Web conferencing

Interacting with individuals over the web is undoubtedly not new. With so much the promising potential, it is an effectual means of communication.  The availability of effective Web conferencing tools has enhanced this ability of synchronized communication.

Web conferencing is used to conduct live classes, seminars, meetings, training sessions or presentations using the internet.  The web conferencing software can either be downloaded on computer or can be accessed through a web-based application with the help of website link.  A computer/ laptop with internet connection, a webcam and a microphone headset to enable partakers to listen, speak and participate in activities are the only required devices. Collaborative tools such as document sharing, white board, polling and desktop sharing are standard features. Participants work together using a variety of features such as instant messaging, audio, video, polling, shared interactive whiteboard, file sharing and application sharing.

As a result of increased Internet usage and applications, education sector is undergoing major restructuring. Web conferencing solutions can provide benefits to students and instructors. It is an assignation with the world outside the classroom, for both. It can be used in various ways to enhance students’ learning experience.   For example, it can be used by students and teachers to discuss assignments, to provide supplement instruction, or to give feedback on performance.  Students who cannot be present at to class for some reasons can participate in a live class meeting from another location. It provides opportunities for students to practise communication skills such as performance, public speaking, questioning and reflection, as well as other skills such as video production. With web conferencing, students can give online live presentations to either to the teachers or fellow classmates, and the presentations can be recorded and archived for the future references.  Experts from around the world can interact with students. Distance-learning courses could benefit from the use of web conferencing.

Many Web conferencing solutions are offered lately such as Elluminate Live, Wimba Live Classroom, and Adobe AcrobatConnect Professional. But these all offer paid assistance. Services like BigBlueButton, OnWebinar, OpenMeetings, Mikogo etc. allow users to share ideas with whiteboards, online polls, file and application sharing completely free! Such options expand the range of information that can be shared during online sessions, which can be archived using these Web conferencing programs. 

Web conferencing provides a way to bridge distances and to communicate in exciting new ways. It is a very effective and potent tool that can enhance the learning experiences in education as we continue to take the steps of progression.

PowerPoint in the Classroom !

PowerPoint’s in general are used to visualize ideas, create key points and to impress. When using it in a classroom, as an educator it is your responsibility to use it efficiently.  A little effort can do wonders to a presentation!

PowerPoint’s help in communicating thoughts of a presenter to the group. So, whatever you would like to present i.e. the content is most important part of it. Items on the screen which have nothing to do with content should not be there. Lots of words mess up the whole concept of PowerPoint. Just keep in mind, what is the point?  One simple point? Remove everything else from the slide. Keep only relevant points on slide. In addition to that, under no circumstances, should you read your slide word for word from the presentation screen. No reading. People read faster than you speak. This will result in disconnect between you and your students; plus doing so will make your presence futile.

Then comes font! Font is the imperative part of the content. Fonts can be categorized into 3 types: Serif (difficult to read on screen), Sans Serif (Are clearer and give professional look and feel; they are the best ones) and Decorative fonts (should never be used in presentations). It is important to note down here that Comic sans although is a popular font, but is a type of decorative font. Next, the style of font used, alignment and proximity affect the clarity and explicitness of the words. Underlines possibly will signify hyperlinks. Italics are difficult to read on screen and should be avoided. Normal and bold fonts are clearer. Not more than 2 fonts should be used in the presentation. Proper Capitalization is important. All capital letters are difficult to read. Make use of Upper and lower case letters.

Researchers have discovered that ideas are much more likely to be remembered if they are presented as pictures instead of words or pictures paired with words. But never ever use them just for the sake of it. There are possibilities that artworks / pictures/ clip-arts may distract students. Make pictures part of your content. Never put them in a corner.        

Background can kill the concept you want to talk about. Instead of an illustrative background, go for solid colours. You can also try making your own backgrounds with the combination of solid colours, graphics or images!

Take care to match text colours and background. If you can’t use them wisely, avoid them entirely. Make use of colour wheel for selecting colours of your presentation. There are lots of combinations that work very well; like Monochromatic scheme, Analogous scheme, Complementary scheme etc.

A light text colour against a dark background also appears very well. Avoid colour combinations that hurt eyes, like green text on red background. You can use a lot of Contrast… Like white text on black background!

Avoid using too many transitions in your presentation. It does not enhance your work! Just one transition effect for all slides works out well. Appear, Disappear, Push Right /Left, Fade away are some of my personal favorites.

I personally feel that an animation (here I am referring to the animated graphics and not animated effects on text!) breaks the monotony but then only relevant ones should be used. For example difficult concepts can be explained easily by animated graphics used   Unnecessary and unrelated animations causes distractions!

Animated effects on the text causes a lot of distraction .For e.g. effects like typewriter appears slowly on the screen and by the time the point is done,  students attention divert. However, if you are firm on using these effects, use them wisely. Opt for effects which are less time consuming and cause less distraction.

And the final words -  repeat slides in your presentation to reinforce the message! 

Dropbox

Do you email files to yourself on a regular basis?

Do you carry a USB drive around all the time?

Do you want to have access to your most important files from anywhere?

If the answer is YES, then you should check out the fantastic service of Dropbox!

Dropbox is a Web-based file hosting service that uses cloud computing to enable users to store and share files and folders with others across the Internet using file synchronization.

I became familiar with Dropbox during my association with NIOS as Research Officer. And throughout that experience, I was so very irritated with this whole concept. Although my Boss was very fond of it! But I have been using Dropbox for a while now to sync files between my laptop and my main desktop and my sister’s laptop who is now happily married in Mumbai!  It took me a while to get hang onto it but, now I feel sharing things was never so easy before!

Here’s how we get started with it:

After you download and install Dropbox on your computer you can create an account. To sync files between another computer simply download and install the appropriate version of Dropbox for that computer. For example I sync files between my laptop and my Windows desktop. Once you have created your account with Dropbox, simply login to the same account on all the computers you want to sync. After the software is installed you will have a new folder on your computer called Dropbox. All the folders and files that are copied to that folder are synced to all the other computers. Those files are also available over the Internet using the Dropbox web interface. You can store upto 2GB absolutely free and there is a paid subscription for storage upto 100 GB.

Any file you save to Dropbox also instantly saves to your computers, phones, and the Dropbox website. Applications for iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry can be used to access your files from your Smartphone. Mobile access makes it very easy to upload and edit files in your Dropbox. It works even when offline. You always have your files, whether or not you have a connection.

So, what are you waiting for? Start dropping in things in your Box!

Googling Power

Google is by far the most popular search engine that we use many times in a day. Here are a few searching Better: Tips & Tricks that we can use in our work or school, or research !

The Use of Quotes : 
For searching the exact phrase, quotes are used.For example: if we want to search for theories of learning, searching for "theories of learning" in the Google search box will search explicitly for the phrase.

site specific:

Use the "site:" operator to search only within a certain website. For example: if we are researching on  Mahatma Gandhi and wants to use a .edu website as a source.  In the Google search box, search for "Mahatma Gandhi site:edu" and it will return the results for Mahatma Gandhi on .edu websites.

Specific Document Types:

If we  just want to search for a typical file format like .ppt , .PDF files, or Word documents, we use the modifier "filetype:".If we  want to find about  idealistic philosophy, but we want it in a power-point format  Search for "idealistic philosophy filetype:ppt" and we'll only get ppt. documents in  results.

Word definition:

Use the "define:" operator to get a quick definition. "define:classical conditioning" in the search box will give us a whole host of definitions from different sources, with links. 

Advanced search

If you can't remember any of these operators, you can always use Google's advanced search.

The above mentioned are the few most useful ones.  For more modifiers and other search tips, check out  "Better Google Search" video below !

Voki - Animated Avatar Application.

Hey. Did you guys saw my Welcome note? Isn't it pretty cool ? She is my Voki avatar.Check out the way the avatar’s eyes follow the mouse if you move it around the screen ! Voki is an "animated avatar application" through which educators can incorporate technology into lesson plans and other classroom activities.These types of tools are a great way to engage students in preparing assignments, reports, or projects.And the best part is it's Free !!!

On the web site ,there is a special section - Voki for Education. Also,  two of the main resources provided for educators are a Lesson Plans database and a Teacher’s Corner forum. I had a lot of fun getting hands-on and trying out Voki! 

I’d love to hear  how you are planning to use them in your classroom! If you’ve used these or other animations applications, please  comment below and share your observations or thoughts.

Free Resources for Science Teachers

Hey people! Here are a few interesting science resources :

Canvas Mol


Canvas Mol is a website that provides 3D, interactive, rotating models of simple and complex molecules. There are 46 models of relatively common molecules like glucose, fructose, and morphine. Each model can be altered to show or not show bonds, to show or not show individual atoms, and to rotate on the X,Y, or Z axis.


Knotebooks

Knotebooks allows users to create, customize, and share lessons composed of videos, images, and texts from all over the Internet. You can organize information to create a reference article for yourself or to share with others. You can also browse the articles published by others, add them to your account for later reference, and or alter the articles that others have written to suit your needs.It is a great concept .Watch this video to find more about Knotebooks.

PhysClips

PhysClips is a collection of rich multimedia tutorials on introductory mechanics, electricity, and magnetism. Physical processes are shown in related film clips, animations, still images, montages, and diagrams, many of which are interactive. Links are also provided to an extensive scope of background materials on each topic.

Google Earth Ocean

Google's Google Earth 5.0 – The Ocean, enables users of Google Earth to dive beneath the water surface, explore 3D underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by leaders in ocean science and advocacy. Watch this video about Google Earth Ocean.

Interactive Periodic Table of Element

At first glance, this looks like a basic periodic table. However, when you click on an element, you get a popup with information about that element including the atomic number, atomic symbol, atomic weight, family, etc. It also provides links to other online resources about that element.
http://code.jalenack.com/periodic/


Hope these resources will be useful for all of you !