How can you play an audio file on Moodle, on a blog (such as Blogger) or on a web site (such as Google Sites)? Sites like SoundCloud will give you embed code (meaning code that you can paste into your web site to play media from an external source), but wouldn't it be nice to be able to play a sound file from Google Drive? Turns out you can. Here's a trick I found that does it nicely (tip of the hat to blogger Amit Agarwal).
In Drive, find the file and click on Share to get a shareable link. You should get a link that looks something like: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1234xyz/view?usp=sharing. The part in red is the id of your file.
In Google Sites, insert an Embed object. Or in Blogger or Moodle, switch to HTML mode.
Paste in this code: <iframe frameborder="0" width="400" height="200" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1234xyz/preview"> </iframe>
Replace the id in red with the id of your file (yours won't be 1234xyz).
Save.
To see how it works, you should be able to play the audio below. The file you're hearing is saved in my Drive.
I've written before about embed code as a way to have content from one site viewable within a window on another site. This can be more effective than simply linking to a video, for example-- like this...
Recently, Jeff and Justin's E10/MMW stduents created videos in WeVideo. They wanted these videos to play within blogger posts. I wrote up instructions for this and thought these might be useful to others (of course, I embedded the doc as a demo, but here's a link!).
In my last post, I mentioned using the word "embed" to show a Google Map with less clutter. This is a workaround for a specific issue, what does embed actually mean?
It's easiest to explain by example. See the YouTube video playing here?
While you're watching the video inside this blog post, it's actually playing from YouTube. The video is embedded in the post.
Here's an embedded map, as another example. You can manipulate it just as if you were on the Google Maps site. Once again, the functionality of the map comes from Google Maps. This blog post just has a container (or "window") holding the content.
So how is it done?
First, check to see see if the content you want to put on your website, blog, etc, provides embed code. In addition to YouTube and Google Maps, you can find embed code from Prezi, LucidPress, SoundCloud, and many other presentation sites, Vimeo and other video sites, Twitter feeds, news sites and more.
Typical icons for embed code are< > or </>or < > HTML.
For example, here's how I found embed code for a video from the New York Times:
Copy the embed code provided. It will typically start with <iframe>, something like this:
Now, on the website or blog (for example, Weebly, Moodle, Google Sites, Blogger, etc.) where you want the content to play, click the icon to insert HTML or embed code. This is important, because you are inserting code, not "normal" text."
Paste in the embed code. You can adjust width and height and other settings by examining the code, if needed. Return to the normal editor, if necessary.
I'm preparing notes for a workshop on blogging, so I thought what better place to do it than in an actual blog? So here goes:
So what is a blog, anyway?
The word "blog" comes from a truncation of "web log." What makes it different from other web
pages is that it is regularly updated with posts. There is (typically) the opportunity to comment on posts, so blogs lead to conversations. Usually, posts are presented in reverse chronological order. Sometimes, blogs have static pages in addition to the stream of posts. Tags are used to make it easier to find posts on particular topics. A blog can have one author or a group of authors.
Why blog? (without a purpose, blogs die quickly)
Blogging involves writing in a style appropriate for the web. This means including hyperlinks and incorporating multimedia elements. Blogging affords students an authentic audience-- they're not just handing something in to the teacher, but publishing their work. Commenting on others' blogs teaches students how to be constructive and appropriate online. Here's an article from the Times of San Diego about other benefits.
Teacher provides prompts. Students blog about them.
Students use their blogs to summarize their learning on a regular basis
Students organize a portfolio of work in a blog
Who are the authors? Readers? Commenters?
Teacher creates a blog. Students are readers/commenters.
Make one class blog-- teacher and all the students are "authors" (can post).
Each student creates their own blog. Blogs can be private, have invited readers, be password protected or be public (somewhat dependent on the tool chosen).
What tool to use?
Blogger -- you're looking at Blogger right now. Easy to use, looks good. Blogs can be private. No way to set up whole class at once. Edublogs -- meant for education. Can create classrooms. Aggressive filters to keep it clean. Tumblr -- totally open and public. Simple and elegant. What students most likely use already.
How to keep it organized.
The simplest way to do this is to make one class blog with links to each student's individual blog. This can also be done in a Google (or any online) doc.
For his wellness classes, Troy created a blog with links to articles about recent events that he wants his students to discuss. Students post comments anonymously. Take a look:
I was in the room as students were reading and reacting to some of these articles and the engagement was high.
Having students create and update their own blogs is also a powerful way to make writing meaningful for them. Teachers whose students blog report improvement in both their writing and their engagement.
There are many tools available for blogging. Probably the easiest to get started with is Blogger (or Blogspot), which is part of Google Apps for Education (this is what Troy used). You can find Blogger by clicking "More" while in gMail.
Here are a few articles if you'd like to read some more:
What's a good resource for free, web-based resources for my class?
My favorite site is Free Technology for Teachers. It's a blog, written by a middle school teacher, that has quick reviews of lots of tools for all curricular areas. In addition to visiting the site, you can subscribe via RSS or follow on Twitter.
If you happen on something that looks promising and would like me to check it out or support your use of it, please let me know.
It's a new semester, and a chance to try something new with technology. Here are 10 simple things you can do right now! In a 10-minute meeting, we can get any of these ideas started:
Have students post their reactions to a reading/video on a Moodle forum....
...or use a VoiceThread to get students’ reaction to a picture, video, or story.
Have students start a blog to write reflections on what they’re studying (go to GMail, More, Even More, Blogger).
...or for a different approach to writing, have students create a comic strip summary of the day’s lesson.
Have your students record themselves speaking/reading, using Audacity or Aviary.
Create a Google alert to send you the latest results on any search query.
Start a parent e-mail list (see me to set this up- it only takes a few minutes!).
Create a YouTube playlist (or have students create them) for extending classroom learning.
Create a database or glossary in Moodle that all students can contribute to (see me to set this up).
Create a Google form (in Google Docs) to get input from students.
Why not give one of these a try? I'd love to help you get started.
