The Internet in Real-Time

Ever wonder what is happening on the Internet? Make sure to check out The Internet in Real-Time web site. It will show you, in real time, what happens on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and all of the other fun sites on the Internet.

http://pennystocks.la/internet-in-real-time/

The Internet in Real Time

Front Row Pro audio system

In our early grade levels we have the Front Row Pro digital sound systems.

I get asked all the time about training and troubleshooting for this system. There is a very good training video on their website. http://gofrontrow.com/en/pro-digital

There are also video testimonials and user guides on this site as well.

Below is the training video embedded into this site. http://vimeo.com/102566926

Videolicious

My friend Candace asked me if I have heard of the app, Videolicious.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/videolicious/id400853498?mt=8

I said yes I have heard of it and have used it (but it has been awhile). She asked, "Why haven't you told me about it?!?" I jokingly replied, "Don't you read my blog?"

I was pretty sure I have already talked about this app here, but turns out I haven't. So here you go Candace!

Videolicious is an app that will allow you to enter images or video into your video, talk about each picture, bounce back to the video of you, back to another picture... to create a video. Just tap the part of the screen you want to show in your video. So if you want your talking head to show, make sure the green border is around that. I you want your picture or video to be seen during that part of the video tap the little icon of that picture or video. Then just press the record button and start talking. Probably the most important part is hearing the student tell their story.

What a great tool for digital storytelling! You can also add in music, either using the build in music or music on your phone.








Some limitations:

• You only have 1 minute of video with the free version. So you will have to teach your students about brevity. But that is a good thing. Great for book trailers, a summary, teaching a concept, tour around the school...
• It only will save to Email, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter but not to the camera roll. Which means the video is going through Videolicious's server. So when the person receives the email it gives a link that takes you back to their website. 
• Sometimes the photos may not be centered or show the exact part of the picture you intended.

You can sign up for a free account. It will limit you to 1 user, 1 sound bite, 10 supporting shots (your images and videos), only 1 minute in length, and 20 videos stored on their site.  There are other pricing ($60/yr and $120/yr) that will grant you more access and longer videos. https://videolicious.com/pricing

Use a Word Cloud to Analyze the SOTU Address

President Obama gave the State of the Union address last night. This would be a great time to work on analyzing text with students.

Take the text from the speech (found as prepared for delivery).
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/24/remarks-president-state-union-address

Highlight and copy that text.

Go to Wordle.net to create the word cloud. http://www.wordle.net/create

Paste in the text into the text field

Click the Go button
 


Once the word cloud is created you can play with the font, layout, and color to adjust your cloud to your preference.





























Now students can analyze the speech by looking at the words that stand out most.














Then you can do the same for the Republican response and compare the words used most in each speech.