Podcasting can be helpful in creating audio courses for Language learning. Listening to correct pronunciation and recording while practicing speaking a new language can be extremely effective especially if you are on a fastrack. Creating podcasts is a breeze with the free software audacity and the lame encoder to record and export as mp3 files. The video below shows you how to use Audacity for Windows with the lame encoder to create a basic podcast.
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Free Software To Create Podcasts
5 Steps To Creating A Podcast For Your Students
How to create podcast
100 ways to use your ipod and study
24 April 2010
Hubble Space Telescope turns 20 today
Source: Hubblesite.orgSpace shuttle Discovery carried the legendary orbiting Hubble Telescope in its payload bay this day in 1990. Named after the famous astronomer, Edwin P Hubble, the Hubble Space telescope has revolutionized astronomy. This large observatory provides spectacular views for astronomers to study our Solar system as well as several other galaxies. Our knowledge of the Universe has greatly improved because of Hubble.
Did you know that the Hubble Space Telescope makes one orbit around the earth every 96 minutes with a speed of 8 km/sec or 5 miles/sec ?
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch into space, the picture above taken between Feb 1 & 2, showing the image of a pillar of star birth, three light years high has been released. A mountain of dust and gas rising in the Carina Nebula. Cool hydrogen at the top of the three-light-year pillar is being worn away by the radiation of nearby stars, and the stars within the pillar are seen emitting jets of gas that stream from the peaks.Recommended Reading :
Hubble Site
Labels:
hubble,
international space station,
NASA,
telescope
22 April 2010
Get Yourself A GMAIL Account
Exchanging email ids with some teachers and professors recently made me write this post. Most had not migrated to a gmail account and preferred an ageold rediffmail or yahoo/msn mail account. Almost all students I exchanged with, have 2-3 mail ids of which the most preferred is a gmail account. Also the most used ! Now, I personally have accounts in yahoo, hotmail & of course, the one I most use is gmail.
Why do I consider the mail most useful ?
Signing up for a gmail account entitles you to sign into other FREE Google tools with the same username and password. For example, once you log in to your account,@ the top left, you will see the other google sites that you can view without having to sign in. These include blogger, youtube, book search, bookmarks, adsense, calender,orkut,docs, reader,photos, sites, groups,images, maps, scholar,blogs,web search,translate,transliterate,and of course, you can log in to GTalk,for a video /audio chat as well. Students can use the collaborative and communication tools such as docs to create presentations and work on projects, even when @ home.
If you still desire to keep your hotmail / msn or any other email accounts, you can choose to view all your mails in your gmail inbox by going to Settings on the right hand corner of your gmail account. Click on Accounts & Import and add email ids from which you wish to import. You also have the choice to send out emails from any of the email ids you have imported in addition to the gmail, by choosing the relevant one @ Send Mail As.
If you are an educator or a student, you will certainly find having a gmail account useful. Signing in automatically shows your google calender, tasks, contacts, friends available online to chat , docs, quick links,etc. Buzz is the new addition very much like facebook,but it can be useful within a group of students or teachers if used correctly.You have the option of customizing your Google page with igoogle where you can add gadgets that you regularly use and choose the theme to suit your mood.You can also archive and save all your mails without deleting any because of the large inbox you get. Adding labels in different colours makes your email managing easier. On the whole, student and teachers and parents will find their time and task better organised.
Why do I consider the mail most useful ?
Signing up for a gmail account entitles you to sign into other FREE Google tools with the same username and password. For example, once you log in to your account,@ the top left, you will see the other google sites that you can view without having to sign in. These include blogger, youtube, book search, bookmarks, adsense, calender,orkut,docs, reader,photos, sites, groups,images, maps, scholar,blogs,web search,translate,transliterate,and of course, you can log in to GTalk,for a video /audio chat as well. Students can use the collaborative and communication tools such as docs to create presentations and work on projects, even when @ home.
If you still desire to keep your hotmail / msn or any other email accounts, you can choose to view all your mails in your gmail inbox by going to Settings on the right hand corner of your gmail account. Click on Accounts & Import and add email ids from which you wish to import. You also have the choice to send out emails from any of the email ids you have imported in addition to the gmail, by choosing the relevant one @ Send Mail As.
If you are an educator or a student, you will certainly find having a gmail account useful. Signing in automatically shows your google calender, tasks, contacts, friends available online to chat , docs, quick links,etc. Buzz is the new addition very much like facebook,but it can be useful within a group of students or teachers if used correctly.You have the option of customizing your Google page with igoogle where you can add gadgets that you regularly use and choose the theme to suit your mood.You can also archive and save all your mails without deleting any because of the large inbox you get. Adding labels in different colours makes your email managing easier. On the whole, student and teachers and parents will find their time and task better organised.
Labels:
email ids,
gmail,
google apps,
google tool,
technology in education
21 April 2010
Free Software To Create Podcasts
Educators can choose to create a series of pod casts for their students to listen to them while commuting. Innovative teachers give their students time to listen in on a particular topic and be ready to take part in a challenging discussion on reaching class. Students that missed out on a particular class can always listen on their mp3 players and be updated. Finding a method to podcast is what deters some teachers. A free software such as audacity can be used to create excellent podcasts. Guidesandtutorials.com gives a step by step tutorial for a newbie, right from downloading and installing audacity to its use in creating the perfect podcast. A free LAME encoder to export MP3 files with Audacity is to be also downloaded and installed. Audacity can be used for a number of other useful educational material. This audio editing software can be utilized in creating audio books for different age groups. Courses for Conversational classes in a foreign language can be structured. Educational Audio CD's can be burned.
Audacity Wiki Tutorials can be doubly handy for a newbie. Podcasting with audacity is a breeze with this wiki. Investing in a good microphone is necessary to create excellent podcasts.
Recommended Reading:
Audacity Wiki Tutorials can be doubly handy for a newbie. Podcasting with audacity is a breeze with this wiki. Investing in a good microphone is necessary to create excellent podcasts.
Recommended Reading:
20 April 2010
Google Resource Materials For Teachers
Google Apps In Education as already discussed in a previous post is a very useful set of tools that can be helpful in the classroom. More tools are available for FREE from Google such as Wave, Sketch up, Maps, Earth,Reader, Notebook, Knol, Picasa,Groups which can be comfortably used by students of Middle and High schools for their projects and classroom activities. Club and extra curricular activities can also be taken online with these tools. The teacher should be able to guide her/his students to maximize use of technology in the classroom to facilitate better learning. After all, these GenX students are mostly online anyway. They just need to be channelized in the right direction to be more creative in their online experience-one that improves learning,and helps assimilate knowledge,and of course, prepares them for newer technology as it arrives. Teachers need to keep themselves update with the latest in technology and their use in the classroom. Google conducts workshops for teachers @ the Google Teacher Academy and certifies them as Google Certified Teachers.
Materials used in the Google Teacher Academy for use of Google Tools mentioned above in education.
Recommended Reading:
Google Apps In Education
Materials used in the Google Teacher Academy for use of Google Tools mentioned above in education.
Recommended Reading:
Google Apps In Education
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