Technology @ Hebron

If you would like to create a website or blog, either as a separate class project or more as a way for students to create an online portfolio, there are a number of options available:

WordPress

As part of myHebron, the technology department can create and host blogs at sandbox.schoolpress.co. This is how this blog is setup, as well as a few other department and class blogs currently in use.

The software provided is called WordPress and is a professional blogging platform that allows us to specify blog admins (who can change the design of the blog and edit any submitted content) as well as give access to specific students as authors (to create posts and comment on other posts).

Here is what the backend looks like when adding a new post, with the different sections accessed on the left hand side and a box for the post title and another for the content on the right:

It is also very easy to embed a whole range of different content into your post, including picture galleries and YouTube videos. For a classroom example take a look at this post on the AP Literature and Composition class blog that was setup this year.

To set up a blog for you through this service, we just need to know the name you would like for the blog and list of the students you would like to be able to post content.

Blogger

Another blogging option we recommend, if you do not want to make your blog a part of myHebron, or if you want each student to create their own individual blog and choose the design themselves, is Blogger. This is a blogging platform provided as part of your and every students’ Google Apps account.

The layout, structure and options are very similar in style to WordPress, the only real difference is that you or your students would have to setup everything from scratch. If this is something you are interested in doing, here is an excellent guide to getting started.

Google Sites

Everyone will be familiar with Google Sites as this is what has been used to create your old PDPs (before we switched to Folio), but this is also a tool that can be used in the classroom to quickly create and publish a website. Again, this is a service provided as part of your and every students’ Google Apps account. Although the interface for editing and designing layouts can be a little clunky, Google Sites is especially good at embedding Google Drive content, such as Google Docs and Slides, which makes it very easy to create portfolio websites of academic work.

For an example project completed this year check out this post on Epic Poems, including links to the finished student websites.

iWeb

Another option if you are looking to spend more time on the design and layout of a website is iWeb. This is a desktop app that is available on the library iMacs and is similar in style to something like Pages. This app lets you select from a range of templates and then exactly position objects such as text boxes and images, as well as add a range of text and image effects such as shadows and reflections. You can also embed different content such a YouTube videos and other multimedia content.

Here is what the interface looks like, with the inspector options in the box to the right:

The only downside to iWeb is that the files are stored locally on the computer so can’t be accessed from anywhere through the web (which is the case for the services listed above). Also, the finished project, once submitted, is a static site. This means that any changes made result in the whole site having to be re-uploaded.

Here is an example project from this year, again with links to student work.

Working with both audio and video in the classroom is a great way to integrate technology. You can use it to simply record student presentations and performances, either for practice or self and peer evaluation, or create a multimedia project such a podcast, tv commercial, radio show or movie trailer. There are a number of ways to use both audio and video on your MacBooks.

Audio

The easiest way to record audio on your MacBook is to use the QuickTime Player app. Just open the app, click File: New Audio Recording from the drop down menus at the top of the screen:

Then once you are ready hit the red record button. Click stop once you are done and then click the red x to close and save your audio file.

Another option on the Mac is Audacity, a free open source recorder and editor. Once you have downloaded and installed the app, again you just need to hit the red record button to start (and the stop button to stop):

You should now be able to see the wave form of your recording in the main section of the app and you can now edit it. Click and drag anywhere on the recording and press the delete key to remove that section:

One other nice feature of Audacity is the range of different effects and plugins it offers, including amplify which boosts the audio if the recording ends up being too quiet. These can be found in the Effect dropdown menu:

You can also save, export, etc. your file in a number of different ways in Audacity but to be able to save a file as an mp3 you do need to download an additional file called Lamelib, which you can get from here.

Finally, if you want to do a more elaborate audio project the best option is GarageBand, which is installed on your MacBook Air as well as on the iMacs in the Library. GarageBand lets you record and edit in a similar way to Audacity but also lets you build up recordings using separate tracks, including prerecorded audio loops.

This lets you produce radio shows or podcasts for which students record and edit the audio sections and can then add jingles and sound effects. Here is a good tutorial on how to do this in the newest version of GarageBand:

Video

To quickly record video on your MacBooks there are two options we recommend: QuickTime Player, which is as simple as loading the app, clicking File: New Video Recording and the clicking the record button; and Photo Booth. In Photo Booth you just need to load the app, change the mode to video in the bottom left hand corner and then click the record button:

Photo Booth stores the videos you take in a timeline along the bottom of the app. If you need to share the file or want to save it some where else you just need to drag the video out of the app. Photo Booth also works will if you just want to take photos with your MacBook – just change the mode back to photo.

Your MacBooks, and the iMacs in the library, have the desktop version of iMovie installed, which is an excellent app for creating professionally edited movies, with titles, transitions and voice over. There are actually two versions of iMovie available at the moment, depending on the age of the computer you are working on. The order version of iMovie has a brown star icon and this tutorial gives a nice overview of the basic features:

The newer version of iMovie has a purple icon and is quite a bit different from the version above. Apple have tried to make it more like the iPad version of iMovie with a proper timeline along the bottom for your projects and have removed some of the functionality and options. Here is a good overview of what this new version can do:

There are a number of choices on your MacBooks and iPads (and the library for student projects) for creating presentations.

1. PowerPoint. This is installed on all faculty MacBooks and there is now a free app for all iOS devices (although you will need to sign up for a free Microsoft account to access documents you save in the cloud). PowerPoint on the Mac has been improved a lot over the years and now has a lot more theme and design options.

One important option for creating your own slide designs is the slide master. Click Themes and then click Edit Master:

Any changes you make to the design of the slide master are made to all of the slides in your presentation.

2. Keynote. This is Apple’s version of PowerPoint, is installed on all faculty MacBooks and can be downloaded for free onto your iPad. The basic functionality is the same as PowerPoint but with a range of different themes and fonts designed specifically for the app.

3. Google Slides is a great way to create and share simple presentations, and is excellent for collaborative work. It does not include all the transition and animation effects from PowerPoint and Keynote but there are still a range of limited design options underneath these four buttons:

4. There are also a couple of online options that we recommend. These are all cloud-based and can add a nice variation to the standard slide-based presentation:

– Prezi, which adds motion and zooming effects to a presentation. You will need to sign-up for an an education account to get free access to this service. There is also an iPad app available on the Self Service.

Here is an example video of what can be accomplished in Prezi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArGh6FurR0Q

– PowToon Slides, which provides animation and more cartoon-based themes to play with. Again, you will need to sign-up for an account to create your own presentations.

Here is a good tutorial showing some of the different features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4upSmZMMoL0

– Haiku Deck, available both on the web and as an iPad app. Haiku Deck is a great app for creating minimalist presentations – most of the design options have been stripped out, with only a few font and layout options, with the focus being on choosing great images for your slides.

Here is a good review of the app and what kind of presentations it can create:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2cxFVixxxE

These are two great apps that take a different approach to working with video on the iPad.

Coach’s Eye

Coach’s Eye is an instant reply and video analysis app that lets you manipulate video at different speeds and record annotations and your voice over the top of your video. The app can be used both inside and outside the classroom for recording game footage and drills as well as student performances and presentations.

When you open Coach’s Eye tap on the plus (+) icon to start a new video:

This will give you the choice of recording video directly into the app or importing existing video you have saved in your Camera Roll:

Once you have recorded your video you can then tap Analyze to start scrubbing, annotating and recording your actions:

Use the scrubbing wheel along the bottom to fast-forward and rewind your clip, the annotation tools to draw shapes and lines over the top of the video:

You can also tap the microphone icon at the top to record everything on the screen as well as your voice. Finally, you can also tap Compare to put two videos side by side.

If you do use the record feature, when you press the stop button the app will create a separate video of your recording. You can then export this video into Google Drive and share it.

To do this select the new video and then tap the Share button:

Then tap Export (you will have to create a free Coach’s Eye account at this stage):

And finally tap Open in and select Google Drive:

Please note that only faculty have access to this app. If you would like your students to use Coach’s Eye please let us know so we can purchase and assign the app to them.

Stop Motion Studio

Stop Motion Studio is a quick and simple way to create flick-book style stop motion animation videos – an excellent way of creating narrative stories. Here is an example of a stop motion project we recently completed in the middle school.

Open the app and tap the plus (+) icon to create a new project:

To start recording still images that will make up the stop motion video tap the record button:

Each time you tap record a still image will appear in the timeline along the bottom. You can tap on these frames to see more options:

Once you have recorded all your still images tap the play button to preview your movie. It might be the case that the clip plays too fast. If you tap on the cog icon you can then change the frame-rate and try again:

Once your movie is finished you can then tap the back button and use the sharing options to export your project:

This could either be to Google Drive to share it or even iMovie (by saving it to your camera roll first) if you would like to add additional editing effects such as titles, transition and voice over (our help post on iMovie can be found here).