#profhacker

[eduhacker]

Video Annotation Tools to Teach Film Analysis | Profhacker

Video Annotation Tools to Teach Film Analysis | Profhacker

“Using Video Annotation Tools to Teach Film Analysis” written by Chuck Tyron and published by Profhacker.

Details the use of SocialBook‘s video annotation tool.

View On WordPress

[ithacanadventures]

Project Management Tools

I have thought some over the years about how best to manage the work that my research group, the Surface Lab, does. At the moment, we use a combination of paper lists of tasks, an online group using the campus Course Management System (Moodle), and semi-regular PowerPoint summaries (which are more regular during the summer).

This seems to work fine. However, I've wondered from time to time whether an online project management interface might be a good option. Just not enough to jump into one and see how it works.

Inspired by a ProfHacker post on Software for Managing Group Tasks, and considering the fact that I will be managing at least some portion of a group from afar while I'm away next year, I think it might be time to consider some of the options more carefully.

Here are three I may look into.

Producteev, recommended by the author of the ProfHacker post. 

Asana, recommended in the comments of that post.

Trello, also recommended in the comments.

The goal would be to try one out this summer, so that we can see how it could be used while I'm away.

[georgetownuniversitypress]

Using Facebook and Tumblr to Engage Students

Great article from ProfHacker

[unwrapping]

"I’ve started using Tumblr to keep track of some of the images and notes for the project and to get ideas from other fans and scholars examining the many versions of Alice in Wonderland. This can be particularly cool when there are researchers with overlapping interests to follow...." — Anastasia Salter on research blogging and curating with Tumblr.

[ezickel]

This speech could be coupled with Garrison's "Why am I in College" or even other commencement speeches-- Rowling's Harvard speech or Jobs' Stanford speech

[wswctuie-blog]

Another article from ProfHacker, this time written by Ryan Cordell. He includes an excellent example of an assignment he uses with his students. He includes this clause:

...I strongly encourage you to create a disposable account if for any reason you prefer not to share your personal account for classroom activities...

This goes back to the "creepy treehouse" post from earlier. The way that Cordell has outlined the assignment has provided students with an out (and possibly encouragement) to keep their personal and academic lives separate. While this is all fine and dandy, one thing he doesn't mention is teaching students about being careful with personal information on Twitter. As a future teacher, I'm constantly cautioned to be careful about how I approach social media. Twitter assignments seem like the perfect opportunity to approach that same topic with students of any age. 

[wswctuie-blog]

Guest writer for ProfHacker Michael Ullyot provides another use of Twitter within the classroom. Ullyot's assignment is fairly uninvolved compared to many that I've seen or written about so far. He only requires his students to tweet at least 6 times a semester to ask questions. However, he is specific in what he wants:

That’s what my Twitter is for–not probing absent writers, but present critics.

Twitter is able to help him in this goal, as it allows his students to actively engage with present critics, in ways that they might not have previously. I would have never wanted to send a letter or email to a literary critic, but I can definitely see myself tagging the handle and tweeting at them. As a 21st century student, I would hope that my feelings would still parallel those of my students (I'm not THAT old, am I?). What better way to help our students learn than to give them experience seeking knowledge from the source? Oh, and here's his assignment: http://ullyot.ucalgaryblogs.ca/2011/09/03/205twitter/ 

[wswctuie-blog]

So, this one is a bit far-fetched, but let me explain. As a future music educator, I know that I will be all over the school. I will, in some instances, have upwards of 500 students to keep tabs on, and yet I will still be the one called in to work sound for events, provide muscle for moving heavy (some not so heavy) equipment around the school. Another aspect of being a music educator is that you see students for the entire time they are at the school. You become more than a teacher - you transition into a mentor role occasionally. Students stop by looking for you, and sometimes, you just simply can't be found. Enter, the Office Door Twitter Feed! Now, I personally wouldn't want a monitor attached to my door, but having a quick and easy way to update your location and or an ETA could be helpful. Having a separate twitter account for such a need would help cut down on some of the less useful mentions likely to find their way onto your feed if you were to hand out your handle to students. Although it would need some serious tweaking, the idea is by no means a bad one!