ve been using iTunes U for awhile now, but they have made improvements and made it easily accessible for K-12 and higher ed. in this app.  It is possible to create courses and apply to have them uploaded to iTunes U and/or access existing ones.  Courses are available for download from universities including Duke, Stanford, and Yale to name a few. OSU has some content out there too. 

It’s interesting how fluid this seems.  It appears that it can be organized in a way that the texts, lectures, and notes for example are all connected and accessible with a click on the app.  We are also for the concept of open courseware which empowers us to take learning in our own hands.  Maybe with the new layout more schools will post content.  It will be interesting to see how things unfold and how much of it will be free and useful.    

Conclusions:

All of this is not completely new. As we’ve discussed in the previous posts accessible above, digital texts have been emerging.  There are ways to publish ebooks similar to iBooks.  We’ve used concepts resembling iTunes U on various platforms over the past few years.  Nonetheless, these all seem like another step in the right direction.  It makes us ask questions such as what other competition and possibilities will this stir up?  It reminds us of the potential of some form of flipped classroom instruction.  It makes us wonder what possibility all of this opens up for hybrid classes.

Of course Apple’s news comes with various view points and some fine print.  Here are some interesting additional links for further exploration.  

• Listen to Leo LaPorte and Sarah Lane on iPad Today (81) 
• Johathan Wylie of The Education Technology Blog gives a nice brief overview of Apple's announcement 
• Ronnie Burt of Edubloggers voices his opinion in 3 Major Problems With Apple's Education Announcement
• Read Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis’s review 
• Read Jose Picardo on Box of Tricks review and see his first attempt to use iBooks
• Apple vs. The Textbook: Can Education Go Paperless? is an interesting article that takes a look at various aspects

No doubt, we will hear more on this topic and continue to explore it ourselves.  Happy exploring!