Video Tutorials: "Can I see that again?"

[NOTE: Since 2009, Google Chrome has become my primary go-to browser. Extension development has slowed for Firefox. Nevertheless, these tools below still have no adequate substitute on Chrome (Downthemall, Outwit Images, Video Downloadhelper. The latter grabs from nearly every site - protected or not - I have ever come across, which is not the case with Chrome alternatives, such as Youtube Downloader or Freemake). Long story, short: I use Chrome day-to-day but keep Firefox for specialty uses]

One of the reasons I set up this site was to answer questions more efficiently. After all, there is a reason why some computer geeks wear t-shirts that say "No, I will NOT help you with your computer!"

I might give a short tutorial on how to use a time-saving teaching/learning digital tool but users really need a resource to "see it again" on their own.

Enter the "podcast" tutorial. Many software developers offer video podcasts (also known as "screencasts") to show how their program works. For example, yesterday I had 45 minutes to run through a variety of Firefox add-ons that students and teachers will find useful. But how much of this will people retain?

Here are some podcast tutorials of Firefox add-ons that I discussed in a rush. Elsewhere on this web site, you will find my discussions of how to use various tools. If a podcast tutorial is not available on the Internet, then the second-best thing is a FAQ list (Frequently Asked Questions), such as this one for Firefox extension "Downthemall!"

Selected podcast tutorials:


For more Zotero tutorials going into greater detail, click here

Outwit Images



Video Downloadhelper

Top Secret! Declassified Documents for Cheap

There are two commercial sites that sell CD's and DVD's of historical media, including scans of top-secret documents that have been declassified. In most cases, each DVD or CD costs only $10! I have built a huge collection of

MULTIMEDIA: from Earthstation1.com Much of it is pop culture but when teaching the Great Depression, where else can I get

*DVDs full of political cartoons on Hoover, FDR, Huey Long, etc. for $10?
*Audio of Hitler, FDR, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill
*Radio shows
*Film reels: propaganda on all sides, Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons showing the racist side of America at the time.

PRINT SOURCES (declassified documents): Paperlessarchives.com

Paperlessarchives takes some searching but there are FBI and CIA files on just about any significant individual or event (even Eleanor Roosevelt's FBI file!). Do search for Martin Luther King, Jr. and you get over 3,000 pages:

http://www.paperlessarchives.com/mlk.html

Steal this Book: Students and Textbooks

One of my favorite technology sites, http://lifehacker.com has an article on "how to save money on textbooks." The comments are more illuminating than the article. Students discuss how they scan (and share) textbooks, download them via torrent sites, and so on. Apparently this doesn't work too well with high school students because the illegal e-book crowd gets busted when the teacher asks to see their textbook. Oops.

As for me, I'm adopting a free e-book developed by the University of Houston. The site is rich and a PDF reprinting is a lot easier than stealing books or waiting to see if the prof is really going to use it. I make it a point to assign questions from the textbook, along with questions from lecture material and supplemental readings. If I were a student (I'm on the evil teacher side), I'd be teed after buying a $150 book that the professor didn't use.