Penny Kuckkahn, Instructional Designer/On-line Delivery System Coordinator
Nicolet Technical College
P.O. Box 518
Rhinelander, WI  54501
715-365-4526
kuckkahn@nicoletcollege.edu

Nancy Woodward, Online Learning Specialist
eTech/WTCS
4622 University Avenue
Madison WI 53705
608-266-7592
nancy.woodward@wtcsystem.edu
www.etechcollege.org

Penny worked for a distance education network for 10 years as the professional development coordinator and assistant director where she provided training for K-14 educators on emerging technologies.  She currently is the instructional designer/on-line delivery system coordinator for Nicolet College where she works with instructors on developing curriculum for on-line delivery.

Nancy spent eight years as Director at Lakeland College-Fox Cities where she implemented BlendEd learning, which allows students to choose each week between attending class online or face-to-face in the classroom. During her time at Lakeland, she was actively involved in the faculty development of their online courses. Nancy has taught online and blended for the past five years. In September 2007, she began working with WTCS eTech, a collaboration of Wisconsin’s sixteen technical colleges’ online programs and classes.

 Audacity is a great audio editing program, which is free.

Download the manual for easy reference. However, you will want to take a look at these tutorials also. They are great. You can read about the software and watch videos that are very helpful. Audacity Tutorials

You will also need to download an MP3 encoder and Lame is a good option.

Audacity Quick Start Guide

 Gabcast.com is a podcasting and audioblogging platform that offers an easy way to create and distribute audio content.  Most people will use a touch-tone telephone to make their recordings but they also provide worldwide access to the service through VoIP. Once you have made a recording and have published it, a newsfeed is immediately and automatically updated to alert subscribers to your channel.

Odeo is a creative way to record and share audio—and it’s free. You can record audio and then share it with your Odeo contacts, by email, or by placing it in a Channel for all the world to hear. Audio from Odeo can be downloaded to desktops, iPods, and mp3 players.

Odeo Help
forum.odeo.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=1

 ReadTheWords.com is a free, web based service that assists people with written material. We do this by using TTS Technology, or Text To Speech Technology. Users of our service can generate a clear sounding audio file from almost any written material. We generate a voice that reads the words out loud, that you request us to read.

SpokenText.net allows you to record PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, ,RSS news feeds, emails and web pages, and converts them to speech automatically. You can download your recording as an iPod book or mp3 file. And every member gets a personal podcast URL , which you can use to download recordings to iTunes or your iPod. You can also easily share your recordings on your web site or blog using SpokenText Badges or individual recording players. And best of all it's COMPLETELY FREE!

 Free sound files for you to add to your podcasts!

 

What is Flowchart.com?

Flowchart.com is an online multi-user, real-time collaboration flowchart software. Flowcharting made easy.

Flowchart.com does not require any software download, it works with your favorite browser such as Fire Fox, IE, Opera, Safari, Konquerer.

Flowchart.com works on any Operating System.

Work together

You can collaborate with your colleagues in real-time. All collaborating parties can chat and design a flowchart at the same time.

Create basic documents from scratch.

You can easily do all the basics, including making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more. And it's free.

Upload your existing files.
Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc. So go ahead and upload your existing files.

Familiar desktop feel makes editing a breeze.

Just click the toolbar buttons to bold, underline, indent, change font or number format, change cell background color and so on.

Choose who can access your documents.
Just enter the email addresses of the people with whom you want to share a given document and send them an invitation.

Share instantly.
Anyone you've invited to either edit or view your document, spreadsheet or presentation can access it as soon as they sign in.

Edit and present with others in real time.
Multiple people can view and make changes at the same time. There's an on-screen chat window for spreadsheets, and document revisions show you exactly who changed what, and when. Viewing a presentation together is a breeze, as anyone joined in a presentation can automatically follow along with the presenter.

 Password-protected document sharing. No more flash drives or e-mails back and forth. No credit cards, no commitments, no downloads required.

Watch the video to see how it works.

Anywhere access

Save your work to Office Live Workspace. It's there when and where you need it.

• Access your documents from almost any computer with a Web browser
• You control who can view, edit, or comment on your documents
• Avoid confusion caused by multiple versions of a single document

Works with Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Office Live Workspace is an easy-to-use extension of the programs you know.

• Open and save files directly from your workspace
• Synchronize contact, task, and event lists with Outlook
• No need to learn a new program

 Here are some ideas for using a wiki. A wiki might be perfect for you if...

• You're tired of waiting for Brad in IT to help set you up
• You want to increase student engagement using a safe online wiki
• You're tired of complicated solutions that nobody uses
• You want a no-hassle way to showcase your students' work online
• You want to eliminate excuses of lost homework
• You want a central place for your group to collaborate
• You want one place to put your files and thoughts so you can access them anywhere
• You want a partner to share best practices on collaboration
• How to create your own PBwiki in 5 minutes

SlideShare is the best way to share your presentations with the world. Let your ideas reach a broad audience. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to create a webinar. Learn more or start uploading now!

Wetpaint powers wikis, but unlike most wikis, Wetpaint wikis are as simple as 1-2-3 so anyone can start a free wiki that they can share with friends.  A Wetpaint wiki has everything you need to create an amazing wiki website - and best of all, it's 100% free.

Here is an example of a Wetpaint Wiki being used within WTCS 

Learning is Brewing

meebo.com is a website for instant messaging from absolutely anywhere. Whether you’re at home, on campus, at work, or traveling foreign lands, hop over to meebo.com on any computer to access all of your buddies (on AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber) and chat with them, no downloads or installs required, for free!

Tips for Using Chat as an Instructional Tool

 This instant messaging option is currently free and is in a beta version.

This tool is really cool and allows you to hold a text or video chat with up to 6 people at the same time. However, so far we have only been successful holding a video chat with 2 people. When we tried to bring in 3 people messages kept coming up saying there might be bandwidth problems.  Another cool feature of this instant messaging option is you can send a video message to your contacts when they are off line.  You can share documents with this option. There is not archiving of video or text conversations at this time.

With your free account from PollDaddy you can now create surveys and polls for your website, blog and social network profiles.
Find out what your visitors are thinking today. Create your surveys and polls using our custom templates or create your own. Use our in-depth reporting engine to aggregate, print and export your results.

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

Skype is an IP telephony service provider that offers free calling between computers and low-cost calling to regular telephones that aren't connected to the Internet. Included in the free service is an application that can be downloaded to any laptop or desktop computer, or other computing device running Windows, Macintoch, Linux, or Windows Mobile operating systems. A function called SkypeOut enables calls to regular telephones; these calls are charged to a prepaid account or to a flat-fee annual subscription.

You can download skype at http://www.skype.com

You may also want to checkout the User Guides.

I put this under instant messaging because it is a service that also allows file sharing and texting.

This service may be more known by students than Oovoo which is referred to above.

Wikipedia says, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or any one of the multitude of Twitter applications now available”. Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” and allows you to send a small update (limited to just 140 characters) to your followers. The concept is amazingly simple and that is perhaps one of the main reasons why it has caught on like wildfire. The restriction to 140 characters has resulted in Twitter being labeled “micro blogging”. A traditional blog is a log of what somebody is up to, but in a richer, more detailed format. One of the key benefits of Twitter is that you can send and receive updates (also called tweets) via your browser, email, instant messaging clients and SMS so you can keep in touch no matter where you are.(Twitter Guide)

Well I am not sure if this is really an application I like - I cannot say I dislike it I just have not figured out a use for it yet in my work or for instructors. So I would love to hear how others are using it in education to enhance learning.

It is about 2 weeks later and I have read a little more on Twitter - I still do not see an application for me, but I have also seen Twitter referred to as a simplified form of Blogging.

A Professors Tips for Using Twitter in the Classroom Here is some more information about Twitter from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

A Video Interview Expanding on Twitter Uses in Education. Dr. Parry describes how he uses Twitter in his Communications class. The key to Twitter is that the messages get pushed to your phone. He makes an interesting point about how using social networking tools enhances the relevancy of education for students.(BD 3/08) Updated article from Dr. Parry's blog http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/

Twitter in the News
At SXSWi, the new Twitter is...Twitter | Geek Gestalt - A blog by Daniel Terdiman - CNET News.com

www.news.com/8301-13772_3-9890396-52.html

In just minutes, you can broadcast and interact with a global audience from one to thousands! All it takes is a camera and an Internet connection.

What is 3DTextMaker.com?
It's an online 3D text banner creation tool.This unique tool is completely on-line -- nothing to download or install. Better yet, it's ABSOLUTELY FREE -- no prepaid tokens or subscriptions.

What can I do with 3DTextMaker.com?

Create your own 3D text banners! Choose a font, colorize it, size it, and jazzercise it -- then save it and take it with you. You name it and you can do it!

GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages.  GIMP is a popular open-source image editor originally developed for Unix/Linux. Often lauded as the "free Photoshop," it does have an interface and features similar to Photoshop. Because it's volunteer-developed beta software, stability and frequency of updates could be an issue; however, many happy users report using GIMP for Windows without significant problems.

Free download from Microsoft.  Import your images, add some music, add some text, record some audio, and you have a great presentation.

Tutorial: http://www.windowsphotostory.com/

Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. Tweak to your heart’s content, then get creative with oodles of effects, fonts, shapes, and frames.

It's fast, easy, and fun.

Have you ever wanted to convert files without the need to download software? Zamzar can help!

Find a great educational video on YouTube but YouTube is blocked at your school?  Well, you are in luck.  You can download YouTube videos and then burn them onto a CD or DVD for use in your classroom (or just download them to your notebook).

Using Zamzar is a very simple process.  You enter the URL of the YouTube video, choose the format to convert to, enter your e-mail address, and click on convert.  EASY.  You will receive an e-mail message stating it is complete and a link on where you can access the converted movie file and download.

What is it?

Bubbl.us is a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online.

Why use bubbl.us?

Because you can:

• Create colorful mind maps online
• Share and work with friends
• Embed your mind map in your blog or website
• Email and print your mind map
• Save your mind map as an image

And it's FREE!

PersonalBrain helps you organize all your Web pages, contacts, documents, emails and files in one place so that you can always find them - just like you think of them. This saves you time and makes your life easier! With PersonalBrain you can even find related items that you worked on, but forgot existed.

The new Apple Learning Interchange (ALI) is a set of free resources for educators that provides a single access point to find media and ideas for classroom activities produced by their peers, by Apple, and by Apple content affiliates like NASA, The Smithsonian, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Educators can connect with each other through simple searching, messaging, iChat and collaborative publication tools, and they can submit projects as simple as classroom snapshots or as complex as multi-page abstracts for assessment, enhancement, and peer review. Registration is required.

 Create free educational games, activities and diagrams in a Flash! Host them on your own blog, website or intranet!

FREE makes it easier to find teaching and learning resources from the federal government.

More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly.

 If you've never been here before, you've come to the right place for EclipseCrossword, StickyPad, GetRight Tools, and EclipsePalette. But that's not all—we have many other products available. Check out our full listing! All of the software is freeware—available for your free download and enjoyment.

 The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web.

Putting Educational Innovations Into Practice. Find peer reviewed online teaching and learning materials. Share advice and expertise about education with expert colleagues. Be recognized for your contributions to quality education.

OCW shares free lecture notes, exams, and other resources from more than 1800 courses spanning MIT's entire curriculum.

 Philologus is designed by teachers for teachers and allows them to create customised interactive versions of popular games suitable for use during lessons.

The Wisconsin Online Resource Center is a digital library of Web-based learning resources called learning objects.

The digital library of objects has been developed primarily by faculty from the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) and produced by multimedia technicians who create the learning objects for the online environment. At present, 376 WTCS faculty members have authored learning objects.

The Wisc-Online digital library contains 2332 objects that are accessible to all WTCS faculty at no cost and with copyright clearance for use in any WTCS classroom or online application. Other colleges, universities, and consortia from throughout the United States and around the world use the library with permission. Current use of the learning object repository exceeds 20,000 hits per day.

  Free videos for you to use in your classes!

 bigthink.com is a new and growing website, currently in its beta version, with a simple mission:This is a digital age, one in which a wealth of accessible information empowers you, the citizen-consumer. But where is the information coming from? How accurate and unprocessed is it, really? Ask yourself this: how empowered do you feel debating a television screen or a newspaper?

Our task is to move the discussion away from talking heads and talking points, and give it back to you. That is Big Think's mission. In practice, this means that our information is truly interactive. When you log onto our site, you can access hundreds of hours of direct, unfiltered interviews with today's leading thinkers, movers and shakers. You can search them by question or by topic, and, best of all, respond in kind. Upload a video in which you take on Senator Ted Kennedy's views on immigration; post a slideshow of your trip to China that supports David Dollar's assertion that pollution in China is a major threat; or answer with plain old fashioned text. You can respond to the interviewee, respond to a responder or heck, throw your own question or idea into the ring.

CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs).

“Think of Jing as a supplement to all your chat discussions, email threads, forum posts and blog entries. It sits nicely on your desktop, ready to capture and share your stuff at a moment’s notice. Simply select an area of your screen, capture it as an image or record it as a video, and then click Share. Jing conveniently places a URL to your content on your clipboard ready for you to paste the URL into any of your conversations.”

After beta testing for almost two months, TeacherTube officially launched on March 6, 2007. Our goal is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

WTCS makes no representation and has no control whatsoever regarding the content of any other web sites. Your linking to any other off-site pages or other sites is at your own risk. A link out to another web site does not mean that WTCS endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content or use of such web site.