Zaption

Perfect for flipping the classroom

Zaption takes flipping the classroom to the next level. You can create banks of videos which you share and  that allows others to benefit. In return you can download and edit the free videos which are available. This is content creation and inspiration at its best because it allows you to become part of a group of online collaborators who add to each other. In the end , we shall become more video reliant since the world is becoming more and more visual and video oriented. It makes learning real and more authentic for students who have grown up in a media world. The site also has done the right thing by allowing free participation as well as the option for a paid version and it highlights clearly the differences. My preferences for video editing are Pinnacle Studio, iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. You will need some video editing skills to make the most of this site but just using the free videos to start with and then moving into making your own is probably how to start to familiarise yourself with this way of doing things. Work out a stepped plan of how to get there. Take a look at the gallery in the top toolbar and you’ll get an idea of how much is already available.

Coding for entrepreneurs basic

I have completed my first Udemy Course – Coding for Entrepreneurs Basic by Justin Mitchel. To get the certificate you have to listen to every single part of the course. It’s the one I decided to do to get myself back into coding, to give me a framework and to create some learning challenges for me. It has achieved all of that. Justin Mitchel explains everything, he shows you everything, he works through the glitches, he offers learning suggestions and everything is on video , thank heavens, so you can pause and absorb. I explained in my post How’s the coding going? that I had stalled with the action part of the course because I couldn’t sync the database and runserver. I then had to think. Do I give up all I have learned? Do I just abandon it and leave it behind and start something new? Do I regroup and start all over again? What do I do? I left it for a while and started working on learning Python coding so I could understand that better. I shifted all my coding stuff to my LinuxMint laptop. I could move forward. Udemy was meanwhile sending me gentle reminders I had not finished the course. Was I going to start from scratch again? What was my plan? I decided to finish the course and get the whole context in front of me and now I have done that I can move forward. Justin Mitchel goes through a lot of HTML stuff for web pages and explains it well and why you need to put it where you put it. I understand all that HTML coding far better now. He shows the FTPing and getting the site working live, and my decision is to leave that for now. I am going to go back over it on my Linux Laptop and try to resolve the database syncing and get the page running virtually. Justin Mitchell recommends some good sites to learn coding better so I need to have a look at that. I need to specifically work with the Django tutorials on their site and then, I shall be in a good frame of mind to start over and work it all through. As a student I have learned a lot and have had to use my brain to troubleshoot and work out what is a plan for me. The course is there, I can use it, I can learn from it and I can benefit from it. The best thing it has done for me is provide structure to my learning , give me insight and offer opportunities for me to construct my own learning. I can sit down and work out my personal learning plan now and go back to the course to iron out the bits which I couldn’t put into action.

Quiz Studio

I have already downloaded a number of quizzes which will suit my classes when I start the new school year. Quiz Studio is a nice looking app and you can download quizzes and learning materials from Quizlet. Quizlet is a site where you can make your own online learning tools no matter what the subject and then something like Quiz Studio puts then into a nice interface for you on your tablet or phone. Quizlet is also available as an iPad or android app. Quizlet is a good way of us helping each other and Quiz Studio organises the study in an effective way.

Mobile technology delights

Mobile technology smoothed the way on an excursion today and played a very positive role. I had asked students to meet me at the back gate. I knew what I meant. Half went to the back gate I was at. The others went to another back gate. One student rang one in the other group and we quickly established why we weren’t all in the same place. Note to self…explain things even more clearly. We walked to the venue we had planned where we were going to enjoy gaufres (waffles ) or galettes (pancakes). The orders started arriving and looked spectacular. One student got out her phone and said , “I have to take a picture for my blog!” Win! I have made blogging a real part of their life. The phones came out and the photos of the food will be on their blogs this week I am sure. One girl was disappointed because she had a spectacular galette and couldn’t photograph it because her phone didn’t have a good camera. She was sitting next to me so I lent her my phone and said I would send the image to her over our learner management system tomorrow. She was so happy and repaid us on the way back to school. It was about 33C in Adelaide and so I took them a different way back to school so we were more in the shade of the big, beautiful trees in the area. Some students started to worry a little bit we might be lost. The girl got out her phone. “Don’t worry I have a good app which will show us where we are and where the school is!” In a minute she was showing them on her screen that we weren’t lost at all and that it was very easy to get back to school. The image was very clear and uncluttered so very good for navigation on foot. This is technology in action. It should be enhancing and helping whatever you are doing .It should be facilitating learning and exploring. When it becomes as natural as this then you can be well pleased. It’s what I believe and teach – time and place behaviour and then teach good uses for mobile technology so the poor uses of it are sidelined.

Social media level up

Social media has levelled up and brought us now a way of connecting so we can benefit ourselves and encourage each other. The video is 25 minutes but will explain how Fitocracy works. The notion of a small empire has now been created so we can build  virtual empires and collaborate for the benefit of members. Fitocracy is a fitness programme which is based on game theory but has the added bonus of allowing you to be part of a supportive, positive social community.This is a new way of looking at social media. It’s not a diversion or entertainment or the way to pass time. It is now possible to use the benefits of games and social media to generate apps and communities which can make a good difference in your life and where you can participate and make a difference in the lives of others. Fitocracy is free and can be used to improve your fitness on either Apple or Android devices. Fitocracy has around a million participants. Good way to motivate yourself and use your dead time to motivate others.