If you can type, you can make movies

You may already know about creating 2D animations with speech bubbles online using Pixton. But here's the next step forward; Xtranormal is a web-based service that offers the ability to create 3D animations (with camera angles) and audio added using a text-to-speech engine. Their motto: “if you can type, you can make movies” emphasizes the latter feature, though you could also opt to upload your own recorded audio instead.

A screenshot of the online editor can be seen above; elegant and feature-rich. They also have a more functional editor in the form of a downloadable application (called State) that runs on your PC. For a taste of the results, view the impressive demo videos on their website.

Technorati Tags: xtranormal,animation,web 2.0

Tutor talk: additional activities in Moodle

The following points were achieved today to finalize the last part of CTTL course requirements:

1. Added Google Course Evaluation form, through the available Google Docs templates library, using embed code on a Moodle web page. I also changed the default form theme.
2. Embedded a course-related (Java programming) SlideShare activity also using the embed code on a Moodle web page.

Tutor talk: additional resources for Moodle

As per the requirements for this part of the CTTL course, the following additions were introduced to the Moodle course page:

1. A web page was created in the form of an HTML block for the left-hand sidebar. The HTML code embedded an applet - Digsby - connecting to my chat client. This preserves my chat account's privacy while enabling students of my course to see my availability status and communicate with me synchronously.
2. A screencast was recorded using Camtasia. Audio was dubbed into the video stream, intro and finale sequences were added, and the result uploaded to YouTube using high definition production.

Tutor talk: content delivery in Moodle

In this part of Tutor talk, I discuss the reasons behind the content delivery system for my Moodle course. It is an extension of my stated inclination towards simple designs that deliver more for less. It is simply a “package” form, and the reasoning behind it can be summarized in the following points:

1. In order to eliminate any student confusion and simplify the download process, all material for a particular topic is "packaged" into a zip file before uploading under its relevant label.
2. Packages contain diverse learning material such as study guides, lecture slides, discussion tutorials, and practical exercises.
3. How topic packages are used is clearly defined to students under the heading "How to study for this course" on the front of the course page.

Tutor talk: Moodle page layout considerations

In this part of Tutor talk, I discuss issues relating to the selection and layout of different components on the Moodle course page I created for my CTTL course. You can refer to my previous article for an overview image of the course page.

My design preferences stem from my belief in the philosophies of “simple is beautiful” and “less is more”. When you’re trying hard to overwhelm an opponent or unbalance a potential customer, then other philosophies may be better suited. But while striving to teach minds of different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, you’re not going to achieve any better results than with these minimalistic philosophies which aim to reduce the stress of change upon learners.

Based on the previous statement, my selection of Moodle page components can be categorized into the following aspects:

• Navigation-related: this mainly includes the Search Forums block, Section Links block, the Activities block, the Administration block, and the My Courses block.
• News-related: this mainly includes the Upcoming Events block, Recent Activity block, and the "Notice Board" section created in the Topic 0 block.
• Course topics: this mainly includes topic blocks 1-6 carrying the main course content.
• Learning activities: this mainly includes the Assessment and Project sections of the Topic 0 block, as well as the different forums provided.
• Socialization-related: this mainly includes the Online Users block, the People block, the Blog Menu block, and the different forums provided.

A discussion of each aspect follows:

Tutor talk: Moodle course design

This post starts a topic less-widely valued by the general IT public. Tutor talk is about issues that concern tutors in general, and sometimes IT tutors more specifically. I will probably move “tutor talk” posts to a separate page in the near future. For now, this is what my IT blog offers for a start.

As part of my training for the Certificate of Tertiary Teaching and Learning (CTTL), I am required to post reflections for my Moodle course design. I had started this exercise previously on a Moodle blog but opted to utilize this previously setup external blog as an initiation in English IT blogging (the Arabic counterpart is here, my other English blog is here).

My Moodle course can be publicly found here. Simply click the “Login as a guest” button and you will be directed to the correct page.