RadioISS: Listening to Earth from Space 8 Steps to Creating Accessible Video Photo: drinksmachine Video is great. It can help you get your message across quickly, entertainingly, and provide a bit of character. Visitors are often more likely to watch a short video than they are to read a wall of text. What’s more, recent statistics show that video makes up approximately 65% of all search results, so it’s definitely an area you need to be thinking about! Google really likes video, but it likes accessible video even more. The theory is that video takes longer to produce than web content and therefore is ranked higher by Google. Photo: Fred Benenson Videos that include captions means that double the number of people will finish watching your video (from 40% up to 80%) – and remember your search ranking is directly related to how long people spend on your site. LiveClicker found that pages with transcripts earned 16% more revenue than pages that just had video-only content. People who are blind can hear the audio, but not see what is happening. So what can you do?
Coffitivity 29 Incredibly Useful Websites You Wish You Knew Earlier There are so many wonderful websites around, and it is difficult to know each and every one of them. The below list provides some of those websites that I find particularly helpful, even though they are not as famous or as prevalent as some of the big names out there. 1. BugMeNot Are you bugged constantly to sign up for websites, even though you do not wish to share your email? 2. This nifty little website tracks whether the emails sent by you were opened and read by the receiver. If you are on a constant lookout of free full length movies, then Zero Dollar movies provides a collection of over 15,000 movies in multiple languages that are available to watch for free on Youtube. 4. Livestream allows you to watch and broadcast events live to viewers on any platform. scr.im converts your email address into a short custom URLs, that can be shared on public websites. 6. TinEye is a Reverse Image search tool which is as accurate as Google’s Reverse Image search tool. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Making a film - Learn about film How do you make a movie that people will want to watch? The secret is to plan it, keep it short, and keep it simple. Don’t be impatient: follow your plan and take the time to get things right. Follow these ‘rules’ to help make your first film a success. 1 Build your skills. Once you’ve got your equipment, learn how to use it and find out what it can do. 2 Watch other people’s films. Quentin Tarantino famously said “People ask me if I went to film school. 3 Get organised. Follow an organised filmmaking process. 4 Keep it short and simple. Have you got a strong idea? Keep it short: most beginners’ films could be improved by halving their length. 5 Shoot separate shots. Learn about what the different shot sizes are for. 6 Get the sound right. Sound is vital. 7 Edit it right. Don’t think of editing as a chore: it’s not about just getting rid of the bad stuff, it’s where your film will really come together. © Tom Barrance Got a question?
Free Web Tools to Support CCSS Reading & Literacy - TeachingForward Many of us remember the excitement for the arrival of our Scholastic Weekly Reader magazines in the classroom. These days, with increasing emphasis on non-fiction, informational texts, teachers need high-interest, timely reading materials for use in the classroom now more than ever. The internet is full of these resources, but few teachers have time to comb through to look for the gems. Jennifer Judkins is an authorized Google Education Trainer & Technology Integration Specialist in the Lynnfield Public Schools District. disposableWebPage Hello World. This is LMWIFY, short for “Let Me Write It For You”. LMWIFY lets you create simple yet stunning looking messages on a canvas and distribute it as an image to your family and friends. The Concept LMWIFY is more than just creating messages for yourself. How It Works An example would be if someone wants to promote an event, like a reunion dinner or birthday party. Some Canvas Ideas For Sale or Rent – change the picture, price, address and contact. Try the Hello World Canvas It has been written for you, therefore try it!
Telling your story: using film language - Learn about film You need to plan how to use pictures, sound and editing to tell the storyWhen you’re filming, you need to think how the shots will join togetherYou can learn a lot about film language by watching other people’s films In a good film, the audience understands the story that the filmmaker is trying to show them, and feels what the filmmaker means them to feel. To be a successful filmmaker, you need to use different techniques to make sure this happens. You need to know what will happen if you frame a shot in a particular way; how you can use sound to help show what’s going on, and how to edit your shots together in sequences that build tension or emotion. You need to know about film language. For an example, watch this film: Now watch the version below, where I’ve added text which shows just some of the aspects of film language that help to tell the story. Here’s more detail about how to use different aspects of film language. Shots (the picture) Shot size Composition Camera position and angle Sound
Favorite Web Tools of 2014 Just before the year finishes, here are my favorite web tools in 2014. Evernote should certainly be the first on this list! I have been using it as my e-notebook for a long time. Also, the students in my 1:1 iPad class are using it as their electronic portfolios. They take their notes on the lessons, write their reflections, and keep their products online. It’s great that writing notes on their Evernote has turned into a habit for me and for them! Plickers is a treasure! EdPuzzle is one of the most multi-tasker tools I have ever tried! WeTransfer is not a teacher tool but I have used it a lot this year to share files online! Write About is the best digital storytelling so far this year! Clyp.it is my new option for Vocaroo. Knock on this door to explore where the door will take you! I love Google apps and here is my favorite one this year! I have started using student selectors this year. Here are mine, what about yours? Image Source: ShutterStock
uk.businessinsider The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase. Sean Gallup/Getty Some of us (myself included), need a cup of coffee every morning to kick-start our day. Below I've rounded up most of the variations of at-home coffee makers you're likely to find and attempted to explain how they work and who they're best suited for. A Coffee Cone Drip Amazon What is is: The cone drip is a method of brewing that will involve some effort and concentration on the part of the brewer, but the reward is well worth it. With a cone drip, home baristas have a bit of control over the flavor and strength of their coffee, depending on the speed of your pour. Who it's for: The budding barista hoping to keep the process simple. Tanors Ceramic Coffee Dripper, $10.99, available at Amazon. An Electric Drip Brewer (Standard Coffee Maker) Cuisinart 12-Cup Programmable Thermal Brewer, $82.99, available at Amazon.
A Great Tool to Highlight and Share Specific Parts of Videos March 16 , 2017 Vibby is a very good tool that you can use to highlight and share specific parts of videos. Viewers will only see the cropped portion you sent and not the entire video. This is especially useful to use with students. Instead of sharing the whole video you can highlight the parts you want them to see and send them over in the form of vibs. Vibby supports a wide variety of video hosting platforms including YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, Facebook, Mobcrush and any publicly hosted HTML5 video format. Vibs you create can be open to the public for everyone to watch and comment on. YouTube has a relatively similar feature that allows you to crop and share specific parts of videos.
What’s Up with QR Codes: Best Tools & Some Clever Ideas A Word About Creating QR Codes I almost always create QR codes on a desktop or laptop computer. That’s because I usually like to display them on a project screen, and my laptop is already connected to that. If I want to print or incorporate the QR code into a document, I’ll probably be doing that from my desktop or laptop. If you make your code on your iPad and want to save it, there’s not a good way to name it, which can be problem since all QR codes look similar. Oftentimes when someone makes a QR code on his or her iPad, I’m asked the question, “How do I get this on my laptop so I can print it?” Favorite QR Code Maker Currently, my favorite website for generating QR codes is goqr.me There’s lots to like about it: It’s free! Happy Hour Virus | Courtesy of TDA_Boulder