Ran across a great new site for educators.  It is http://animoto.com.  It is really cool.  It is all online so there is no software to install.  You can upload pictures, videos, and incorporate text.  There are various themes that can be selected.  Then, it automatically creates a video presentation that is visually stimulating and professional looking using what you have uploaded.  It is really sharp.  The free version is limited to 30 seconds.  As educators, there is a free version that give you more access and you can create longer videos.  The paid version has even more features.  Again, I have just played with this a little but it is sharp.  Check it out.

Technology for Teachers

I am really getting into this social media frenzy.  This is cool stuff.  It is becoming so easy to share and stay connected with students.  We can engage them in ways that were only dreamt of just a few short years ago.  Yet, I foresee a problem.  There is too much.  Too much choice.  Too many platforms to keep up with.  Why are you reading this post?  There must be hundreds, no, thousands, no, hundreds of thousands if not more of more meaningful outlets where you could pick up information about using technology in the classroom.  But, you are here.  So, you need your money's worth, right?  Considering this is free, keep that in mind.

I have found myself lately thinking about the use of social media in higher education.  What are the strategic uses of it?  Certainly, a YouTube channel can be used to deliver video content to students, providing them with screenshots, demonstrations, lectures, and so on.  I use this approach frequently and love it.  I use LinkedIn, but perhaps not as effectively.  I connect with students and occasionally hear what they are up to.  But, that is about it.  There must be a better use for that.  Then, there is Twitter.  I use Twitter and have it embedded within by school homepage as well as within each of my Blackboard shells.  I use this to quickly share class updates as well as relevant news stories as I run across them.  I use hashtags to separate content for each class in order to make finding relevant information easier.

Yet, despite all of this, I am not so sure I am really getting the best bang for the buck.  There has to be a better way.  YouTube has been a success for me.  But Twitter and LinkedIn?  I can't really say that.  I would like to know how other professors and teachers are using various social media to both connect to student and mentor students.  Just curious.