WebTools For Learners

Styles in MS Word – A Jing Video

joanvinallcox — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:42:09 +0000

I’m attending the PBWorks Camp for teachers, and this is my homework for my second week, a screencast made using Jing on how Styles in MS Word can help in writing long pieces such as academic papers or business reports:
2009-07-02_1211
I re-did this a number of times, dealing with -

fitting what I wanted to say to the time available
- figuring out what to leave out
- making sure my set-up worked
reducing the size of my Word screen so I could fit everything into a smaller frame
stumbling while I was recording

I really like learning from screen captures myself, so I enjoyed creating one

Social Bookmarking – Diigo

joanvinallcox — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:05:40 +0000

Social bookmarking is one of the most useful aspects of the web. You can use it to create your own online library, organized to your own interests by using tags. Although I’ve been using some form of social bookmarking for years, every so often I want to review what I can do with the social bookmarking tools I use.

Currently I use Diigo and del.icio.us.

One of the useful aspects of webapps is that many give you notice when an upgrade is available, and then, when you install it, open a page explaining all the changes. Diigo has recently upgraded and among the items available in the upgrade page were these very informative videos:

I use two social bookmarking apps because I’m wary of any web app closing down, and having two makes it more likely that I’ll still have access to most of my saved bookmarks if one closes. But who wants to do that extra work you ask? It’s no extra work, because I can save to Diigo and have my new bookmark automatically added to my del.icio.us account.

Diigo to del.icio.us

The final step I’ve taken is to add a del.icio.us widget to my blog so readers can see what I’ve been saving.

My del.icio.us widget

If you don’t already use social bookmarking, you might want to give it a try.

Twitter Means Business

joanvinallcox — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:51:21 +0000

I’m ambivalent about my title because I use Twitter mainly for learning, communication, and entertainment. I recognize, however, that business is becoming increasingly a part of Twitter. I recently posted a picture on TwitPic …

Like a Liberty Print

and commented that it reminded me of a Liberty print.

(I have fond memories of a dress made from material I got at Liberty’s in London, and several scarves I treasure, including one my husband discovered in a second-hand store and bought for me. I haven’t shopped there for years because I haven’t been in London for years.)

What happened next was this -

Libertys of London Tweet

plus an invitation to follow them. I looked at their site and saw that they had a number of people tweeting using the business name plus the (I assume) first name of the person posting the tweets, which strikes me as a good way to display a business and keep the personal touch so important a part of Twitter.

LibertyDaniel

I didn’t chose to follow them, because I live a continent away and because my prime interest is people I know, web businesses that can have an impact on what I want to do, and people I can learn from. (I love the freedom of not following back without feeling rude. So different from invitations in symetrical social sites.)

I found it very interesting that my casual mention of their business brought them directly to me; they are obviously monitoring Twitter, which I didn’t expect from such an old and traditional company – which shows me I should be careful about stereotyping. ;->

Today, in a Google Group I am part of, Gloria Hildebrandt - http://ohouse.ca/ – linked to this site -

Business & Twitter

It is clear to me that even businesses not directly connected to the web and social networking are seeing the business possibilities that Twitter offers.

So while I keep on enjoying the learning and entertainment that Twitter provides me, I also recognize that it has many uses beyond the purely personal.

Querulous Question #1

joanvinallcox — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:15:47 +0000

All the brouhaha about financial game playing and our perilous financial system has brought a question to my mind: why do we talk about wages with percentages?

%

If someone, A, making $20,000. gets a 5% raise, that’s $1000.00 dollars and they now make

$21,000.

If someone, B, making $200,000. gets the same percentage, 5%, they get $10,000, and now make

$210,000.

Both get 5%, which sounds equal, but, in fact, A got 10% of what B got, and B got %1000 of what A received, or half of A’s salary.

In plain language,

B received $9000. more than A.

So a year later they each get a 5% raise again.

A started at $21,000. this time and got $1050. which gave A a total of

$22,050.

B started at $210,000. this time and got $10,500. which gave B

$220,500.

This time

B received $9,450. more than A,

that is, at the same percentage rate,

the actual difference in money increases by $450.

and each time they get another 5% raise, the difference will increase.

The rich get richer, faster.

Here’s my refined Querulous Question #1:

Why do we use percentages to talk about wage increases when that only increases the disparity every time? B gets increasingly more than A, so the difference between their wages keeps increasing. Why don’t we just say what the actual numbers are?

I’d really like to know if it’s just habit and convenience or if there’s an actual, communication-based reason for this.

MagNet Presentation on Researching Using the Web

joanvinallcox — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:51:46 +0000

I’ve noticed that when I speak, I have my deepest focus on what I’m saying and trying to communicate, but that I pay substantial subsidiary attention to the audience’s reaction. If they don’t respond, it doesn’t matter how good my material is and my intentions are, I feel like I’m tanking. So, yesterday, when I presented, I automatically checked the audience’s reaction.

Before I fill you in on what happened, let me describe the set up. There was a big screen at the front of the third of the ballroom we had, in the middle. I project well, but I couldn’t be heard without a microphone. I was using a PowerPoint (because I suspected the wifi would fail. It did.) so I was tied to my laptop, especially since the remote that worked before and after the session didn’t work IN the session. My laptop was on a podium, on a platform on the audiences’ right at the front of the room.

Let me clarify, My podium was in line with the edge of the audience seats on one side, the screen was in the middle of this wide room, and the audience stretched out in a slight curving layout beyond the screen. There were only a few rows, but it stretched 20 feet, maybe more, across. My over 3 feet high platform had my podium on it and a six foot table, with at least another six feet across the floor to the screen, and, as I said, the audience ranged beyond that. It was the most bizarre set up for a speaker I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve been in some clumsy ones.

Then there was the beginning as the IT guy tried to make the wifi worked. I tried to speak while I was re-starting (wifi still didn’t work) and re-setting up myPowerPont program. Not smooth. Finally I started, only to be interrupted by audience members and coached on how to position my head so the mic would work. I kept on going, only somewhat daunted.

During my talks, I usually throw out little bits of humour to get a sense of the audience. I did this to the MagNet audience a few times, and nobody laughed. Whoops. I kept going, but noticed subliminally that I was feeling disconcerted. Looked out at the audience and noted that a substantial number were highly focussed on taking notes. Decided that must be a good sign, and, anyhow, the show had to go on.

I got several positive comments after I finished, but I won’t know until I get the formal feedback, what most of the audience thought.

When I present, I love having a slideshow to help me stay on point and keep me going when I talk! It’s a great security blanket when I don’t feel much resonance from the audience, and so it was yesterday. My PowerPoint was there when the wifi wasn’t, and when I felt worried about whether the audience was with me.

I have some observations, I hate under-designed, almost anti-speaker designed venues BUT I can survive them.

Finally, in lieu of handouts, I put my presentation up on SlideShare. This morning I received an email from them telling me it would be up in their News & Politics feature page for 16 to 20 hours, (News & Politics?!?) so that’s an audience reaction I can enjoy ;->

"Beyond Google" featured on SlideShare

MagNet ‘09

joanvinallcox — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:52:30 +0000

I GO-trained into Toronto today to attend some sessions at the MagNet ‘09 Conference. I was really impressed with the excellent level of organization and with the high quality of the two sessions I attended, a session with a panel of literary agents answering questions and a session with Harry van Bommel on self-publishing. Both were excellent. Harry van Bommel speaks frequently and if you ever get a chance to hear him, do it! I learned a lot from him. http://www.harryvanbommel.com/Harry_van_Bommel/HOME.html

Harry van Bommel's Home Page

It was a lovely day to be in downtown Toronto:

Toronto's Old City Hall

Toronto's current City Hall

Tomorrow I give my presentation on researching using the web.

iQ mobile Search - an iPhone Screenshot

I worry a little because the audience will be doubly diverse. They will have many different angles on what they want to research and what for. Plus, today I noticed a wide range in web awareness and know-how in those attending the sessions I was in. As well, I’ve been tweeting using the hashtag #MagNet09, and when I’ve searched, very few seem to be using it. I’m hoping I’ve got something for everyone but tomorrow will tell.

I’m using a PowerPoint, for three reasons.

I like KeyNote better, but if anything went wrong with my laptop, there might not be another Mac handy and a PowerPoint file will play on a Mac or a Windows platform. (Not that I’m paranoid ;-> but I’ve emailed a copy to my Google mail, and I have a memory stick with my presentation on it which I carry separately from my laptop,)
I’ve just found PowerPoint’s Presenter Tool - something I thought only Keynote had – and that will make my presentation easier to run.
I don’t trust hotel wi-fi having had previous bad experiences with giving web-based presentations where the promised wi-fi was down more than up.

So tomorrow, I will be looking at this screen -

PowerPoint's Presenter Tools

Wish me luck ;->

More from WordCamp Toronto 2009

joanvinallcox — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:05:34 +0000

Nick La on Customizing WordPress

Lots of valuable how-tos!

WordCamp Toronto 2009

joanvinallcox — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:53:09 +0000

Live Tweeting vs Live Blogging

WordCamp Toronto 2009 May 8, 2009

At the Toronto WordCamp 2008, I live-blogged, and that was fun:

At WordCamp Toronto, 2009, I Tweeted using the hashtag #wct09, and that was fun, and more social for a couple of reasons.

I was less focussed on getting every piece of wisdom and could relate more f2f with the people around me; and
I could have conversations via Twitter with others at wct09 (if they were using the hashtag) pick up pieces of wisdom from their tweets, and talk f2f with them after meeting on Twitter.

So, for me, with the current social applications, Live Tweeting was a richer experience than Live Blogging, but both were fun.

Learning

I learned from the mix of new information in presentations and conversations around and between the sessions, and my most frequest conversationalists were -

Dawn – http://www.dawncomber.com
Alfred – http://www.butterscotch.com
Ruth – http://www.dandelionwebdesign.com
Clarence – http://www.picpu.com/

I enjoyed great conversations on shared interests with them – who could ask for anything more?

Sessions

Erin Blaskie was very interesting – http://www.erinblaskie.com/ – Her social media case study was amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtscIOwTvSU

Leveraging Social Media, which I embedded in a previous post -http://joanvinallcox.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/wct09-leveraging-social-media/
Joey DeVilla – Accordian Guy with fascinating stories -

James Walker – Your Blog is Your Social Network

There was much more of value there, and others will be blogging about WordCamp Toronto 2009, but this is my contribution for now.

at wct09 - picture from Flickr - Uploaded on May 10, 2009 by LexnGer

Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/lexnger/

Oh yeah, and I won:

My Winning EduBlog WordCamp Toronto 2009

wct09 – Leveraging Social Media

joanvinallcox — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:13:36 +0000

Fabulous presentation from Word Camp Toronto 2009

CreativeCommons – Wanna Work Together?

joanvinallcox — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:22:11 +0000

Dealing with copyright can be confusing. In case you don’t know about CreativeCommons, or want a quick visual review, I found this through Dave’s Whiteboard

more about “Wanna Work Together?“, posted with vodpod

You might want to check out http://creativecommons.org/videos/ccsearch-screencast too.