Friday 8 May 2009

Google docs: Spreadsheets

Google docs: Conducting a survey

If you go to http://www.google.com, you can access your account with the email address and password you use for Blogger. From there you can access your blog, a Picasa album and other services, one of which is Google docs.
So, click on docs and you'll see that you can create different kinds of documents or even upload them from your computer - you can upload html too!. Then, they are saved there and you can send them by email to other people or embed them on your blog.
Two kinds of documents are interesting for me, the forms and the spreadsheets. These two kinds of documents allow us to conduct a survey from our blog and then publish the results on a spreadsheet.
Today I'll explain to you the first step: How to create a form?
As you'll see, it's very easy: You give it a title first, you click on add question, every time you want to create one. Then you choose the type of question - multiple choice, ticking from a list, ...-, you fill in the gaps with the possible answers and finally click on done and save.
Then, you may copy the link or the embed code, which you can later paste on a new post in your blog.

A slideshow

You may want to write about one of your most memorable journeys and show us some pictures. Slide.com allows you to inset a picture slideshow, which you can customize and which usually looks very nice on a blog.
First I would advise you to save the pictures you are going to use in the same folder in your computer so they can be easily accessed.
You'll need, as usual, to register at http://www.slide.com and once you have logged in, you just have to click on Make a slideshow. Where it says Add pictures, click on examine to select the pictures from your computer, and then click on upload. You may then add a caption to your pictures or edit any of them if you need to.
Finally, you have different options to choose from to customize your slideshow. Try different ones to see which one you like best and finally save all changes to obtain the embed code.
Now, as always, copy the embed code, open a new post in your blog and paste it. Click on view blog to see the result!

A voki on your blog

If you don't know what a voki is, have a look at my blog and you'll find out!
To have your own Voki you'll need first to register, and once you have clicked on the activation link that they send you on a confirmation message by email, the registration will be complete and you'll be able to log in and create your first avatar.
A window which says Voki for my site will open and you have to click on create a Voki, then you can choose and customize your character, and when you have tried the different options, you can click on done.
Second step is choosing a background and a player, once you have done that, you may give it a voice.
To give it a voice you have different options, choose the one you prefer - I have used text to voice in mine- and save it.
Finally, click on publish. Name your scene, select where you want to embed it, choose size and get code. Then paste the code on a new post in your blog

Tuesday 5 May 2009

Mind maps with Bubble.us

At http://bubbl.us, you can create a mind map to review your vocabulary by topics and then you can simply export and print, or embed it on your blog.
You will have first to sign in and then you may click on the first and only button you'll see on the center of the screen. A menu will display and you have to follow the instructions. Once you have your maps, click on save changes above and then click on the menu buton below and there a little box will open, where you will be able to copy the html embed code that you will later paste onto a new post in your blog. For an example, have a look at my blog!

Games, diagrams and other nice things on your blog

At http://www,classtools.net you can create nice games, spidergrams, Venn circles, storylines, ... Have a look at the samples they give you and you'll see how much you can do. You could create a storyline for a book or film, or a Venn diagram to classify vocabulary, a matching exercise, a Dustbin games, as I have done in my blog,or any other thing you may link.
Once you have complete it, click below on the second icon and it will create an embed code, which you can paste in a new post in your blog.

Monday 4 May 2009

Video and quizz with ESLVideo.com

If you register at http://www.eslvideo.com, you can have a video and an interactive questionnaire on your blog. You can have one of the videos they offer, which are mostly music video clips, or you can create your own.
To have your own video, you have to uploaded it first to YouTube and then copy the embed code, log into eslvideo.com and click on create a quizz. Then, paste the embed code into the Quizz builder web form, title your quizz, add a description and click on Next. You'll move on to Step 2- Create a quizz, there you can edit the different sections and add questions for your quizz. Finally, when it's ready, go to your account page to view the quizz and use the quizz embed code to add it to your blog.
As you can see, you can either have your own recorded video or a video that you have found in YouTube or wherever,a short video from a docummentary, a excerpt from a TV programme, a music video clip, a funny scene, ... and then you can prepare a questionnaire for the other students to check if they have understood what the video is about.