Embedding a YouTube video in your blog

Recently, I have been asked how to embed a video into a blog. The example I will provide will show you how to embed a YouTube video in an edublogs blog, but the general idea should work for most blogs.

Step 1: Retrieve the embed code from the YouTube video that you plan to include in your blog



As you can see in the image above, there is a button for embed (embed). This will open a dialog box with the code in the box. Click in that box (see above where it says


Step 2: Embedding the HTML code (using the HTML editor)

The above image probably looks a bit daunting. You need to first click on the HTML tab (next to the Visual tab above). This gets you into the pure HTML editor. Once there, all you need to do is paste the code in the work space. If you have other text and want the video to show below that, you can paste this code at the bottom. Essentially, the video will show up based on where you paste the code (relative to the rest of the blog entry).

Hope that helps!

Here's an example of the video embedded in the blog...

Google wave - now available for everyone!

After hearing the news that Google Wave is now available for everyone, I thought it would be good to revisit google wave in my blog. Visit the google blog from the link as there are links to specific uses of wave in education, an article on how to use wave, etc.

Hopefully, you will join the wave and find some waves that are of particular interest to you. Wave is a tool that allows real-time (chat like) and asynchronous collaboration to exist among members of a wave. It is similar to a wiki, but more of an ongoing conversation with links, images, resources, and built in widgets. It really is revolutionary in terms of Web 2.0 (perhaps 3.0) and will hopefully continue to evolve.

Join the wave!

You can search and add me as a contact (stevei2071@googlewave.com)

People are always asking me if you can convert a PDF file back into Word or convert it so that you could edit the document. Well, thanks to Linda in my Best Practices: Web 2.0 class, I have seen the light! PDFtoWORD converter is a VERY easy to use web based conversion tool. Visit the site and it will prompt you through three simple steps:

1. browse for the file you wish to convert
2. choose to convert it into .doc (Microsoft Word) or .rtf (rich text format)
3. enter your email address so the converted file can be sent to you

There is a desktop version, but that costs $99. The free web-based tool was very easy to use, and despite a short wait for the file to arrive in my in box it worked GREAT!

Thanks again, Linda!
Enjoy!

Web2.0

Recently, I have been using diigo, a social bookmarking site. I have begun to create a list of valuable Web2.0 resources. I hope you find them helpful! Also, there is a group on diigo that I created for the topic. Feel free to join the group and contribute your favorite Web 2.0 sites as well!

Welcome!

Welcome to the William Annin Middle School Technology Tips Blog. I decided to set this up as a forum to share ideas related to technology, particularly as they pertain to the needs of the staff and students at William Annin Middle School. Posts will come from responses to inquiries around the building as well as ideas that I believe you can use to enhance your use of technology. Feel free to comment on any of the posts or email me with questions / suggestions. I hope you find my entries helpful.

Mr. Isaacs

Google Wave

Hi Everyone. I have been enjoying playing with Google Wave (http://wave.google.com). Right now, google wave is in a limited preview mode, but more and more invitations are being sent, meaning more and more participants are getting involved. I recently created a public wave that I am managing on the topic of Middle / High School Game Design and Development. My intent is to collaborate with other professionals regarding teaching game design and introductory computer programming concepts.

If you are interested in participating in the wave, please let me know and I will be happy to add you. If you already have a google wave account, please provide me with your google wave email address. If you do not have a wave account yet, I might be able to help you to get involved. I have a few invitations available and am especially interested in giving them to other educators (especially if you are interested in game design and development). If you would like an invite, please provide me with your email address.

Interested in finding out more about google wave?

ToonDoo

ToonDoo - The Cartoon Strip Creator!

Thanks to one of my new google wave contacts for pointing me to ToonDoo. ToonDoo is a very user friendly web based application that allows you to create cartoon strips and even cartoon books. The site is designed to encourage participants to create new strips, share their work, and discuss cartooning. What a great way to get students involved in the writing / digital story telling process. The Toon Creator is full of backgrounds, character, props, and other useful tools to aid in creating your masterpieces. I would say that the site is certainly appropriate and easy enough to use for elementary students but is entirely appropriate for older students as well. What a find :)

ToonDoo is free to use, but also offers a nice package for schools in order to create a ToonDoo Space exclusively for your school. Naturally, this helps in terms of creating a safe space for your students. Rates are reasonable. For example, to create a ToonDoo space for 12 months for 100 students would cost $206. Seems reasonable for a grade level project.