DV for Teachers

Just discovered via the EdTech list:

“Creating Computer Videos in the Classroom

3 semester hours graduate credit

Discover exciting new ways to integrate digital video clips and multimedia as an integral part of the classroom and library media center curriculum. This class provides an understanding of visual literacy’s impact on the learning process and includes strategies for using multimedia to stimulate inquiry, creativity, and higher order thinking. Explore pre-production classroom practices, editing, distribution methods, and criteria for evaluating student work.”

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This makes me feel excited:

“It’s one thing to talk about-and execute-a user-focused approach when you’re a small company or an independent contractor. But what if you are, in fact, a fish in a sea as vast as, say, Microsoft? Can you hope to make a difference? Or does working at the “DarkStar” suck the soul from any employee with a passionate users bent?”

Go read this. Then, as a teacher, replace every instance of the word “user” with the word “student” or “colleague” as appropriate. Subvert from within for the sake of the students… I love it.——-

An anecdotal but apparently rigorous test:

“Verbatim’s VideoGard-coated DVD passes our torture test

Verbatim’s assertion that VideoGard-coated discs are 40 times more scratch-resistant than standard media piqued my curiousity, and I decided to test their claims. Truthfully, I have no way of quantifying how much more scratch-resistant 40x is, but I performed cruel and unusual punishment on a VideoGard-coated Verbatim DVD +R to see what would happen.”

For those really important projects.——-

Gary Mandle, Senior Product Manager, Display Systems, Sony Electronics

“The bottom line is that LCD provides reliable operation at a much reduced cost when compared to CRT. And, unless you are operating in an extremely critical environment where you must have the added performance of CRT, there’s really no better way to go other than LCD.”

Mandle mentions his company’s products as examples, not as standards; looks like solid advice from a pro.——-

Stephen Schleicer on how to record over-your-computer Skype phone calls as Podcasts, with full instructions for three different recording apps (Audacity, Adobe Audition, and Audio Hijack Pro) so you can do it on Mac or Windows. We need more cross-platform tutorials like this. Cheers to Schleicher.

“In the last installment of the podcasting series, I walked you through some of the options available for recording your totally awesome podcast. While that article focused on single and multi mic recording when everyone is in the same location, what happens if you want to do an interview with someone who is on the other side of the world?”

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If the Electronic Frontier Foundation has assessed this treaty’s impact correctly, and if you plan to ever let some other entity broadcast your video online, you read and respond to this:

“If adopted, the WIPO treaty will give broadcasters copyright-like control over the content of their broadcasts, even when they have no copyright in what they show. A TV channel broadcasting your Creative Commons-licensed movie could legally demand that no one record or redistribute it – and sue anyone who does. And TV companies could use their new rights to go after TiVo or MythTV for daring to let you skip advertisements or record programs in DRM-free formats.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the US contingent at WIPO is pushing to have the treaty expanded to cover the Net. That means that anyone who feeds your “sound and images” through a web server would have a right to meddle with what you do with the webcast simply because they serve as the middleman between you and the creator.”

It sounds quite grim. Please read the entire EFF post, and write to your Congressional Reps and Senators – it looks like a true free speech issue.——-

Aron Ranen’s DV Workshops newsletter came via email this week, and though he hasn’t posted the newsletter at the site yet, I really recommend going there and signing up to get it when it first goes out. This week he’s got links to several documentaries, current and historical, as well as pointers to more good production information. I really wish I could drive to SF in a couple of hours so I could work with Aron….——-

Now we’ll take a look at the use of a new behavior in Motion 2 designed just for use with replicators: Sequence Replicator. With this tool, individual cells in a replicator object can be animated in sequence for producing patterned tile effects .

There are two principal uses for this particular replication method. First, you can use it simply to repeat images (or video) on the screen for stylistic impact; and, second, you can use sequence replication to generate unique image masks for transitions in which images break up (or shape up) according to the patterns you create. The techniques involved for both of these applications are identical. But for this tutorial, we’ll look at the creation of a patterned, animated image mask. “

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This post has terrific information about how to maximize the utility of a digital camera, battery management, and other issues, from an educator with a lot of experience. The entire thread had value, but this message stood out.——-

It’s not strictly about video, but it’s about teaching, what I hope can be a corrective to the widespread misuse of PowerPoint:

”[M]ake sure only your main topics are included on the slide, but not all of your individual points. Then elaborate on your main points orally in your lecture. Keep in mind that the PowerPoint file is not your presentation; what you say is your presentation.”

I have seen so many people put their notes on slides and then read the slides… it’s boring, shamefully so, most of the time.