For this week's technology challenge, I used the animation software ToonBoom to create a short video about OERs (a very short video) to demonstrate some of the capabilities of this program. ToonBoom is free to sign up for, and there are many free templates to make use of. I started with a template and then added text to the slides. There were a lot of options to choose from, including editing the "guy" in the animation, including all of his actions and movements. I found it difficult that there didn't seem to be any "undo" option through Ctrl + Z, and I deleted something and had to recreate it from scratch. The software lets you share it by sending it to YouTube or downloading it, but only at limited resolution. It keeps prompting you to spend more money to get additional options. This software has a lot of potential for the classroom, and I look forward to really getting into it over the winter break or next summer when I have time to create some engaging, dynamic mini-lectures using this software. My full notes are on my reading and thinking notes page. Below is the PowToon I created. 

Heather's New Learning RealtimeBoard - After seeing the amount of work Heather put into this RealtimeBoard presentation, I see why I was chastised for my rushing to get something on Google Sites the other week (although I posted enough real websites (google sites, wordpress, and dreamweaver) I've created to demonstrate a mastery over the technology (which is the point of all this right?). Anyways, Heather's NL Realtimeboard is awesome, and I love the screenshots she shows of the process she went through to create it. I like how most of these embedded program automatically update when you change the original; that really prevents the problem of having lots of issues with different versions all over the place. 

Kim's BR8 Animoto - This was a very dynamic presentation, and I really enjoyed watching it. I think this would be a very easy tool for students to use instead of PowerPoint, as there seems to be more flexibility in creation and integration of images. I really like how neatly it was embedded into Scalar, too. The first video in particular was so engaging. I'd like to create some short presentation for mini lessons using this software program.