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Custom Video Players in YouTube April 20, 2009

Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Tools.
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I didn’t know how to do this until today when my esteemed colleague showed me how to create a custom video player in YouTube. I already knew how to embed videos and, more importantly, how to turn off the option to display related videos, but had not seen a player based on a playlist. This allows you to embed a video player with multiple videos. Looks like I need to go to YouTube U!

Here is a playlist video player for my 21st Century Learning playlist. I had to fiddle with the width and height numbers to get it to fit in the space of my blog post. If you have other videos I should add, let me know!

Tonally Cool April 16, 2009

Posted by Matthew Woolums in Humor, Tools.
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Fun little diversion. I’m sure people could use this for sending coded messages or something. Me, I just like clicking on the squares to see what it sounds like. Try diagonal lines, blocks of squares, and alternating patterns. Very fun!


http://lab.andre-michelle.com/swf/fl10/ToneMatrix.swf

Netbook Roundup April 13, 2009

Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Hardware, OLPC.
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In case you are interested in the whole netbook class of laptops, either for personal use or as student laptops, here is a review of 19 netbooks that run for $350 or less. How would you use one? As primary computer, or as a travel laptop, or something else?

bicycle and computer

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/egansnow/271941148/

19 netbooks for $350 or less

Give Them What They Want April 12, 2009

Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos.
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According to a Wired Magazine article, teens love their RSS aggregators, and they love free content. While neither of those actually surprises me, I have two teen-agers at home, what did surprise me about the article is they have some pretty good advice for teachers who wish to make learning connections for the current cohort of teens in school. Here is a sample:

  • Don’t overload them. Less is more: Reduce the volume of information.
  • Include visuals with anything that matters. But photo galleries are no substitute for a story.
    Convey what’s important with a clear, visual hierarchy.
  • Break up information into management chunks. Categories on the home page, interrupted text on story pages.

Read the rest of the article and see if you agree that it describes effective teaching practices or not. What else would you add to this list?

Teens Love Aggregation and ‘Free’, Newspaper Study Finds | Epicenter from Wired.com

Keeping Up With the Joneses April 8, 2009

Posted by Matthew Woolums in Link Collections, Tools.
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From time to time I’m asked how I know so much. I really don’t think I do, and most of what I know comes from somewhere else. So where does what-I-know come from? Below are some of my current favorites in no particular order:

Here are a couple of others from outside the realm of education:
What are your favorite sources of what-you-know?