Here is a nice little document that tells you all you really need to know about QR (Quick Response) codes http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk/

QR codes can be used for tours, scavenger hunts, trails and as a handy way of getting to web-based material quickly on your mobile phone.

In the Library we use QR codes for, amongst other things, study space check-ins and self-guided library tours such as this one: https://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/tours/PRL

If you want to publish one of your documents on Issuu you will need to sign-in and create your own account, or you can use the account that we have set up for the Social Media team (please ask one of the Steering group for the login details).

Please note: the free version of Issuu no longer gives you an embed code for documents.  The Steering Group is trying out Yumpu as an alternative, however you can only upload 3 documents.

Sway is available to all staff by logging into sway.com with your Office 365 password. (campusID@newcastle.ac.uk and your university password).

Microsoft have produced some nice learning materials for Sway including some teach-your-self videos and a self-paced (2 hour) course, links below.

Icecream Apps Screen Recorder allows you to take annotated screenshots and it also allows you to do live screencasting. You can download the app to your pc for FREE and do screenshots and limited screencasting (5 minutes max).

The screenshots on Icecream are particularly nice because you can add 1, 2, 3 steps (as in the image below) in whatever colour you choose and you can also add arrows, highlight items, and add typed text or free hand drawings.

http://icecreamapps.com/Screen-Recorder/

Icecream Apps screen recorder needs to be downloaded to your pc. Make sure you download the FREE version of the app. It is very easy to produce annotated screenshots and basic screencasts. Karina or Christina can help with Icecream Apps if you get stuck.

Screencast-o-matic is a nice, simple screencasting tool. The free version is quite basic, but it is very easy to use and it allows you to upload your screencasts directly to YouTube or to save them to your H:\ drive as MP4 files. You can also add captions to screencasts very easily.

The Library has a Pro Reader subscription to Screencast-o-matic and at the moment all the PCs in the Training Room on Level 4 of the Philip Robinson Library have Screencast-o-matic installed.

To use the Pro Reader subscription on the training room pcs use the following URL: https://screencast-o-matic.com/learninglab

You should see the following page: 

Click on Start Recorder. Depending on what browser you are using you will either be asked to ‘Run’ then ‘Allow’ or ‘Open’ to start the Screen Recorder Launcher.

You can save your recordings as MP4 files on your H drive, or on a shared drive on G, or you can save them directly to YouTube. We would recommend saving them as MP4 files if you think you will need to edit them in the future, e.g. where the information may go out-of-date quickly, then you can upload the recording into the Screencast-o-matic Video Editor and do what you need to do.

Ask Cath Dale if you need help.

ReCap is a screencasting tool that is used in lecture theaters across Campus.

The Hope cluster in the Philip Robinson Library and the Academic Skills Room in MRLR have Personal ReCap (PCap) installed which means that you can record your training session, or meeting, if you have a Blackboard login and PCap account.  You can find more information about this, and how to set up an account, here.

Loom is a free and very easy screen recorder. Record your screen, with audio, directly from your Chrome browser and share the video with your team or colleagues. Great for a quick video to show someone how to do a basic task or where to look for something on a website. Maximum of 10 minutes recording time. Limited editing.

To start a Loom recording, open Chrome as your default browser and search for Loom on Google. It will ask you to login. Login using the email option and use the Learning Lab login and password; email the Learning lab steering group and we will send you the details.

You will find lots of welcome videos that show you how to do your first video and how to share it. It really is easy, but if you get stuck, or need any help, you can ask Rosemary, Karina or Sarah.

This really simple little app allows you to record what you do on your phone.

Go to your normal App store and install the app on your phone. It really is easy!

If you want to see it in action have a look at one of the little videos that Elizabeth has created on installing the University App:

A bit like Animoto, with templates, themes and music, Spark lets you add your own photographs and videos to create your story. One area where Spark differs from Animoto is it is very easy to add your own audio to individual slides. The only downside to Spark is it does not display very well on Internet Explorer.

All you need to do is go to: https://spark.adobe.com/ and create your own FREE account. Or contact the Learning Lab Steering Group and we have created a group account for CS staff.

To start using Powtoons you need to create a FREE account from the Powtoon web page or you can use the CS Learning Lab group account, just contact the CS Learning Lab Steering Group for details.  

If you find you want to produce HD quality Powtoons for displaying on external lib guides the Social Media team has a paid Powtoon account which gives access to more templates and 'wizzy' animations. Please ask Rosemary for login details.

If you have a smart phone or a digital camera with a video function you can produce some really useful videos and slide shows. 

You could take a quick video of how something works e.g., how to use the phone charging cabinet in MRLR. The video might be all you need or you could provide written instructions, as well, to give a full learning experience.

If you are using a digital camera and you want to edit your video you can then upload your video into a video editor.  There are many video editors to choose from, some of free and some are very expensive. If you want a video editor, which has lots of functionality, but is not too difficult to use then we would recommend uploading your video into Screencast-o-matic and using its quite sophisticated editing software. Please see the tab above (Sceenshots and screencasts) for more information on Screencast-o-matic.

If you are not keen on producing a video, or think that editing it is a bit too time consuming, you could do a slide show instead. Take photographs and upload to an app like Slideshow Maker or Photogrid and produce a little slide show.

If you have a smartphone you can install Photogrid and create collages, posters and slide shows.

Videos are great for communicating ideas but they can be problematic when you only want to show portions of a video, especially if someone is watching the video on their own without your guidance.

With Vibby, you can choose a YouTube video (or Vimeo), highlight the parts that are relevant and add notes, prompts, or questions for people to read when that section of the video starts to play.

Click play, then click on the title of the video in the top left of the screen to view it in Vibby and see the questions and comments section.

Apester is a free platform that provides lots of storytelling tools for publishers. In particular, you can create interactive videos that allow you ask questions and insert activities within the video, a bit like Vibby and Vizia.

The Learning Lab have created an account. Just contact us if you want to use it, or you can create your own free account.

Microsoft Stream is a useful tool to know about if you going to be making lots of videos and you want somewhere to store you videos and/or share your videos internally.

If you already use Office 365 you already have access to Microsoft Stream. 

Elizabeth Moffett recently attended a NUTELA session on Microsoft Stream and she has written some instructions to help staff who would like to investigate this tool.

As we all know, music can make or break a video so it is useful to know where you can find FREE music clips that you can upload to your video.

Sometimes you may want to do a bit of planning before you go ahead and start shooting your video.

A storyboard is a well-known tool that is used in video production. It is basically a pre-visualized idea drawn, or illustrated, on paper showing how a particular video will unfold. As its name suggests, it is a good place to start when you want to sketch out your story.

We have a storyboard template below that you can print-out. 

Visio is a powerful piece of software that allows you to create flowcharts, diagrams, process diagrams, organizational charts, etc. 

Visio https://support.office.com/en-us/visio is part of the Microsoft Office 365 suite, but it is only available on subscription to named individuals or on specific pcs within the Library. There are 2 pcs in the Training Room on Level 4 of the Philip Robinson Library that have Visio installed. The first pc as you walk in the door on your left and the presenter pc (the one with the screen on the wall).

As with most Microsoft products there is lots of help available in the the form of How to Guides if you want to have a go, but we are also lucky to have Laura Fisher at hand because she uses Visio as part of her job and she is happy to help if you need a bit of encouragement.

Laura has also, very kindly, recorded a short video to help you get started and show you the basics, see below:

Inspiration is installed on all staff PCs and is a very simple and friendly tool to use.  There are lots of different templates to get you started in creating a flow chart or other type of diagram.  Or, you can simply use these as ideas before starting from your own blank canvas.

Watch Sarah Hornby's video (above) for a nice overview of some of the features on Inspiration.

Coggle is a nice piece of software that allows you to create interactive mind maps and charts. Coggle looks a little different to the other mind mapping software because of its flowing, organic branches. Easy to use and easy to collaborate with your colleagues.

To use Coggle you will need to create your own account. With a basic account you can create 3 FREE coggles and you can collaborate with 3 other people.

You don't have to be 'high tech' to create mind maps, you can just pick up a piece of paper and a few coloured pencils and get those ideas flowing or you can use our blank template (attached below). 

Before you create your mind map we would recommend writing a 'stream of consciousness' list of as many ideas, terms, phrases as possible, e.g. for a mind map on writing a murder mystery you might have a list words that look like this:

murder, house, home, appearance, Victorian, high ceilings, location - london, king's cross, characters - names, letters, old carpet etc.

Then look at all the words and terms and try and find a few main themes. If you look at the mind map below for our murder mystery (which is one that we found on the Internet - so cannot be used elsewhere because there may be copyright issues!!) you can see the main themes in green and then branches leading from the main themes where different ideas have been added.

The CS Social Media team has its own Soundcloud account where you can hear audio clips recorded for the Geordie Library Guide. Here is a nice example:

Audacity is seen by many people as the best FREE audio recording, editing and mixing tool. Audacity lets you record live audio and it also lets you upload sound recordings and edit or cut them to re-use again. 

It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do get the hang of Audacity it is quite straight forward to edit or cut bits of audio.

If you get a bit fed up with the music options on Powtoon you can find all sorts of copyright free music on the Internet which you can edit in Audacity and then upload to Powtoon as a MP3 file.

Upload your audio file (or record something new) and Clyp turns it into a shareable short link which can be shared or embedded anywhere.

Recording audio on your phone is very easy and the sound quality is surprisingly good. On some phones the voice recorder gives you an option to record using 'interview mode'. This means you can use the microphones in the top and bottom of your phone to record your voice and your interviewees' voice at the same time.

Freesound aims to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, bleeps, ... released under Creative Commons licenses that allow their reuse.

There seems to have been a resurgence of pod casting recently with some podcasts getting quite a cult status. If you ever watched The West Wing on TV you might be interested in listening to the The West Wing Weekly pod cast which now has thousands of followers.

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics here at Newcastle University use pod casts in their list of Module Descriptions. 

If you like the TV programme QI, the QI elves produce a very interesting, and funny, podcast called No Such Thing As A Fish.

If anyone is interested in creating a series of podcasts, for whatever reason, then have a chat to Paul or Richard who will be able to advise you about the best way to proceed.

CastBox is a one-stop-shop for finding and listening to free podcasts. It also acts as a host if you want to upload your podcast and it has a nice blog with lots of podcast recommendations and how-to guides.

Voki is a neat little tool that allows you to create speaking characters to engage your audience.  These characters can deliver short presentations in MS PowerPoint or can be shared via a link or embedded on a web page.  If you're feeling shy and don't want to use your voice there is also a text-to-speech option.

Check out the tutorial video below to preview Voki and for instructions on how to get started creating your own!

We have an account for Voki. 

Username: lib-learninglab@newcastle.ac.uk

Password: Learninglab2018

The CS Marketing, Promotions and Feedback team produce lots of images for the social media platforms and different library campaigns. These images, which are all produced by Library staff, are stored in G.

There are a number of images taken by the Social Media Team you may find useful for your projects. you'll find them on the T: drive at this location: T:\Service Provision\Service Development\CS Learning Lab\Images taken by Social Media Team

Canva - free, simple, design graphics software. https://www.canva.com/

BeFunky - good, easy photo editor where you can edit your photographs and produce nice collages. BeFunky is also a quick and easy way to resize an image if you need to make an image smaller, or a slightly different shape, to upload to a website or profile. https://www.befunky.com/

Pixlr - hundreds of effects to retouch your photos free of charge: https://pixlr.com/

You may also need to take your own photographs on your phones or with a camera. If you take any photographs, or produce any images, that you think may be useful for other staff please save them in T:\Service Provision\Service Development\CS Learning Lab\Images taken by staff for Learning lab                    

If you create any images that you think you may also want to use for 'external' use ie., not Library staff, then you need to make sure that your images comply with the Library's Visual Identity guidelines: T:\Marketing and Communication\Visual Identity

An infographic is a representation of information, especially data, in a graphic format designed to make the information easily understandable at a glance. ... The process of creating infographics is sometimes called data visualization.

There is lots of software designed to help you create infographics. Many of the software packages available have a FREE, basic, plan that allows you to make simple, but quite effective infographics.

Piktochart https://piktochart.com/

Infogram https://infogr.am/

10 free tools for creating infographics: http://www.creativebloq.com/infographic/tools-2131971​infographics 

Easel.ly http://easel.ly/

You can make some really nice quizzes on Typeform with pre-defined question types like multiple choice, true/false and short answer, but it is slightly more involved than some of the other quiz creation software.  It is, however, FREE and it is easy to embed and share the finished quizzes.

Playbuzz lets you create those, sometimes annoying, personality quizzes. What kind of book are you? What your favourite colour says about you, etc.

We looked at Playbuzz in one of our Learning Lab termly meetings.

Apester is a free platform that provides lots of storytelling tools for publishers. In particular, you can create some nice, visual quizzes to make your presentation come to life and get some valuable feedback.

The Learning Lab have created an account. Just contact us if you want to use it, or you can create your own free account.

GoFormative is an assessment tool for teachers where you devise quizzes. A particularly nice feature is the interactive PDF where you can upload an image and ask people to draw the answer or circle the correct answer on the image. 

http://goformative.com/formatives/migrated-8406576/view

Quizizz is a quick and easy way to create fun, meme-themed, competitive quizzes for classroom interaction. It is FREE but you need to create an account to get started.

Quizizz is very much like Kahoot, but one area where it differs, is it allows free account holders to set a quiz as homework and provides a shareable link and a pin number.

Survey Monkey is a great tool for creating surveys, but just recently it also started offering a quiz making option on free accounts.

The quiz option has all the standard quiz questions like multiple choice, short answer and true/false or yes/no. 

H5P makes it easy to create, share and reuse HTML5 content and applications. You can create mutiple choice questions, personality quizzes, true or false quizzes and lots more using H5P and all of your content can be embedded into a libguide using an embed code.

Purpose Games is a web based games site that host thousands of games and quizzes and it also lets you create games and quizzes which are also hosted on the Purpose Games site.

One aspect of the site which could be useful is you can create 'groups'. This means you can create a game, then create a group that only named individuals can join.This could be quite useful if you are delivering some training and you want to test the participants, or you want to encourage team work.

Class Tools links to lots of FREE games that you can make and embed on your website etc. Includes crosswords, QR code treasure hunt generator, a post-it generator (below) and lots more!

H5P makes it easy to create, share and reuse HTML5 content and applications. You can create some great games that are easy to embed into a libguide with an embed code. Games that you can create include: fill in the blanks, Image sequencing, match the pairs and lots more.

Learning Lab has an account for H5P. Just ask anyone on the Steering Group if you want to have a go. 

Padlet is a really nice space for collaborating and sharing information. You'll need to create an account first and then you'll have a limited number of free Padlets you can create with that account.

We use padlet quite a lot in the Library for various activities. One that you may have come across recently is the 12 Apps of Christmas padlet: 

Microsoft Forms is a simple app that lets you easily create surveys, quizzes, and polls.  

Forms is available to all staff by logging into Forms with your Office 365 password. (campusID@newcastle.ac.uk and your university password).

Typeform allows you create forms, surveys, questionnaires and quizzes.

Learning Lab has a username and password for staff who want to use Typeform. Please contact the Learning Lab Steering Group for details.

The video below shows you how to create a questionnaire or survey. The video is really designed for students to help them with a project they are doing with SPSS, but the Typeform part of the process is very clear:

Survey Monkey is a good survey tools with lots of question options even on their free accounts.

Learning Lab has a username and password for CS staff so please contact the Steering Group for details.

Apester is a free platform that provides lots of storytelling tools for publishers. In particular, you can create some nice, visual polls and timed polls to make your presentation come to life and get some valuable feedback.

The Learning Lab have created an account. Just contact us if you want to use it, or you can create your own free account.

With the free version of Survey Anyplace you can create some quick, easy and engaging surveys.

You can embed photos, videos and audio and create unlimited surveys.

One thing to be aware of in the free version is you can only collect 20 survey responses a month. If you want to survey a large group of people the free version of Survey Monkey and Typeform allows 100 survey responses a month.

Mentimeter is easy-to-use presentation software where you can create fun and interactive presentations. 

Poll Everywhere is a live audience participation tool that is often used with students in a classroom setting. It can also be used to poll people via email with a permanent sharable link.

The Liaison team recently used a Poll Everywhere poll in an email to let the team choose the Objectives that they want to take forward for next year!

Plickers lets you poll your class without the need for devices. Just give each participant a card (a “paper clicker”), and use your smartphone or tablet to scan them to do instant checks-for-understanding, exit tickets, and impromptu polls. 

Wooclap is similar to Kahoot. Very good for live interactive polling.

Free account limits you to 30 users, so something to be aware of if you are polling a large group.

Free account does not allow you to 'set homework' so can only really be used in a 'live' situation.

Bounce is a quick and easy way to 'bounce' feedback about a web page, or a web image, to colleagues: http://www.bounceapp.com/about