Academic Tech Tips

VoiceThread is a collaborative online application that enables users to share a multimedia slideshow and make comments, as part of a group conversation. Once a thread is created, contributing users can comment using text, a webcam, a microphone or even by telephone. With VoiceThread, a group discussion can be securely captured and stored in one place. This tool could be used a part of a class or even just to share photographs with friends and family.

After registering with VoiceThread, as a free member, you are able to create up to three threads at a time. If you would like to be able to create additional threads or need more space, there are purchase options available on the site.

Ning is an online platform that allows you to create your own social network or join an existing one.  It’s a unique place to share your interests with other people online. By creating a Ning webpage, you can customize the look of your site and choose features to add, such as forums or media pages. It could be used for sharing ideas, connecting to people with similar interests or even in a classroom setting (see this Educause article for some ideas). On Ning, you can also find a wide range of networks to join from politics to art.

With Kwout, a Firefox Add-on, you can take screen shots of any Web page that you’d like to display as an image.  The distinguishing feature of Kwout is the use of an image map, which allows hyperlinks within the screen shot to remain active and clickable. The image above is an example of a screen shot taken using Kwout; notice that the links are active within the image.

To start using Kwout, you will need to first install the Kwout Firefox Add-on.   Users can easily share an image that includes an image map on a blog or social networking site, using the embed code that Kwout provides. There is also the option to post directly to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and other sites.

Google Wave is a new online tool that provides a platform for real-time collaboration and communication. Google has combined features of instant messaging, wikis, email and word processing so that users can work together to create and edit documents called “waves.”  These waves allow any participant to edit any part of the document and there is an option to add pictures, maps or graphics to the document. This tool could be useful for collaborating on group projects, brainstorming, class notes or even planning an event.

Initially Google Wave only released in a limited preview to a select number of participants, but now you can follow this  link to request an invite from Google. It still may take a few days to get a confirmation email though. For more information about Google Wave visit their website or watch a short video from some of the Google developers.

As of August 2010, Google Wave has been shut down.

Remember the Milk

As the fall semester comes to end and the holidays are fast-approaching, keeping track of holiday shopping and long to-do lists seems inevitable. If you still are relying on sticky notes and writing your reminders on bits of paper, you may want to try out the helpful Web task management tool, Rememberthemilk.com. Remember the Milk is a free Web-based application that can help you simplify and organize all of your tasks in one place.  This software allows you to create categorized task lists and send out reminders via text message, email, Twitter or even instant messages.

A few highlights of the Remember the Milk include:

• – Add a Google Calendar or Gmail sidebar gadget. This allows you review your tasks alongside your calendar and email.

• – Locate your task. Easily assign locations to a task to help plan the best way to get things done.
• – Add tasks from a mobile device. Just send an email with one task per line to your Remember the Milk import email address and it will add the items to your task list.
• – Print out your weekly check lists.

As online tools such as blogs, Twitter and RSS feeds are becoming more widely used to share information, it’s helpful to know about resources that explain how these tools work, while still remaining interesting.  Common Craft’s In Plain English series provides fun and simple tutorials on several areas, including technology, money, society and the environment.  Each video features paper cut-outs and narration; some technology topics include podcasting, RSS and Wikis.  Even though these videos are lighthearted, they are very well-made and informative and definitely worth sharing with colleagues or in the classroom.    

 Video Source:  http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Creative Kit in Google+ (formerly known as Picnik and has since joined Google) is a free online photo-editing program that offers an array of professional and fun tools. This application provides numerous creative filters and effects such as cinemascope, focal B&W, vignette and many others. A few highlights of the program include:

• – Allows you to upload pictures straight from social networking sites such as Flickr, Facebook, Photobucket and more
• – Access to creative and fun tools such as adding text, stickers and creating collages
• – Provides options to print straight from your computer, order prints online or order other photo projects like books, posters and wrapping paper

When surfing the Web, it’s all too common for us to find useful bits and pieces of information that we want to save and possibly share. We end up bookmarking tons of websites and forget about many of them — even if we have our bookmarks meticulously organized! With Clipboard, you can easily “clip” the key portions of the websites you visit including text, images and even videos. Instead of bookmarking or emailing entire pages, you can clip only the pieces you would like to save, email, or post to your webpage or blog. With a free Clipboard account, you can save clips to your own searchable library as well as create a ClipCast slideshow consisting of the Web clippings you’d like to compile and share.

Getting Started

First you’ll need to install the Clipboard browser extension for Firefox or Chrome: located here. Once you follow the installation instructions, the Clipboard button will show up in your Web browser’s toolbar.

When you click on the Clipboard button you will enter “clip mode” and instructions to clip will appear in your toolbar. You can email and print your clips from your toolbar; however you will need to set up a free Clipboard account in order to save your clips, publish to a blog or webpage, or create a ClipCast. Check out the Clipboard How-to-clip page for further instructions and helpful information.

If you’re a booklover whose typical conversations with friends include the question, “Read any good books lately?,” finding new reading materials can be easier than you think. Goodreads is a free website that allows you to keep track of what you’ve read or are planning to read, write reviews, and see what your friends are reading. The main benefit of using Goodreads is its social networking potential; using the site is all about getting suggestions from other users.

Loyola Libraries has its own account, which provides the Loyola community with a great chance to learn what faculty and staff at Loyola Libraries are reading. If you are already on Goodreads or want to join, don’t forget to add Loyola Libraries as a friend to get their book reviews in your regular digest.

Set up an Account

While you can simply peruse the website to learn what others are reading, in order to get the most out of Goodreads, you’ll want to set up an account and start adding friends. Once you provide your email address and create a password on the on the Sign-up page, Goodreads will enable you to find friends in your address book who already have accounts, if you use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or AOL. Additionally, you may send a Goodreads invitation to your contacts who do not yet have an account. It’s also worthwhile to check out the recent reviews, where you can learn how users have rated books in categories such as popular, most read, and unpopular. It can be helpful to learn how others have rated your favorite book or the next novel you are planning to read; and it’s especially rewarding to receive recommendations from those whose opinions you value most, your friends!

Now that you’ve got your latest vacation photos stored on your computer, your next question might be, “how can I share these photos with everyone?” Emailing photos has its limitations, especially if you have many pictures.  With Flickr, an online photo-sharing application, you can upload your photos to the site and create Groups to control who can access the photos.  Not only can the members of your group view your photos, they can make comments and add notes too.  With Flickr, it’s easy to manage your pictures and share them with anyone you’d like -– and did we mention it’s free?   Getting Started If you already have a Yahoo account, you can login to Flickr with the same username and password; if not you’ll need to take a minute to sign-up.

Groups

Once you login, you’ll be instructed to upload your photos.  Click on the Groups tab to create a group.

Groups can be Public, Public (Invitation only), and Private.  Be sure to read the specifications for each type of group before you create one.  Private groups are helpful for sharing with family, friends, or colleagues; keep in mind that once you make a group private it cannot be made public later.  You may want to consider making a group public if you’d like to share some of your favorite shots with the world.  Check Flickr’s Group Guidelines and Group FAQ for more tips on managing groups.