Quicktime Basics

There is a great little program on your Apple computer, called Quicktime, that can really do some big things that are often overlooked.  It is often thought of as just a video player, but the free 'Mac' version has several other capabilities.

Let's walk through a few of them.

Go ahead and Open Quicktime

It's notable that nothing really seems to happen when Quicktime is opened.  There is no window that opens like you expect to see with other programs.

At the top of your screen you will see this ->

and in your Dock at the bottom of the screen you will see this icon ->


It's ok.  It is open.  There just isn't a window that opens up right away.

There are 3 recording options:

Movie Recording Records from your computer's webcam (or attached camera) Audio Recording Records only audio Screen Recording Records a video of what is seen on your computer screen.  The audio is optional.

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As you begin, be sure to check your settings.  These are found by selecting the little mark to the right of the record button. The Facetime HD Camera is the built in camera on any Apple product. Unless you have another microphone plugged in, you will be using the built-in microphone.

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When you are complete, the Stop Record button is found at the  top of your screen.   It  looks like a circle with a square in the middle of it. Once stopped, the video will pop up on your screen to review and save. File -> Save will let you save your recording where you would like.

Virtual Reality VR for Education

Virtual Reality in the Classroom

I like the description of Virtual Reality as a 21st Century version of the old Hasbro Viewmaster slides that I remember from growing up.  At least, that's how I can relate them to people my age.  There is much more to it in the modern version though.

I've had a chance to test out the Google Cardboard, the entry level of a wide range of virtual reality experiences that students can take on in the classroom.  I bought 3 of them from Knoxlabs to use at home and share with my colleagues for less than $10 each.  They provide an immersive, engaging experience for students, although only one at a time and for a short experience.  Depending how they are used, they can have a place for classroom use.

My favorite application so far is Google Street View, which is available on the iTunes and Android Stores.  With it, the view can experience an immersive experience anywhere in the world that is pictured within Google Maps.  At this point, this includes much of the world.  Don't expect to tour North Korea or maybe the family farm you grew up on, but it is really good.

Other applications include:

NYT VR allows the user to experience the biggest world news events in an immersive envrionment.  Free is also the best price here.  This would be very worthwhile with current events lessons.

Do you want to check out videos in VR?  Check out VRSE.  It will really blow your mind.

VR Cities - tours from around the world

ABC News VR -

Timelooper - this is close to a downloadable time machine.  each experience is a separate download.

YouVisit - this is the education component of the application

Guggenheim Museum VR

Wild Eyes


Recall what I mentioned earlier about the Hasbro Viewmaster? It's still around, although it joined the 21st Century, too, as it is also a Virtual Reality viewer.

If you get queasy at 3D movies or the big iMax theatres, you may have a little trouble with VR.  It does take a little to get used to.

Are you looking to go for high-end VR?  You can try out an Oculus Rift or read this review for a list of others.

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Side notes:

Jump on the VR bandwagon!  EdTechnocation has a blog to get you down the road.

Google Expeditions is frequently mentioned as a program to go after for VR in education  curriculum.  Been there, tried that - they have been overwhelmed with requests and don't appear to have any plans to come to Iowa in the near future.  We can try again later.
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Components of this blog taken from
Reality revisited: Getting started with virtual reality in your classroom 
by Mareen Yoder   4/6/16
Virtual reality in the classroom just got affordable
by Mareen Yoder    11/27/15
ISTE

Evaluating Your Sources

Do your resources pass the CRAAP test?

The CRAAP Test is an evaluating process that can help a researcher decide if a source is authentic, accurate, and reliable.  It was developed at California State University.

We all 'know' that not everything on the Internet is true, but can easily fall into a trap of fallacies.  Facts are often skewed to promote a particular agenda, especially on social media.  This little guide can help to avoid misconceptions and inaccuracies, especially in regards to online resources.

Components include:
            Currency
            Relevance
            Authority
            Accuracy
            Purpose

Here is the original print document that includes all of the key questions that students can refer to.

This handy rubric provides a quick and easy web evaluation tool.


Do you want to test out your students' search skills?
   Here is a list of 10 fake websites to try out:

1. Tree Octopus
2. Dog Island
3. Dehydrated Water
4. Martin Luther King Jr.
5. The Onion -may include adult content
6. The Currant
7. Pets or Food
8. DHMO.Org
9. All About Explorers
10. Bonsai Kitten
11. Male Pregnancy
12. Debate.org
13. Mankato

Authenticity issues are nothing new;
Read about how The Discovery Channel recently had some trouble after broadcasting 'fake' shows as real, but were actually intended for entertainment purposes only.

Even back in 1938, Orson Welles had many radio listeners afraid of invading aliens in his rendition of War of the Worlds.

Chrome Extension: Reword

Can students police themselves from the kind of language that would be associated with cyberbullying?

There is an interesting Chrome Extension called Reword that flags hateful words.  It may be worth a try on your students' computers.  It may be just the reminder needed before clicking on Post, Publish, or Share.  The Reword website indicates that it works with YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.  It is very easy to install and does not require any type of password to add.

Consider having your students add it to their browsers and keep the conversation going about working to eliminate cyberbullying.  This works with the Chrome browser only.

Read more about it in this NPR article.

MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro

Here is a comparison between the technical features and capabilities of each model of Apple notebook computer.  As a reference, I've added a column for the 4-year-old MacBook Pro that I am currently using.