Great Web Sites

This past week I was introduced to some really fantastic web sites that I would like to share.  Several of the PDC's recent workshops have dealt with issues of web and course design, and perhaps some will find these sites as useful (and, in some cases, entertaining) as I did.

The first one is "The World's Worst Web Site."  While few would want to have that monicker tagged to their site, this site shows exactly what NOT to do.  Blinking backgrounds, scrolling title bars, accessibility issues, obnoxious color schemes, frame upon frame upon frame...this web site has it all. In addition, the visual chaos is accompanied by a looping, electronic, rendition of the William Tell Overture!   WARNING!!!! This web site can only be taken in small doses without being driven totally crazy! 

The next is the "morgueFile."  Self-advertised as a site "Where photo reference lives" and a "Public Image Archive for Creatives by Creatives," the site provides free images that can be used in your own work.  Per the morgueFile free license users are allowed to remix (or alter) the image and use it commerically without attribution as long as you don't claim ownership of the image in its original state or try to sell, license, distribute, etc the image without alteration.  What a deal!  This means that one can definitely use these images in their courses.  In addition to fantastic images, there is a "Classroom" link on the site that teaches those of us who can use a little help how to take better pictures. Personally, I believe that this site is the ultimate in open courseware.  Not only does it provide us with free images, but it also has a teaching module to teach us how to take pictures.  The site is well-balanced and quite beautiful.  I suggest that you check it out if for no other reason than to see some really amazing photography.

Office 2007 files are changed to ZIP files by Internet Explorer

The scenario:

Someone has uploaded an Office 2007 file (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc...) to a website. You connect to the website using Internet Explorer and find your file, then you click the link to begin downloading. Everything seems great until---- an unexpected window pops up asking you to open or save a "ZIP" file. How did this happen and how do you fix it?

Internet Explorer sometimes (depending on version and updates applied) will inspect the contents of a download and "guess" which program would be best to open that file. While this feature is sometimes helpful, it can also choose an incorrect program and fail to open your file properly. The solution is to force Internet Explorer to open downloaded files based on the file extension, (.docx -Word, .xlsx -Excel, etc.), and to not inspect the contents of the file.

Here are the steps to turn this feature off:

1. Click "Tools" at the top of the Internet Explorer window.
2. Select "Internet Options" at the bottom of the list.
3. Click the "Security" tab.
4. Select the "Internet Zone" (picture of the Earth)
5. Click the "Custom Level" button.
6. Search the list for the "Miscellaneaous" category and under this heading you will find an option to toggle "Open files based on content, not file extension".
This should be changed/set to "Disable".
7. You may also need to do this same process with the "Local Intranet Zone" under the security tab.
8. Done

You should now be able to download your files without issue and they should open with the expected program.

Welcome to a new term of PDC Workshops!

The PDC has e-mailed and published its Fall 2010 Catalog of workshop offerings. There are quite a wide variety of workshops available, from Soft Skills topics such as Communication to Instructional Technology topics such as Using Blackboard to Enhance Classes. The PDC offers several opportunities for you continued Professional Development.

We hope to see you this fall in the PDC!

Prezi

No, Prezi is not the name of an expresso maker...  Prezi is web-based presentation software that operates on the premise that presentations should not be a slide show.  Instead, they should be maps of interrelated ideas and concepts.  The focus of the presentation shifts from concept to concept.

The product itself is easy enough to use, once one gets the gist of it.  There is a key from which one can select the tool that they want to use at the moment: write, insert, frame, path, color, and show. When one is in "write" mode, double-clicking anywhere on the screen opens a text box.  A single click on a text box opens a circle from which one can size, move, and rotate objects.  One can create a page with the relative importance of an item determined by its size.  Clicking on an object allows one to drill down to the finest detail.  One can insert images and video (from the web).  One can also embed flash video into a slide; however, at that point Prezi assumes a certain level of technical expertise.  I made the following simple presentation:





One subscribes to Prezi and all presentation creation occurs on the web. There are several different account types; however, there is a free (somewhat limited) general subscription and a slightly better free educational subscription.

The completed presentation "lives" on the web, and, by default, all presentations are shared unless one subscribes to a higher account.  Prezi presentations can also be downloaded.   This seems like another example of "Cloud" computing. Where all resources and software exist on a server.

Horizon Report

At the beginning of the Spring Term (2010) I posted a blog about the Science Department's Adjunct Faculty Workshop and my presentation on Open Courseware.  This is an update to that piece with a link to the 2010 Horizon Report on Open Courseware.  This web page contains information about current sites that contain Open Courseware or are directories to that type of content.

Skype

This summer I became a Skype believer! Skype is an free internet calling product that allows one to conference in up to 25 users at once (per the help system).

It is relatively easy to set up a Skype account:

• Go to http://www.skype.com/
• Download and install the Skype software
• create a unique name
• fill in the expected informational fields
• create a password

There is a profile page where one can add a "Mood" message, video, picture, etc. Once in Skype, you can add other Skype users as contacts. While friends can provide you with their Skype name; there is a lookup feature in Skype where one can find people by Skype name, real name, or e-mail address. After adding a contact, the contact must confirm that they want to be added to your list,, like in Facebook.

To begin a call, select a contact who is currently online, click the "Call" button, and wait for them to respond.  One can start a conference call by creating and selecting a group instead.  In addition, it is easy to add people to a call once the call has been started. One can choose to have an audio or video conference. One can also download a Skype app to their iPhone and participate this way. Skype will also allow one to call landlines or cell phones; however, there is a small charge per minute for those calls (an iPhone with app is treated as a computer...no charge).  There are other services for which Skype charges a usage or monthly fees like SMS (text) messages, voice mail, receiving calls from landlines and cell phones, etc.

Skype has a text-based chat feature which is active within a call and allows screen sharing.  This is a feature that I haven't yet tried, but I would certainly like to attempt; however, the call quality was excellent!

Diigo

Diigo is a site that allows the user to add annotated links to web pages, articles, journals, .pdfs, etc. Some of its key features include the tags and the diiglet toolbar.

The diiglet tool bar can be bookmarked and allows the user to annotate text within a web page article, add sticky notes, etc. The annotations will then appear on the diigo page as text boxes following the name and url for the document. In addition, diigo has it's own tool bar; however several individuals who tried to install this toolbard began to have problems with their computers and needed to uninstall the product.

One can also create a group page within Diigo where multiple users can share and annotate links.

Like many Web 2.0 products, one can have elect other diigo sites to follow, have friends, and chat with other diigo users online.

Jing

"Jing is free software that adds visuals to your online conversations." That is the tag line for Jing on its website: http://www.jingproject.com/. With Jing, one can capture a screen, record a five-minute or less narrated screencast, and publish the resulting video through e-mail, instant messanger, or even Jing's own free sharing site - screencast.com. The free software creates an .swf file that is instantly accessible. One can also subscribe (cloud computing?) to Jing Pro for $14.95/year. The Pro edition will also produce mpeg-4 video suitable for sharing on You Tube.

The product is easy to use and comes with some great videos to get the user started. Like with any presentation product, one should spend a few minutes before creating the video to plan, jot down some notes, and practice the screencast and narration before actually creating the screencast. It is possible to pause the screencast, restart, or cancel.

This is a terrific product that I strongly recommend to anyone who is planning to create video content for their online course.

Polleverywhere

Polleverywhere  is a web site that allows one to build audience response functionality into face-to-face and online events such as presentations and courses. It is easy to respond to prompts through cellphone text messaging, a direct web page interface, and even Twitter.

There is a free plan for polls which have 30 or less respondents; pricing is fairly flexible depending upon the presenter's needs.

It is quite easy to set up poll:

• Create an account
• Create a question
• If a multiple choice question, add responses
• Click the button

For a multiple choice question, the software will respond with the response codes and the number to which the response should be texted. There are a number of options for displaying the data. One can opt to download a PowerPoint slide (.ppt and .pptx formats are available) or can download the data to a spreadsheet. Results are supposed to be almost instantaneous.

This product is quite interesting for courses with 30 or fewer students that do not have Clicker or other Response system software available for their use.

Science Department Workshop - February 6, 2010

Last Saturday, February 6, , I had the opportunity to present at the Science Department Workshop on Teaching with Technology - Open Courseware and other Free Content. 

There is a wealth of free content available to faculty on the web.  Between Open Courseware, iTunes Unversity, and video sites such as You Tube Edu, an instructor can find content for both face-to-face and online courses.  Most of the Open Courseware sites allow an individual to use, edit, and repackage the content as long as the source is cited and the materials are not being used for-profit. Most podcasts and vodcasts available on iTunes University can be downloaded for free and used with the same terms.  You Tube Edu or other web-based video content can easily be embedded into an html page or the hyperlink can be incorporated into a document.  These materials are an excellent way of supplementing your own course content and engaging students.

Click on the links below to access the PowerPoint and a list of the resources that were discussed on Saturday morning.  I hope to see you all at a PDC workshop

PowerPoint Presentation
Resources