ms-powerpoint | Thomas' Work Space

How speech recognition speaking practice integrates with LRC activities for oral practice, assessment and ePortfolio

2014/09/12 plagwitz Leave a comment

My use of Windows7 Automated Speech recognition in 7 languages integrates with
other LRC activities for oral practice, assessment and ePortfolio.
1. A lower-key and more frequent homework assignment
2. than our Kaltura student presentation webcam recordings NRBFS (using a URL shortener, as in http://goo.gl/NRBFS),
3. and with better feedback than our voice-insert recordings with Sanako mV1DR,
these homework assignments prepare for in-class assessments
1. chapter tests with textbook audio recordings z2KYtk,
2. screencast recordings of student presentations Cmd3gQ, pair conversations l6H12, and question-response midterm/final exams ZL7DG using Sanako digital audio lab.
All except Kaltura (incompatible with Mahara) also produce language learner ePortfolio pieces.

Categories: assessments, assignments, audience-is-teachers, digital-audio-lab, e-languages, Speaking, table-of-contents Tags: 7, kaltura, ms-community-clips, ms-powerpoint, ms-windows, mylanguagelab, sanako-study-1200

Software-based laser pointer in PowerPoint

2014/03/26 plagwitz Leave a comment

You can activate software laser pointer in PowerPoint by pressing CTRL and P (= Pointer) while displaying your slideshow. Then you can draw on your show to highlight points, just like with a laser pointer – but unlike that, it cannot run out of battery power!
Other keys you can press:

Erase = E (unlike with a laser pointer, you have to),
deActivate = CTRL and A.

Other advantages: unlike some other screen drawing tools that freeze the screen (MS-ZoomIt notably), the software laser pointer:

allows you to proceed through the PowerPoint presentation normally;
can be saved as ink annotations, and will show up if you convert your PowerPoint to a video or play it with narrations.

Categories: audience-is-students, audience-is-teachers, office-software Tags: ink-annotations, ms-powerpoint, pointer

How to merge PowerPoint 2010 slide shows

2014/02/28 plagwitz Leave a comment

If for example you work with class-size sets of PowerPoint slideshows – which may be unpractical -: The command for merging them is a bit hidden:
And the process a bit clumsy (does not allow for simultaneous selection of multiple slideshows).
Plus you have to double click the thumbnails of the slides of the show that you want to insert).
But it works: Now you can e.g. print in one sitting, including multiple slides

Categories: e-infrastructure, office-software Tags: 2010, ms-powerpoint

How to create screencasts of student presentations for the language learner ePortfolio in the digital audio lab

2013/11/08 plagwitz Leave a comment

Students can now easily video-record their own screens during class presentations – not only when using PowerPoint; instead students could demo a website, like their Facebook page.
Last year, we were limited to PowerPoint’s record slideshow with timing and narration feature, and either send the PPSX (small, but requires the PowerPoint viewer) or the “Save as” video (new in PowerPoint 2010; computing intensive and large file size).
Now with MS-Community Clips, screencasts are
1. minimal effort to create (keyboard shortcut WIN+ALT+R or T; save on desktop; drag/drop into Sanako homework folder)
2. and little effort to distribute:
  1. Students could have uploaded to a Moodle’ file upload assignment (default file size limit: 64MB) or Kaltura file upload assignment (not sure whether there is a size limit). This seems more suitable for assignments with screencasts recordings.
  2. In this instance
    1. Sanako collected the Homework files to the Sanako share,
    2. my langlabemailer emailed them as attachment (so far tested to allow for 25MB attachment size, the equivalent of 7-8 minute screencast, a hefty space to fill in L2! We also established: 45MB is too much… ) to the originating student and teacher, for review, grading –
  3. and – provided it passes muster as an attractive and significant piece – possibly for re-use in the student’s language learner ePortfolio.
In addition,
1. Before the presentations, the teacher easily collaborated on proof-reading the slide decks of individual students, by using the Sanako Remote control screen sharing feature.
2. During the presentation, students followed more closely – which seemed to increase their attention and comprehension -, thanks to audio and screen being shared to them from the presenter, using the Sanako’s “Model student” feature.

How to easily avoid “Death by PowerPoint” and focus audience attention by showing paragraphs 1-by-1

2013/09/10 plagwitz Leave a comment

Open the Slide Master (“menu:View”/ “Slide Master”), then make these changes:
Close the Slide Master, for the change to affect all your slides from now on (without you having to add animations for each paragraph individually).

We only did the master for the main layout. I f you want to have the effect on all slide layouts, keep adding animations like shown above.
If you want to remove this effect, you can go into the master slide as shown and delete the animations in the animation pane.

Categories: audience-is-teachers, office-software Tags: ms-powerpoint