Wondershare Virbo for adding voiceover to PPT

 https://virbo.wondershare.com/

The app claims to be able to AI-generate a voiceover presentation video. I had a try, and below are my obseervations: 

0. The starting point is a PPT which you upload to the desktop app. 

1. Under the paid plan, you can choose your voiceover avatar. 

2. The avatar will appear in some of the slides in your original PPT. 

3. The app requires that there are speaker notes for EVERT slide. Even if the slide contains text, it won't automatically generate the voiceover if there are no speaker notes. 

4. As a result, this app works similar to Narakeet. 

5. As for the fee charging:

- Virbo requires a monthly subscription. 

- Narakeet operates on a pay-as-you-use basis. That makes more sense to occasional users of such applications. 

Kapwing can AI-generate an instructional video

 Kapwing can now AI-generate an instructional video, from a TOPIC (eg. Present Perfect tense vs Simple Past tense)

Here is the result of my attempt, a 29-second AI-generated video on the above topic: 

https://www.kapwing.com/c/oiK9Egp1Ix

But of course, do not expect the content to be highly customised for your needs. 

Youtube Trimmer being the best alternative to Vibby?

 Vibby, which I liked the most for getting clips from a Youtube, has suddenly disappeared. 

I have tried a few alternatives. As of this moment: 

https://www.youtubetrimmer.com/

is the best for my purposes, even though it will never be as good as Vibby. 

Still unhappy with AI apps for generating a presentation from a document

 Just tried a few other apps for generating presentations. These apps can generate a presentation: 

a. from a topic, 

b. from a passage

The problem is: 

For a, the resulting presentation will be too general. And in my case, I seldom need a general presentation on a topic. 

For b, the resulting presentation will still be quite general. 

======

To me, a presentation (eg, PPT) will most of the time be quite customised to my own needs and objectives. There will even be times when I don't want to include too much content on one slide; the slide may simply be a prompt to my explanation. 

IN sum, of the apps for different purposes, those for generating presentations are of the least use to me. 

Comparing 4 apps for creating comics

storyboardthat.com

- most versatile

- large bank of insertibles

- easy to edit inserts

- free plan allows for 3 frames only 

- all export options under free plan will produce huge watermarks

https://makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/

- always free

- but lots of adverts

- can create as many frames as you like; 

-- bank of insertibles not that large;

- not that easy to edit inserts;

mystorybook.com

- bank of insertibles not that large;

- not that easy to edit inserts;

- can create as many frames as you like;

- final product can be shared via a link. 

Pixton

Pixton is by far the best. But it practically has no free plan. After your first attempt, that's it. 

Checking out Presentations.ai

 https://www.presentations.ai/

Just had a go with Presentations.ai. 

I uploaded a WORD document which was an Outline which I later uploaded to PPT to create a PPT. 

Presentatons.ai then converted my WORD ppt outline to an AI-generated presentation. The resulting presentation can be exported, or shared as a link. 

My views:

- The resulting presentation is visually very appealing. 

- It actually develops the content in my original Word outline. In this regard, the ai app is worth praising. 

- =========

The other two functions: 

1. Start with a prompt. 

2. Use the app to beautify your existing PPT. I tried it with an existing PPT. It did make the presentation deck more stunning in terms of visual effect (eg., transitions). But I think I actually prefer the PPT Designer function, which allows me to get the effects that I want. 

++++++++

I haven't tried the 'generate from an uploaded article' function. Anyway, if that article is one which I have found on the Internet, the resulting PPT will not specifically present what I MYSELF want to present (unless I write an article myself). 

This is my overall view about using AI to generate presentations: THEY ARE GOOD FOR INTRODUCING A TOPIC, BUT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO CREATE A PRESENTATION WHICH IS CUSTOMISED TO MY TARGET CONTENT. 

++++++++++

Anyway: 

My original WORD outline: 

S4 Towards Communicative Activities PPT Outline.docx

The presentation generated by Presentations.ai: 

https://app.presentations.ai/view/jqmHG3

Workflowy for Presenting a Lesson Rundown List

 I use Dynalist to do my lesson planning. When I'm done, I copy the rundown and paste it into Notion which serves as the homepages of my courses. 

Sometimes, I have no time to, or I don't need to, or I don' t want to, create a PPT for delivering my session rundown. Can I simply turn my list rundown into a presentation?

Dynalist has no such functionality. 

A Google Search returned an app called Wunderlist which claimed to be able to convert a list rundown on a NOtion page into a Presentation. But it is not working at all. 

Then I found https://snackthis.co/presentations/, which turns the public page of a notion page, into a presentation. I had a try, but it only worked partially. I guess one has to do a lot of formatting to one's public notion page before this app will do a decent job. 

So finally, I'm setting for Workflowy. 

Here are the plus'es: 

- Just copy from Dynalist to Workflowy. No need to do any further formatting (level 1, level 2, level 3, et.)

- No need to convert a page. Just click on the 'Present' button in the top right. 

- The result is quite decent. 

Bottom Line: I will stick to Workflowy. 

A quick review of Eduaide AI

 Eduaide is an AI platform specifically to help teachers plan their teaching (from lesson plans, to creating question sets based on a topic). 

It has many many Generating functions, and I have yet to pick up all of them. 

For most of the gen-AI functions, it asks you to put down a topic, or some key points. 

This could be an asset, if you're dealing with concepts (eg., you're a science teacher. 

But if you need something more customised, then you may not get what you exactly need. 

I had a go with the 'Generate MCQ' function. Unlike QuestGen, though I can paste in a reading passage, the result does not fit my purpose. 

If  the purpose is to generate a Reading Comprehension question set based on a passage you have, then those apps which are specifically for that purpose, like QuestGen, will do a better job. 

but there are dozens of functions on the paltform. So, it is still worth having a look at the other functions to see how useful they may be. 

To create a Google Form for students to elect their class rep

 1. Have the students appear on a WORD or Google document. 

2. copy the list

3. Open Google Forms. Create Question. Choose 'Dropdown' 

4. In the first option box, paste in the copied list of names. 

That's it. 

+++++++++++++++

Realised just now that other than Dropdown, the Create MC function also works. Simply paste in the names (copied from a Spreadsheet) in Option 1. The names will automatically be converted to individual choices. 

Three things you can insert into a Google Forms worksheet to make it multimodal

MIEE for the 6th year

 

The Download PDF function in CHECKLIST under Bookwidgets

 Just found out that the 'Checkist' interactive in Bookwidgets allows students to PDF-download their completed checklist at the end of a class session. This is useful for a class session which is made of many tasks and subtasks. At the end of the class session, students can download their completed Checklist, and then present it on their Learning Journal. 

Padlet's Sandbox is a great replacement of Google Jamboard

 Just had a go with Padlet's new function: Sandbox. It's very impressive. It's not just a good substitute for Google Jamboard (though Google Jamboard is free); the Sandbox function can also do several other cool things, like creating an interactive, clickable presentation (somewhat like Genial.ly, and Thinglink). 

So, after I've become a proficient Sandbox user, I may not miss Google Jamboard any more!

Tried Padlet for replacing Flip

 Just tried using Padlet to create something like a Flip group discussion activity. 

In a way, it's not that complicated. Just create a new Padlet, share the link with Ss, and then they audio/video record their responses to your task. If you want them to share in smaller groups, then use the 'Sections' function. 

It's easy for Ss to take part. They can also easily listen to, or watch, each other's responses. 

Of course, there are still some functions in Flip, which are not found in Padlet, e.g., Creating a Class, and then Creating a Discussion Topic under a Class; mixtapes; covering up your face with a meme, etc. 

Padlet's Jamboard Import Function

 A couple of days ago, I mentioned that Padlet has this new function which allows users to import their Jamboards into Padlet. Just now I  had a try, and found that it was a very fast and simple process. The imported Jamboards, now as Padlets, work quite similarly to the original Jamboards (although some original Jamboard functions may have been lost). 

What's more, the imported Jamboards do NOT count towards my Padlet quota!  (I was an early adopter of Padlet, which started as a free app. When they started charging fees, they allowed the early adopters to keep the number of Padlets they had made. So in all these years, I've been using 58 Padlets for free. And when I need to go beyond the quota, I simply archive some old Padlets (which I can unarchive later) to make space for new Padlets!)

I was criticising Nearpod the other day, but Padlet has always been an app that I salute. 

Wordwall's New Function: Ss indicate name before starting a game

 

Renominated MIEE for 2024-25

 

Congratulations on becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert! Your dedication to transforming education through innovative practices and technology integration is truly inspiring. As MIE Experts, you join a global community of passionate educators who are committed to making a difference in the lives of students. We are excited to see the incredible impact you will continue to make in your classrooms and beyond. Welcome to the MIE Expert community!  

How thoughtful Padlet is!

 Just noticed that Padlet has added these 2 recent functions to the app. This is very thoughtful (on top of their commercial interests), as they seem to know how desperate some Flip and Jamboard users are.

An abrupt farewell to Google Jamboard

 Earlier on, Google announced that Jamboard would close down at the end of this year. Jamboard is one of my favourite apps for groupwork. So just now, to make use of its final months, I headed to the app in order to create another new activity. There was this announcement on the screen which said 'Jamboard will be view-only from 1 October.' 

"OK, I still have 20 days to play with it," I thought. But when I looked for the CREATE JAMBOARD button, it was not there any more!

Sigh!

FLIP is finished

Sad to learn that Flip (formerly Flipgrid) will stop serving us from the end of this month.

Flip is one of my favourite free apps. The teacher assigns a topic on the platform. Students then join the discussion by video-recording their thoughts (say, for two minutes). Afterwards, the students can view each other's videos to find out what their classmates think. For ELT, Flip is a very useful tool for practising Speaking.

The Flip functions will be subsumed in Microsoft Teams. But to me, as a standalone tool, Flip is much easier to use.

Another piece of sad news is that Google Jamboard, another favourite app of mine, is sunsetting, and will no longer be available after December 31, 2024.

https://www.tesol.org/blog/posts/flip-is-finished-where-do-we-go-from-here/

DIFFIT: WHAT resources can it generate?

 DIFFIT is an generative -AI tool. It's primarily for generating resourcces for teaching Reading. 

The 4 input methods describe in my previous posts will generate the following standard materails: 

1. The adapted Reading passage.

2. Summary in 3 sentences. 

3. Key Vocab Words - a List

4. MC Ques. 

5. Short Answer Questions

6. Open-ended Questions. 

+++++++++

The Reading passage can be further modified by the AI system (length; difficulty)

The materials generated for (2) to (6) can be edited, modified, or increased in number. 

++++++++++++++++++++++

On top of the above 'standard' materials, the AI system can generate further 'Student Activities' for further and deeper study by students. These are also generated from the 'standard' materials. The formats include, eg.,: 

Under each of the above 8 categories, there are several worksheet templates. You can choose one of the templates and a customised digital worksheet will then be generated. 

As of this moment, Diffit is the most capable AI tool for generating reading materials, reading quizzes, and reading worksheets. 

The company targets schoools as their customers. The premium plan for individual teachers last for 55 days, after which teachers can continue with the Basic plan. 

DIFFIT: Generate a reading a passage from a list of words

 The earlier input methods include: 

- naming a topic;

- providing a text; 

- providing a Youtube URL

But this fourth method is amazing. You give it a list of words (max. 10). It will create a reading passage containing those words. The passage is then followed by the reading comprehension quiz. 

DIFFIT: Generating a Quiz from a Youtube Video

 To me, this is a wonderful function. I tried it by pasting in the URL of a pre-class flipped learning video (for PGDE: SCT). After half a minute, it gave me: 

1. A Passage which is the transcript of my video. 

2. A Reading Quiz

DIFFIT: Generate a Reading quiz from a document your provide

 

A Reading Quiz will then be generated.

DIFFIT: Generate a reading passage from a topic

 See the possible parameters in rectangles: 

What quizzes can Quizizz's AI functions create?

Default sub-functions

- Indicate target grade level; 

- Choose up to three sub-topics (focuses) after initial analayis of text (Distinguish between noun types)

- indicate number of questions needed.

- indicate Subject focus (e.g., Biology; Science; English)

- choose level of difficult: Easy; Medium; Difficult

- Specify Bloom's level

- Specify DOK (Depth of Knowledge) level (4 levels in total)

- Choose Real world scenario questions (i.e., application questions)

- story-based questions (questions phrased as real-life situations)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- from a pasted-in text. 

- from a topic, e.g. 'how typhoons are formed'. 

- from your instruction, eg, 'Create a grammar quiz on Countable nouns vs Uncountable nouns'

____________________________

The resulting questions can be: 

- can be copied; 

- can be downloaded (DOCX; PDF)

- exported to Quizizz. 

NOTE, THOUGH, THAT SO FAR ONLY MC QUESTIONS CAN BE GENERATED. 

Converting a Google Doc to a Google Form

 There are several ways to convert a Google Doc to a Google Form. The Google Form can be a questionnaire, or a quiz. 

For me, one simple way is to use the Google Doc add-on Form Builder. (There is a Form Builder plus add-on which can also import from other Google Sheet, etc. But for now, I'm assuming that I'm drafting my quiz questions on a Google Doc.)

Draft the questions (let's say MCQ for now) on a Google Doc, following the following format: 

++++++++++++

1. What is ....? 

1. Lj jl

2. Jljl

3. Cjl

4. Dl ;j

2. Who invented ....? 

1. Jljl;

2. Bj ;j

3. C ljll

4. Cjl jj

3. Where did …? 

1. Ljljl

2. Jljl

3. Jlj jl

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Open the Form Builder add-on. A right-hand pane will appear.

Follow the instructions. The final step is IMPORT, the created Form will appear in the original Folder (same as that for the starting Google Doc).

The resulting Google Form will be a quiz, and those distractors in the Google Doc which are bolded will become the Answer Key.

Kahoot Lesson vs Quizizz Lesson

 停用 Nearpod 的paid plan 後，我便要決定訂用Kahoot 或Quizizz 的paid plan (免費plan 始終有限制)。

如果要製作interactive presentation, 兩個app 的功能都很相似，就是content slide 和activity slide相間，Kahoot 的content slide, 在live presentation 時學生iPad 會顯示Look Up, 即他們要望著班房前的螢幕，教師可以看見學生是否在聆聽。Quizizz 則學生在他們的iPad 會看到螢幕上的slide,不用抬頭望著教師， 這究竟是好處抑壞處？

但Quizizz有一獨特功能，就是content slide 可以embed external webpage, 在live presentation時，學生在ipad看到這embedded webpage, 一按便在browser 的新tab出現，然後繼續瀏覽。

那麼整體來說，用那一個app較好？於是我做了一個試驗，在今年新開始其中一科的第一課用Quizizz Lesson, 第二課用kahoot lesson, 然後請同學投票從學生的角度他們喜歡那一個，結果是100%喜歡Quizizz Lesson。

那麼我就付費訂用比Kahoot Lesson畧貴的Quizizz Lesson(當然Quizizz還有其他kahoot沒有的generative AI功能)。多謝ELED4870學員参加試驗。

GOOD NEWS: Classtools' QuickSlides Function has come back

In the past, when I was hard pressed for time, I would use Classtools' Qwikslides function to create a quick presentation deck. Of course it won't be sophisticated, but I have just a few major statements to present, then all I have to do is to input the sentences in the text box, click submit, and immediately I get a presentation deck. 

But a few months ago, this use ceased to function. 

I'm glad that this morning, when I tried it again, it is functioning again!

https://www.classtools.net/qwikslides/

Sampling an AI Composition Grading Tool

 A former Education student sent me 4 samples of AI-graded compositions (primary-school levels), which have been marked by an AI programme. I looked through the samples to find out how well the AI tool is performing in grading the students' compositions. Below are my tentative observations: 

1. The programme is very accurate in recognising students' handwritten compositions. 

2. The programme then presents a corrected version of the students' composition in computer text. The corrections made are highlighted in red. 

3. The corrections (in red) are also inserted into the students' original handwritten version. Students can easily the corrections that have been made by the programme. 

3. Generally, the programme does a good job in correcting grammar mistakes. 

4. On top of the grammar corrections, the corrected version also contains a small number of re-written sentences, for better cohesion. 

5. The programme then presents 'a suggested article', which is a re-written version of the students' original version. This 'suggested article' shows students how the original version can be further improved at a higher level (i.e., not just having the composition grammatically correct), for better coherence and cohesion, and conciseness. This involves the programme making some arbitrary decisons on what to leave out or rewrite. Hence, occasionally, it may misunderstand the writer's intentions and come up with a sentence which doesn't quite make sense. If the original version contains something unclear in meaning, the programme is unable to guess the original intended meaning and re-write accordingly. 

6. There is then a 'Sentence Improvement' section, which shows how each of the original sentences is being re-written. The re-write mostly pertains to grammar, and sometimes to choice of words. 

7. There is a 'synonym usage' section. It lists out the words in the original version which are somewhat repetitive. Then for each repetitive word, the programme suggests a couple of synonyms. This may not be a useful section (especially for primary students), as students cannot simply replace their original word with the suggested synonyms. 

8. The Self-directed Learning section offers 5 suggestions on how the writer can improve his/her writing. Overall, these suggestions are too general to be of much use to students. 

9. Overall, the programme does a reliable job in correcting students' mistakes in spelling, grammar, and to a certain extent, choice of word. It is able to rewrite some sentences to improve the written discourse. 

Am I communicating with a Human?

 

While preparing for an upcoming class session on technology-enhanced vocabulary teaching, I asked ChatGPT to give me a list of 8 words about EMOTIONS and their definitions. Copilot came up with the list in less than 5 seconds, and ended the conversation with the following question TO ME:

"Do any of these adjectives resonate with how you’re feeling today?"

Oh, my God, am I communicating with a Human?

Interactive Tasks: Kahoot Lesson vs Quizizz Lesson

KAHOOT LESSON: 

QUIZIZZ LESSON

Using Headings instead of Levels in Outline view

 To prepare a WORD document in Outline format, so that it can be imported into PPT and EdrawMind, other than going to the VIEW > OUTLINE tab, we can also start with the normal view, and then Mark the phrases and sentences as Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3. These correspond to Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. 

When finished, just save it as a usual WORD document. 

Of course, in the Outline View, because of the indents view, the whole outline will look more coherent. 

Giving up on Nearpod's paid plan

 终於停止了Nearpod的Gold subscription。

以前Nearpod是唯一可以設計interactive lesson 的app, 後來kahoot和quizizz都增加了interactive lesson的功能(即不只是用來做問答遊戲)，跟著還有peardeck, 但Nearpod 不思進取，它的收費plan只得1 GB 的cloud storage, 相比之下，kahoot 和quizizz, 和peardeck便慷慨得多。

但Nearpod 今天最致命的，就是太慢，在課室使用時，教師和學生要經常齊齊等畫面load。到如今，我這個Nearpod Certified Educator 也要棄它的paid plan而去。

Two Uses of a WORD Outline: PPT and EdrawMind

 Some time ago, I wrote about the advantages of starting with an Outline in WORD when creating a PPT presentation. Starting with an Outline gives you a useful overview of your presentation. If you plunge into a PPT slide directly, you may not see the forest for the trees. When your WORD outline is ready, open PPT, and import the outline into the PPT file (Home > Slide > from Outline). 

Now, Edrawmind, a desktop/mobile app for creating mindmaps, also accepts importing a WORD outline. Choose this Import function, import the WORD outline, and you get a Mindmap immediately. 

So, it's like killing two birds with one stone. 

By the way, while preparing an Outline in WORD, my current experience is to go to VIEW, then select Outline

Then prepare the Outline using the various Level settings. When finished, the WORD file can be saved as a usual WORD document (i.e, no need to save it as txt, etc.)

Gemini useful but still not available in Hong Kong

 

I gave it a try. It's convenient to use as you simple have to type @ in the address bar in the chrome browser and then choose 'Chat with Gemini'. Next, type in your question. 

JUST THAT THIS FUNCTION IS STILL NOT AVAILABLE IN HONG KONG. 

Google Lens as a Chrome extension on Chrome desktop browser

 Search anything you see on any page with Google Lens

Google Lens in Chrome makes it easy to search anything you see on your screen. Search within a video you're watching, a slide in a livestream, or an image on a webpage. Google Lens will give you answers right there, in your tab, and you can continue browsing with the new information you’ve found.

Open the Chrome menu.

Select Search with Google Lens .

Select anything on the page by clicking and dragging anywhere on the page.

Refine the answers by typing in the search box in the side panel.

For quicker access, click Pin  in the side panel to add the icon to your toolbar.

Microsoft To-Do List trumps Google TasksBoard

 Microsoft To-Do List trumps Google TasksBoard

Both have mobile and desktop versions. 

Both can allow you to create several lists (something that Todoist can't do)

GOOGLE TASKS AND TASKBOARD

- to sync between the mobile app and desktop app, you need the paid plan with monthly payments. 

MICROSOFT TO-DO LIST

- free syncing between mobile and desktop

MIDTERM for creating Cloze tests

 https://flathub.org/apps/app.midterm.MidtermDesktop

This free app can be used to quickly create cloze test for self-study. Simply type, or paste in, a text. Then highlight those words which you wish to turn into blanks. Then click 'Save'. 

The saved text, when opened again, will become a cloze passage. Recall the word for each blank, then click on it, and the original word will show. You can then record your performance (at 4 levels of mastery) for future reference. 

There are other ways and apps for creating self-study cloze passages, but Midterm is probably the quickest app for that purpose. 

ChatGPT can generate a reading passage

 We can ask ChatGPT to generate a reading passage on a particular topic for a particular grade level with the word limit specified. We can then have ChatGPT generate reading comprehension questions (e.g, MC, blank filling) to go with the passage generated. 

Below is my attempt: 

https://poe.com/chat/2b7o47b41ckzefuyt19

ChatGPT and Being a Guide on the Side

 自從有了ChatGPT, 在課堂中一些以前我會主動解釋的概念，現時間中我會請學員即時問ChatGPT, 其中一個目的，是讓學員看到如果是純知識，他們其實不用我去告訴他們，我亦希望借此培養他們的主動求知的精神。

這並不表示我備課變得輕鬆了，只是我的心思變為集中在設計一課的Learning activities, 怎樣的學習活動，怎樣的rundown, 才能再有效地幫助學員學到相關的知識，技能，和態度；這其實比製作一個供兩小時串講的PPT 更花時間，更考功夫，更加需要對題目有更深入的認識。

1993年美國學者Alison King 在一篇journal article 以此為題：From sage on the stage to guide on the side, 31年後的今天有了ChatGPT, 我們更加要反思自己的角色。

Slideguru for generating PPTs

 Just tried Slideguru to generate a PPT from a prompt topic. 

the prompt topic: Some Ways to use AI-generated images in the teaching of English

Response: https://poe.com/s/ePEr9gajkROuOwPG0RP3

____

Unlike Canva which gives you slides which are actually paragraphs, Slideguru gives you a number of slides (about 10) with bullet points. This is more like a conventional PPT. 

Of  course, it doesn't actually give you a PPT file; you still have to import the outline into a PPT. 

Road Maps from Canva for showing the progress of a lesson

 In a TP lesson observation today, the teacher used a road map at the beginning of the lesson to give Ss an overview of the lesson. Then at different points of the lesson, she showed the road map again so students could see their progress. She showed the road map again at the end of the lesson as a recap of the journey that the students had completed. 

After the lesson, I asked her the source of the road map. She said 'Canva', which I had totally forgotten about!

I immediately went to Canva, and searched for 'road map.' There were dozens of results: 

Of course, the road map can be further enhanced with Thinglink and Genial.ly. 

Will look for an opportunity to use one of these road maps in my teaching. 

Converting a WORD outline file to an Eddrawmind mindmap

 Step 1: Prepare the Outline in a WORD DOCUMENT in Outline format (in View tab)

Step 2: Open Eddrawmind Desktop app. 

Step 3: Click on Create on left pane: 

Step 4: Click IMPORT

The WORD import option will appear: 

After the Import has finished, a new Mindmap will appear immediately on the screen. 

diagrams.net

 https://app.diagrams.net/

Just found this web app which is very easy to use, for creating graphic organizers. And it's always free, unlike Lucidchart and Miro. 

Presenting a PPT in a window instead of in full screen mode

 Just found a solution to presenting a PPT in a window instead of in full screen mode: 

https://www.csusm.edu/iits/iitsforyou/zoom/zoom-screenmanagement/index.html#:~:text=Get%20PowerPoint%20Out%20of%20Full%20Screen%20Mode&text=Click%20on%20the%20Set%20Up,by%20and%20individual%20(window).

When presenting, just resize the PPT Window. You can then still see the tabs on the opened browser. To switch between the PPT presentation and the browser, press Alt+Tab.   

Learner's Audio-recording function in Bookwidgets

 It looks like now that Bookwidgets is the only interactive app (similar ones are Wordwall, Learningapps.org) that allow students to respond to a task/question by recording their own voice. 

Bookwidgets vs Wordwall and Learningapps.org in terms of audio input

 Wordwall and Learningapps.org have the 'Text to Speech' function for converting words inserted into audio's. However, you can't record your own voice. 

My own view is that speech samples created are not really that good, especially when very careful listening for discriminating between speech sounds is concerned. 

Bookwidgets, on the other hand, is the opposite. It doesn't have the 'text to speech' function. But you can record you own voice as input. All the widget formats allow you to do that. 

Importing a Word document into MS Forms to create a poll

Just found out how to import a Word file into MS Forms to create a poll. This is quite a useful function. 

I'm now resorting to MS Forms more and more than I use Google Forms. 

Padlet's CUSTOM-AI function

I then tried the Custom-AI function of Padlet. I asked it to give me 12 activities for raising junior secondary students to signs, symbols, and icons found in public places in their daily life. (And of course I had multimodal literacy in mind when I was writing the prompt.) The results are really impressive, in that the activity ideas are really useful and interesting, and they are contextualised in Hong Kong!

https://padlet.com/szepaul/signs-symbols-and-icons-in-public-places-npl2ysiaai3xsyje

PADLET for generating an Assessment Poll

 As you may know already, Padlet has jumped on the GenAI bandwagon: there are now 8 types of content/padlet formats that it can generate for you from a prompt. 

I have tried all the 8 types of content that it can generate. The 'Lesson Plan', the 'Classroom Activity List', and 'Reading List' results are not that useful. I quite like the 'historical timeline', and the AI-generated map functions. The Assessment Poll turns out to be a pleasant surprise. I typed in 'the phonemes of British English' as the prompt; in less than a minute, it gave me a Padlet board consisting of 8 poll (MC) questions, which ARE relevant to the topic. 

The generated Assessment Poll Padlet, thus, can be used at the beginning of a lesson for a quick recap of previous learning. It can also be used as a whole-class 'exit ticket' to round off a lesson! (Of course the limitation is that the prompt topic you type in has to be a general one, unless you actually input a content summary of a lesson.)

https://padlet.com/szepaul/linguistics-assessment-polls-on-british-english-phonemes-oqmbjiqs4uf9dr4m?fbclid=IwAR2RWTezWnurhI1FIQefUe_rIOhXaVTCRWpxQlak0bo90dvga0qqqvITB3M_aem_AasByokIAjSE--od-MrygXvufS8BZobklNlr5MkyAzGR7FUk5IVlIKShB2oh_pVnOou1aIQJ5rNB5lhmDUgbcTb0

Runway: An GenAI platform

 Runway is a GenAI platform that can do a variety of things

https://app.runwayml.com/

Training your image Gen-AI tool

 Found out that on top of writing a prompt, we can train the app to give us an image which more accurately meets our needs. 

https://youtu.be/f6ApBqlF1j4

Padlet's new poll function

 Have tried Padlet's new Poll function, and created the following Padlet: (a) Students will view each TSA reading aloud video, and (b) grade the performance via the Poll.

The Poll is easy to use. One minus is that the poll choices are confined to 4 only. 

https://padlet.com/szepaul/tsa-reading-aloud-performances-73u14i6xkmms2pmn

Learning about a school's work in AI in Education

 收獲滿滿的早上，探訪AI in Education 走得超前的沈中，謝謝Spike Ho 和Suzanne Suen 犧牲假期回校向我介紹沈中在STEAM 和English Language Education 引入AI的最新發展，真是大開眼界。認識這些既passionate 又creative的educator,使我也不敢怠惰。

A Microsoft Forms Practice Quiz that I have created

 Upon learning about Microsoft Forms' new "Practice Mode", I created the Practice Quiz below, which I tried out yesterday evening with my Language Awareness course participants. My purpose was threefold: (1) to guide them to grasp the correct usage (in terms of language form) of the verb 'suggest', which is tricky to use in a sentence; (2) to use the practice quiz as one example of a grammaring (Diane Larsen-Freeman) task, and (3) to illustrate how to use the Practice Mode of Microsoft Forms as one example strategy for nurturing students as self-directed learners. 

If you're interested, you might give the following practice quiz a go. (It doesn't collect respondent information.) After answering a question, click Submit, and see whether you have got it right or not. If not, you can then either 'skip', or retry the question. When you have finished the whole practice quiz, click on 'Recap Questions'. You will then see an overview summary of your performance. This summary is useful for respondents to deduce,  in this particular example, the correct usages of 'suggest'.  (And feel free to share your artifacts with me if you have other ingenious ways to use Microsoft Forms' practice quiz function.)

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=gTdBhKa7s0W74E8XxpDaauAvgCsoRCxKscTBnjrnFX1UNEtTS1o2NklBRjNBQkNKVzY1Wlo2QTVSSy4u

A Microsoft Forms Quiz I created for Practice: How to use 'suggest' in a sentence

 Here is my practice quiz: 

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=gTdBhKa7s0W74E8XxpDaauAvgCsoRCxKscTBnjrnFX1UNEtTS1o2NklBRjNBQkNKVzY1Wlo2QTVSSy4u

New Quiz Mode in Microsoft Forms

Quizzes created with Microsoft Forms can now be assigned in the Practice Mode, as opposed to the previous 'Test only' mode. 

This is useful for creating practice tasks, and for promoting SDL. 

Youtube Trimmer vs Youtube Clip

 Youtube has a built-in function called CLIP. You can capture a segment (clip) of a Youtube video, and share this clip via a link. 

The app Youtube Trimmer serves the same function. But the Youtube Trimmer dashboard is easier to work with in capturing a segment. Plus, the resulting segment in the form of a link, when played, will occupy the whole window, unlike Youtube segment link which will play in the default Youtube interface. 

Using the 'Present' function in Sutori

 Sutori also has a Presentation function. 

Minuses:

- 'Presentation' always works in full screen. 

- Once you click on the link in a card, the webpage will appear in a new tab. But the Presentation mode will be ended, and you will be taken back to the original Sutori. If you wish to continue presenting, you have to click Present, and start from the beginning again. 

Pluses

- Videos and Audios will play automatically during a presentation. 

- An image inserted in a card, if clicked on during a presentation, will pop out large. 

Using the Slideshow Function of Padlet

 A few days ago I had to conduct a staff development workshop at a school. I took the opportunity to create a Timeline Padlet, which shows the rundown of the workshop, and presented it as a slideshow during the workshop. I did not have a separate PPT for the event. 

One advantage of that is that while presenting the Padlet, the original links in the various cards on the Timeline Padlet are clickable. 

However, on that occasion, as I already had the links opened as tabs on my laptop, while presenting the Padlet, I didn't really have to click on the embedded links. I simply jumped to the browser tabs. 

Nevertheless, there is still one plus with presenting a Padlet like a slideshow. When you start presenting, it will open in a new tab. The original timeline tab is still there. That means that while presenting, any time you want to show the Timeline Overview again, you can jump back to that tab. This is something that Nearpod, PPT, and Google Slides, cannot do. 

https://padlet.com/szepaul/240319-spccps-workshop-reading-pedagogy-and-generative-ai-y8djcs2rkv7eshr4

Also, I used the 'Section' function to display a timeline for each part of the workshop (there were 3 parts).

Exporting a Padlet as PDF: Handout vs Slideshow

 A Padlet can be exported as a PDF file. There are two choices when exporting: 

A. Handout:

The resulting PDF will be in the usual WORD or PDF orientation. 

B. Slideshow

The resulting PDF will be for a slideshow, i.e., in horizontal orientation. 

++++++++++

Yet, one major difference is that in the Handout mode, the embedded links are still clickable, while in the Slideshow mode, they are not (this is a bit difficult to understand). 

Handout mode: 

Creating a teacher-led whole-class language awareness task using Padlet

 This is a consciousness-raising task to alert students to 3 kinds of nouns in English: Count; Noncount; and nouns which are both Count and Noncount. 

The screen will show a table with 3 columns (with Headings as 'Count', 'Noncount', 'Both Count and Noncount'. Near the bottom of the screen are 12 nouns. The teacher will guide Ss, or invite them to, drag the 12 nouns into the 3 columns. (Note that this is not a test of students' knowledge;  purpose is awareness-raising). 

Padlet has a board type called 'Canvas' which allows cards to be created randomly and dragged around on the board. Padlet also has a board type called 'Columns', but once this board type is chosen, any card created will have to go into one column, and not scattered around near the bottom of the page. 

So, i created a table using PPT, and I saved this table as an image. I then created a new Padlet using the Canvas format, and uploaded the above image to serve as the wallpaper. I then added the 12 cards (one noun on each card). 

Below is what the product looks like: 

https://padlet.com/szepaul/3-types-of-nouns-zxcoh3jcj5o1npyp

CapCut vs ChipChamp

 Just tried the two apps for quickly creating a video from a set of pictures. 

Interestingly, the two apps functions in almost exactly the same ways, so that I can't tell any difference between them. 

"Mark Sentence' function in Bookwidgets

 The "Mark Sentence' function can be used as follows: 

1. Display a short text, or a paragraph. 

2. Ask students to mark (ie, highlight) those words that they don't know, or wish to follow up on, etc. 

Below is an example from the Bookwidgets Gallery: 

https://www.bookwidgets.com/play/5JjdwuV1-iQAEZsPQ-gAAA/TFE4BT3/mark-sentence-q?teacher_id=5480712025145344

At this point, this comes across as a useful task type to start a class session, and to train up Ss as self-directed learners. 

Bookwidgets Webquests as Microlearning units

 Webquests is one of the task functions within Bookwidgets. 

Just now while I was browsing the 5 examples, it dawned on me that the Webquest is quite a suitable format for a microlearning unit. 

True that the examples in Bookwidgets are not that aligned with the conventional framework of a webquest (which includes 5 stages). But Bookwidgets has the advantage that it can embed other information sources and Bookwidget tasks, making a webquest more self-contained and task-based. This is good for a, say, 15-minute, microlearning unit. 

Will give it a try in my classes. 

Example from Bookwidgets' Gallary: 

Shakespeare: 

https://www.bookwidgets.com/play/qN3bpKk9-iQAFEavQ-gAAA/JFE7QJ5/shakespeare?teacher_id=5480712025145344

Microsoft Forms outperforming Google Forms

 Microsoft Forms 最初出現時，只是Google Forms 的翻版，但它不斷加入新功能，變得比Google Forms好用，最新的毒招，使容許學校或机構的admin可以把現存的Google Forms migrate 成Microsoft Forms. 看來Google 要加倍努力了。

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-forms-blog/what-s-new-in-forms-mar-2024/ba-p/4090181?fbclid=IwAR1vatKa1bqFq-Nwdb2cQk3KB1AcI3BK-Wq4R53BYZaREqbcqtbZoBSCHg4

Microsoft Clipchamp for creating a video from pictures

 Microsoft Clipchamp (a desktop app) is very handy to use for creating a video from pictures. It has built-in music audio files which you can add easily to your picture track as background music. The resulting video is an MP3 file which you save in your own computer, or upload to Youtube. 

Ocean of new knowledge

 Machine learning, Deep Learning, Algorithm, Big Data, DALL-E，artificial neural network ... ...., 唉，吾生也有涯，而知也無涯，惟有專注於科技於英語教學的應用層面。

Stormboard and Miro vs Padlet for Presentation

 Checked out Stormboard, and revisited Miro, to see if they were good for on-site presentations. 

I think they are good for creating an overview diagram for showing (the relationships between) subtopics and ideas. 

Although Miro does have a Presentation mode (with contents marked as frames), the effect is not that good. 

My tentative conclusion at this point is that Padlet is still the best choice, in that you can start by showing the overview Padlet, and then proceed to the Presentation mode. You can return to the Overview padlet any time you like. 

In the presentation mode, each card constitutes a 'slide'. The embedding function of each slide is praiseworthy: You can play a Youtude video, an uploaded PPT within a slide. Now, when creating a Padlet, you can use the screen-recording function, and record a narrated webpage, which will become a separate slide. 

In sum, Miro and similar apps are good for viewing by others; Padlet is good for realtime presentations. 

Deleting line breaks in copied text in WORD

 So far, this is the best solution that I've found: 

Method 1: Use the Find and Replace feature

1. Highlight the text that you want to remove the lines from.
2. Press Ctrl+H to open the Find and Replace dialog box.
3. In the "Find what" field, type ^p. This will find all hard returns in your text.
4. In the "Replace with" field, type a single space.
5. Click the "Replace All" button.

This will replace all hard returns in your text with a single space. This will remove the lines from your text.

Are we doing anything to support EMI students' learning of the content subjects through English?

 這陣子中學觀課，偶然看看學生其他科目的教科書，內裏的篇章無論是文字和概念都比同級英文教科書的篇章深得多，今天终於忍不住，把學生中二Science教科書的其中一頁影下來，供 language awareness一科 的学員在稍後的 language across the curriculum 一節中討論。

有時不禁想，今天英文科閱讀教學仍在甚麼text type和reading skills 中糾纏，固然英文科有我們的課程目標，但從學生角度，直覺就是英文科的英文「淺」得多，會不會因而輕視英文科？

Young teachers' AI buy-in

 今年Part-tme PGDE觀課和去年有一個很明顯的分別，就是今年不少老師用AI 去create teaching resources, 他們都是教齡一至三年的年青教師，對新技術接受度高；有時候是倒轉頭我從他們獲得使用AI的點子呢!

Youtube Trimmer

 Now that Vibby is apparently gone forever, I've been looking for a good alternative. 

Youtube Trimmer is easy to use. You can easily set the start and end of a Youtube segment, and share the clip with a link. 

https://www.youtubetrimmer.com/

Photo Gallery widget in Start.me

Been using Start.me for a while, yet it was not until 5 minutes ago that I found out this useful widget within Start.me: Photo Gallery. It works like a self-progressing photo album. 

Which means it will be useful for a Start.me which is shared like a website for other people to view. 

 

Downloading a Wakelet Collection

 Wakelet collections can be downloaded as a PDF file. The featured links in the original collection are clickable in the downloaded PDF. 

Use Onenote to OCR from an image that contains text

 Some tools can convert a pdf document to editable text. But if the pdf document was made from an image (e.g. a picture taken of a book page with a mobile phone), the conversion may not work. 

In this regard, Google Keep is doing a marvellous job. 

But for desktop work, so far, Onenote's OCR capability is still the best; and it's totally free. 

Just copy or insert an image (containing text) into a page inside Onenote. Then right-click, and choose "Copy text from picture". There you are!

The Text Recognition function in Kami

 It does not really grab the text from an image (containing text) that you upload. It simply turns your uploaded file (docx; pdf; jpg) into a PDF, which you can then edit (e.g., highlight; add text box; add audio comment) within Kami. 

Text Chat Animator

 TExt Chat Animator is a desktop app for creating a fake text chat. 

https://chat-animator.com/

The Pluses: 

- You can submit a picture to use as an avator. 

- Four people can take part in a chat. 

- You can insert emojis. 

- The generated chat appears like a movie. 

The Minuses:

- You don't start from scratch with your chat. You have to delete each sentence in the provided chat and type in your own sentence. 

- As it is all web-based, this process is not that smooth. 

- The final product must be in the form of a movie, or a GIF. But the generation process is slow and lagging. 

Use Autotext for giving Stock Comments

 In WORD, the function Autotext can be used for giving stock comments. 

But after my testdrive, I think that instead of saving the first few words of your written comment (on an assignment submitted in WORD) as autotext, if you have several stock comments to use, it is better to list them out in a separate document, and give each a code. Then, when you need to give a stock comment while looking through a document, type the code to get the stock document. 

In doing so, we can avoid having the autotext pop up when typing a word which happens to be included in one of the stock comments. The separate document will also provide an overview of what stock comments that we can use. 

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/shortcuts-for-word-to-add-quick-text-commonly-used/284c20fc-087e-4df0-86c9-4de752a978d4