I am back (and new Twitter tools to play with)
Finishing my dissertation means that I can blog and Twitter again.
I must admit it. Twitter did not impress me at first. But, as I mentioned briefly in my last post, as folks began to use it at and beyond the podium at NECC and at the BLC conferences this summer, we all began to consider its use in the classroom.
I know I am going to run Twittercamp on our library SmartBoard during films and discussions this year to capture student reactions, ideas, and questions with immediacy. It captures tweets realtime, bulletin board style, with thought bubbles connected to users’ avatars. I also like Twitterific, for use with my Mac. It accomplishes similar goals on a transparent black background.
Hmmm, I wonder how this stuff would work at our faculty meetings and planning team sessions.
In a tweet this morning, Will Richardson shared this piece about Twitter, which led me to a ReadWriteWeb post about the Top Ten Twitter Apps. Lots here to play with.
Video Toolbox: More tools than you can shake a lens at
The fabulous Judy O’Connell shared this cool list in her Hey Jude blog and I want to make sure word spreads.
Mashable recently gathered a Video Toolbox: 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources.
Names of tools like Zamzar and YouTube are already familiar parts of our lives, but many of these other tools look truly worthy of exploration.
Sure, my head is already swimming with new tools. But because I suspect that this coming school year will be even more video-rich, and because I have been so amazed by what we are now able to create at a basic level, I am going to play with a quite a few of these before September swings around.
The categories are: Live Video Communications, Online Video How-to, Online Video Editors, Video Sharing, Video Hosting, Video Organization and Management, Vidcasts and Vlogging, Video Mashups, Mobile Video Apps, Video Search, Online Video Downloading Services, and Miscellaneous Tools.
Software, Teaching Strategies, Video, geeky toys | Comment (0)Geek envy–mousepad on steroids
A few weeks ago, Martin, one of my students, told me about a couple of his latest purchases from a web tech catalog in China. It took a while, but his package arrived. Today he showed me his new Dick Tracy-style MP4 watch. It’s very Martin; it’s not very Joyce. I hope he doesn’t trip.
But that other purchase. It’s the mousepad for the girl who has everything and I want one. It functions as both speakers and headphones. It has four USB ports. When I travel, I can leave my Radio Shack speakers and my mic at home. I can Skype and play music and project sound from my videos with my mousepad. I can plug even more stuff in. I’ll keep you posted on actual quality when my own package arrives.
Just for fun, geeky toys | Comment (1)
