Where to put presentations and how to find info. about sources

On Feb 12, 2019, at 16:16, Paul Beaufait wrote:

Hi G...,

I was thinking of you earlier today, ....

... your questions about pres. storage and retrieval sites, and identifying copyright material in extant presentations, might be a bit wide of the PSG's self-circumscribed remit. You still might [want to] inquire of JALT CALL SIG folk. Nevertheless, here's my two-cents['] worth. 

You're right about LinkedIn's appeal outside academic circles. I opted for SlideShare years ago, for ease of use as I recall–probably before integration with LinkedIn. However, I've been unable to find any spec's for free storage space today. Once you've uploaded to Slideshare (PDFs were recommended), content becomes virtually static, i.e., un-collabor-able. That is, unless you consider deep-diving (threaded) discussions [in comments] collaborative, which they may well become in certain other venues. I don't recall ever encountering or engaging in discussions like that on Slideshare.

You didn't mention how many previous presentations you'd like to publicize. Since Dec. last year, however, I've been bouncing against the ceiling for free storage space on Google (all sorts of content counted together: Gmail, PDFs, photos, videos[,] ... – but not including Google-native Docs and Slides). That has been even though Google offers more space for free (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/01/google-hasnt-updated-gmail-drive-photos-storage-limit-in-5-years.html) than does MS OneDrive (https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-US/plans/).

Regarding possibly copyright or otherwise licensed material in ready-made presentations, if it's images you're concerned about, Google (or other) image searches might turn up original sources and contextual authorship/licensing details. On blogs or other websites, I've found, those details usually appear on top pages and in page footers. 

YouTube once unceremoniously removed sound from a video I'd mixed with a tune that had come pre-packaged in the Mac video software that I'd used to produce it. Rather than attempt to argue (or litigate) the point against YouTube's done-deal, I simply replaced the tune with similar licks from a free music source. [A similar tactic may serve for image or text mash-ups.]

Searches for text snippets you'd like to retrieve and acknowledge [the]... sources for might turn up periodicals (behind paywalls) or books (with sample pages visible on Amazon) as well. Covers and copyright pages of books (or previous citations with publication details) may be visible in or accessible via search results. Newsy articles may no longer be accessible at original URLS, if at all.

Rediscovering exact page numbers for reference citations can be time-consuming if not troublesome. Requesting full texts of periodical articles from authors (via Academia or ResearchGate) or sending inquiries to journal editors are options. Both such sources may be keen on planned or projected citations.

The best advice I can offer is forward-looking; collect all the details you think you may need–and more, when you first encounter suitable source material. 

If you do find primers covering those sorts of intellectual property rights re-discovery [emphasis added], please point them out to me! I'll be happy to add them to the PSG's Diigo Group bookmarks.

Warm regards,

PB

Paul A. Beaufait

Owner/Curator/Admin.

The Beaufait Collaboratoire

https://goo.gl/wYW1ks ([a] Google site)

More Practically Perfect Predecessors' Portfolios

As you are developing your own portfolios, I'd like to ask you to do the following. Please:

1. View the slides in the presentation embedded below, 
2. Follow the instructions on slide two and slide three, and 
3. Review the portfolios that you find via the links on slide four. 

Then please return to this post, and add a comment explaining which of your predecessors's portfolios you think is the best from each section (§1A and §1C), and why you think so.

Thank you in advance for you cooperation.

__________
Note: This post reuses and revises text from a previous post (Practically Perfect Predecessors' Portfolios, 2013.07.13) with the original author's permission.

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Collective Maps and [Rough] Outlines . . .

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who shared topic suggestions in class today to build into the maps and outlines in this post. I'd also like to point out that the two maps and corresponding outlines in this post cover some divergent, some similar, and some overlapping topics and sub-topics.

Neither the maps below nor the outlines farther below completely cover the topic for your next essays. Since the maps and outlines below cover only a few of the ideas upon which you may wish to focus in your essays about learning with computers, I want to encourage all of you to feel free to draw ideas for your draft essays (2-03a) from both sets of shared ideas (§1A & §1C). You also are welcome to combine those ideas with others from your individual outlines and essay prep. posts, as well as from previous posts on the Writing Studio Blog including outlines or about computers.

For convenience, I arranged the main ideas (in blue) in alphabetical order during and just after class. However, as you compose your draft essays, I hope you will find better ways to organize your main ideas than that. Moreover, some of the topics in green may be just as important as the main ideas in blue. So I expect you to demonstrate flexibility in composing important and related ideas into unified paragraphs that will enable readers to follow your thinking easily from one main point in your essays to the next.

§1A, 2014.12.03

§1C, 2014.12.03 

Outline from §1A

Learning with Computers

• Applications
  • PowerPoint
  • Other
• Challenges
  • keyboarding
• Convenience
  • Google
    • Drive
    • Gmail
  • Search
    • Google
      • Images
    • Yahoo!
    • Other
  • Recording
    • Microphones
      • Built-in
      • Attached
  • Playback
    • CDs
    • DVDs
• Economy
  • Paper-less materials
    • Homepages
    • Other
  • Other?
• Importance
  • School
    • English
      • Keyboarding
        • Numeric keypad
        • Typing
      • Classes
        • Listening
          • Classwork
            • Pronunciation practice
            • Viewing
              • News programs
          • Homework
            • Pronunciation practice
        • Reading
          • Websites
            • News articles
            • Other?
        • Speaking
          • Classwork
          • Homework
            • EnglishCentral
              • speaking points
              • (pronunciation practice)
        • Writing
          • Book reviews
          • Comments
          • Extensive writing
            • Essays
            • Reports
    • Homepages
  • Society
    • Communication
      • Commentary
      • Other
    • Information
      • News
      • Publicity
        • Homepages
        • Other
    • Internationalization

Outline from §1C

Learning with Computers

• Applications
  • Computer-based
    • Search function
    • Typing programs
  • Cloud-based (online)
    • Sharing
    • Typing practice
    • Language learning
      • PowerWords
      • EnglishCentral
• Benefits
  • Ease of correction
    • written work
      • reports
  • Exposure to vocabulary
  • Increase in typing speed
• Coursework
  • Listening Classes
    • Classwork
      • CDs
    • HW
  • Reading Classes
    • Classwork
      • Online texts
        • news articles
    • HW
      • PowerWords
      • Reports
  • Speaking Classes
    • Classwork
    • HW
      • EnglishCentral
        • speaking points
  • Writing Classes
    • HW
      • typing
      • blogging
        • reviewing
    • Classwork
      • Mapping
      • Outlining
      • Peer-reviewing
• Disadvantages
  • Time loss
    • computer set-up
  • Dependencies
    •  
  • Diminished skills
    • calculating in your head
  • Physical strain
    • Eyes
    • Neck
    • Shoulders
• Other activities
  • job-hunting
  • ???

If you have concerns or questions about those maps or outlines, or how to use them, please feel free to spell them out in comments on this post, or voice them in person during the next class meeting.

[586 words]

Survey findings: Best comments on essays

Here is a snapshot of findings from the survey today about comments from classmates on your essays (2-02a).

Screenshot of digest, 2014.11.19, 18:50:27:
Click for a closer look.

Thank you for your cooperation!

[22 words]

Writing Better Blog Posts: What You NEED to Know - The Edublogger

Though a bit dated, Writing Better Blog Posts: What You NEED to Know by Sue Waters (April 18, 2011) is ... loaded with good advice. I found out about that post in a weekly email bulletin from Edublogs entitled The Edublogger Archives: The Best of the Best (September 19, 2014), so I'm not the only person who thinks that's [still] a great post.

As you begin blogging again for fall semester, or continue–if you kept blogging during the summer recess, I urge you to review Sue's advice with an eye out for ways to improve your own posts. Then please drop back by here and post comments about what works for you!

[114 words]

via Blog this

The end of semester draws nigh!

What you do in these last few weeks is extremely important, if you want to earn credit for Writing III this year. This post provides a count-down to help keep you on track for successful completion of coursework.


Today's class: Wed., July 9th

Today was the next-to-last regular class meeting for spring semester. Those of you who were absent should:

• View the two most recent snapshots (class work and homework, 2014.07.09) in the white-board snapshots folder that your instructor has shared with you, and then
• Ask classmates (§1C) or peers (§1A) who attended class today to help you to understand and do what you missed.

Make-up class: Next Wed., July 16th

Next Wed., from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., is an early make-up class for students from §§ 1A and 1C who will be going abroad before the last regular class meeting (July 23rd, below). Those students will need to attend the make-up class next Wed. 

However, your instructor would like to invite the rest of you to come as well, to use the computer lab. space that he has reserved, so you can work together to catch up on and improve work on all assignments due before final exams. That is, the rest of you are welcome to attend the early make-up session, too, but only if you arrive by 9:00 a.m.


Last regular class meeting: Wed., July 23rd

The last regular class meetings this semester will be Wed., July 23rd, at the usual times. Everyone who is not going abroad on a university-sanctioned exchange program will need to attend. 


Last day of classes: Tues., July 29th

All course work except final blog posts, peer-to-peer comments, and Proto-Portfolio entries for July (below) will be due by midnight, July 29th, the last day of classes this semester. Course work due July 29th includes: 

• Book reviews,
• Corresponding bibliography entries, and 
• Portfolio Elements updates and revisions.

Exam periods for Writing III, §§ 1A and 1C: Wed., July 30th

Semester final exams for students not going abroad on a university-sanctioned exchange program will be on Wed., July 30. Please note that exams periods are on a one-hour time schedule. You should plan to arrive 10-15 minutes before starting times, and have your work stations and browsers ready for use, because exams will begin immediately.


Proto-Portfolio (PPF) entries for July: Fri., Aug. 1st

All PPF entries for July will be due at the usual time: 5:00 p.m., the first of next month; Fri., Aug. 1st.* 


Please talk over this schedule of events with your classmates and peers. Then, if you have any concerns or questions about this count-down to the end of Writing III this semester, please spell them out in comments on this post at least 48 to 72 hours before particular events in the count-down. That lead-time will give your classmates, peers, and instructor an opportunity to share related concerns, questions, and understandings.

 ____________________
* Note: Original blog posts, book reviews, and peer-to-peer comments from Aug. 1st onward will count as fall semester coursework for Writing IV in §§ 1A and 1C.

[495 words]

PaperRater Grammar and Spelling Check

"PaperRater.com is a free resource, developed and maintained by linguistics professionals and graduate students. PaperRater.com is used by schools and universities in over 46 countries to help students improve their writing" (About PaperRater, ¶1, 2014.03.04).

Screen snapshot of graphic on the PaperRater site

This post frames a comment that I posted today on the Digital Mobile Language Learning blog (Writing Tools for the Self-directed Learner Part 2, 2014.01.19), after trying out PaperRater, which provides, among other free services:

• Spelling and grammar checks,
• Style and word choice analyses, and
• Readability statistics (PaperRater: Features).

After trying a Google+ post that was too short to ... [get] feedback on many of the categories, I gave Paper Rater (PR) another spin on a working paper I ... [had written] a while back. The whole paper turned out to be too long for free assessment, so I cut the sample back to the end of the first section: 719 words per PR's count, 777 per Microsoft® Word 2008 for Mac. 

PR results, as Dan [Ferreira] suggested they would be, were quite interesting: 

+/- The spell check flagged one word apparently broken in the PDF from which I'd copied the sample, but also returned a false positive on the word conflate.  

+ Grammatical analysis revealed no errors. 

+ The numerical score for inappropriate word choices was, I guess, low (0.998). 

+/- The feedback on style in the web display focused mostly on sentence length (the longest: 53 words), but mistakenly indicated that more than half of the sentences were passive. I checked by hand, but found only one passive clause–in a quotation. 

-/+ Though the feedback on style in the PDF output was different, focusing on transition words, the PDF included general tips for using such words. 

+/- The vocabulary score seemed high (96), yet the feedback included only a subset (9 of 20) sophisticated words counted. Paper Rater did not mark such words in the sample. 

The numeric grade from the auto-grader bore a note to the effect that it was "based on [a] college grading scale," which was followed by a stronger one indicating that PR "does NOT examine the meaning of your words, how your ideas are structured, or how well your arguments are supported" [(Auto Grader, NOTE, ¶1)].

All in all, PR looks like it's worth asking students to try, as long as they can grasp its limitations.

I'm looking forward to trying it out with students soon.

[413 words]

KGUW_3-4_13-14: Reflections from §1C

Insights for students
taking Writing III and IV

next year (2014-15)

Students who have taken part in Writing IV, section 1C, are to post reflections based on their experience this year in comments on this post, for the benefit of their successors next year. The presentation below outlines the short essay writing task calling for current students to prepare, compose, and post their reflections in comments on this post.

[69 words]

KGUW_3-4_13-14: Reflections from §1A

Insights for students
taking Writing III and IV

next year (2014-15)

Students who have taken part in Writing IV, section 1A, are to post reflections based on their experience this year in comments on this post, for the benefit of their successors next year. The presentation below outlines the short essay writing task calling for current students to prepare, compose, and post their reflections in comments on this post.

[69 words]

Schedule for the end of the semester

Below is a recap. of the schedule that I announced in class on Wed., Jan 22.

Fri., Jan. 24th: due date for –

• Bibliographies, 
• Portfolio Elements (PEs: including Book Reviews and Essays), and 
• Portfolios (PFs) per se.

Wed. Jan. 29th: Exams on special schedule (one-hour time periods)

Fri., Jan. 31st: Last day for blog posts (other than Book Reviews and Essays) and peer-to-peer comments

Sat., Feb. 1st: due date for January Proto-Portfolio (PPF) entries.

If you have concerns or questions about any part of this schedule, please spell them out in comments on this post at least 24-48 hours before the dates in question.

[106 words]

Check out the eBooks @ KGU!

The link below is from the KGU Library site, eJournal[s]/eBook[s] page. It's supposed to point to EBSCO Host listings of a number of Macmillan LanguageHouse ebooks in the university library, 63 as of Oct. 2013 (KGU Library, 電子ジャーナル/電子ブック, 電子ブック).

• http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?profile=ehost&defaultdb=nlebk

However, Mr. T. informed me that "you have to be on our wireless or be using a computer hooked up to the KGU network" (personal correspondence, 2013.11.15). So the next time you're there, I suggest that you check it out.

If you find there are more ebooks (from more publishers) on the EBSCO host list, please post a comment to let everyone know how many (and which publishers) are currently listed.

[130 words]

Prep. for exams in §§ 1A § 1C

At the end of class yesterday (July 10), one of your classmates asked what she could do to prepare for the exam on July 24. 

I told her, as I had told students who had asked earlier (about early exams for students heading overseas) that some previous exam items are accessible online in my Slideshare presentation library, which in turn is accessible from a gadget in the Writing Studio Blog (WSBlog) sidebar. That gadget, which is quite a ways down the WSBlog sidebar (currently on the right), looks like this:

All of you are welcome to review previous test items on Slideshare, as well as your predecessors' responses to them on the Writing Studio Blog. Please keep in mind, however, that:

1. Not all previous exams are in that library;
2. New exam items _will_ be different; and
3. Exam formats may vary.

To find out more about previous exams in Writing III (and IV), it also would be a good idea to speak with your predecessors in person. Then I suggest that you share what you learn from them, and prepare jointly for exams with classmates or peers in §§ 1A or 1C. To get started, please tell your classmates and peers about this post!

[208 words]