Final Project

So here is my final project so far. It's a screen capture video (in two parts) in which I show students how to set up a specific Google Wave that will aid them in collaborative writing and inquiry on a research paper they will do on a famous invention.

Not only did I get to learn the functions of Google Wave, I also learned how to use Jing for the screen capture. That was tricky because I couldn't save the files in a format that I could play back except online. And the embed codes from the website I stored them on aren't working either (they wouldn't resize, so you could only see about half of them). So you will find the links to access my videos here:

Part 1 Part 2

It was really neat to learn some new tools, even if they were hard on my computer and it went very slow doing them. Knowledge opens doors, so just knowing something new that I CAN do means I have a lot more possibilities in the future. Over the term I've felt like this class has to accommodate a huge variety of skill levels with technology, so while not many people get exactly what they want everyone gets what they need. Within that system there are bound to be a few frustrations, but there is also room to learn and grow. And opportunities like this one let me do that. So kudos.

Week 5a: Finished Movie

I finally finished my multimedia project. I like how it came together but the technology gave me a really hard time. When I played it from the beginning the sound would line up one way, but when I played it from any intermittent point it would play from a different point in the track. So syncing the music and video was a HORRIBLE pain. It's not the way I envisioned it, but I got it close enough that I'm content.

So far as copyright goes, the music was copyright clear from Freeplay and the clips come from three separate movie, none of which total over 30 seconds and DEFINITELY nowhere near 10%. You can check the sources cited in the credits or the description below the video on YouTube.

I learned a lot about video editing and how I might use a project like this in the classroom. We just completed a similar project for another class that did this kind of teaching plan, so I got to see how this plays out to help students realize how different genres work, anticipating the audience and using different effects strategically. Anyway, it's done. So there you go.

Week 4a: Multimedia Presentation Storyboard

Here is a storyboard I made for an upcoming video for my multimedia project. It will give a brief walkthrough of a research presentation like my middle school requires. It starts with an introduction, then tells how to turn the student's written report into a posterboard, and finishes by giving an oral presentation as an example of the ones the students will do. I'm kind of making it overcomplicated by involving screenshots and a lot of scenes, but I want to get some experience with the technology and learn how to put all this together. So I think I'm up to the challenge but I can always fall back on simpler methods if needs be. Look forward to that in the near future.

Week 3a: Class Website

Here is a link to a website I'm making for my class. It isn't done yet, but I think I have all the pages setup. I just have to insert the data now--which I need to look up and check for correctness before I add it. Anyway, it's neat to see how a website of your own is easy to acquire, create, and manage. Sometimes I get stuck, but, I suppose I expected that. It's mostly intuitive, though.

Week 2c: Internet Safety

After watching the associated videos and reviewing the reading material prescribed by my class, I told my friend Paul (I won't use his full name or give you any other highly personal information in order to protect his online identity) about what I learned. Because I plan to be a teacher and he plans to be a family man some day, my main concern was how to protect children in their internet usage. The main thing is to be aware of how they spend their time, i.e. what sites they visit and what they share. With blogs becoming so popular and so many attractive internet offers that pop up, kids need to know what to look for to know what is legitimate and what signs give warning for potential danger. Kids should never give out personal information like full names, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, etc. They should also check with an adult before following up on any internet offers. They shouldn't join groups of become friends with strangers or become involved in any other suspicious activities. Paul and I agreed that parents should be involved in their children's online social lives and set standards and rules in what they visit.

Week 2b: Good Copywrite Use

This is a better example of copywrite use. It is posted on YouTube by Hulu.com, a website that does take care in acquiring permission and licensing. As such, Hulu is not restricted by the same limitations as the first video which only apply to works were permission is not asked for nor given. Hulu has original media obtained by legal and legitimate means, and they can play full episodes according to the contractual permission they have. They put postings on other websites (like YouTube) to attract attention and advertise their services as part of a negotiated business move.

Week 2a: Bad Copywrite Use

For this YouTube post the creator apparently put a camcorder up to the TV (you can see how the images constantly adjusts contrast/color for the lighting), suggesting that permission has NOT been granted to the one who posted it. If it were used in a classroom for educational purposes (don't ask me how) then it would still be bad usage because the clip was acquired by less than legitimate means. However, the video is just over a minute long, which fits within the requirement to show only 3 minutes or 10% of the whole (which is 22 minutes long). Had it only been the sound clip, though, it would exceed the 30 seconds or 10% of the whole limitation. The poster does reference Family Guy in the post but not with a properly formatted citation. The post also shows the lyrics to the song, which are under 250 words, fitting the limits of a poem but, again, citation is poor.