Why reinvent the wheel?

Although I am an advocate for Moodle, I don't sit down and create lots of screencasts on how to use it unless I have an original idea, something that I have seen no one else present. Which reminds me I should get on with the Homework block idea that utilises the random glossary entry block.

So someone else has been busy creating these Moodle resources and I just wanted to help spread the word as they look really good. They are from Moodle monthly and I suggest you visit their site! Some really good screencasts on how to use the gradebook feature there at the moment.

Etherpad

Collaborative learning, there are so many different web2.o tools that support students collaborating together in order to learn. I have used etherpad a number of times and the students really enjoy it. While I'm a Moodle advocate, that does not mean I limit myself to Moodle activities. There is nothing stopping you adding a link on your Moodle page that then takes students to another web activity. For a really nice example of how a teacher has utilised Etherpad for collaborative learning check this link out.

Moodle Wikis - as document lockers

I came across this excellent jing video which explains how to use a Moodle Wiki activity as a means of students uploading documents/file repository. It is well worth watching! Yes there are many ways you can set up a file repository system on Moodle but I particularly liked this method. I believe the video was created by Digidoug whom I have since located on twitter. So if you enjoy his video you may want to go follow him and thank him for such a neat idea and well presented how-to vidcast.

Moodle Books & Screen Capturing

I have become a real fan of the Moodle "BOOK" which is a means of adding a resource onto your Moodle. It is not a default module so you will need to ask your administrator to install it.

The reason I am such a fan... I find the teenage boys that I teach don't like accessing powerpoints that I put on Moodle because they have to wait for their computer to download the file, then they need to wait for the powerpoint software itself to open and this all takes precious time. Then there are the students who don't know where their downloaded files end up on their computer as sometimes the settings have it go to their documents folder and it all gets a bit confusing for an impatient 13 year old.

So I started using the Book. It opens to reveal the contents in the browser so they don't need to wait and they can easily turn the pages by clicking on the arrows or use the page titles on the left to jump to the necessary information they are after.


So I have been taking screenshots of powerpoints and various other things and created these Moodle books to replace content I once was sharing via powerpoint presentations. That has created the need to find some screen capturing tools - I have found two pieces of software which I am using. Yes I know I can do the old "command+shift+4" on my mac but then I was opening these screenshots in fireworks to annotate them and it was a very time consuming process. So I found some user-friendly software to help me out.


Skitch - is super-easy to use and did not cost me anything!
I like the way that instantly I can annotate the screenshot, crop it or resize it and then with a quick drag of the mouse it is saved as a useable file. It is super easy to use and a really handy tool.



Snagit - I have just downloaded the beta version of Snagit. I was impressed when I watched the video and it showed that it could scroll down a page and continue the screen capturing selection for the screenshot - but this feature has not worked for me. It would be really good it this scrolling selection worked and give the developers a bit more time I'm sure they will get it working. It has some excellent annotating tools and I'll keep trialling it.

Become an animator within minutes

Thanks to twitter.... I cam across animation - ish. It is software you need to buy... but it looks like a load of fun. Not something I would use in the classroom as my curriculum is more about programming but this would make a cool extra-curricular lesson on two! They have videos to show you how to use it - in fact there are 12 lesson videos. So you are definitely well supported. Most importantly I think students would be really engaged with this software without a doubt! Will keep you posted as to whether I take the leap and buy it/use it, I do think the boys would love it though so it is very tempting!!