Loom is a free Chrome extension that allows the recording of the content appearing in chrome as a video AND superimposes a smaller video of you on what is captured from the Chrome screen. I see it as a great way to create tutorials, but it has many possible applications.
Here is a video describing the use of Loom. I am proud of the technique I came up with to generate this video. I am using Quicktime to record the section of the screen within which I am using Loom to simultaneously record a video of what appears within Chrome.
Here is the video generated by Loom. You can match it to the “how to do it” video that appears above.
One important demonstration from the Loom processes is not well explained in the first video. At the end of the video, you will see a few seconds of the screen that appears when you end recording in Loom. This screen shows two options for sharing what has been recorded. One is the Link for the content stored by Loom. If you want to do something with this video yourself (for example, put it on Facebook), the download button offers to opportunity to save the video to your computer.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides some great resources when it comes to protecting you online. With so many students now using Chromebooks, I thought the following resource would be helpful. This resource explains how to set up privacy settings for student computers.
Explain Everything has long been a “go to” app on my iPad. I created narrated presentations for many situations using this app. Recently, it was announced that Explain Everything was coming to the Chromebook.
My initial reaction to using Explain Everything was neutral. The app seemed sluggish and I had some difficulty figuring out just how to import content to my slides. I understood that I would be bringing in images from Google Drive, but I could not get the connection to work. For some reason, restarting my Chromebook helped. I have a Chromebook Pixel so I was disappointed with the responsiveness of the program. This is an expensive machine and more powerful than inexpensive equipment students will be using.
I wondered about the importance of the Internet connection. I was exploring the app from the cabin and our connection is very slow. Today I had a chance to get to the coffee shop and try the Chromebook with a better connection. I am much more impressed today. Evidently, Explain Everything is more demanding than other online services I use and the speed of the connection seemed to make a difference. Hence, educators who want a class of students to work on Explain Everthing simultaneously may want to be aware of the importance of ample bandwidth.
P.S. – this is probably the first app I have actually bothered to take advantage of the Chromebook Pixel’s touch screen.
If you use the Chrome browser and Google services, you are likely familiar with the app launcher. The launcher is available from the square of blocks appearing in the header and provides easy access to the services Google must think are used most heavily.
The limitation with the launcher has been that these are not necessarily the subset of services that you use and the apps within the two sets of nine apps are not necessarily organized to meet your needs. It is now possible to customize both the Google services and the order of these services using App Launcher Customizer.
Once you add this extension to Chrome, the app launcher can be configured.
Selecting the “configure” link gives a user access to icons representing Google services and the services presently available from the launcher. You drag to add services and to reorder where they will appear in the launcher.
For example, I frequently take advantage of Google Scholar in the work I do. I can add this service and position it for easy access when I open the app launcher. This is a must have extension for heavy Chrome users.
Google shut down iGoogle on Nov. 1. This was not a surprise since they told us months ago and for the past month or so those of us who used iGoogle were reminded by a message each time we open the page. Even so with the date of doom finally here, there were many suggestions for alternatives. In September, I recommended Symbaloo as a replacement and this seemed to be the most common recommendation. With several months of experience with Symbaloo and a second look at the alternatives, I think I have a new strategy.
Symbaloo is great way to launch online services. An array of buttons, usually with the icons representing the services, appear as your home page. You can even create multiple pages and share individual pages much like you might create a Pinterest page.
What I missed from iGoogle was information. iGoogle allowed gadgets that embedded other web information services within the page – little feeds representing your email, stock quotes, your calendar, etc. It was combination of links to services and these information feeds that made iGoogle useful. There was a lot there in a small space.
igHome is one of the start pages alternatives I considered, but orginally rejected. It offers the opportunity to create a page using gadgets and most of the information feeds available in iGoogle.
Here is a new strategy I think offers an improvement over any given service. My new strategy takes advantage of the capability of Chrome to specify multiple start pages – each in a separate tab. I now launch both Symbaloo and igHome at the same time and easily switch back and forth. The order in which the pages are listed determines which page appears “on top”.
To create this system, you will need to open “Settings”. Locate the section of the settings that concern startup options.
The set pages options allow multiple pages to be designated.
If you write much, you likely read a lot. If you read to write, you also likely have explored many systems for taking notes, highlighting, and other systems for “boiling down” your research into the ideas that you then build back up into the content you offer others. (In case this is the topic that interests you, try this.
This is not about my use of such tools. This post was prompted by a post I read that commented on ways to offer what you highlight to others. The post focuses on a Chrome extension (there are extensions available for other browsers), Marker.to, that allows highlighting and offers a link so you can share the page you highlighted complete with your marks to others. I can probably offer you half a dozen ways to do this, but what I like about this approach is that it does not capture the content from the original site. As a content creator, I hope individuals come to my site. I do not want a service to take content from my site and then provide it to others.
When you install the Chrome extension, a new tool will appear near the top right-hand corner of your browser.
This tool (the highlighter) allows you to highlight and opens a dialog box that offers a URL that you can offer so others can view the highlights you have added.
The URL (here is a sample – http://www.marker.to/YX4mLT) can be added to content you create to take your readers to the content you have highlighted.
When I find a tool I like, I always wonder how the creators will receive compensation. I must admit I am often a little concerned. Will the company go away or sell out? Is there something I am missing? I think useful tools should cost something perhaps after a trial period.
I can’t resist a new gadget. However, I must have a way to convince myself that I am doing research of some type to make the purchase. I had convinced myself that I needed to purchase some type of android tablet, but after my wife’s iPad 2 arrived I decided that there was no way to meet even my minimal requirements that an alternative xPad of some type needed to be explored. Maybe in a year or so. Now, the chromebook seemed a different matter and I now own a Samsung (series 5), wifi online chromebook. This is the $429 machine (if this helps keep the following comments in perspective) and I must have a wifi source available to use this device (I do – and can use my mifi when nothing else is available). I am quite aware of the connectivity issue with any device and given the cost of a data plan (so much for the “unlimited” plans) is the reality check, in my opinion, in any case for mobile student technology devices. Netbook, chromebook, smartphone – whatever the device – the usefulness of the device depends heavily on getting to the Internet.
Anyway – back to the Chromebook (Samsung version). This device (not sure what to call it) has the feel of a real computer. I am certain less expensive chrome devices will be available, but the Samsung version feels solid, is larger than some of the netbooks I purchased, and has a keyboard with great “action”.
I tend to evaluate devices according to whether or not I can do real work with them. So, mostly, I need to do Internet research and write. Internet research implies more than just reading online – I need to organize resources, download documents, etc. So, tools like Instapaper and Evernote are important to my work flow.
If you have not worked with the Chrome browser, think of it like this (or at least here is how I understand it). When you open a tab, you can use this tab to connect to a web site OR you can use the tab to select from various services (apps) you have purchased (often for $0). So, for example, I can use services such as Instapaper or Evernote in this way from within the browser. Chrome already assumes I am going to use Google apps (documents, calendar, etc.).
Learning to work within the browser environment takes some exploration and some work arounds (at least it seems this way). For example, I wanted show the apps tab in this post. Working on a “traditional” computer I would know how to do this. I would capture the screen and then upload the file (perhaps after modifying the size of the image) to my blog. How to do this from within a browser. It turns out that a) there is a way to do screen capture and b) the chromebook can store files.
In addition, there is are USB slots and external devices can be accessed. Here is where it gets tricky. Assume I am writing on one device, I have generated a doc file, I have stored this doc file on a flash drive, and I want to edit this file on the chromebook. I can see the files on the flashdrive from my chromebook, but I cannot open the doc file. To edit the file, I must connect to Google docs, upload the file, and then the file within Google docs is available for modification. I guess this makes sense within the world of chrome.
Yes, I did write this on the Chromebook. AND – no I have not received an invitation to Google plus so I cannot comment on the Plus environment within Chrome. Maybe my wife will invite me.
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