As we all know, it’s important to avoid infringing on copyrighted material. So, how can you find excellent quality images to use in presentations or on blogs without having to pay expensive royalty fees to use licensed material? The simple answer is to use the Creative Commons on Flickr. There are literally millions of excellent photos that have various types of creative common licenses that allow you to use them without having to spend money or sacrifice quality!!
How does creative commons work on flickr?
There are several different types of licenses to choose from, you should search for a photo with the license that best fits how you will be using it. Here is a brief description of the different types:
Attribution: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform copyrighted and derivative works based upon it but only if credit is given. Noncommercial: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform copyrighted and derivative works but for noncommercial purposes only
No Derivative Works: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform only verbatim copies of the work, not derivative works based upon it. Share alike: Others can distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs the work.
If you have not signed up for an account, and plan on using Flickr images in the future, it might be worth it for you to take a minute or two to create a free yahoo account (Flickr’s parent company). One of the many reasons why you would want to have your own Flickr account is because you can conveniently keep track of images that you would like to use. When I am searching for images on Flickr I quite often find other photos that I would like to bookmark for later– since I have an account I can do this quite easily by marking it as a “favorite”. Take a look at the Newbie’s Guide to Flickr for the basics of uploading photos on Flickr or view a presentation that includes a step by step guide to signing up for a free account.
Q: When you are adding text to Powerpoint or Keynote presentations, how do you know whether it’s the right size? Will the people at the back of the room be able to read it?
A: Fortunately, there’s a simple rule of thumb. Measure your monitor diagonally. Take the number of inches, and then step back that many feet from the screen. Can you still read the text? If not, make it larger until you can.
Bonus Tip: If you don’t have ruler handy, most Fordham PCs have 17″ monitors, and most Fordham Macs have 24″ monitors.
Trick or Treat?
Halloween goes high tech this year..
Backup your data and avoid giving yourself a fright!!
It’s a fact of life that data gets corrupted and hard drives crash.
Unfortunately it’s not something that people usually think about until it’s too late….
There are a variety of ways to back up your data, the key is finding one that works for you. For example, buying an external hard drive allows you to keep your data on hand, but if your apartment floods or burns down you’re in trouble. Online storage is a great alternative, however, some people are uncomfortable with this because they are worried about privacy issues or the longevity of the web company.
Things to consider are:
level of expertise
amount of money/time
file sizes
security
location
Comparisons between
and lists of online services: Mashable List ToMuse Ultimate list
A couple of weeks ago, I had posted links to a couple of Powerpoints that discussed ways to improve PowerPoint presentations. One of the suggestions that was given involved using images with very little text on slides to convey a message. After all, you are giving a presentation so that your audience can hear what you have to say- not for them to read your slides!
So where can you get pictures from?? There are many different websites to search for them, but my favorite way to find photos is to use Flickr Creative Commons. Other websites that I like to use are Google Images or SXC Stock Photos.
Some things to remember…. Avoid copyright infringement! Always make sure that downloading and using graphics is allowed. When in doubt, contact the author for permission or don’t download at all.
To avoid this hassle, I prefer to use images from the Creative Commons section of Flickr. There are several different types of Creative Commons Licenses and you can read about them on the Creative Commons website.
Most people can read faster than people talk, so PowerPoint slides that are full of bullets and text distract from what the presenter has to say. Reading the text off the slides is also a sure-fire way to lose the attention of your audience. These are just some of the things to watch out for when putting together a presentation.
What about the things you should do?
That’s a good question! There are many ways to make presentations more engaging. Take a look at some of the ideas on ways to avoid the pitfalls of using PowerPoint and create more stimulating presentations.
A common misconception we encounter in the FTC is that one needs Acrobat Professional to comment on or review a PDF. That is simply not the case. If someone sends you a PDF that has been properly review-enabled, you can add your comments and edits using any recent version (7 or of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
One of the issues we see frequently in the FTC is with instructors who can’t see files their students have added to the digital dropbox. When the student logs in, the file is there. When the instructor logs in, it isn’t. The problem is students not understanding how the dropbox works. One of the dropbox’s functions is to allow students to submit datestamped files to instructors, but it also allows students to store files for their own use for the duration of the semester. Sometimes, students don’t realize there are two buttons on the dropbox page, and just click the “Add” button. The “Add” button, though, just uploads the file. It doesn’t actually send the file to the instructor’s dropbox. To do that, they need to use the “Send” button, and it’s worth reminding them of that from time to time.
Today’s tip: if you need to revise materials you have posted to a Blackboard course, attach the revised material to your course item, and then delete the old version. You’ll have two copies of your materials posted for a few minutes, but you’ll have insurance if you have problems uploading the new materials. If you delete the old materials first, and something goes wrong during the upload, you won’t have a backup online.
Despite the date, today’s tip is no joke: it’s often best not to answer your students’ emails as soon as they come in. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s usually a good idea to let student emails sit in your “to-do” box for a while before you answer them.
Too often, student emails generate a false sense of urgency. If you are like most faculty, though, the bulk of emails you receive–at least the ones that aren’t last-minute pleas for extensions–are requests for clarification about some aspect of the course. If you are teaching online, you probably also get frequent technical questions about Blackboard and other technology. Whatever the case, the first student to email you with a question probably won’t be the last. Waiting to respond gives you the ability to assess the situation and respond appropriately. If a number of people are having the same problem, you can address your response to the whole class using Blackboard or a group email, instead of sending essentially the same email response 20 or 30 times. On the other hand, if only one student is struggling, you can work with him or her just as effectively in a few hours as you can right now.
Of course, sometimes things arise that do require immediate attention, but if you are following our previous week’s advice and not encouraging students to wait until the last minute to get their work done and contact you, you should be able to give most issues raised in student emails an appropriate, considered response. That will be better for you, and your students.
Attribution: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform copyrighted and derivative works based upon it but only if credit is given.
Noncommercial: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform copyrighted and derivative works but for noncommercial purposes only
No Derivative Works: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform only verbatim copies of the work, not derivative works based upon it.
Share alike: Others can distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs the work.
Q: When you are adding text to Powerpoint or Keynote presentations, how do you know whether it’s the right size? Will the people at the back of the room be able to read it?
of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
