AISD Innovation Station Network

Movie Maker Live, No Voiceover?

2011-05-04T15:36:00.000-05:00

Oh Microsoft, you made such significant leaps forward with the new MovieMaker Live, but one glaring problem exists. In the classroom, I’m not always going to be importing full-on video clips. Often, my students just need a great way to add photos to a movie and record their voiceover as a narrative of the visual story. Or, perhaps I have the video, but I want to easily speak over a clip that has poor audio. You took away the easy voiceover tool in earlier versions of MovieMaker. So let’s share a work around.

Adding A Voiceover To Movie Maker Live Projects
It’s actually pretty easy, as far as work arounds go. Record your narration in your local audio recorder, export the audio and import it into Movie Maker as a music file. From that point, you can clip and adjust the length of still photos to match the new audio, or clip and place the audio track so that it matches the video segment that goes with it.

Audacity is my preferred audio recording tool on the pc. It’s a simple and free install. The only trick is that you need to install separately the LAME encoders so that it will export your audio as an mp3. But even that is pretty easy.

Once installed, open Audacity and hit the little red button to record. Stop when done and go to File – Export as MP3 to get your audio Movie Make-ready. Movie Maker will import that MP3 after you click the big ‘Add Music’ button at the top of the window. Drag the new skinny green audio track to wherever you want the audio to be in your movie.

Tips
Movie Maker doesn’t allow multiple audio tracks. There is any audio you have with the video track and the Add Music track. If you want to have your voice over with a music background and the occasional frog croaking in the background, you can do all of that audio in Audacity and export it as one single audio track for Movie Maker. Audacity can have many tracks in the project, but exporting will flatten it into one.
Another thing to remember is that when adding audio to Movie Maker, you can edit the audio just like a video clip. Select the audio and then you can split the audio clip in an effort to put space between spoken sentences or such.

Innovate?
So, how do you use movies in your classroom? One middle school teacher is having the students pull or capture still images that compliment their written stories and record it all as a movie. Another teacher had students create short movies where students demonstrated what they learned during anti-bully lessons. An easy scaffolding lesson would be to give small groups the same 3 minute video clip of a class Science demonstration. Have each group compete for the best video using text and voiceovers to show understanding. How would YOU use video in your classroom?

photo: microphone

Using QR Codes to Promote Student Publications Online!

2011-05-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

QR, or Quick Response, codes are those square bar codes that we are seeing more in print and online media. They are read by most smart phones and can be created easily. This project utilizes them to help students promote their online publications.

Research and Write

Find places in your community that deserve some more recognition or that are easily researchable. Using the standards for researching and report writing for your grade-level, have the students find some interesting facts and write a short historical report about their place.

The students can support their report with student-made or free-to-use graphics found online. Provide resource links for additional information, such as local online historical databases or town history sites.

Publish their work on a project wiki. Things to avoid:

1. Be careful to avoid advanced site tools that use Flash since the target audience for our finish project will be mobile users.
2. Don’t use small text sizes.
3. Be concise in your report writing and use clear paragraphs.
4. Don’t overwhelm the page with images and movies.
If you use an image that is already online, give the owner credit at the bottom of your page.

“More Information Here” Announcement Page

Once you have the project published, the student gets to make a small QR code sheet that will be laminated and left at the historical site (with permission of course). Design the sheet to be less than a half-sheet of paper so that it doesn’t take up lots of window space, but so that visitors see it easily.

To create the QR code, go to http://goo.gl and type the URL of the page on your site that contains the students’ work. (Avoid typing just the domain [classwiki.org] but the complete URL for their page [classwiki.org/capitol].) Click the ‘shorten url’ button and you will get a short goo.gl/#### url. NOW, click ‘details’ and you will get the QR code for this page.

You need to copy two things, the QR bar code and the link at the bottom of the page. First, right-click on the bar code and save the image to your computer. Alternatively, some wikis and blogs let you add images using the image’s URL. Your bar code’s URL is right below the image.

By also saving the link at the bottom, Link To This Page, you can revisit this goo.gl page for this specific QR code and find out how many people have used the code to access the report page online.

Tips

When printing your QR code on the “More Information Here” page, try not to resize the image. If the image is distorted, it could keep the bar code from working well.

If you have a Google account, login before creating the QR codes. Codes that you create while logged into your account will be tracked from the goo.gl web page. You can quickly get access to all QR codes that you have created from the home goo.gl web page.

Other Ideas For QR Codes?

Share URLs In Class: One problem with QR codes in the classroom is not having enough devices that can read the QR codes. One nice stop-gap fix is to use laptops that have cameras on them. With administrator install rights, a teacher can go to QuickMark for PC , sign up for a free login and download the software. After having the software on the laptop, the teacher displays a large version of the QR code on the Innovation Station. Student point their laptop towards the screen and the web address is recognized.

Scavenger Hunt: Setup QR codes around the room that have different answers. Students solve problems, find their answer on the wall, and the QR code could give them a right/wrong or Next Clue answer. The teacher just makes these answers as individual wiki pages and generates codes for each page needed.

The QR code industry is growing quickly. Eventually, when all kids in the class have a camera/reader, getting information out to them could be even easier.

Paperslide Videos! Easy Student-Made Video Content

2011-04-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

Kids like videos. They like watching videos. They like making videos. Videos engage students. Teachers like engaged students. Therefore, teachers should like using videos during instruction.

That's a great concept. In the not-so-distant past, using video in the classroom meant either pushing the play button for a 2 hour sit and stare time or planning out the 2 week computer lab lesson where the teacher had to learn advanced skills and live stressed during the whole project.

This morning, Austin teachers participated in Discovery Education's Virtual Conference and heard Dr. Lodge McCammon of the Friday Institute share the simple Paperslide Video concept in an online webinar. The paperslide video is merely the idea that students create graphic representations on paper that slide across the table below a video camera. No faces on screen, no names given, and the whole process can take less than 25 minutes.

Do you know what 'sublimate' means? Watch this student-made video and see if you learn anything.

On Dr. Lodge's website, he discusses the Why and How to differentiate your instruction in the classroom using these quick one-take videos. He had over 30 free to use songs on Discovery Streaming in many different curriculum disciplines. All students have to do is apply the lesson content to their one-page graphics and let their Multiple Intelligences engage them in their learning process.

- Video on "How To Make A Paperslide Video"
- Video and printables describing the successful "No Lecture Classroom"

Teachers using classroom technology, like the standard document camera on the Innovation Station, can easily capture student work in a video and in less than a single class period, they can have students create and publish their work online to be shared with peers and parents! Use the document camera creatively to capture students showing understanding of concepts. It WILL pay off in the classroom.

Reducing File Sizes of PDF Files

2011-04-12T09:09:00.004-05:00

So, you have a .pdf file that needs to be shared with people at a different location. Sometimes, those graphically-intensive file can be substantially large files. Sure, we could put the file on a server, share as a Google Docs upload, or upload to a wiki so others can download it. Emailing, however, just isn’t a good alternative for large pdf files or any large file for that matter.

One possibly helpful tool is a web-based pdf file compressor. Neevia.com has a very easy to use website that lets anyone upload a file and receive it right back with the file size reduced. http://convert.neevia.com/pdfcompress/

Trying this out several times with 5M pdf files gave different results. One particular 1-page document was reduced 92% shaving almost 4M off the file size. Another attempt only shaved 14% off of a 32 page pdf at the maximum compression setting.

The nice thing about this site is that it lets you try different compression settings before actually downloading the file.

There are various other downloadable apps that one can install and use to compress pdf file sizes. (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-ways-reduce-size-pdf-file/) Using a web-based alternative works well regardless of the computer platform or browser you are using. Just try to use a fast network if your original pdf is a very large file.

Making a Slideshow Using The Innovation Station

2011-04-06T16:07:00.000-05:00

Today's topic is demonstrating the capture of images using the Innovation Station's document camera. These pictures can be used in many ways, such as making a slideshow of book pages that can be viewed for multiple class sessions during the week.

What to do with the captured images? How would YOU use the pictures? Our next post will share some of your ideas as well as give some concrete steps for incorporating captured images into your instructional time with students. Stay tuned!!

This video was made using an iPod Touch to capture the video, a Canon Elph to capture buttons on the doc cam during the two-camera shoot, and iMovie '11 to put both camera feeds together. The black bars on the side exist because of the very narrow video captured by the iPod Touch.

Easy Geometry Practice Using Spreadsheets

2011-03-10T09:33:00.039-06:00

There are many ways to use manipulatives to teach geometry concepts in the classroom. The Innovation Station makes sharing these so much easier. Projecting a close-up image of a student made shape helps all students in the classroom analyze the shape to see if it meets the project criteria.

Capturing the images using the document camera will allow the teacher to use student-made geometric examples for classroom projects or visual examples that teachers could use during lesson assessments.

Texas technology assessments include assessing students on their ability to use spreadsheets. Some of those skills include formatting text, changing row and column sizes, and drawing borders. In an amazing coincidence, we can use those same tools to create 2D geometric shapes that can be printed and cut out to build 3D shapes. Spreadsheets can help students visualize the measurement of perimeter, area, and volume while also practicing technology skills at the same time.

Download this Excel document is a two-page sample that teachers can use to develop their technology-friendly geometry lesson. Lesson scaffolding ideas are included for elementary through high school students. Edit the file and make it your own!
http://austinit.pbworks.com/f/geometry+spreadsheets.xls

Spreadsheets can be a valuable tool for teaching geometry concepts and the Innovation Station can help share their small examples much more easily.

Does My Projector Need A Dentist?

2011-03-03T14:00:00.000-06:00

Your projector doesn't need a dentist, but some do need regular cleaning. Those classrooms with Epson projectors will need to remember to get the filter cleaned. (The 3M projectors are DLP which means they do not have filters.)

What does the filter do? It keeps some dust particles out of the inside as the machine draws in air to cool the mechanics. Unfortunately, as the filter gets more clogged, less cooling air comes in and the machine will more quickly overheat or burn out the bulb prematurely.

Remember, dead bulbs are the consumable cost of the campus. Help them live longer by keeping the filters clean! The official Epson directions for cleaning a filter can be found here.

Otherwise, one can carefully locate the filter, remove it, clean it, and replace it with minimal techno-skill.

This filter is very clogged. When you see it, think "running a marathon breathing through a straw!" It really needs to be cleaned.

This filter was cleaned. One can carefully tap the large excess dust chunks off or use a small vacuum to pull out the dirt, but pouring water slowly though it will wash the dust out of the filter. Air dry if possible or carefully pad the filter with soft absorbent cloth to get the water out.

Keeping your filter clean means checking it every 2-3 months. Don't let it get bad enough to kill the projector.

Quick Classroom-made Videos!

2011-02-24T10:57:00.000-06:00

So you are getting used to using a document camera during your instruction. Are you taking advantage of the video capture capabilities? The AISD Innovation Station's document camera will capture video onto the SD memory card that came with it. Many other brands of document cameras will also capture video. Try capturing project directions on video and putting it out there for the students to review on the school shared network or your online classroom website.

But can the students also use the video capture? Sure they can! We have middle school Language Arts teachers capturing student book report presentations on video. We have student math demonstrations in high school being captured as a group reteach resource. I've been in discussions with elementary teachers about using captured video clips in a student's digital portfolio that travels with him from grade to grade.

Dr. Lodge McCammon, demonstrates how 'paper slide videos' are easily made in the classroom. These are videos with a mounted camera, like the doc cam, and students create their visuals on separate pieces of paper. Sometimes the content is student-created graphics that illustrate an educational song (many cool tunes available on DiscoveryEducation.com that cover high school-level economics through elementary science) or videos like the example here which is a simple voice-over with graphics.

Don't be afraid to try something new or different. Remember, our digital natives are often looking for reasons to come to school in the first place. With an already-made audio, your doc cam or digital video camera, and warm student body, a teacher can spend half a class period making a video that could stick in their heads the rest of the week. (Believe me. I still have the sublimate song stuck from 3 weeks ago!)

Installing Software on AISD PC Computers

2011-01-11T01:42:00.000-06:00

In the past, teachers often met a brick wall when they had some software they wanted to install or just wanted to some district-licensed software on all of their computers. This year, some fantastic changes have been made that empower our teachers to install software without any special passwords or permissions, outside of their own.

Sonia Conrad is doing great things with network installs here in Austin ISD. The process has been outlined in a short video by Marc Thrall. You can view the video at http://tinyurl.com/networkinstall .

The basic process to install software on your district PC computers is to:

Open the Control Panels
Open Programs and Features
Click on 'Install Programs from the Network
Click on the program you wish to install and follow onscreen prompts.

On of the great things about this process is that even students can do this with their login on a district computer. If you go to the lab to do a Comic Life lesson and find that a computer doesn't have it, have the student follow the directions above to install the software right then.

Thanks to Sonia and her group for providing such a wonderful tool that benefits all teachers!

January Math!

2011-01-04T14:47:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!! Installations of Innovation Stations continued through the winter break and more are coming online each week. Teachers who get an Innovation Station should be able to use it as soon as the installers hand them a key. However simple it may be to use, please contact your Educational Technology Facilitator (414-6553) to schedule a short training for your campus. There are a few 'Big Ideas' that we would like to pass along to teachers receiving the stations.

One of the great things about the station is the ability to use the technology in an interactive way with the class. Let's look at the 3rd Nine Weeks Math curriculum for a couple of integration ideas today.

In the 5th Grade Week 20 lessons, students are looking at area and perimeter. It used to be fun for students to go up to the overhead and draw on a transparency sheet to show perimeter or arrange small plastic squares to show area. The resulting work would be wiped away so the next student could show their answer. Using the "Exploring Area" Math template in Kidspiration3, the students are given 4 pages to show area by dragging squares. It's clear and easy. Use the wireless keyboard and mouse to let table groups show an answer as a group from their desks.

In 7th Grade, teachers can cover Geometry using Inspiration. I always valued making a large idea web with students to show prior knowledge and then continuing to edit it as we studied the content. By the end, they are very familiar with the idea web, they designed it, and it's a great study guide for a end of unit exam.

Teachers in Rockingham County, Virginia have a collection of Inspiration templates that students can use. Their geometry example (download it) encourages students to define quadrilaterals and triangles by definition and including examples from the internet. Teachers could scaffold this lesson to where students just have to add the definitions to the template or just add the picture illustrations. The end product would contain much relevant information.

In High School Geometry, Wolfram's Mathematica demonstration on similar triangles is a useful tool for students. Wolfram is really teacher-centric and offers many free online webinars for teachers to help learn effective instructional strategies to use with Wolfram resources.

If any of these ideas made you think of another way you would like to integrate tech into your instruction, always feel free to contact your Educational Technology Facilitator for more support. We'd love to hear from teachers. Let us know how you are using your Innovation Station in your classroom.

A Managed Volume is a Happy Volume

2010-10-05T12:16:00.000-05:00

"Dear ET, The sound coming from my IS desktop is very crackly compared to my desktop. This disturbs my students greatly. What can I do?"

Most the of problems we initially have with bad sound often come from the volume levels of the computers attached to the IS. The document camera is automatically set at 50% volume. The computers also have their own volume controls, but these are more often manipulated by teachers during normal use. Volume that is set to 100% on the computer will often sound 'too loud' or 'crackly' even when the IS audio is set low.

Manage your volume by keeping the volume on the computers set to 50-60% volume. Leave them there and, when connected to the IS, don't adjust the volume through the computer, but only use the WACI pad volume controls.

In these examples, both Mac and pc audio levels are set to 50-60%.

Making FireFox Work Better For You

2010-10-03T11:17:00.001-05:00

This link came across my Twitter account today and it has some pretty good tips for new and seasoned users of the Firefox web browser. On Austin ISD computers, the user has the ability to change Firefox settings, so these tips can be done by the teacher without any special permissions.

Ten Killer Firefox Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts! posted on Mashable.com .

In that article, there are some nice basic tips that all users should learn. What I wanted to bring out today was the three that teachers may not know and that could play a role during instructional time with the web browser.

Tip #5: Changing the email default. Wouldn't it be nice if you could click on an email address in the browser and NOT have to open up Outlook, MacMail, or Lotus Notes? Well, you have control over that. You can set it to even open your Gmail account online if you wanted. This tip can remove the annoying delay in waiting for an app to open, just so you can close it to get it out of the way.

Tip #9: Setting Up Multiple Homepages. No, you don't have to view the AISD Main Webpage every time your browser opens. Have it automatically open up your classroom webpage, or your online classroom bookmark collection, or the 'Today In History' page you use each week. BETTER YET, have Firefox open them all if you wanted.

Tip #10: Clear a Single Site From the History. We often may visit a mistyped a website address, which is really no big deal. But when you type a similar address in the future, Firefox puts that mistyped address in your history of sites it thinks you may want. Well, if you typed the .com or .org instead of .gov Whitehouse website, you may not want the results to pop up when you type 'whitehouse'. So, Tip #10 shows how to go into your history and delete a particularly annoying website that may appear in your list.

Firefox can be incredibly customized with many plugins that offer advanced features. Knowing how to use the tool better makes it a better tool for the classroom.

--Instructional?--

How do you use Firefox options or add-ons to improve your classroom delivery? I have helped teachers setup their laptop and projector combination so that the projector acts as a second display and does not just mirror the laptop's screen. To save me time in the morning, perhaps I would have Firefox automatically open Gradespeed, Slideshare.net (where I saved my morning agenda online), and countdown timer site. I could slide the agenda and timer over to the projector's screen while I leave Gradespeed on my laptop for attendance.

What sites would you setup as your multiple Homepages?

Playing Audio With No Video

2010-09-28T09:46:00.001-05:00

The Innovation Station has been designed with controls to provide audio mute and audio/visual mute capabilities for all inputs. By pressing the input button a second time, you will mute both the video and audio of the input you had selected. Pressing the now-red input button again will un-mute the input.

During discussions with teachers, it is quickly pointed out that sometimes, all they want is the audio, without the distraction of video on the screen. You have that option as well.

Since the Lightspeed Amplifier is always on, the IS does not have to be turned on to do this. You can present almost any audio source without having to login to the IS cart.

Each Lightspeed REDMIKE microphone has an audio in plug on the side. This is the same type plug as the headphone jack on most MP3 players or your laptop. Using the supplied 3.5mm audio jack in the IS cart, plug one end into the REDMIKE's audio in jack and the other into your laptop's headphone jack. The laptop's audio will be played through the REDMIKE microphone to the room's speakers.

Andrew Bevins, Online Marketing Manager - Lightspeed Technologies

Things to remember:

Use the REDMIKE volume control on the back of the microphone to control volume when speaking through the microphone. However, use the audio device's volume control to manipulate volume when plugged into the REDMIKE.
You can use almost any audio device that has a headphone jack; MP3 players, iPhones, jamboxes, laptops, cassette recorders, and even refrigerators that have a built-in stereo with 3.5mm audio out jack.

For a much better detailed tutorial on the daily use of the Lightspeed classroom audio system, take some time to look at a short Flash-based tutorial specifically designed for Austin ISD. Lightspeed Tutorial!

--Instructional?--

How does this play a role in the classroom? The most frequently heard response to that question has been, "I want to play internet radio from my laptop without having to see anything on the screen. The station I play has a positive impact on my students during sustained Writer's Workshop."

What are some instructional examples that you could share with this community?

Protect Your Firefox Data

2010-09-21T17:20:00.000-05:00

There are a couple of features on the Innovation Station meant to help control unauthorized or unwanted fingers from gaining access to the station or pc. For example:

Pressing the WACI pad 'Home' button and then the 'Lock' button, you will lockout the WACI controls. To gain access again, you login just as you would if the IS was shutdown.
Lockout your laptop or desktop computer so that a login is necessary for using it.

Why do I need to control access? Well, there is the obvious answer where little hands (or big hands) could alter the course of a lesson on the IS if the teacher stepped away for a moment.

But since we are talking about protecting data, there is a really important reason for controlling access to your computer. Many users will save their personal data or passwords on the computer when it is associated with their web browser. Firefox, in particular, makes it very easy for the user to find a password if they forgot what they were using. But if it is that easy, unwanted fingers could also find those passwords.

Viewing passwords in Firefox is both a cure and a curse. So, let's see how we can do it.

On the Mac, choose the Firefox menu/Preferences/Security. On the PC, choose the Tools menu/Options/Security. From that point, the menus look the same.

At the Security window, find the section at the bottom for Passwords. By unchecking 'Rembmer passwords for sites', you will keep the browser from remembering your login passwords for site that you visit.

To view passwords that have been saved, push the 'Saved Passwords...' button.

The 'Saved Passwords..' window will open showing the plethora of sites that you have saved over your history of browsing the internet on that computer.

To see the passwords associated with that site, push 'Show Passwords' at the lower right.

Now, another column will appear sharing your previously used passwords onscreen.

You can select one or all and remove them if needed.

For the forgetful, this can be a very useful tool. For the wise, this is information that you probably don't want readily available to any random user of your computer. For that reason, judicious use of the computer lockout features or not letting your browser save passwords are both very important choices when protecting your personal information.

--Instructional?--

Modeling appropriate digital citizenship skills is important for the teacher of young digital natives. Commenting on opening certain pages in front of the class, "You know, since this is a shared computer, I'm not going to save my password," or something similar can help demonstrate that personal data is sacred and private. Managing the amount of data you put online or save on accessible computers is a concept all of us need to keep in mind.

Control Pad Error

2010-09-13T11:04:00.001-05:00

Teachers are coming across an issue with the WACI control pad on the Innovation Station. Occasionally, the buttons on the pad turn to small black diamonds. The buttons still work, but the button images are no longer visible.

The fix for now is to re-boot the WACI control pad. The teacher should shut down the system so that the control pad, projector, document camera are all turned off. Next, wake the pad by pushing any button and then hold down the middle two buttons until the lights on the pad turn off. The WACI software is now rebooting and will be ready to turn on very soon.

--Instructional?--

How are teachers using input switching during a lesson segment?
Some teachers are finding it useful to have their daily agenda showing on the desktop computer and letting it stay on the screen while the teacher prepares lesson documents on their connected laptop.

What is a Mashup?

2010-09-09T11:16:00.000-05:00

Sounds like 7:30am on Hwy 35, but a Mashup is actually the product of combining two or more web content creations into one digital product. It can be as simple as using a Wordle picture in your Picnik picture or more complex like having your Blabberize character narrate a YouTube video from within a Google Earth flyover tour. (Sounds like fun, huh!)

There are many ways to do this, but finding good turorials about mixing web 2.0 media sources can be challenging. Our friends at Discovery Education presenting "Media Mashups" this summer and have just put up some of their turorials and examples onto the Discovery Education blog. Hall Davidson posted this with lots of links to their downloadable instructions and online examples. It's really an incredible resource.

This video is from Hall and Steve Dembo, from Discovery Education, and it gives a great example of a high-level mashup as well as good background about Web 2.0. This comes from a six part video series for educators about Web 2.0.

--Instructional?--

Our Innovation Stations can not only display the products that the students create, but the document camera can help capture stills and videos that can be used in these products. The Discovery blog linked to above gives tips for making green screen videos. For a large flat green screen, how about making a chromakey-green slide in Powerpoint and projecting it on the screen?

How else could you use your IS to make a Mashup?

Two Screens for One Laptop?

2010-09-08T13:16:00.000-05:00

Both Mac and Dell laptops have a great feature called Video Mirroring that lets the laptop use an attached projector as a second display. Effectively, you have two working surfaces for the one laptop.

MacBooks:
To make this easier for the future, set up your display preferences by going to Apple menu/System Preferences/Displays . When you have a projector plugged in, you will see two windows open, one for the laptop and one for the projector. Click the box 'Show displays in menu bar.

Next look for the small monitor icon in your menu bar at the top. Select it and you can change the resolution for both the laptop and the projector. Near the top, you can 'Turn off mirroring' which will make the projector a second and independent display.

Dell E6400's:
The Dell laptop also has video mirroring, but they call it 'Extended Desktop'. You can pull up these options by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Graphic Properties. Select Extended Desktop. Make the Notebook Primary and Monitor (your projector) as secondary. Select the side menu, Display Settings. Select the tab for the Notebook and adjust resolution as needed. Do the same for the Monitor. (Some teachers find success with 1280x720.) (For more on the E6400, see these directions.)

--Instructional?--

Below is a video example of what one teacher is doing. In what situations would you find Video Mirroring a useful instructional tool?

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My Mac Won't Display?

2010-09-06T15:09:00.001-05:00

One question often heard from Mac-using teachers is about not seeing the Mac laptop after plugging into the WACI control box. Usually, this can be solved by making sure you always plug the VGA cable into the WACI box first, and then plug the Mac dongle into the laptop.

--Instructional?--

How are you using your laptop when it's plugged into the IS? What types of things are you finding useful for displaying?

Doc Cam Resolution Reset

2010-09-02T09:52:00.000-05:00

The Lumens document camera is one of the most powerful teaching tools attached to the Innovation Station. The doc cam's image capture feature is a great way to capture an image for students to use with their notes, in their digital work, or for a lesson resource.

When using the Doc Cam input, one can push the 'Capture' or 'Record' button to save images to the SD card placed into the doc cam base. One will get a visual cue that capturing is happening by seeing a rotating hourglass in the top left or 'Recording' in the top right during video capture.

Occasionally, the user will not see these visual cues when image capturing. Usually, the reason is because the resolution of the doc cam has changed and needs to be reset. The solution is pretty easy.

Teachers can quickly see if they need to change the resolution by pushing the menu button on the base of the doc cam. If the top four menu tabs are visible, then your doc cam is presenting at the correct resolution.

If the top menu tabs are cut off or running off the top of the screen, the resolution needs to be changed. Using the arrow keys on the base of the doc cam, press the right button (3 times) until you see the line "Output Mode" on the screen. Push the down arrow key until Output Mode selection is highlighted. It probably says 'SXGA'. Once highlighted, push the right button to select 'UXGA' and then the enter key on the base. The screen will flash and return to full resolution.

Your doc cam is now ready to show a high quality image which can be captured for classroom use.

--Instructional?--

What innovative way have you used the document camera? How have you used captured images with your class?

Mute Video But Keep Audio?

2010-09-01T12:19:00.001-05:00

Teachers are finding great value in the audio mute and AV mute features of the Innovation Station's control pad. Whether as an attention grabbing or refocusing strategy or energy-saving strategy, the mute features are very effective.

However, given that success, some teachers are asking for a way to mute the video but still play the audio over the speakers. That feature was not built into the system, but our microphones give us that ability all on their own. Each mic has an audio input jack on the side. This is the basic 3.5mm 'headphone' jack which is the same as the audio cable that came with the IS. As an input, that jack will connect any devices audio out or headphone jack to the always on audio system. Once plugged into the external device's (iPod, jambox, laptop, etc) headphone jack, the device will control the volume level.

Remember, the IS does not need to be on since the Lightspeed sound amp is always on. Plugging a laptop into the mic means that you will be adjusting the sound level via the laptop's sound control. Remember to return the laptop volume back to about 50% volume when connecting back to the IS and use the IS volume control at that point.

--Instructional?--

What ways do you or would you use this for instruction in your classroom? Teachers have said they are using it to play soft music during writer's workshop while the screen stays blank. Others commented that they play music during morning routine while the screen can go back and forth between morning agenda and morning announcements.

How would you use it?