OoVoo is Ooooh Sooo Cool

I just came across a new tool for video conferencing. It's called ooVoo. I've experienced MeBeam during a classroom chat, and besides its ugly interface, it works OK. (How's that for a raving review?) On the surface, ooVoo looks better than MeBeam. Moreover, in the podcast video I watched where ooVoo was used, it has some nice features, like the ability to select and zoom to one user while they are talking. To watch ooVoo in action, head on over to the EdTechWeekly Podcast. OoVoo has an impressive features list. Most important, in my opinion, is the ability to record and stream conversations. Of course, it looks like the price is right...free. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

Recording with Skype

Skype is a wonderful tool. A couple of weeks ago in my Emerging Instructional Technologies class at UNI, I witnessed the power of Skype when we had the opportunity to interview guest experts via Skype.

Since that time, I have wanted to experiment with Skype and see how it worked to create a podcast. For my first test run, I choose Dr. Leigh Zeitzas my guest. He had just returned from a week in San Antonio, TX for NECC 2008, and I had followed many of his experiences via twitter. Still, I wanted a frontline report of what was happening in the tech field.

Eager to get going, I sent Dr. Z an e-mail with my idea and he responded immediately. Great idea! So, I opened Skype, opened Total Recorder, which I use to record all kinds of steaming Internet audio, and made a quick test call.

Crash.

My PC acted like I had jolted it with 100,000 watts of electricity and froze. I did a quick google search and found a great article on recording Skype with Total Recorder, and started making the necessary corrections to my settings.

This time, my PC didn't crash, but the audio sounded like it was in a bucket and it stuttered. Not good. This was the start of a four hour search for a solution.

Lesson #1: Make sure your setup is working perfectly beforeyou contact your guest expert and setup the interview.

I'll try and recreate the process I went through:

• Total Recorder. I think Total Recorder would have worked with Skype, but I am using a USB headset, which seems to create some problems for TR, plus I know from past experience, that TR can be touchy if the settings are not correct. After working with TR for an hour, I decided to move on. (I already own a copy of TR, so it is the logical first solution.)
• A google search for apps that will record Skype calls led to a few tries. The first was an app called Hot Recorder. I installed it and everything worked great...except it wouldn't record. Strike 1.
• My next attempt was TechSmith's outstanding screen capture program, Camtasia Studio. I had downloaded a trial version of Camtasia a week ago to experiment with creating Flash Files from a PowerPoint presentation. While searching on google, I saw on a user forum that Camtasia would record from Skype. Well, after 30 minutes of trial and error, I gave up on Camtasia. Strike 2.
• My next try was a program called Skype Recorder. Again, I installed the program, fired up Skype, and the program would not record. I didn't even mess with trying to get this one to work. I uninstalled and kept moving. Strike 3.
• My next google hit was a site called DigitalPodcast.com. I found an excellent video by Doug Kaye and Paul Figgiani on "How to Record a Podcast Using Skype." Score. This podcast led me to two programs that worked right out of the box (so to speak). The first is CallBurner and the other is Pamela for  Skype. I liked CallBurner, but it was $80 US while Pam sold for only $20 US. I decided to give Pam a try. After I edit the podcast, I will post it via podbeam.

Give Me Web 2.0 and Keep the T-Shirt

I love going to conferences. Regardless of the topic or location, a conference is a great place to network and meet new people plus get a preview of all the latest greatest ways to do something. It's not uncommon at a conference to hear experts in a given field. Most of the conferences I go to, however, the experts are sponsored by one of the vendors at the conference.

You know the routine: you go to a splashy presentation where expert X talks about the newest, greatest toys hitting the market. The presenter is polished, the technology always works, and you can hear the audible Oohs and Ahhs as the audience soaks it in.

After the presentation (by the expert), a representative from the vendor comes up to do the closer. He/she gives some basic information about the product or service that was just demonstrated and lets the audience know they would love to meet you at their product booth.

As you leave the auditorium, you have a strong sense you are at a soccer game just after Manchester defeats Liverpool, and the crowd pushes and rushes towards the playing field. As you round the corner you see it: a beautiful display booth with 50-inch video monitors showing the product/service, free T-Shirts and water bottles with the company logos on them, and lots of sales reps dressed in matching company shirts.

Now the bad news: you find out that this incredible product/service that will revolutionize the way you teach or do your job is yours for $1,499. Of course, they are running a conference discount that lasts only for the next 15 minutes that drops the price to $1,250.

You're right. I say the same thing: forget it.

This is what I love about graduate school at UNI. Everyday this week I have left my class on Emerging Instructional Technologies with a slew of new tools and ideas to use, and the price: free. (Of course, I'm paying tuition, but ...)

Vinnie Vrotny and VoiceThread

Take today for example. Our guest expert was Vinnie Vtrotny, director of Academic Technology at the North Shore County Day School in Winnetka, IL. As in days past our guest was skyped in from his office north of Chicago. Vtrotny introduced our cohort to VoiceThreads, a most amazing Web 2.0 tool that allows groups to have conversations around pictures and videos. Like many/most Web 2.0 tools, VoiceThreads is simple to use, offers many different ways to collaborate, and best of all...is free to use.

To demonstrate the power of VoiceThreads, Vrotny introduced us to "13 Days That Changed America," an AP US History Final Project. Created by Vrotny and Kevin Randolph, History Department Chair at North Shore County Day School, "13 Days" required the students to use research, analytical, reporting and presentation skills.

In addition to VoiceThreads, the project also required students to utilize Gabcast, another Web 2.0 tool that allows users to create podcasts and audioblogs using any telephone, including a mobile phone.

As an avid student of history, I couldn't wait to see the dates the students chose:

• Signing of the Constitution- September 17, 1787
• Louisiana Purchase- May 2, 1803
• Lincoln's Election- November 6, 1860
• Golden Spike driven in at Prominitory Pt., Utah- May 10, 1869
• Census of 1890- June 1, 1890
• Model T introduced- September 27, 1908
• Women's Suffrage (19th amendment)- August 18, 1920
• Pearl Harbor attacked- December 7, 1941
• GI Bill passed- June 22, 1944
• Bombing of Hiroshima- August 6, 1945
• Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier (Dodgers)- April 15, 1947
• Brown v. Board of Education- May 17, 1954
• War Powers Act passed- November 7, 1973

To learn more about "13 Days That Changed America," you can visit the project wiki and, of course, view the final project on voicethread.com.

[Note: I tried embedding the final project video into this entry, but VoiceThread and WordPress don't play well together at this time.]

Unbelievable: MySpace Hoax Leads to Suicide

MSNBC is reporting on a Missouri woman charged with creating a phony MySpace account and harassing her 13-year old neighbor to the point she committed suicide.

Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn't exist.

Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.

The Internet is the wild west for teenagers. What is most frightening is the easy access warped adults have to kids who are still trying to find their way in this world. How can parents teach their kids to respect the inherent dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the Internet while still giving them access to one of the greatest information tools in 500 years? That is not a question that can go unanswered. Part of training and teaching our children for adult life must include a healthy dose of suspicion when encountering people on the Internet. Parents must communicate often with their kids about the dangers of the Internet. Be careful. Don't give out personal information...ever.

This case will be interesting to watch from an ethical and legal perspective. Read the complete story here.

IT Needs to Prepare for $200 A Barrel Oil

Tech Republic is alerting readers to begin preparing now for the increased demand for for remote connections if oil continues to climb. Bill Detwiler states:

Many IT organizations, particularly in large enterprises, already support a distributed workforce. IT leaders within this category should ensure their infrastructure has the capacity to support increased demand. IT departments not currently supporting remote users should begin exploring their options now. At the very least, you should make certain your network can support existing remote workplace technologies. Also, IT will not be immune from this trend. IT leaders must develop the skills and techniques required to manage a distributed workforce.[1]

Unlike Mike Rhodin, General Manager of IBM Lotus Software, who sees the virtual workplace becoming the rule rather than the exception[2], Detwiler believes a hybrid model will emerge. Employees will work from home a few days each week.

As business and enterprise consider the trend towards the virtual workplace, educators and churches need to consider the virtual classroom. Anytime the words "travel" and "training" are used in the same sentence, we need to think "virtual." It will be too costly to send learners to remote locations for training...we must find effective methods to use technology to bring the learning environment to them.

From a church's perspective, we need to rethink models that require learners to travel to and from the church several times a week. How can the church employ technology to meet its teaching objectives? Leaders need to start exploring how to utilize the tools available to us now. Moreover, given that most churches rely on volunteer teachers, there will be a steep learning curve in helping volunteers develop the skill sets needed to communicate and teach to their classes via collaborative tools.

References

[1] "IT must prepare for $200-a-barrel oil and a rise in remote workers" - May 07, 2008. As transportation costs rise, organizations and workers will look for ways to reduce travel. For many employees, this will mean working from home to eliminate the daily commute. Tech Republic

[2]"IBM Predicts Five Future Trends That Will Drive Unified Communications" - March 19, 2008. Mike Rhodin, General Manager of IBM Lotus Software, made five predictions during his keynote address at the VoiceCon conference in Orlando, FL in March 2008. These include:

1. The Virtual Workplace will become the rule. No need to leave the office. Just bring it along. Desk phones and desktop computers will gradually disappear, replaced by mobile devices, including laptops, that take on traditional office capabilities. Social networking tools and virtual world meeting experiences will simulate the feeling on being there in-person. Work models will be changed by expanded globalization and green business initiatives that reduce travel and encourage work at home.
2. Instant Messaging and other real-time collaboration tools will become the norm, bypassing e-mail. Just as e-mail became a business necessity, a new generation of workers has a new expectation for instant messaging (IM) as the preferred method of business interaction. This will fuel more rapid adoption of unified communications as traditional IM becomes the core extension point for multi-modal communications.
3. Beyond Phone Calls to Collaborative Business Processes. Companies will go beyond the initial capabilities of IM, like click-to-call and online presence, to deep integration with business processes and line-of-business applications, where they can realize the greatest benefit.
4. Interoperability and Open Standards will tear down proprietary walls across business and public domains. Corporate demand for interoperability and maturing of industry standards will force unified communications providers to embrace interoperability. Converged, aggregated, and rich presence will allow businesses and individuals to better find and reach the appropriate resources, removing inefficiencies from business processes and daily lives.
5. New meeting models will emerge. Hang up on routine, calendared conference calls. The definition of "meetings" will radically transform and become increasingly adhoc and instantaneous based on context and need. 3-D virtual world and gaming technologies will significantly influence online corporate meeting experiences to deliver more life-like experiences demanded by the next generation workers who will operate more efficiently in this familiar environment.