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Archive for the ‘Screencasts’ Category

Collaboration using MS-Office and Network Shares

2009/11/13 Leave a comment

Accessing: We set up collaborative editing on a number of MS-Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint for starters) on network shares.

These files function like files on your computer’s C: or D: (cd) drive. C: (and H:, S:) you can write to, while D: (and M:) you can only read from. Details, including students’ access, below:

Mapped as for

Staff (including LLC staff) can

Student can

Language services use

NetworkPath

Staff

Student

read

write

read

write

 

 

H:\LLC

 

Yes

Yes

No

No

sensitive exam files; internal documentation & management (hallway.ppt, channel55.ppt, Sign_In_Sheet.xls)

\\adfileprod01\shared\LLC

M:

 

Yes

No (admin only)

Yes

No

LLC: (large) multimedia files (to be moved into Blackboard content system)

\\resman\media

S:

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Student audio recordings

\\resman\Student Saved Work\

G:

G:

  Only current user

  Only current user

  Only current user

  Only current user

Personal home drive

\\adfileprod01\users\[yourusername]

If you do not see the M: and S: click drive , click , paste “\\resman\Student Saved Work\Admin\conf\ms.vbs”, click .

To access the files quickly, you can click , click , paste the path to the file, click . Alternatively, browse  to the folder with the file like to any other folder on your PC, starting from “My Computer”. Repeat access from the office computer is easiest if you create a shortcut to the file, by right-click-dragging the file onto your desktop (do not create a copy, it will get out of synch and be useless for collaboration).

You can also access the files from home if you follow the instructions here. I have not thoroughly tested this, but my installation on MS-Vista, after the initial setup, defaults to a web-interface view which allows reading the files, but, unlike VPN connections I have used, not editing.

Searching: Search files like you do on your computer.

Editing: Files are unlike those on your C: or D: drive insofar as other people can open them also. If somebody has a file open and thus locks you out of writing to it, simply come back later when she has closed it.

The Excel Sign_In_Sheet.xls is a “shared” spreadsheet, in the sense that you will not be locked out while lab assistants have it open (which is always during LLC opening hours). However, you may get conflict messages if you try to save edits (which you normally would do not need to do, just viewing), like demonstrated here: excel_shared.wmv.

If you use regular (non-shared Excel)  MS-Office Files, you may see such a warning message:

If you clicked “Notify”, you will eventually be prompted to open the file in read-write mode, and your changes will be saved, if you colleague did not update the file (otherwise you will have to save under a different file name and later can use tool “compare and merge” to merge changes). 

For PowerPoint, you may see this:

If you clicked “open” ”read-only”, you will see a reminder:

It is probably easier to close the file and try again later, to see whether your colleague is finished with it.

Categories: e-infrastructure, Institution-is-Loyola-University-Maryland, Screencasts, step-by-step-guides Tags: ,

Sanako Lab 300: Pairing and some basics

2009/11/03 Leave a comment

In the spirit of ‘Better improvised instruction and information distribution than failing classes in the lab”, I recorded a 1-on-1 instruction on how to pair students, including some other basic Lab300 features into a 5-minute screencast with voice over  (open with Windows Media Player): sanako-lab300_pairing-and-basics.wmv

For an overview, see the following table of contents (when reviewing the video before starting your class in the Lab, search your webmail for the link to this instruction.)

  1. Not shown: teach students once and for all: always log in first;
  2. Grouping setup pane (all into L, then into A, excluding unused seats);
  3. Pair discussion setup pane (button: select for manual pair select mode);
  4. Not shown: teacher should use button: duo launch to facilitate student control of audio;
  5. Within group A pane , teacher uses button:transfer, changes program source to audio cassette:
    Pair discussion setup pane : “re-pair”, using button:cancel all, button:random to have Lab 300 software choose pairs;
  6. Within group A pane , teacher uses button:headphone for talking to group (not shown: remember to undo when finished!)
  7. From classroom layout: teachers clicks student icon to bring up student pane;
  8. From student pane, teacher views student screen, listens to student (or pair), uses student button:intercom for talking to student (or pair);
  9. From top menu: Other / thumbnail view of group: teacher brings up Mosaic window, to monitor (“police”) entire group screens; translates what you see to individual student, and uses button:lock (keyboard, screen or both) to prevent students from not staying on task [Demo this in first lab class to your students, using the screen projector , and hopefully they will hopefully stay on task];
  10. From menu: Other/ thumbnail view of group, teacher brings up Mosaic window and double clicks student screen to control individual student computer (e.g. to close a web browser – another way to police, less effective, but possible; better used for collaboration) . [Better policing options can be set up in the using the Lab300 web browser).
Categories: digital-audio-lab, e-languages, Institution-is-Loyola-University-Maryland, Screencasts, step-by-step-guides Tags: ,

MS-Office Communicator: Getting Started

2009/10/13 Leave a comment

https://thomasplagwitz.com/2009/11/13/collaboration-using-ms-office-and-network-shares/Click , click , type “communicator”, click .

To adjust options, click (1), (2) and (3) here:

To start communicator with Windows, select (1).

To have Outlook automatically show you as busy during calendar appointments (e.g. your classes), select (4).

To get your contact list up to speed, select all the contacts in the to-address line of a mass email  and drag them to your communicator window, see this screencast here: communicator-email-contact-drag.wmv.

Microsoft has a useful “Getting Started”  web-based training here:

To use the advanced features of Live Meeting, you can either use the context menu of the contact, or within an existing messaging session, escalate to Live Meeting by using the upper right hand corner menu, like in these 2 screnshots:

Categories: Distance-education-format-is-Synchronous, e-infrastructure, Institution-is-Loyola-University-Maryland, Screencasts, service-is-applying-learning-tools, step-by-step-guides Tags: , ,

How to distribute learning materials using the Blackboard Content System

2009/09/22 Leave a comment

I needed to make a large set of textbook mp3 files accessible to myself in the classroom, as well as to students and myself from dorm/home.

The Blackboard Content System makes this easy, while observing copyright restrictions.

Below is a 6-minute narrated screencast on how to set up and use the Blackboard Content System to easily (work on batches of files on the web, just like on your computer, access from office, classrooms or home office) and securely (allow access only to qualified students)  handle multimedia files

The example involves numerous mp3 files from a Textbook Audio CD previously only accessible from the LLC computers)).

This would work as well with your self-created teaching materials, from text handouts to video recordings.

If you need better management (many files, reuse across terms) than the standard course document upload can provide.

See the video file name for a brief table of contents:

blackboard_content_system_create_webfolder_add_files_grant_permissions_to_students-add-content-collection-to-course.wmv

If the teaching material item is already in the content collection, to publish it to a new course:

  1. add a new item to a content area of the course,
  2. follow the numbered steps 1-4 in this screenshot:
  3. then click submit twice: first close the content system window with , to automatically give your students access to the files: , then finish adding
Categories: e-learning, erepository, Institution-is-Loyola-University-Maryland, lms, Screencasts, service-is-learning-materials-creation Tags: , ,

Character Input for SLA (Mandarin)

2009/09/04 Leave a comment

·        Input for east Asian languages can use

o   so called IMEs (Input Method Editors) which allow you to type Roman characters and receive in return a dialogue with

o   Handwriting recognition (not very usable with only a mouse as drawing devices.

o   How to easily type pinyin with tone markers

§  Use the Pinyininput IME from the Language Bar (or Input Method  Selector keyboard shortcut).

§  Its “first mode is “checked” mode, which only accepts (mostly) valid pīnyīn (mostly valid in that it only checks for correct combinations of initials and finals, and not valid/invalid combinations of tones). When typing, if you place a number at the end of a pīnyīn syllable then Pinyinput will automatically convert the correct vowel in the syllable so that it has the appropriate tone e.g. Typing Ni3hao3 will produce the output Nǐhǎo. (…() “Checked” mode also optionally supports “érhuà” so things like pingr2 will be converted to píngr. The “érhuà” support is pretty simplistic, and it will allow any valid pīnyīn syllable which is followed by an r (even though such syllables might not exist in valid pinyin). (…)

§  The second mode is “unchecked” mode, and in this mode you can type whatever you like

§  (…) the user can optionally decide whether they want to use combining diacritic marks or individual characters [which] are probably the best way to go, as not all programs handle combining diacriticals correctly. (…)

§  Pinyinput can support multiple different keyboard layouts.(…)  regardless of the layout used, the letter v of that layout is always automatically converted to ü.

View a demonstration screencast.

·        Simplified Chinese

o   Select the pre-installed IME from the Language Bar (or Input Method  Selector keyboard shortcut).

·        More Information is available here; Foreign_Language_Character_Input.pdf

o   The LLC attempts to have the optimum environment language for learning preinstalled. Suggestions for additions welcome.

Categories: Documents, e-learning, Mandarin, Screencasts, Writing Tags: , , ,

Demoing a requirements gathering template for IT project management

2009/07/28 Leave a comment

Designed for SME focus group meeting capture when upgrading the City-of-London conference interpreting facility at London Metropolitan University. Querying users for business requirements in use case form. Watch a demo:

to generate functional requirements:

Interpreting_upgrade_xls_glossary

and to generate technical requirements (and questions for vendors):

Interpreting_upgrade_xls_tech

While keeping an eye on requirements metrics (what is important, contentious, unclear):

Interpreting_upgrade_xls_tags

Categories: e-infrastructure, Institution-is-London-Metropolitan-University, Screencasts, service-is-project-managing Tags: , , , , ,

Blackboard VLE Training Videos Overview

2009/02/15 Leave a comment
Categories: documentation, e-learning, Institution-is-Aston-University, Institution-is-London-Metropolitan-University, Institution-is-Loyola-University-Maryland, lms, Screencasts Tags:

Auralog Tell-me-more Demo Screencasts

2008/09/17 Leave a comment
Categories: 4-skills, audience-is-any, documentation, e-languages, learning-materials, Screencasts, service-is-learning-materials-creation, software Tags: