DIY: Inexpensive Wiimote-based Smart boards

My son's school has been lucky enough to be able to afford Smartboards for each of its classrooms so that teachers can use them in a number of amazing ways. Students can interact with web pages, flash games, and software using "electronic chalk". Material, both digital and physical, is easily presented to the entire class. The boards open up a wide range of activities never before possible in the classroom, limited only by the imagination.

That said, smartboards can be exceedingly expensive. Second only to the capabilities of smart boards themselves is the inventiveness of hackers, DIY'ers and Makers who set out to use the relatively inexpensive Wiimote game controller to create an less expensive, home brew version of the Smartboard. Even better, building the system can be made part of the educational process for everyone involved .

This article from MAKE: Blog ( Make your own Wii smartboard) details how to create and use this inexpensive system in your own school or group. The video below offers a quick view of the amazing things you can accomplish with such a system.

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Merry Christmas from WelchWrite.com

We present our 3rd Annual LIVE Reading of Dicken's A Christmas Carol from Sunday, December 21, 2008 as our holiday present to you.

You can listen to the audio or watch the video from uStream.tv.

Presented by WelchWrite.com

Music courtesy of Incompetech.com

Listen: A Live Reading of Charle's Dickens A Christmas Carol

Click Here to Watch and Listen

How and Why to use Google Docs and Spreadsheets to simply your life

This is an excellent video from Google that shows why web-based services are such a good idea and some basics on how to use them. If you ever wanted to learn more about Google Docs and Spreadsheets (and other web-based services) , this is a great place to start.



Technorati Tags: education, google, learn, learning, video

Douglas talks technology on SoHo Tech Podcast's Monday Night Tech

I had a great time on Monday Night Tech with host, Dean Jensen. We talked about what to do when moving an office, weird Norton Internet Security problems, new comptuers and more! You can watch the video below or listen to the audio from Talkshoe.com.



Watch the video!

Click to listen to the audio-only version

Podcasting for Writers at UCLA Extension

Today the UCLA Extension calendar for Summer 2007 was released to the public. Among the offerings is our new class, Podcasting for Writers -- a 10-week online course.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join us for this class, here is the complete information.

Rosanne and I are really looking forward to the class.

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NEW COURSE
Podcasting for Writers (Online)
X 430.27 Film & Television 3 units $525

Podcasting has given writers direct access to a worldwide audience and freed them from absolute dependency on television networks, radio stations, and publishers to buy and market their work. To the audience, podcasting is "what you want, where you want it, when you want it," while to the podcast creator and producer, it is the ultimate creative freedom. This course covers the current state of this new medium; the basics of writing for it; and strategies for publicizing your podcast and expanding your readers, viewers, and listeners. Guest speakers available via audio and video podcast interviews, live interactive podcasts, and video conferences introduce you to the variety of ways you can use the medium. The course goal is to develop your own podcast based on individual professional or personal needs, interests, and goals. For technical requirements click here. Enrollment limited to 18 students. Additional technical requirements: Students need a recording device with microphone that is compatible with their computer; built-in microphones on laptops are acceptable. Students must have Apple iTunes software and access to audio recording software, such as Audacity or Apple GarageBand, to perform course exercises. High-speed Internet connection is required.

Course Open Reg# T3254U

No Textbook Required

Online Course
July 5 - September 6
$55 nonrefundable.

Rosanne Welch, writer/producer; WGA member whose credits include five seasons as staff writer, executive story editor, and producer on the CBS series Touched by an Angel. Ms. Welch also has written for Fox Broadcasting's Beverly Hills, 90210; Picket Fences for CBS and David E. Kelly Productions; and is the author of The Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space.

Douglas E. Welch, writer and computer consultant, whose work has been published in Wired, MacWorld, and Los Angeles Times. Mr. Welch is a member of Friends in Tech, and produced his first show, Career Opportunities, in 2004. He has written and produced over 300 individual episodes and conducts podcasting seminars for schools and businesses.

Technorati Tags: california, DIY, howto, how-to, podcast, podcasting, creativity, events, losangeles, technology, high-tech, video, ucla, class, education, online

Video: RSS in Plain English

Click to Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

Become your own video broadcaster!

Have you ever wanted to become a broadcaster, sending your show out to tens or hundreds of people?

uStream.tv might just be the answer to your dreams. Using only your webcam, web browser and Flash plugin, you can be broadcasting to your friends, family or the world.

Here is a test run I gave the service with some of my fellow Friends in Tech members. It was done using only the built-in web cam on my laptop.



Technorati Tags: DIY, howto, how-to, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech, free, video

Live at the Library This Week - VideoJug Cooking Videos

Update: I will be demoing this site as part of this week's Internet Seminar at the Sherman Oaks Branch of the LA Public Library. I'll also show online classes available from MIT.

Meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM.

I was playing around with the StumbleUpon Firefox extension, which randomly selects web sites in categories you prefer. This is one of several that caught my eye.

The videos are well done and the recipes are quite good and varied. If you are looking for a little something different in your web browsing and video viewing, VideoJug is a great place to start.

Cooking Recipes with video demonstrations

(Via StumbleUpon.)

Technorati Tags: hobby, make, howto, how-to, video, food, cooking

Scratch: Multimedia programming kit for kids

I came across this neat program, Scratch, created by the LIfelong Kindergarten Group at MIT. It allows kids (and silly adults, like me) to create multimedia presentations and games while also teaching them computer programming as they go.

Check out this neat video showing some of its features.

Video: Installing Firefox on a Mac

Installing Firefox on a Mac
While installing applications on a Mac is usually easy, Mozilla's installer for Firefox can be a bit confusing. Several of my clients had have difficulties getting it installed correctly, so here is a screencast to give you a, hopefully, clearer view of how it works.

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Technorati Tags: podcast, losangeles, technology, macintosh, software, computers, high-tech