Doing a Quick PaperShow Webinar

With the right tools it is easy to quickly do an impromptu webinar with good results. Today I had a chance to do a screensharing session with my friend and colleague Karen Janowski showing her the capabilities of PaperShow. For those of us in the field of assistive technology we are always looking for new tools that can be used to support students in the classroom. For those students who have in their Individualized Education Program that they are to be provided by their teachers with classroom notes, PaperShow can be a god send. In today's classrooms, teachers generally have access to a computer and data projector and with the addition of PaperShow they can simply write their notes on the PaperShow Flipchart paper for all of the students to see. Just plug in the PaperShow USB key and you are ready to get started- you see no software installation is needed, everything runs off the USB key. When they are done with the class they can save the notes as a PDF file and email it to the students or post it to the schools web site for easy retrieval. Now back to the impromptu screen sharing session.

Karen and I have been using Skype for some time and we regularly talk with each other about assistive technology and whats new. Today we started chatting and then called each other to talk about PaperShow. Using Glance for the screen sharing I started a session and I sent Karen a link in Skype that she could click on. Within seconds we were up and running. Glance still remains one of the easiest screen sharing tools out there. With a simple click you are up an running in no time. One last detail- I wanted to to be able to show Karen some of the controls on the PaperShow Flipchart paper and so I connected the iPevo Point 2 View camera so that I could show her how I was using the PaperShow pen and paper. With all my technology humming, I was able to show Karen both my computer screen and what I was writing as if she was looking over my shoulder. Karen was intrigued with the possibilities as I am with how we can support students in the mainstream that may need to have notes supplied by the teacher. Using PaperShow in the classroom is definitely the way to go as an accommodation for students who need to have notes provided to them.

EtherPad & Skype Perfect Together

I was in the middle of doing some brainstorming on the topic of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Math, when I had IM'ed Karen Janowski to see how she was doing via Skype; and when I told her what I was doing, she suggested that we put our heads together and come up with some ideas. I decided to give her call via Skype and then Karen shared an EtherPad address with me so that we could both collaborate in real time over the Internet and record our ideas. EtherPad is a Web 2.0 application that lets anyone quickly share a document so that all parties can collaborate in real time. With EtherPad you are just a click away from collaborating with each other in real time. Once I clicked on the link that Karen had provided me, I quickly copied and pasted my initial ideas that I had in a mind map and we were off and running. Using EtherPad, Karen and I quickly added more ideas and when we were through I was able to export my EtherPad session as a Word document to my computer. Karen and I marveled how easy it was to use Skype for the audio component and EtherPad to record our ideas. Give it a try when you are collaborating to find out just how easy and powerful this combination is.

CrossLoop and Skype to the Rescue!

Just yesterday evening Karen Janowski and I completed and successfully submitted our NECC 2009 Proposal. When all is said and done we could not have done it without Skype and CrossLoop. Karen and I set up a CrossLoop session and I had my computer logged onto the the NECC Submission Proposal Screen ready to go. At any point in time Karen could jump right onto my screen and make edits and add text. Using Skype for the audio we were able to complete the process in about an hour's time. Having Karen have access to my computer screen as we filled out the form made life so much easier. We didn't have to email or pass text from one another or get confused as to where we were in the process. If I had to do it again I would definitely turn to Skype and CrossLoop to complete the online proposal. Having these two tools at our disposal made this a truly collaborative experience and one that allowed us to efficiently complete the task at hand. Now the hard part- waiting until December to find out if our proposal was accepted. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Professional Development for the 21st Century

Just yesterday I connected with my friend and colleague Karen Janowski, an Assistive Technology Consultant in the Boston Area over Skype and we spent the next hour or so catching up and sharing ideas and showing each other new applications. Using Skype we were able to speak with one another and then we connected using Yuuguu a screen sharing application that allowed us to see each others computer screen. Yuuguu was just updated so that the individual on the other end can now access your screen via the internet. Yuuguu is great for ad hoc meetings when you want to share an application with another individual or for that matter a group. You simply give the participants a URL and a PIN number and within seconds they can see your computer screen (do remember to do some tiding up:-) ). Participants can also request control of the presenters screen as well which is fantastic for training purposes.

More importantly as I was reflecting on our interchange it occurred to me that more educators need to seek out these rich Web 2.0 tools so that they can dialog and direct their own professional development. I know for myself, that having access to professionals like Karen that I can connect with on a regular basis really improves and hones my skills and the exchange of ideas is amazing. So when you are considering your own professional development see how you can craft it using the tools I mentioned, Skype & Yuuguu. Educators and other professionals need to look for new models of professional development for the 21st Century and the web is the way to go. Let me know how you are using Web 2.0 tools to expand your professional development.

Virtual Presentation

Karen Janowski did an awesome presentation on how to engage students in the writing process using various features in Microsoft Word. Karen's tips and tricks were really appreciated by my Graduate students who are studying for their Master of Arts Degree. Karen who is a Assistive Technology Specialist from Boston was able to talk with my class via Skype and was able to share her desktop with the class using GatherPlace. GatherPlace is a very easy to use cross-platform tool for hosting Internet sessions so that you can share your applications and desktop. There is no software to install and it allows Windows XP as well as with Mac OSX users to host sessions. There is a free 14 day trial which you should take a look at. The presentation went very smoothly and the students were able to ask Karen questions and interact with her as if she was in the room. I will be exploring some other tools for collaboration which afford a whole host of options and features.