Thursday, November 20, 2014

Inspirational Eduation TED Talks

First of all a couple of exceptional TED Talks to take a peek at  - Dealing with students and creativity.
A  video from Eric Sheninger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwrLVvORugw
For commentary on this talk and  how much school has to change see: http://esheninger.blogspot.ca/
And second a classic education video by Sir Ken Robinson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Also a list of the 10 Best TED Talks of 2014 for Educators :
http://www.edudemic.com/10-best-ted-talks-of-2014-for-educators/  Take a look around this site, it has lots of excellent links on technology, use of Ipads, and apps for your phone...
Just a couple of additional notes;
1) Having trouble opening/printing a student file - It is probably an incompatible file type that our version of Windows/Office cannot deal with.  I suggest having the student save their files at home as an .rtf file (rich text format).
2)Trouble with opening one of our Mac Laptops to windows.  Simple enough, hold down the option key (the second key on either side of the space bar) while holding down the power key as well.  You may have to hold the power key down for a considerable length of time for the laptops to boot up. And then click on the Windows Icon (or the Mac Icon if desired).
Also while USB drives are excellent for transporting files, they do occasionally crash.  You cannot back up your work often enough.. You might also try cloud storage services such as OurCloud or Google Drive to back things up.
Library notes are archived on the HERH Library Blog at http://herhlibrary.blogspot.ca/
Tim

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Twitter

Twitter - My favorite Social Media Tool !!
 
Twitter is the tool for Educational PLNs / Professional Development.. I know many just cannot get into it, but believe me when I tell you it is very useful.  It is not just a chat medium, Although it can be hampered by the 140 character limit, much can be learned from those few characters - primarily those few characters are a link to current awareness tools such as news, magazines, weather, sports & yes  last but not least - educational blogs & experts.  The education field has been an early adopter of Twitter & there is a lot out there... No need to reinvent the wheel.   Conversations are also hosted at various times on Twitter dealing with various groups under hash tags such as #edtechchat  and #1to1ipadchat
 
So watch the linked slide show & watch these two short videos - give it a try!
 
 
Twitter can be accessed on the web, and through various twitter based apps on your cellphone.
 
For more information see me in the library.
 
Library notes are archived on the HERH Library Blog at http://herhlibrary.blogspot.ca/
!
 

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Streaming Video & TeacherCast

Hi there,
 
Having trouble with streaming video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc) at HERH.  Former school computer technician Rick Negus has provided us with a solution.  Youtube downloader
 
1) Copy the file youtube downloader 4.7 from our shared drive to your flash drive.
2)Open the link/video you wish to copy.
3)Open the downloader - you may have to copy the video link to the downloader.
4) Check where you wish to save the file (best bet is your flash drive.  )
5)Hit download.
 
With luck - your video will be saved to your flash drive.. Use VLC for best playback results.  Further instructions are available in the folder you copied. This app is also available in IOS and Android.  If you need help with this please feel free to drop by the library and ask for assistance.
 
With that in mind, Heather Mumford has provided me with an excellent movie streaming site called Snagfilms.  It offers many excellent documentaries and biographies (including the films - One Week Job & Supersize Me, and various National Geographic features)  For best viewing results the Chrome Browser is recommended.  http://www.snagfilms.com/films/
 
Looking for an excellent site to learn new ideas for education/professional development - TeacherCast (A Place for Teachers to Help Other Teachers) could be the answer. It offers podcasts & video on the very latest in the education field from discussions with  prominent educators, to hints and advice on using technology & various apps in your classroom.  Give it a try...!!
http://www.teachercast.net/  Apps are also available for you IOS and Android devices.
 
May be followed on Facebook or on Twitter at @TeacherCast
 
 
An archive of these tips, video sites, etc is maintained on the HERH Library Blog at http://herhlibrary.blogspot.ca/
 
 
Tim Brown
Librarian
Hants East Rural High
Milford, NS