http://miketemple123.edublogs.org Getting you started on the road to blogging Sat, 24 May 2008 20:31:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I thought it was about time I had a go with this, so here's a great flower display I took in a park in Normandy, France in September 2007 BTW, CleVR is really VERY simple to use and is helped if your camera has the panorama shot setting as mine does. ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/05/24/clevr-panorama/ For those of you who use your blogs for students to access, why not mobilise it so they can access the content from their mobile devices. Joe Dale has this on his blog and I think it's a great step forward - thanks again Joe Mofuse is free and easy to ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/05/22/mobilise-your-blog/ Firstly, why would you want to do this? I have the BBC news sent directly to my blog and it is updates automatically - so no work for me. There should be a plugin called Aggr which makes this task really easy and it seems to have now disappeared - hence the ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/05/22/getting-an-rss-feed-onto-your-blog/ I came across this site with lots of good visuals to help you get started in Edublogging Check it out here  http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/05/17/more-tutorials/ Just as a tip, it would appears that once you have added the embed code for this quiz, it is not possible to go back and edit - that's my findings, anyway - so make sure you have it all done and correct before you add in the code and ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/05/13/more-from-mystudiyo/ Once again, thanks to Joe Dale via Twitter for this tip Mysudiyo.com is a great free site that really brings quizzes to Edublogs. You can add pictures, video and up to 4 answers for each question. The potential is great I have made up a quick demo just to see ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/05/13/mystudiyo-make-your-own-multimedia-quiz/ Tis is a really interesting development in imaging technology. You can take a panoramic view and the software stitches your pictures together - nothing really new about that, but when you view, the panorama is shown like a Virtual tour. Now this normally costs money to produce, but ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/29/clevr-panoramas/ If you would like to add a tag cloud to your site read on. A tag cloud takes a look at the whole of your site and then prioritises the most used words  by size.  This is fully customisable to suit your design ideas but is a good way to show ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/28/tag-clouds/ authorSTREAM is a great tool for getting your powerpoint files into your blog post. There's an embed code which is simple to use authorSTREAM lets you upload Powerpoints, rate them, email them, comment on them and embed the Flash player in blogs and websites. SlideShare is similar, while Scribd supports the widest range ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/26/authorstream-upload-and-embed-your-powerpoint-slideshows/ Well done to the magnificent Vodpod team who have managed to persuade Firefox, a great free alternative to Windows Explorer, to add their wonderful tool as an add-on. This effectively integrates the Vodpod video collection tool right into your browser. Well done that team - I love Vodpod. If ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/18/vodpod-now-a-firefox-extension/ Well I have my new Nokia N95i - the one with 8Gb and O2 as the service provider. I bought this on an 18 month contract as an upgrade, but also to access the next level of mobile access. Well it has taken me 2 days ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/17/mobile-internet-connection-uk-update/ This is a fairly straightforward procedure make sure you have a google account - free go to google docs and start a new document - like Word write your information for your post save the file - not sure if you really have ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/181/ I'm using this as a test to see if I can use Google docs to prepare a post and the using the 'share' button, getting it published to my blog. Why would this be useful - perhaps getting the students ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/180/ I've been having a little discussion with Leslie on my forum and it seems that using Blip.tv might be another good host for your videos. I have uploaded one to test this out - Bip.tv automatically converts them all to flash and then they can be embedded using their player, straight ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/09/using-bliptv-for-video/ Most of us will know that we can access the internet using our laptops via a 'hot spot' - Starbucks for example, offer this service free of charge. There are numbers of others that charge - hotels being one group. There are new 'dongles' coming onto the market that offer ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/08/mobile-internet-connection-in-the-uk/ Thanks to Wes Fryer for this - Great student-created tutorial guide for Google tools published with Issuu (Maine students of Kern Kelly) http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/08/google-docs-explanation-via-issuu/ The list is compiled from the contributions of 155 learning professionals (from both education and workplace learning) who shared their Top 10o Tools for Learning both for their own personal learning/ productivity and for creating learning solutions for others The great stuff goes all ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/04/08/top-100-educational-tools-for-learning/ Flickr is again a free service. To embed a badge - horizontal, vertical or tiled sign up for a Flickr account upload some photos go to the badge page - not sure where the link is at this moment choose the badge shape select the other options offered copy the code in the box open up ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/23/embedding-a-flickr-picture-show/ Scribd is a great free application that allows you to add a document directly into your post It is straight forward to do sign up for a free Scribd account upload a document find the 'embed' box copy the code open up a post in edit mode add any text that you wish - descriptions etc click ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/22/embedding-scribd-documents/ Many thanks to Patricia Donaghy - once again, she;s helped me t unravel the intricacies of embedding the Picasa web albums - you are a genius  go to your online picasa web albums check the  settings in Google change this to English (US) to embed your slideshow click on embed slideshow copy the code in the ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/21/embedding-picasa-web-albums/ You can also embed a book list for your students You might also want to look at Shelfari which is great for your sidebar as it's a vertical presentation http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/20/adding-a-book-catalogue-librarything/ Looking at the string of responses to the "How are you using your widgets now?" I thought it might be fun to add a collaborative mindmap so I can update this post really easily.  I have invited Patricia to collaborate on this, so I see she's already added some new bits http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/20/a-mindmap-of-the-widget-tools-we-can-now-use-and-embed/ Following the recent change to Edublogs, see Widgets, javascript, iframes and objects (and all that jazz) I have a couple of recommendations to make to those of you wanting to podcast with ease 1      GCast 2     TalkShoe  Both of these fulfil the criteria I set when starting my research into podcasting ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/18/podcasting-review/ From the Edublogs blog - great update and no more fiddling to get widgets to work - hurrahh After lengthy discussions and weighing up of the pros and cons we’ve decided to allow javascript, iframes and object code onto Edublogs. This means that you can now just copy and paste pretty much ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/17/widgets-javascript-iframes-and-objects-and-all-that-jazz/ Gail Desler has recently produced a new and up-to-date guide in pdf format for those who want to print out a user guide It's detailed and has all that you will need to get up and running with Edublogging - thanks Gail The index looks like this, so anything here you want ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/13/new-edublogs-user-guide/ What a pleasure to see that the folks at ClustrMaps think that the Edublogs Tutorials use and promotion of their fantastic widget is worth a mention. They have chosen this site, along with another 6 as the ClustrMap site of the month  Do also check out the rest of their blog  as ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/13/clustrmap-user-of-the-month/ Well done again James - multibloggability is here!. This is a new function which allows you as an Edublogs user to create new blogs for others to use. Key point is that you can add yourself as an administrator to assist them with some of the fiddly setting up and theme selection. ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/11/simply-create-blogs-and-usernames-for-your-students-and-colleagues/ Edublogs Tutorials was 1 year old at the end of February Many thanks to all of the 10,000 of you who have dropped in and taken a look Well done all those of you who have used this and other sites to get your Edublogs up and running, as well as those ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/05/happy-birthday/ Just as a reminder, Vodpod is a great way to organise your videos from different sources. It also means your videos are with you at all times - great if you're not in your own classroom etc. [kml_flashembed movie="http://widgets.vodpod.com/podplayer2.swf?bg=A1A1A1&fg=CCCCCC&text=C4D5F8&key=4CEF4B8&title=edublogs&url=http://vodpod.com/w/pod_videos%2Exml?id=3211%26key=4CEF4B8%26category_id=latest%26list_id=null&vote=http://widgets.vodpod.com" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="450" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"> get your vodpod" width="501" height="428" wmode="transparent" /] http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/02/edublogs-videos/ It seems that ClustrMaps is now available as a widget, so very much easier to use Go into site administration choose 'presentation' then 'widgets' in the selection box at the bottom, chose the ClustrMaps widget Add a title Click the 'agree' box your blog address should already be in there click 'save' * voila, ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/03/01/clustrmaps-update/ I've been looking (not too hard) for a new theme and needed it to work with all my widgets, page tabs and plugins, as well as looking smooth and easy on the eye. I like the idea of having a customised headers as this allows easy change of the look without ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/02/29/new-theme-2/ James continues to ad functionality to the Edublogs platform and the new forums look to me to be a great addition Quite simply, as a free user, you can add one forum to your site - probably best in a page as it will then be available on the front of ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/02/26/new-forum-facility/ Well, as you can see, I'm very pleased with the Talkshoe outcomes for Edublogs users who want to podcast. All the requirements are there which make the platform a very useable one. In addition to this, I finally managed to get round to checking if an uploaded Talkshoe podcast or ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/02/25/using-takshoe-and-innertoob/ Well, this talkcast is probably the last in the live series of broadcasts that I've been doing of late. I have made a number of points with respect to the use of Talkshoe which are of benefit and some which are a challenge. Using Talkshoe as a broadcasting tool is ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/02/04/talkcast-number-3/ I will be on air again next Sunday at 8pm GMT, 3pm EST so please persevere along with me - I think the concept is worth the effort Talkcast No 2 Thanks to those who joined in today from Florida and Ireland All didn't go smoothly, but it's a bit of a learning ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/01/27/talkshoe-talkcast-number-3/ Following a reasonably successful Talkcast using TalkShoe, I invite you to come and join in with the conversation next week at 8pm GMT, 3pm EST Sunday 27th January Check if this time works for you We will be discussing Edublogs and web 2.0 tools Please feel free to email me with more ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/01/19/join-me-in-a-discussion/ Hi folks Following last week's effort, I shall be trying again tomorrow evening at 8pm GMT - that's 3pm EST and I think 12:00 PST Feel free to join me - if I get it all right this time [kml_flashembed movie="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/46dff17ccb8aec6c/477fb55e2131ca8b" width="501" height="428" wmode="transparent" /] http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/01/18/next-talkshoe-broadcast/ Well despite my best efforts, Saturday’s talkcast was a bit of a failure.  I did rehersals and they went fine but the live event was dismal.  I think I was a bit ambitious with my aspirations as a broadcaster and wanted to have an all bells and whistles effort, but ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/01/12/talkshoe-talkcast-update/ Hi all Happy new year to you all and welcome to this next adventure. I came across Talkshoe some time back but I was jarred into action when Steve Hargadon invited me and others to join him in a talkcast. This is quite simple an open broadcast, like internet radio, ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2008/01/06/talkshoe-talkcast-saturday-12th-jan-3pm-est-9pm-gmt/ I did say I would contact GCast support and see what they could do about their embedded player and the url link for their files not ending in .mp3 (a requirement for using InnerTOOB) I asked: I’m doing some research around Podcasting, GCast and InnerTOOB and trying to synthesise a package for ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/11/27/gcast-response/ I have had a go at using the visual podcasting service from Voicethread and I have to say, it was pretty intuitive. I only had one slight problem in production -I forgot to add my intro music at the beginning. There's probably a simple way to do it, but ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/11/25/podcast-5/ Well I've managed to put out another one. This podcast is about my investigations into GCast and InnerTOOb which I think both offer great opportunities for educators to get involved in podcasting. GCast is a hosting site and you can add your mp3s there and simply add a link on ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/11/23/podcast-4/ Just in case you hadn't noticed these in the support area - Edublogs has its own video tutorials to help you get started BTW - I added the Podcast 3b and 3c to the post Podcast #3 and also the link to Wes Fryer's blog, where the original podcast was located http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/11/11/edublogs-tutorials/ I've just come across InnerTOOB and initial thoughts are that it fills a niche in the podcasting market for schools - free, of course Like a blog, there's the chance to add text to support the audio file , but there's also the opportunity to reply to sections. This is ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/11/02/innertoob-enhanced-podcasting/ Sorry to those who were waiting for the rest of this - it seems that the 3 slices I made the podcast into are now too big to upload. I have lost the original and need to resew and then recut into 4 new episodes. It's too much of ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/10/31/podcast-3-update/ Well I have managed to get out another podcast - this time using Garageband and my new Macbook laptop Although it is all fresh and a little trying at times, it seems that Garageband is pretty simple to use yet sophisticated. I have put together a compilation from one of Wesley Fryer's ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/10/14/podcast-no-3/ Well, spurred on with the excitement of putting out my first podcast, and that someone had actually listened to it, I thought I'd do another.   I have to say, it was much easier the second time round as I knew how to prepare and make the outline a bit more formalised. This ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/10/01/podcast-2-using-blogs-creatively/ Well here it is The Edublogs Podcast #1 This was produced in audacity and was great fun to do. Hopefully, in the near future, I'll manage to get another podcast out with more info on the great fun you can have Edublogging in school The music is thanks to Podsafeaudio and I ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/09/27/podcast-1/ Well - I think all the bits of the jigsaw have come together for me and I can not only start podcasting properly, but I can also (hopefully) help all those others out there to do so as well This has been a VERY long journey of discovery, untangling all the ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/09/04/podcasting-success-hoorah/ I had a comment from Kim on podcasting and this was my response I know podcasting does look a bit of a secret society, only accessed by the technologically competent, but in fact there are some simple steps you can take. Rather than run you through everything, it's probably ... http://miketemple123.edublogs.org/2007/08/24/podcasting-where-do-you-start/