Add Full Documentaries to Blogs and Wikis and...

http://snagfilms.com/ SnagFilms has complete documentaries that you can quickly and easily add to things like Blogs, or use for class lessons. And yes, I am an educator, so yes, they need to be free. OK, there are a few short (seconds) of commercials interspersed, but did I mention the docs are FREE?
I can see this working either in or out of the lab, with ESL students listening to the films and individually answering questions to aid in speaking and listening skills, or with an LCD projector, in a group.
It's very easy to use. As an educator, also good words to hear. Click on the doc you want to add (in this case I chose Morgan Spurlocks' "Supersize Me"), click on 'Snag', choose your platform from the list (in my case I picked the Blogger icon), put in your Blog ID and password, and then tell it where you wanted to add it (in this case, right below this post). To view, click on the doc and voila! The little doc widget magically appears as a post on your Blog. Doesn't get a lot easier than that. There are categories of films from history to sports to the environment, and surely it would be easy enough to find one and create a lesson plan.

Many thanks to Nancy McKeand and her Random Thoughts Blog post If you want to watch a good documentary…
( http://nmckeand.wordpress.com/) for pointing me in this direction, and good luck to Nancy on her move from LA.

Gabcast: Audio Podcasting

As you know, I am always looking for new and easy ways to do the things we want to do. Here's a method of creating an audio podcast using only a phone. This is the Gabcast address: (http://www.gabcast.com/) To hear my first Gabcast (and don't I feel like calling Watson...), click on the underlined phrase "Using Podcasts #2, Using Gabcast" that is above the Gabcast icon located in the right hand column of this Blog. It will take you to my channel. Click on the 'PLAY' button to hear my podcast.

Obviously I need practice, but the process was simple. I called in to the 800 number from my office phone, gave them my channel number and password, and then read my script. When I was done, I could listen to it and accept or change it. Then I hit the # sign to upload. I then went to the Gabcast page and found the code to add the script I read to this Blog, copied it to my 'Add a Page Element' and I was done. Here are the steps involved:

Creating Gabcast episodes
Recording your own Gabcast episodes is a breeze!
Signup & Login
signup and login to the website (it's FREE!)
Create a channel
visit your My Account page and create a new channel
Use a phone
call one of the Gabcast access numbers listed on the right side of this page
Record
start gabbing - tell the world what's on your mind!
Publish
publish your recording, either via the phone, or via your My Account page
Tag
tag your episode to make it easier to recognize and to make it searchable!
That's it!
subscribers to your channel will be notified via this website, iTunes, web portals, rss clients, and email

The Gabcasts are saved into an MP3 format, which can easily be inserted into a PowerPoint if you want. Kristy suggested this would be great for dictations for students to listen to and transcribe. Since the only equipment you need to create it is a phone (and a script), it should be simple to use. I'd like to have several of you try it out and let me know the results. Try both a college phone (land line) and possibly a cell phone to see the differences in audio quality. I'd also like your ideas on how this could be used. Effective podcasts are usually quite short and have a narrow topic.

Email the Gabcast channel and password to me so I can check it out as well. Sign up before using, but there is no fee. You will need to create a channel account before you begin your first Gabcast. When you have, you will get a screen such as the one below, which will give you the channel number, password (must be numeric), meeting password (if you want a conference channel) and then you can tag it to help with searching. This Web site also supports a link to add to a new or existing Blog (yes!) :

JSotir's channels
Create a new channel Manage your channels and episodes
(don't forget the importance of tagging your episodes)
channel number: 13724
channel password: 32256
meeting password: 312
channel type: Free space usage: 0 MB
Using Podcasts
Describing the process of creating audio podcasts using Gabcast Education / Higher Education http://wccniuesl.blogspot.com/
manage episodes edit channel delete channel

ESL Hotlist: Writing Plus

http://hills.ccsf.org/~esltech/Lessons/Comp/lab.html


Hotlists are new favorite of mine, and this one is very well organized. This covers many of the areas concerning writing, and also some broken down by levels and subject area. Worth a peek!