If you’ve used Google Docs recently, you’ve probably seen a notice telling you that it will soon be upgraded to Google Drive. For those of us who use Google Docs religiously, this news might kickstart a feeling of uneasiness sometimes associated with new technology. No worries, though. Google Drive isn’t too bad. In fact, Google Drive takes Google Docs to the next level.
Automatic Grading in Google Docs with Flubaroo
20
Jun
Using Google Docs Forms, it’s easy to create online quizzes. And with Flubaroo, it’s just as easy to grade the quizzes you create. Flubaroo is a script for Google Docs that can be found in the public script gallery. It will automatically grade your students’ quizzes and provide summary data about the percentage of students who successfully answered each question. You can even have Flubaroo send out an email to your students that contains their scores and the answer key.
Tell Your Students about Quizlet!
05
Oct
Students of almost every discipline use flashcards to help them master the terms and concepts of their courses. Quizlet, an online flashcard creation tool, takes those 3×5 index cards to a whole new level. Not only does Quizlet support the creation of “traditional” flashcards—index cards with a term on one side and its definition on the other—but it can also generate tests and learning activities using the user’s list of terms. Quizlet’s built-in translator and dictionary make it especially useful for the study of foreign languages and vocabulary, and its symbols and accent feature makes it equally useful for courses in math, logic, statistics, and chemistry. And there are thousands of user-created lists already publicly available; with Quizlet, students don’t even need to spend time creating the study resource—they can just start studying!
How to create srt subtitles in Mac OS X
15
Aug
In Windows I used to have a whole application suite for extracting peak audio files and creating srt subtitles for — for example — YouTube video’s. What does Mac OS X have to offer?
Entry point: http://www.pure-mac.com/video.html
The list of applications I’m researching:
- D-Subtitler | DVD subtitle extractor
- Subler | MP4 muxer
- Sears
- Miyu
- Submerge | Subtitle muxer (not creator)
- Subsfactory | subtitle creator (but no waveform extraction / analysis)
- SubFix | resyncing srt files to audio track
- SubSynX | srt editor (not creator)
- SubClear | subtitle conversion
- Aegisub | YES! … everything you ever want and works on every OS!
Update 28th of July 2011: still searching for the MacQuivalent of Windows’ VirtualSubSyncUpdate 1st of August 2011: doubled the list of programs and Aegisub is BETTER than any tool on Windows.
Read the rest of this entry »
Read the rest of this entry »
Eric Rabkin’s Technology and the Humanities
26
Jul
Professor Eric Rabkin has recently been recognized in an Adobe Success Story for his innovative use of Adobe Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Flash and Photoshop in the curriculum of English 420/516 – Technology and the Humanities.
In his class, Professor Rabkin seeks to give his students a grounding in important technical skills, and to reveal the impact our tools, digital and otherwise, have on both the content and method of our communications. Through individual assignments and one group project, students learn the basics of several Adobe Creative Suite applications as well as some Flash ActionScript, the object oriented programming language behind Flash. Flash examples from the course are freely available online.
Eric Rabkin is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan.
Spotlight on Faculty
26
Jul
Faculty Spotlight is a small series of Flash enabled video clips, produced by the Instructional Consulting Group, in which different University of Michigan faculty discuss the integration of technology in the classroom, and its impact on learning. Click on a link below to be redirected. Flash Player 10 required.
Brenda Gunderson, Department of Statistics, discusses different technologies she uses in her Statistics 350 class, including Student Response Systems
Mika Lavaque-Manty, Political Science, discusses PoliSci 381, Lecture Tools, iPad, Wirecast and Basecamp
ISS Produces Video to Help Incoming Students
30
Jun
In collaboration with LSA Advising, ISS recently produced a video to help incoming students understand the degree requirements prior to arriving for orientation. The video features an all-ISS cast, was filmed and edited using ISS equipment (equipment that all LSA faculty and students can check out and use!), and the voice-overs were recorded in the Language Resource Center’s audio studio.
Check out the video below:
Using Podcasts to Enhance Student Learning
29
Jun
Podcasting can be a highly effective way to help your students review course material. Podcasts are audio or video broadcasts that are designed to be played on a mobile device—such as an MP3 player or smart phone—but they can also be viewed from a computer. This flexibility allows students to review the podcasts when, and where, it is most convenient for them. In one study, 51% of the undergraduate students in a large biology course reported that podcasts helped them to do better in the course, and 70% reported that the podcasts improved their understanding of the material covered in lecture. [1]
Using Google Scholar to Perform Academic Research
16
Jun
Using Google Scholar, Google’s academic search engine, you can leverage the power of Google search to perform academic research. Google Scholar will even connect with MLibrary—full-text links are just a click away!
If you’re using an on-campus computer, the correct Google Scholar preferences are already set, and you can begin your search. If you’re logging in from home, however, you’ll need to take a few additional steps.
Hype: is it Mac (and HTML 5)’s answer to Flash?
15
Jun
Hype is Mac platform exclusive animation software by a company called Tumult. Hype generates HTML 5, CSS3 and JavaScript content intended to run in all modern browsers. It currently retails on the Mac Store for $29.99 and is as of this article in version 1.02. Their byline is Create. Animate. HTML 5.
