Session+Three

=** __SESSION THREE: VOICE AND VIDEO TOOLS__ ** =

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In Session Three you will explore some different voice tools that can be used to enhance your facilitation. On this wiki page, share your thoughts (and experiences) about how these tools can be used to facilitate online courses. Also feel free to add other tools that you have used (or would like to use).=====

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//Note: I'd also like to make this page a bit more collaborative/wiki-like than the first two sessions. So do not list your name next to your post; let's see if we can keep the focus on the content of the page, not the contributors. (Contributing is still required though--I can tell who has added content via the "History" tab up top). If you have no new content to add to the table below, or if you want to ask questions about anyone's posts/additions, use the Discussion tool to start some conversations; I will count starting a Discussion here as a successful contribution to the wiki.// =====


 * ===Voki===

//Possible uses?//
 * Introduce new material
 * Welcome students to the course
 * Seasonal wishes
 * Students could use in development of final product
 * Give directions for some part of the course
 * Teachers can use to have students present answers to questions or give research information in a fun and interesting way.
 * Give a visual for students to see as they listen to directions or announcements
 * Extra activities
 * Use with assignments on interactive boards.
 * Allow students to use Voki to introduce themselves to the others in the course.
 * Allows a personal feel to the course, students enjoy hearing and seeing others.

//Strengths?// more interest and involvement.
 * Adds some fun to your course
 * Creating an avatar that looks like you, sparks
 * Attention getter and motivator
 * Addresses the needs of auditory learners who could benefit from "hearing" the directions
 * Create interest an excitement.
 * Attracts attention; could help students pay attention to a message or announcement
 * User friendly
 * Very timely for building student interest: gamelike
 * Attracts all students
 * could be used as a community builder, getting to know each other through the Voki that represents us

//Weaknesses?//
 * If a student is on dial-up it could take more bandwidth
 * Limited in the amount of information you can give.
 * can be very time consuming if you get too involved in the creative process
 * Increased student frustration if they experience problems with voice/ video tools
 * Can get a little boring if used too much
 * noticed that you to get an educator's voki is costs $200.00!
 * Teachers will need to devote a good bit of time in using it
 * Could be thought to be "cartoonish"
 * Some students are not "into" avatars--they find it to be a turn-off
 * Might be overwhelming for some students from a technical standpoint
 * HTML and not being able to copy and paste or save correctly, can get frustrating.
 * Seems to be difficult to determine how to save files--it automatically does that, but it may not be apparent to some students at first.
 * Would be helpful to know some HTML code prior to beginning to save the avatar.
 * facilitator bombarded with studnets having technical difficulties || ===Phone.io===

//Possible uses?//
 * Submit podcast of lectures
 * Encourage students
 * have students submit podcasts
 * offer directions for struggling students
 * Use with welcome letter
 * Use with students who need to make-up assignments

//Strengths?// //Weaknesses?//
 * Good for the student that likes lectures
 * Students can see work of others
 * Offer more than one way to record
 * Adds a personal connection for more traditional learners accustomed to f2f
 * Good for auditory learners or learners with reading comp difficulties
 * Still have to include a transcript.
 * sometime site is very slow
 * some students may not be able to use it due to bandwith or internet connections
 * site being slow cause me to think I did something incorrect


 * PollEverywhere**

Possible Uses?
 * View data from a research project
 * Mock election results

Strengths?
 * Easy to use
 * Free basic site
 * Plays to students' strengths in using cellphones

Weaknesses?
 * Some students have problems understanding how to use it ||
 * ===**Audacity**===

//Possible uses?//
 * Explanation of activities
 * step by step instructions that student can view
 * Clear up misconceptions.
 * Students hear instructions, music, or sound related to lesson
 * Hearing the actual teacher or student's voice would be very motivational for some students
 * Explain how something needs to be done step by step
 * attracts auditory learners who woulds otherwise be turned off by the volume of reading in online courses

//Strengths?//
 * Option to combine voice with other types of audio files
 * good for auditory and visual learners
 * it's free!
 * another avenue for different learning styles.
 * Adds interest in the course
 * Helps auditory learners receive information

//Weaknesses?//
 * Can you upload more than 500KB in Mootle?
 * Still need a transcript
 * Problems in technology use by some students
 * I had some auditory problems. Could be hard to understand.
 * Time consuming || **Jing**

//Possible uses?// > do things (use software, make posts, etc.) in the course
 * Using pictures and voice to explain how to
 * To comment on a student's work
 * Students could use to collaborate on project
 * Provide feedback to students on work and other projects or discussions.

//Strengths?//
 * Students would have both audio and video for explanations
 * Helps both auditory and visual learners

//Weaknesses?// //Possible Uses? // || **Camstudio //Possible Uses?
 * Still need a transcript
 * Problems for the technologically challenged or those with bandwidth limitations ||
 * **Camstasia**
 * Create presentations for class
 * Create demo videos
 * Create original content for your course
 * Create demo videos
 * differentiate learning
 * Use with students who were absent or with those who need to review the lesson

Strengths?
 * It is free!
 * Files easily imported into Windows Movie maker for editing

Weaknesses?// //Possible Uses?
 * Not as user friendly as some other programs, but not hard to use.
 * **youtube/Teacher tube/School tube
 * **youtube/Teacher tube/School tube
 * A place to host original content
 * A source to find videos for your course created by others
 * Use to demonstrate lessons for new teachers

Strengths?
 * It is free!
 * Teacher tube and School tube are MODERATED and no inappropriate content gets posted.
 * We've used it a lot to show teachers positive teaching strategies in action and some that weren't so effective
 * great tool to use in classroom to share ideas and to upload assignments that are postive.

Weaknesses?// //Possible Uses?
 * Youtube is NOT moderated nearly as closely as the others
 * Video sites are frequently blocked by school internet filters
 * Bandwidth/Internet limits
 * Youtube is blocked by many school districts
 * Blocked by schools and content is sometimes not always appropriate or filtered properly
 * users making assumptions about value or validity of material available - Just becasue it's on Teahcer Tube doesn't mean it's great
 * || **Slideshare
 * Converts Powerpoints to embeddable flash for your site.
 * No need to download power points
 * differentiate learning
 * You can have students work on a group project and add slides to create a group presentation.
 * Great way to share amongst the class as well as outside the classroom.

Strengths?
 * It is free!
 * Can find other content that you may could use
 * I can take a powerpoint, personalize it for my district and use it for PD.
 * obvious classroom applications, user-friendly

Weaknesses?// //Possible Uses?
 * Adding voice to your Powerpoint isn't as easy as doing screen casting.
 * || **Quia
 * || **Quia
 * Create games and tutorials
 * Quizzes
 * Good for webquests

Strengths?
 * The games are fun!
 * Students of all ages enjoy a good game!
 * Even without a subscription you can find cool games at the shared site.
 * Easy for kids to access.

Weaknesses?//
 * You have to have a subscription to create original material at $49/year (to some that may not be expensive, but to me it is)