Turn Your Text Into Voice Recordings

Turn Your Text Into Voice Recordings

Many educators encourage their learners to read their papers aloud or have them read aloud by someone else so they can spot mistakes that they didn't discover when reading silently.


Voicepods - https://www.voicepods.com/

• is a neat service that will create voice recordings based on any text that is written.

Voicepods offers eight voices in which users can have their text read-aloud.

The voice recording that is generated from the text can be...

• listened to on-line and...
• downloaded as an MP3 to use wherever MP3 playback is supported.

Voicepods could be a great tool for learners,
and/or Educators, to use, to hear their
written words read aloud.

All users have to do is copy and paste the text of their papers into Voicepods to hear their work read aloud.
HeadsUp: 

1: Voicepods are, at the time of posting this, adjusting their pricing

2: Voicepods have added two new features...

• Image to Audio and
• Files to Audio...just pick a file/image from your computer to convert it to audio.

If you give Voicepods a try or have already used Voicepods, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.
Thank you.

Adding Bookmarks to a Video's Timeline

Adding Bookmarks to a Video's Timeline

Bookmark It - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bookmark-it/adhfhfpebeloakommdgicanmhfbeifnb - is a free Chrome extension that can solve a problem that many educators face when trying to show learners a specific part of a video.

Bookmark It lets Educators, and/or Learners, add time-stamped bookmarks and notes to the timeline of a video.

O

nce they've added their bookmarks and notes they can return directly to them from the Bookmark It extension.

Richard Byrne's video - https://www.youtube.com/embed/lyqERGNtETs - shows you how Bookmark It works.

If you give Bookmark It a try or have already used Bookmark It, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Digitising Learners' Physical Work

Digitising Learners' Physical Work

SeeSaw - https://web.seesaw.me/ - lets users...

• take pictures,
• draw on them,
• record themselves talking about them, and then
• add them into a portfolio.

All this can be done with SeeSaw's…

• iPad app - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/seesaw-multimedia-journal/id930565184?ls=1&mt=8
• Android app - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=seesaw.shadowpuppet.co.classroom&hl=en
• Chrome app - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/seesaw-the-learning-journ/adnohgfkodfphemhddnmikhflkolfjfh 
• Kindle Fire - https://www.amazon.com/Seesaw-The-Learning-Journal/dp/B01B5CISHI/ref=sr_1_1 - and in your...
• Computer's web browser - https://app.seesaw.me/#/login?force_login=signup

SeeSaw's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYUfnb7MIsGald-Xtig9Umw/feed - has many excellent tutorials to help individuals get started.

If you give SeeSaw a try or have already used SeeSaw, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.
Thank you.

Teach Cyber Safety Lessons

Teach Cyber Safety Lessons

Planet Nutshell - https://planetnutshell.com/ - is a USA based video production company that produces short, animated videos to explain products, services, and concepts. 

Within their education section (For Teachers) you will find...  

• Climate Science Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/climate-science/ 
• Early Science Series Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/early-learning-series/
• Fun with Physics Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/physics/
• Maths Shorts Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/math-shorts/  and 
• NetSafe Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/netsafe/

The "StepUp Utah Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/stepuputah/ - and Yana & Egbert Videos - https://planetnutshell.com/yanaegbert/ - are also worth a look.

Planet Nutshell's series of videos about Internet safety (called NetSafe) -https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4twzw4BAfFFVS9O4lhru3AWOh06MEAhj - has eighteen episodes covering topics like...

• protecting personal information,
• responsible posting of pictures, and
• mobile location privacy. 

The videos are labelled with what they consider, appropriate grade levels

If you give Planet Nutshell a try or have already used Planet Nutshell, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Google Slides Formative Assessment

Google Slides Formative Assessment

The Pear Deck add-on for Google Slides - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pear-deck/amfkiahebibbkifgdjdfplkjohlgfdgg - provides educators with a collection of pre-designed templates they can choose from to create formative assessments and engage their learners in interactive learning experiences.

Educators can choose from templates that...

• embed activities for the start of a lesson or...
• embed activities to check learners understanding during a lesson. And if they want to... 
• embed an exit ticket at the end of the lesson.

"Educators can also make their slides interactive
through the addition of questions."

To use Pear Deck on Google Slides is straight forward...

• install the add-on,
• select which templates to use in the presentation,
• fill in the sides with content

...and when the presentation is ready ensure it's presented via Pear Deck by clicking on the ‘Present with Pear Deck’ button at the top right corner.

Learners will be able to join the Pear Deck presentation from the web.

During the presentation, learners will be prompted to answer the questions. 

Educators will see their answers in real time or display them anonymously on the learning environment projector.

For more information about Pear Deck, visit https://www.peardeck.com/ and/or watch the video at -  https://www.youtube.com/embed/g0ybB6I3kdQ - to learn more about the Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on.

If you give the Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on a try or have already used the Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

A New alternative to Todaysmeet

A New alternative to Todaysmeet

Listen to the audio version of this post at https://app.voicepods.com/services/embed?pod=2848e577-8723-48a2-b0bf-12c21570257a

Since Todaysmeet shut down in June 2018, many education practitioners have been looking for alternatives.

Well, Yo Teach! Rooms - http://www.yoteach.hk - developed by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Pedagogic and Active Mobile Learning Solutions project, provides an alternative that's worth a closer look.

Yo Teach! Rooms lets practitioners create on-line backchannel spaces to facilitate discussions.

To get started simply...

• go to the site and name your room. 
• scroll down the Yo Teach! site to activate the...
• admin function, 
• password function, and 
• to select "avoid search." 

NOTE: 1: The "avoid search" option will hide the room from search results so that people cannot find it without being given its direct URL.
2: The password function lets you set a password that must be entered before learners can participate in the chat.

3: The admin features of Yo Teach! let practitioners...

• mute or remove learners from a discussion,
• delete the room, 
• view statistics about the usage of the room. The admin function that reveals statistics will show the names of participants and how active they have been in the Yo Teach! room.

Learners can participate in the Yo Teach! room by...

• going the URL that is assigned to the room,
• entering the nickname that he/she wants to have displayed, and then 
• entering the password that's set for the room.

Learners can...

• type notes and questions to appear in the chat and there's the option for them to...
• draw on a whiteboard and have their drawings appear in the chat.

Practitioners can also...

• insert a drawing to aid an explanation and
• give a "thumbs up" to their favourite image and text notes in the discussion.

Richard Byrne's Tutorial Video - https://www.youtube.com/embed/EpDksD0NTSE - is also well worth a closer look.

If you give Yo Teach! Rooms a try or have already used Yo Teach! Rooms, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Educational Games for Younger Learners

Educational Games for Younger Learners

Toy Theater - http://toytheater.com/ - is a website that offers a huge library of on-line games that learners can play to hone their skills in... 

• Art - http://toytheater.com/category/art/  
• Games - http://toytheater.com/category/games/  
• Language arts - http://toytheater.com/category/language-arts/
• Mathematics - http://toytheater.com/category/math-games/ and
• Puzzles - http://toytheater.com/category/puzzles/  etc.

Toy Theater also offers a large library of virtual manipulatives - http://toytheater.com/category/teacher-tools/virtual-manipulatives/ - that can be displayed in a full screen mode and used in mathematics lessons.

If you give Toy Theater a try or have already used Toy Theater, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

P.S. I enjoy playing them as well

Creating eBooks

Creating eBooks

• Book Creator - https://bookcreator.com/ - is a tool, that's worth a closer look, for making ebooks. 
  

NOTE: Currently there are two options... 

1. the iPad app - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070?mt=8 (currently for £4.99) or 
2. Using the Chrome Browser - https://app.bookcreator.com/books

With Book Creator education practitioners, and/or their learners, can make ebooks that include...

• text, 
• images, 
• audio recordings, 
• videos, and even 
• maps.

Learners can insert media that they've created or embed content from sites like YouTube and Vimeo into the pages of their ebooks.

Richard Byrne's video - https://www.youtube.com/embed/A0bWoYdjEfQ - provides a complete overview of how to create an ebook on Book Creator. In his video you will see how to...

• select a page size, 
• customise the page colour, and how to 
• alter the text layout.

He also covers...

• embedding content from third-party sites, 
• adding maps to pages, 
• uploading pictures, and 
• recording audio and video directly into Book Creator pages.

NOTE: Book Creator can be used for free but with the limitation of 40 books per account. There is also an upgraded, school-wide version that offers...

• real-time collaboration,
• LMS integration, and
• an admin dashboard...

Richard Byrne's post, "Ideas for Making Multimedia eBooks With Students" - https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2018/08/5-ideas-for-making-multimedia-ebooks.html - is also worth a closer look.

If you give Book Creator a try or have already used Book Creator, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Save time & increase productivity #2 - Noisli

Save time & increase productivity #2 - Noisli

Promising to improve focus and increase productivity, Noisli - https://www.noisli.com/ - generates background noise and colour, that can be played for the whole class or have learners use on their own device with headphones.

It's also available via the...

• Apple App store - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/noisli/id862773459?ls=1&mt=8 
• Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noisli.noisli and
• Chrome Web Store - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/noisli/klejemegaoblahjdpcajmpcnjjmkmkkf

Noisli -

• includes many high-quality sounds to help users focus while working, relieve anxiety or to just relax while reading or before going to sleep and
• also provides a colour changing background, bringing to users the healthy benefits of the chromotherapy.

NOTE: No site registration is required, but creating an account does allows users to save mixes.

If you give Noisli a try or have already used Noisli, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.
Thank you.

Save time and increase productivity - Classroom Screen

Save time and increase productivity - Classroom Screen
Today's post looks at Classroom Screen - https://www.classroomscreen.com/ - a free website that offers a wide variety of tools that are useful in all Learning Environments.

Education practitioners can...

• use the text block to post instructions, links, objectives for the day,
• utilise the noise meter to visualise an acceptable level of talking and
• use the built-in QR Code generator which saves steps when sharing URLs.

There are other tools built-in making it
well worth while taking a closer look!

View the possibilities in the video at https://www.youtube.com/embed/3SalknXhumI

NOTE: It is not possible to save your screen. But it is designed that it should not take more than 30 seconds to put up a screen.

If you give Classroom Screen a try or have already used Classroom Screen, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.
Thank you.