DV for Teachers

Here’s an interesting bit of software:

“Bee Docs’ Timeline leverages Apple’s Quartz graphics technology to create the most beautiful and accurate timelines. Our automatic context sensing technology does all the hard work, automatically selecting the best layout and date settings based on your data and output media. Data can be entered directly into Bee Docs’ Timeline or imported from Excel and other popular software applications. Additionally, the timelines that you create using Bee Docs’ Timeline can be exported as PDF for use in your favorite presentation or page layout software.”

Timeline’s export formats are PDF, Word, HTML, RTF, and plain text. Final Cut will import PDF files… wonder how much work this could remove from making an animated timeline scroll, layered over relevant video material? Hmmmm!——-

“SMIL (pronounced ìsmileî) stands for Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language. SMIL is a Web Consortium standard for describing multimedia presentations. QuickTime 4.1 and later can play many kinds of SMIL presentations as if they were QuickTime movies.

This document provides a general overview of SMIL and a detailed description of its usage in QuickTime.”

SMIL has been in RealPlayer’s camp for a while. I would like an easy way to create multimedia slide shows with audio that play anywhere. This seems complex, so I’ll note it here and get back to it.——-

“MPEG4IP provides an end-to-end system to explore streaming multimedia. The package includes many existing open source packages and the “glue” to integrate them together. This is a tool for streaming video and audio that is standards-oriented and free from proprietary protocols and extensions.

Provided are a live MPEG-4/H.261/MPEG-2/H.263 MP3/AAC/AMR broadcaster and file recorder, command line utilities such as an MP4 file creator and hinter, and an player that can both stream and playback from local file.”

I haven’t played with this one, but an open-source MP4 encoder/streamer would be excellent. Not locked in any company’s proprietary box.——-

“At a special event in Las Vegas on Sunday, Apple Computer launched Final Cut Studio, a suite of new applications designed to give its professional users a firm grip on the burgeoning HD market. The suite includes upgraded versions of Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Motion and a new application called Soundtrack Pro.” ——-

“The American Theatre Wing’s panel discussion series brings together performers, directors, playwrights, designers, choreographers and behind-the-scenes personnel from the Broadway theatre.”

Real video streams of interviews with star writers, producers, and actors from Broadway on working in the theater. Found via the April 21 edition of the Net Happenings Newsletter, part of the Educational
CyberPlayGround. I found all of this via the EdTech mailing list, an indispensable resource for me.——-

Plugins for the search bar in Firefox or Mozilla (don’t use either? You should consider it.) They’ll let you search directly in several educational resources, including the EdTech mailing list, the best I’ve found for tech issues in K-12. Newbies are warmly welcomed there by many very sharp and thoughtful people.——-

”[W]ith the right software-most of which is just a free download away-you can play almost any file your Windows-using friends throw at you.”

I can vouch for almost all of these. Minimal tweaking, and almost everyting is playable. Nice.——-

Dave Winer at Scripting News:

“This time around, I’m walking through the steps required to record and post your own podcast using tools virtually everyone has or can easily acquire on a tiny budget.”

Jake Ludington’s MediaBlab (see previous post) was a link from this article. Though aimed at PC users, there’s little that needs changing for Mac users, too. I’ve written about Audacity before, which Jake recommends in his post.

Note: This is for any audio recording; it doesn’t have to be a podcast.——-

Jake Ludington’s gadget blog: “Consumer electronics manufacturers announce new gadgets almost every day. Software developers release new products and patches for the apps designed to make editing video, managing photos, and organizing your audio collection easier. The Internet is a virtual forest of movies and music waiting to entertain you. We find all the best software and hardware to help you manage your digital lifestyle, with regular postings featuring new product announcements, comprehensive how-to guides, and answers to the questions about your PC needs. People who want to know more about digital entertainment look to MediaBlab for solutions.”

Seems very PC-centric, but full of useful and cheap multimedia tips, apps, and tutorials.——-