Monday, October 28, 2013

Electronic Communication with Students

The latest issue of the publication Online Cl@ssroom  (October 2013) offers the reader some useful information about a number of technological approaches to effective online communication with your students. Most are free for download and use. Among them are:

Jing: This is owned by the same company that produces Camtasia. In Jing, you are given the opportunity to combine audio and visual elements. It captures images, video, animations and so on and then lets you share that captured material on the web. It also allows you to record what is taking place on the screen and then send that to the web. The only limitation is that it only allows you to capture 5 minutes at a time. It works with screencast.com for a hosting site. The url is www.techsmith.com/jing.html and it is free (though upgraded versions do have cost).
VoiceThread: In VoiceThread, you can share a file or something else with your class, and then allow people access to ti and let them comment. Now, the interesting thing here is that they can leave voice files, not just text files; text would simply be like a regular posting board. This is a voice recorder moved to the computer. It also has built-in drawing tools, so imagine posting a complex anatomical chart and letting people leave voice comments as well as their own overlaid drawings. Pretty cool, huh. This is also free (or at cost if upgraded) at www.voicethread.com.

Go Animate:  You have probably seen a Go Animate video in the past few months without realizing you were doing so. The program allows you to make animations to illustrate your educational point. Thus, you end up with a video when you are done. You can choose characters, their features, the backgrounds, and a whole lot more; in fact, you can get buried in making choices to create just the perfect teaching video. The best plan would cost around $58 per year for use. The url for this is www.goanimate.com
There is explosive growth in teaching technologies. The Center for Teaching and Learning is, at the time I write this, in process of obtaining Camtasia, so that one can put voiceover on a PowerPoint presentation. As time goes on, there will be more choices, and the above represent only a few available for your use.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Congratulations, Graduates!

Let me send my congratulations to all graduates of our recent commencement ceremony: to the new DCs, the chiropractic assistants, all new BS degree recipients, and the two new graduates of our clinical master's degree program, both of whom I have worked with closely over the past couple of years. Good on all of you!

Friday, October 4, 2013

End of Term: It Must be Youtube Time Again!


This will be my last post for th current term. I am posting this early because I am scheduled for jury duty next week, and then most of us here in Davenport will be on break. So, please enjoy your time off, and please enjoy these little clips! I'll be back by the start of our new term.
 
1.       Basejumping “The Crack.” This is an amazing clip where you are looking backward at a second jumper while the first flies through a small canyon in his parasuit. Whoa! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhnb9q6c4gA

2.       Mathieu Biche Fools Penn and Teller. I have some familiarity with magic, and I have no idea how he pulled this one off. And neither do Penn and Teller.  He cannot have forced a choice, since he set the trick up randomly. At least, so it seems. This is very, very clever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpthjI1z2FM

3.       Turtleman. Hey, who doesn’t love the Turtleman? It is clear that Turtleman loves what he does, and brings joy to those he meets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYEQw34eHtc

4.       Rachel Flowers on the Huge Beast Modular Moog, with Keith Emerson Introducing. Rachel is an amazing musician, who can play several instruments, and here she is allowed to play Keith Emerson’s original Moog, called the Beast. Oh, and she’s blind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7qujZpMHbA

5.       Rachel Again. So, here she is dueting with herself on flute and keyboards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoc5qfJ9Jgw

6.       Firefly: Mal the Negotiator. One of the best but not watched shows ever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPRlHwwVIug

7.       Gravity. This is the trailer for the new movie. This movie is unlike any you have ever seen. It is intense. Relentless. Mind boggling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTiKOy59o4

8.       Doc Martin. One of those great British series, this time about a misanthrope with no bedside manners who has a phobia to blood. Martin Clunes rocks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i-xXsk-NGg

9.       Mark Cavendish Crashes. Oh, this is scary to see. And you get a sense of how intense a bicycle sprint can be, as those riders are moving at close to 50mph! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNAYR3KPIg

10.   Subcontrabass Flute. Largest flute ever made, and an odd looking critter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmxnp_3KUt0