Many of the JMU Libraries' major database and e-journal providers offer the ability to create customized email or RSS alerts. The Bentley Library has created an extensive guide on Search Alerts and RSS Feeds that include step-by-step instructions for creating your own alerts.
Tip: Your initial search results may create a large number of alerts. Google Reader will display the first ten results. At the end of the results, you will see the following links: "Go: Home - All items." All items allows you to view the complete search results.
Google Blog Search makes it simple to create alerts and RSS feeds. For example, I'm looking for ideas on how others are using Google Docs with their students. I did the following search in Google Blog Search: "Google Docs" learning published in the last day. At the bottom of the results are the following options:
Friday, March 28, 2008
Final Homework!
Can you believe we're giving you more homework?
You may remember that part of this experience is sharing what you've learned and what you think about the Google Tools as an instructional tool (and for other uses). We'd like to know when you've presented to your colleagues, written an article for the JMU Scholars Blog, facilitated a workshop or whatever approach you take to talking about the experience.
To "report" your presentation, we would like for you to create a document through Google Docs (could use Document or Presentation) and share that with the CIT Sandbox account (citsandbox@gmail.com). We'll keep a check on it so we don't miss your submission.
The expectation is that you do something between now and the end of the Fall 2008 semester, thinking that you may want to talk about it after you've used the tools in a class.
The CIT Google Sandbox Project Team has really enjoyed this and we look forward to learning more with you!
You may remember that part of this experience is sharing what you've learned and what you think about the Google Tools as an instructional tool (and for other uses). We'd like to know when you've presented to your colleagues, written an article for the JMU Scholars Blog, facilitated a workshop or whatever approach you take to talking about the experience.
To "report" your presentation, we would like for you to create a document through Google Docs (could use Document or Presentation) and share that with the CIT Sandbox account (citsandbox@gmail.com). We'll keep a check on it so we don't miss your submission.
The expectation is that you do something between now and the end of the Fall 2008 semester, thinking that you may want to talk about it after you've used the tools in a class.
The CIT Google Sandbox Project Team has really enjoyed this and we look forward to learning more with you!
Monday, March 24, 2008
YouTube & Picasa Resources
YouTube Resources
Picasa Resources
YouTube provides a built in method for embedding video into any other website. Under Embed you'll find code that you can copy and paste into any nearly website, including Blackboard.
The only problem with using YouTube is that the video may disappear without notice. In that case, you may want to download the video and deliver it another way. GoogleVideo often offers a Download option directly from the page, but YouTube videos require a little extra work.
KeepVid
Keepvid allows you to paste in the address of a YouTube link and then download the video as an FLV file. An FLV from YouTube can be uploaded and delivered by JMUtube, our own video streaming service. The streaming server website has more info about using JMUtube.
SUPER ©
If you want to do something else with your YouTube video (edit, podcast, etc...), then you'll need to convert your video from FLV to somthing else (MP4 is a nice choice). SUPER © can convert just about any kind of video to any other kind of video and is free. It's Windows only, so for Mac users I recommend the free iSquint (which converts just about anything to MP4) or it's $24 dollar big brother Visual Hub.
Picasa Resources
http://picasa.google.com/
http://picasa.google.com/support/ - Picasa Support
http://movies.atomiclearning.com/highed/picasa2 - Atomic Learning resources (requires JMU authentication)
http://picasa.google.com/support/ - Picasa Support
http://movies.atomiclearning.com/highed/picasa2 - Atomic Learning resources (requires JMU authentication)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Gmail and JMU Email Config
We'll be talking about configuring Thunderbird so that you can transfer your messages from JMU Webmail to Gmail today. Here's some resources that have the configuration info.
Setting up Thunderbird with Gmail.
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77662
Setting up Thunderbird with JMU.
http://www.jmu.edu/computing/helpdesk/selfhelp/thunderbird.shtml
The short version of what I'll show you is that you can set up both of these accounts in Thunderbird, and then just drag messages back and forth between accounts. Drag all of your messages from your JMU account to your Gmail account, set your JMU account to forward all mail to your Gmail account, and you're officially switched over.
Setting up Thunderbird with Gmail.
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77662
Setting up Thunderbird with JMU.
http://www.jmu.edu/computing/helpdesk/selfhelp/thunderbird.shtml
The short version of what I'll show you is that you can set up both of these accounts in Thunderbird, and then just drag messages back and forth between accounts. Drag all of your messages from your JMU account to your Gmail account, set your JMU account to forward all mail to your Gmail account, and you're officially switched over.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Homework #5
Due 3/28/08 by 9:00 a.m.
Finalize your presentation. Refer to http://citsandbox.blogspot.com/2008/03/homework-4.html for details.
For more information about collaborating in an online environment, review some of the reference materials provided by Mary Ann in the Sandbox Blog. See http://citsandbox.blogspot.com/2008/03/for-more-information.html.
Have a great week!
Sarah
Finalize your presentation. Refer to http://citsandbox.blogspot.com/2008/03/homework-4.html for details.
For more information about collaborating in an online environment, review some of the reference materials provided by Mary Ann in the Sandbox Blog. See http://citsandbox.blogspot.com/2008/03/for-more-information.html.
Have a great week!
Sarah
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Google Page Creator Presentation
I have embedded and provided the link to the presentation that I used to introduce Google Page Creator.
Presentation Link
Presentation Link
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
For More Information
Google Docs offer great tools to support collaborative online work and are part of an explosion of webware applications. While the tools are straightforward and basically easy to use, collaboration and effective group work require special skills, especially on long, complex projects.
Brian A. Connery and John L.Vohs wrote the booklet Group Work and Collaborative Writing for UC Davis undergraduates to help them succeed in working on group projects. Although the advise isn't specifically designed for web-based collaboration tools like Google Docs, their do's and don'ts for a good group, discussion of roles within groups, and look at problem-solving as an integral part of group work are important concepts in virtual collaboration.
Now that you have played with Google Docs, are you also interested in exploring the new Microsoft Live Office Workspace? Sarah Perez wrote on the Read Write Web a posting entitled Live Office Workspace vs Google Docs: Feature-by-Feature Comparison where she looks at the basic features of these two services. Included in her comparisons are file size limits, number of viewers supported for shared documents, and other useful information.
Policies play an important role when content is available on the open Web. Shirley Waterhouse and Rodney Rodgers in an article entitled "The Importance of Policies in E-Learning Instruction" (EDUCAUSE Quarterly, Number 3, 2004) talks about the value of policies on topics including privacy, email, electronic discussions, and intellectual property rights in e-learning, which are also important in collaborative online work.
Brian A. Connery and John L.Vohs wrote the booklet Group Work and Collaborative Writing for UC Davis undergraduates to help them succeed in working on group projects. Although the advise isn't specifically designed for web-based collaboration tools like Google Docs, their do's and don'ts for a good group, discussion of roles within groups, and look at problem-solving as an integral part of group work are important concepts in virtual collaboration.
Now that you have played with Google Docs, are you also interested in exploring the new Microsoft Live Office Workspace? Sarah Perez wrote on the Read Write Web a posting entitled Live Office Workspace vs Google Docs: Feature-by-Feature Comparison where she looks at the basic features of these two services. Included in her comparisons are file size limits, number of viewers supported for shared documents, and other useful information.
Policies play an important role when content is available on the open Web. Shirley Waterhouse and Rodney Rodgers in an article entitled "The Importance of Policies in E-Learning Instruction" (EDUCAUSE Quarterly, Number 3, 2004) talks about the value of policies on topics including privacy, email, electronic discussions, and intellectual property rights in e-learning, which are also important in collaborative online work.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Print Guides to Google Tools
Looking for print resources to learn more about Google tools? Below are some suggested resources.
E-Books (JMU users only)
Google™pedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, Second Edition
by Michael Miller
URL: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/9780789736758
Publisher: Que
Pub Date: September 10, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-7897-3675-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-3675-8
Pages: 864
Chapters 23-27, 35-38, and 45 cover tools being featured in the sandbox.
Google® Power Tools Bible
by Ted Coombs; Roderico DeLeon
URL: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/9780470097120
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Pub Date: March 12, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-470-09712-4
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-470-09712-0
Pages: 613
Chapters 18-26 cover some of the Google tools that are part of the sandbox.
Podcasting for Trainers and Educators
by Nandini Shastry; David P. Gillespie
URL: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/0132320401
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Pub Date: September 12, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-13-232040-1
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-232040-5
Pages: 118
Google Blogs - great source for tips, updates, and new features
Blogger Buzz
http://buzz.blogger.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BloggerBuzz (feed URL)
The Official Google Docs Blog
http://googledocs.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OfficialGoogleDocsBlog (feed URL)
Google Gmail Blog
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OfficialGmailBlog (feed URL)
Google Photo Blog
http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GooglePicasaBlog (feed URL)
Google Notebook Blog
http://googlenotebookblog.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OfficialGoogleNotebookBlog (feed URL)
The Official Google Reader Blog
http://googlereader.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/dtKx (feed URL)
YouTube Blog
http://www.youtube.com/blog
http://youtube.com/rss/global/our_blog.rss (feed URL)
E-Books (JMU users only)
Google™pedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, Second Edition
by Michael Miller
URL: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/9780789736758
Publisher: Que
Pub Date: September 10, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-7897-3675-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-3675-8
Pages: 864
Chapters 23-27, 35-38, and 45 cover tools being featured in the sandbox.
Google® Power Tools Bible
by Ted Coombs; Roderico DeLeon
URL: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/9780470097120
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Pub Date: March 12, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-470-09712-4
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-470-09712-0
Pages: 613
Chapters 18-26 cover some of the Google tools that are part of the sandbox.
Podcasting for Trainers and Educators
by Nandini Shastry; David P. Gillespie
URL: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/0132320401
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Pub Date: September 12, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-13-232040-1
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-232040-5
Pages: 118
Google Blogs - great source for tips, updates, and new features
Blogger Buzz
http://buzz.blogger.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BloggerBuzz (feed URL)
The Official Google Docs Blog
http://googledocs.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OfficialGoogleDocsBlog (feed URL)
Google Gmail Blog
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OfficialGmailBlog (feed URL)
Google Photo Blog
http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GooglePicasaBlog (feed URL)
Google Notebook Blog
http://googlenotebookblog.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OfficialGoogleNotebookBlog (feed URL)
The Official Google Reader Blog
http://googlereader.blogspot.com/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/dtKx (feed URL)
YouTube Blog
http://www.youtube.com/blog
http://youtube.com/rss/global/our_blog.rss (feed URL)
Homework #4
Due 3/21/08 by 9:00 a.m.
You might remember that one outcome of this Sandbox Project is for each participant to integrate one or more of the Google Tools into an instructional lesson or unit. We need you to start thinking about that so you can present your idea to the group on the last day we meet (3/28). Your assignment this week is to publish a blog posting that includes the following:
1. What is the learning goal that you want to achieve? What are some learning goals where you can imagine integrating the use of these tools-- perhaps something for which you haven't found the perfect way to develop understanding?
2. How are you trying to achieve that goal now?
3. How could you try to achieve that learning goal differently with the integration of one or more Google Tools?
4. How might the integration of these tools improve the outcome?
About the Presentation (3/28):
We think that a good way to get your hands around the use of these tools would be to apply their use. We suggest that you use the tools in a 10-15 minute presentation to your Sandbox colleagues to describe your ideas for integrating the tools into a lesson or unit. You can use the tools to simply explain your ideas or you could actually demonstrate them!
Sharing with Other Colleagues:
You can also share what you've learned with colleagues outside of the Sandbox Project. Here are some ways to do that:
-Facilitate a workshop (department based or university wide) about a Google Tool(s).
-Participate as a "featured guest" at a Fireside Chat.
-Post to the JMU Scholars Blog
-Lead a Faculty Forum about Google Tools. You could team up with others in the sandbox project to lead a forum
-Other ideas??
The CIT will support you in your faculty development presentation with promotion, location, and other applicable resources (food for a 2 hour forum, etc.) Please commit to how you will satisfy this expectation by the end of the sandbox project (Apr 28).
You might remember that one outcome of this Sandbox Project is for each participant to integrate one or more of the Google Tools into an instructional lesson or unit. We need you to start thinking about that so you can present your idea to the group on the last day we meet (3/28). Your assignment this week is to publish a blog posting that includes the following:
1. What is the learning goal that you want to achieve? What are some learning goals where you can imagine integrating the use of these tools-- perhaps something for which you haven't found the perfect way to develop understanding?
2. How are you trying to achieve that goal now?
3. How could you try to achieve that learning goal differently with the integration of one or more Google Tools?
4. How might the integration of these tools improve the outcome?
About the Presentation (3/28):
We think that a good way to get your hands around the use of these tools would be to apply their use. We suggest that you use the tools in a 10-15 minute presentation to your Sandbox colleagues to describe your ideas for integrating the tools into a lesson or unit. You can use the tools to simply explain your ideas or you could actually demonstrate them!
Sharing with Other Colleagues:
You can also share what you've learned with colleagues outside of the Sandbox Project. Here are some ways to do that:
-Facilitate a workshop (department based or university wide) about a Google Tool(s).
-Participate as a "featured guest" at a Fireside Chat.
-Post to the JMU Scholars Blog
-Lead a Faculty Forum about Google Tools. You could team up with others in the sandbox project to lead a forum
-Other ideas??
The CIT will support you in your faculty development presentation with promotion, location, and other applicable resources (food for a 2 hour forum, etc.) Please commit to how you will satisfy this expectation by the end of the sandbox project (Apr 28).
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Presentation Resources
Listed below are links to the PowerPoint presentations that have been used during the Google Sandbox Project.
Opening PowerPoint Presentation (includes Week 1-3)
Google Media Tools (Grover's presentation)
(Just for fun I am inserting the actual presentations into the blog so we can see how it works.)
Opening Presentation
Google Media Tools
Opening PowerPoint Presentation (includes Week 1-3)
Google Media Tools (Grover's presentation)
(Just for fun I am inserting the actual presentations into the blog so we can see how it works.)
Opening Presentation
Google Media Tools
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