Phished Through Twitter

I am embarrassed to admit but I was just Phished through Twitter. I must admit that I don't understand how a Twitter Phishing excursion works, but it is a problem.

About 2:00 this afternoon, I was having problems sending tweets. It suggested that I wait 60 minutes and try again. I waited, tried and failed. Then I waited another 60 minutes, tried and failed. I just couldn't tweet or Direct Message.

I began receiving Direct Messages from followers suggesting that I change my password because I had been phished. I changed my password immediately. Reviewing my sent DMs, I found a stream of DMs that my account had sent to my followers.

Mashable reported that the Twitter Phishing attack began on Feb 20. It begins when you receive a tweet that says "lol, is this you?" and it links to a site called "Bzpharma". DON'T GO THERE!!! If you go there and enter your information, you will be the brunt of a huge spam assault. The virus will also go through your followers list and attack them with Direct Messages that will include a link to that phishing website.

I don't remember clicking on a Direct Message like this. I have seen this virus come through email so I am careful about this.

However it happened, to all of you who received this virus DM,

I AM SORRY!

I still don't have access to Twitter. I see why they have shut down any of the infected accounts. I have contacted the Twitter Support people about this and will wait for their reply.

Tweet Safe and DON'T take the Phishing bait!!!

What have been your experiences with Twitter Phishing?

Z

Photo: flickr.com/ToastyKen

Animoto is AWESOME!

Creating a mash-up anytime soon? Watch the video above before reading any further.

Animoto may well be your tool of choice.

Animoto is an online video production application that was released in 2007. It is simple and effective. Animoto has turned video creation into a 3-step process:

1. Upload photos/videos - You upload the files from your computer.
2. Select music - Selecting music is easy. They provide a wide selection of music licensed under Creative Commons. This means that the artists WANT you to use their music for free as long as you acknowledge them - and Animoto does. You can also upload your own music if you wish.
3. Process the video - Now it's time for Animoto to select the transitions. Then it scrambles and cooks your video into a tasty media jewel.

Control freaks don't need to go completely off the handle. There are Video Tools that allow you to rearrange the clips/photos as needed. You can add text as slides all unto themselves. If you don't like the transitions, you can click the 1-Button Remix button to have it re-mash your photos (I have a re-mash at the end of this posting. It is the same photos in the same order but the transitions are different.)

Best thing is that you can share it from the Animoto website or through social media, email and even YouTube or SmugMug. Yes, you can even download it as a standalone video file. If you don't want to deal with any of this, they will mail you a DVD for $22 which seems a bit overpriced.

This program isn't designed for creating your typical educational video because it doesn't appear that you can overdub a narrative. Never-the-less, if you want to share a bunch of video resources. This is quick, easy and good quality.

Bernie Dodge tweets that they use Animoto for creating a curricular music video in the Tech for Teachers class at San Diego State University.

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• What do you use for video editing? Have you used Animoto?
• Can you share some links for videos that you or your students have made?
• How are you using video production in your curriculum.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Create a Video for Business or Fun at animoto.com (techtalkformoms.com)
• How To Make A Video Tribute With Animoto (makeuseof.com)
• Animoto : Bringing Homemade Video To A Whole New Playing Field (cenaynailor.com)
• Fotolia Lets You Animate Photos With Flixtime (techcrunch.com)
• Virtual Real Estate Tours - Animoto.com (retechworld.wordpress.com)

Professor Destroys Laptop as a Warning for Students

Talk about an ego-maniacal professor. This professor has serious issues with student-based learning. Watch the video above and you will see Kieran Mullen, a physics professor at the University of Oklahoma, bathe a laptop in Liquid Nitogen and then shatter the computer on the floor with the threat, "Don't bring laptops and work on them in class!"

What does this mean? Why is he scared of students bringing computers to class? Laptops in class can be a distraction, but it can also be an amazingly interactive tool that will enable the students to find new ideas to integrate with the discussion. Robin Galloway writes about how we run a backchannel in our lecture classes so that students are able to discuss the ideas that are covered in lecture.

What do you think?

• Do you allow laptops in your lectures or classes?
• Do you encourage students to use their laptops in class?
• How do you use laptops to engage your students in the classroom learning experience?

Z

What's Wrong with this Picture?

OMG!!!

There isn't much to say about this photo.

Just in case you don't recognize the players, it is an Overhead Projector positioned to shine transparencies onto a Promethean interactive whiteboard. A document camera (left) is at the ready as well.

OUCH!!

What do you think? Leave your comments below.







Photo: Robin Galloway