First attempt to use AI napkin for creating the rundown for a lecture

 Created the first Napkin AI graphic organizer for a lecture. 

The first half below is the outline I input. 

The app generated several results. Not all the results make sense, though. The one in yellow is the one I chose. 

From Anchor to Riverside

 Anchor, an audio recording app, used to be coupled with Wordpress. Audio recordings made with Anchor could be automatically uploaded to the app called Podcasters for Spotify. The podcast one creates would be automatically featured in the Spotify directory. 

But a few years ago, the two were decoupled. Podcasters for Spotify coupled with Riverside, an audio recording app somewhat like Anchor. 

Then a few months ago, Podcasters for Spotify was renamed Spotify for Creators. It has continued to use Riverside as the built-in recording app. An audio made with Riverside is automatically added to one's podcast. 

Classcraft has become HMH Classcraft

 Classcraft was a gamification platform for classroom management. 

Though I have some reservations about gamification platforms, I can still cite it as an example of a gamification platform. 

But realised just now that Classcraft has become HMH Classcraft, which has nothing to do with Gamification. It is now purely a commercial learning resources platform. 

Symbaloo Webmix and Webspace

 A Symbaloo webmix is one collection of websites. Of course there are  now many tools which can do that, e.g., Start.me; Wakelet, ...

What makes Symbaloo Webmix visually appealing is that each bookmark is a tile. 

A symbaloo webspace is a homepage of a user's webmixes. Each user has given one webspace and its link, as below. 

https://paul-sze.symbaloo.com/

The individual webmixes appear as tabs on the top ribbon. 

Explain Video vs Explainer Page

 你也許也有這經驗，別人whatsapp 你，你寧願他用文字，而不是錄音；文字一眼看到內容，錄音卻要用時間去聽，而我們已忙到連聽留言的時間也不願花。

這亦是為甚麼近年我不再熱心用screencasting 方法製作eLearning的explainer video，轉而用screencap加簡單文字去製作一個流程的workflowy page。對我來說快㨗得多，對學員來說就像看text message 的方便。

下面是一例，解釋用Wakelet 製作一個sharing board的步驟；我製作這Workflowy page不用5分鐘, 學員亦可自行瀏覽，不像看explainer video 的被動。

https://workflowy.com/s/how-to-create-your-s/2MDB7W7ecytEDCaZ

Flinga Wall vs Flinga Whiteboard

 Flinga does not have a paid plan. But users can only create 5 boards in total, after which they will have to delete an older board to create a new one. 

Both types of boards can be shared with students who will be participants. 

FLINGA WALL

- For sharing ideas and brainstorming. 

- Works like Padlet and Wakelet, except that contributors can choose one of five colours for posting their idea. They can also post a photo from their drive. 

FLINGA WHITEBOARD

This has more functionality. 

- Other than text, contributors can upload their ideas in a Square, Circle, or Person, or Title and Subtitle. 

- Contributors can be allowed to place their posts anywhere on the whiteboard. 

- They can also use the Pencil function to draw on the board. 

- They can also upload photos. 

- A teacher can pre-create a board (with posts), and move the posts around during a presentation or annotate. 

=======

But the biggest downside is that it only allows for 5 free boards. 

Created a Workflowy Tutorial on How to Create a Small-group Wakelet Sharing Board

 https://workflowy.com/s/how-to-create-your-s/2MDB7W7ecytEDCaZ

Schools take pride in having teachers who are highly eLearning-competent

 Next Monday, I'll be meeting the group of undergraduate students taking my course on Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) for the first session. I'll be doing a couple of things to get them excited about TELL, one of which is to show them the picture below. 

A couple of weeks ago, I visited this school in Tuen Mun for an AI-image-generating competition award ceremony. When I was walking past the school's meeting room, my eye was caught by the  teacher portraits posted at the entrance to the room. 

This picture will show the undergradate students how schools take pride in having teachers who are highly eLearning-competent.

Pyrotechnics show

 I went to the West Kowloon Park last night to watch the 水上煙火表演. Well, I admit I had had no idea what to call 水上煙火表演  in English, so I had to look it up in the mass media. 

The answer is: "a pyrotechnics show". 

OK, but this being quite a technical word, it's not easy to remember (unlike "firework(s) display"). Given the rising frequency of 煙火表演 in HK, I hope a more popular, easier-to-remember, name will evolve soon.  

Incidentally, I enjoy the traditional fireworks display more than the pyrotechnics show. 

Canvastera vs Thinglink and Genial.ly

 https://canvastera.com/

is a replicate of the former Glogster, which has shut down. 

It's for creating interactive posters. 

Canvastera vs Thinglink and Genial.ly

Thinglink and Genial.ly: 

The interactive elements (images; videos; etc.) are signalled as shimmering hotspots. 

Canvastera: 

The interactive elements (except audios) appear in small  sizes on the poster. When clicked, they enlarge. In other words, one can see all the inserted elements already. This may be a plus, or minus, depending on the intended use. 

CLOZEit for creating cloze passages

 CLOZEit is a Google Doc extension for quickly creating a cloze passage. 

The downside: It is not interactive. 

Anki vs Midterm for creating cloze passages for revision

 Just this morning, I realised that Anki can also be used to create cloze deletions in a passage. The passage, or pararaph, will become one card containing the deletions (as many as you like). 

But I still like Midterm more for this purpose. It's easier to create a study text. You only need to hover your cursor on a deletion, and the answer will show. 

The downside is that the developer doesn't support the mobile app or the web app any more (they have switched to Subconcept, a mobile app for a different purpose). While I can continue to create using the desktop app, there is no way I can study the cloze texts on the go. 

Normal view - Heading 1 and 2 vs outline view - level 1 and level 2 for converting to PPT

 Earlier on, I blogged about NOT starting with PPT even when we intended to create a PPT deck. Instead, we should start with WORD. 

The steps I explained: 

1. In Word, go to Outline view. 

2. Type in the presentation content (headings; bullet points; etc.)

3. Mark the headings as Level 1. 

4. Mark the bullet points as Level 2.

5. Save. 

6. In PPT, choose 'create from Outline'; then upload the saved Word File. The imported WORD file will become slides in the PPT. 

=======

Just now, i realised that instead of going to Outline view, and mark the headings and points as Level 1 and Level 2, we can stay on the normal WORD view. Then mark the intended headings as Heading 1, and the supporting points as Heading 2. Then proceed in a similar fashion as that in the Outline view. The resulting WORD file can also be exported to PPT. 

Padlet vs Flip for creating oral discussion activities

以前用Flip (Flipgrid) 讓學員就一個題目錄下回應，然後互相聆聽；但Flip兩個月前停止運作，於是我嘗試用Padlet的audio 功能，發覺效果也不錯；可以用Section去建立小組，然後給予每小组一個breakout link；Flip 沒有這功能，但Flip可以create classes, 這卻是Padlet 沒有的。整體來說，沒有了Flip, Padlet 是不錯的代替品