Carolyn Kraut

Demonstrating how you can embed a Google Presentation and attach an MP3. A decent work-around if you can’t get SlideShare to work or if you need a little more privacy.

Sample Audio (Download the file or open link in a new tab/window, then come back here to click through the slides along with the audio.)

We are constantly looking for better ways to communicate with our students – especially online students. It’s no secret that Blackboard, Moodle, and many other LMS’s fall short in this area. Discussion boards were a great start about 5 years ago – and even Skype – but the web has changed. We need something more dynamic and easier to manage.

Google was on the right track with the development of Gmail, Google Docs, Chat, Sites (wiki), Picasa, ect. These tools changed the way we collaborate on a project, write and share papers, files, and images, and how we search and organize email. They have attempted to integrate all of those things into a single platform. Google Wave.

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It’s easy to get caught up in all the bells and whistles that encompass emerging technology. I’ll be the first to admit that when I first hear about a new tool, I spend a lot of time horsing around. That’s not always a bad thing, as long as I remember the task at hand… HOW CAN THIS BE USED IN AN ONLINE COURSE? But more importantly… IS THERE A NEED FOR IT?

I’ve developed a short list of my favorite teaching tools and would like to tell you how I’ve been using them. The common theme here is mobility. All but one of these are web-based applications, which means you create the content and interact with other users online. You aren’t tied to a single computer. You don’t have to transfer files or folders to a thumb drive. Though, you do have to remember the password. All of these tools can be integrated into or used in conjunction with Blackboard, BGSU’s learning management system. However, I prefer to interact with these tools on my phone, for true mobility. These tools are great for today’s mobile learner because they can interact with you, the instructor, and their classmates whenever they have a spare moment, and enough battery power. Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t seen the demo of Google’s new project, I’ve embedded it below. Google Wave is essentially an “all in one” communication tool that “equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.” This will change the way we interact with email, blogs, wikis, documents, and each other. And did I mention it’s OPEN SOURCE??? The product is in VERY early stages, but was released to developers in hopes that they jump in and get their hands dirty developing their own API’s to improve interface, functionality, and applications. Read the rest of this entry »

As mentioned in a previous post, I’m presenting at the SEED conference in Findlay, Ohio. The actual presentation I’m giving cannot be embedded in this blog, but can be viewed here: http://prezi.com/51212/view. I have however, embedded a compatible version from SlideShare. Enjoy!

Google finally added a task list to Gmail! I’ve been using an external plug-in for a while via Remember the Milk, but felt it bogged down loading time for my inbox. Google Tasks is faster because it works as a pop-up (or a pop-out), like the chat feature. You can also manage different lists easily (personal, work, etc.) and add notes to any items on those lists. I usually use this to copy a URL in the notes. A due date can also be added.

This is a relatively new add-on, so it’s very basic. Here are some things I’d like to see, features that I used most often in the Remember the Milk (RTM) plugin:

Sync tasks with your Google Calendar. It’s the logical next step to making Gmail a well rounded productivity tool. RTM would sync entire lists, which was annoying so I didn’t utilize the feature. I would like to be able to add individual tasks to any one of my calendars. I do all my banking online and have a shared calendar with my husband to keep track of when bills post to the joint account. If syncing were added, I could add the eStatement reminder email as a task (done right from the inbox) and then add a due date and sync the item with the shared calendar.

Add a due date as you type/enter item. In RTM I can type “12 Dec 08 Schedule Oil Change” and the due date would be automatically added to the item, and placed in the correct order on my list. It took a while to get used to the date format, but it was very helpful. Right now, this is a three step process in Google’s task list.

Option to add collapsible headers within a list. One of my favorite features in RTM was that the items were ordered by due date with headers that you could easily collapse and expand (Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, etc.).  Right now, you can reorder your task manually (which I love) and create groupings by indenting items listed underneath one main item. I would love to be able to take that one step further and collapse that main item to keep my lists nice and neat. This would be helpful on my work list where there are many secondary tasks under one larger task or project.

Overall, I’m pretty excited about Google’s task list. This will help me keep track of my to-do list without having to log into a 3rd party site. Click Here to see some screen caps to satisfy your curiosity.

I’m not ashamed to say that I’m still on the fence for this election. There are a lot of important issues on the table, and I want to make sure I am as informed as I can be. Here’s a little tool I found on Google that puts up side by side quotes on various issues, by a variety of current (and former) candidates. I like that you can use the search bar if you have a more specific issue to check out, like student loans. It’s definitely worth checking out.