DV for Teachers

I don’t know if these are the best for under $100, but it’s a starting point if you’re looking. There probably will be more at this price point by the holidays.

“If you are in the market for an inexpensive digital camera here is a list of the top 10 rated cameras for under $100. Most of these cameras are designed for the casual snapshot taker and many of them fit in a pocket or purse. While they may not have many of the features found in more expensive digital cameras they still take reasonably good pictures and best of all they won’t break the bank.”

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David Battino at MacDevCenter:

“This clever tutorial explains how to make an enhanced podcast with Windows Media Audio (WMA) files instead. That means that anyone with an Internet connection and Windows Media Player (even Mac users) can enjoy the enhanced playback. You’ll need Windows to make the files, but the process is simple. You simply embed URLs at appropriate points in the audio file using a free software tool. On playback, those links trigger Web pages to open.”

Nice – clever use of Windows Media File Editor, which is bundled in the Windows Media Encoder download. More great free multimedia capabilities. I wonder if the URL could be a local graphic file, or is it limited to web URLs? Some testing is due….——-

“If you are new to the teaching field-or if you work alongside someone who is-then this book was written for you,” begins the introduction to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) new online tome for beginning educators. Available free of charge on ED’s web site, “Become a Teacher: Survival Guide for New Teachers” features a number of resources for rookie educators, including reflections from fellow first-year teachers recruited to “talk candidly” about their experiences, “with a particular emphasis on the relationships they formed with their colleagues, university professors, and their students’ parents.”

Via eSchoolNews.com.——-

How about making tutorials for your students to subscribe to? Or a regular video for parents to subscribe to? Or…

“The next generation of podcasting has arrived. Now you can create video podcasts and have them posted in the iTunes Podcast Directory for millions to view and download to their iPods. QuickTime 7 Pro makes it easy to put your thoughts and your face in the spotlight.”

I know equivalent tutorials exist for Windows; I just have to find some and link to them.——-

Good to find a source of help for this particular cross-platform issue.“If you need to create presentations on the Mac and move them to the PC (or vice versa), this is a good place to start. And this is just a start. We’ll add more info as we learn more. Your suggestions and corrections are very welcome.”Via this discussion at the EdTech list.——-

A timely review (for me) of the new release of Motion; I have a couple of projects I’ve started shooting for but not editing yet. I have never tested Motion and I want to make these videos look better than anything I’ve done before. This should make a difference. The author includes 4 video screen captures, demonstrating some of Motion’s capabilities (and one limitation he wants to see included in a future upgrade), and I found them worthwhile. The demos assume a familiarity with the interface I don’t have, but I can’t criticize the author for this – he has to make his point, not act as a teacher for newbies.

They’ve also posted a tutorial on using a MIDI interface – a keyboard, or a mixer control surface – to control motions, behaviors, and attributes in Motion from Chris Meyer, one of the leading motion graphics practitioners and designers in the world.

You’ll need to login to read the articles and see the video clips; use bugmenot.com if you don’t have a user account at dv.com.——-

The cover story of the October 18 issue of PC Magazine reviews several free apps for windows, including security, office suites, image editors and managers, and graphics applications. If you use Windows, you’ll find much to download here.——-

It seems almost all the posts today concern free software:

“So here we go again: ten more excellent helpers that are deserving of a little good press.”

Kevin Schmidt praises, with good comments and screenshots, the following:

• MPEG Streamclip (DV4T approved!)


• VLC Media Player (DV4T likes this too)


• Iconverter
• CanCombineIcons
• FormsToGo
• OnyX
• CleanArchiver
• Unpkg (Haven’t used this, but I sure will)
• DejaMenu
• KeyViewer

Some of these have shareware fees; if you use them, pay the developers.

Another free software list, this time all open source:

“Here are a few of the best open source programs written specifically for Mac OS X.”

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Macosxhints posts a valuable thread on protecting your computer. The discussion centers around Macs, but read it for a better understanding of the risks all computers face.

“I basically recommend that anyone who owns a comuter should get a UPS. No exceptions. Given the potential anywhere for weather or an even minor glitch with your local power provider to cause havoc on your AC line, it really makes sense to protect your investment in your computer. Even fluctuations in power that are too quick for you to even notice (i.e. the lights flicker briefly) can potentially cause directory problems, data corruption or even hardware damage.”

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