Practical Experience 2 with iMovie Day 3

The 3rd day was focused on learning some of the more advanced features!

Today I started more with music and learned about ducking, adding sound effects, and even taking sounds from other video and adding them to other videos that lack some noise (press shift + command key and drag).

Adding photos to my video will apply the "Ken Burns" effect giving movement to otherwise stagnant photos. It really is a nice touch to making movies.

The precision editor really allows for some very nice tool for fine tuning the video. I had no idea that you could get so detailed on your videos just with iMovie. I also learned about adding "beat markers" (can press the m key while trimming the clip). As long as you have the automatic transitions deselected on your project properties. The photos or even clips will snap to the beat of your music! A pretty cool feature if you ask me.

Under the Inspector Feature, I learned about how to add effects to my clip, which will help me personalize my videos even more! (You have to double click on the clip in order to choose an effect.) Also in the inspector, you can change the speed of the video: slow down, speed up or reverse it!

Freeze frames are cool as well! It's like taking a picture in the middle of your video. (Note: Freeze fram will not work if the video has been stabilized due to the zoom feature.)

I remember having a tv that would allow you to watch two shows at once through picture in picture. Well guess what, iMovie does this too! Also, I movie has a whole "advanced" features that you have to activate in order to use picture in picture as well as some other tools. (You will find this under iMovie preferences and you will need to select the box activating the advanced features.) The cutaway tool is similar except that it only allows you to see one video at a time, but one video will intersect with the main video.

Applying and editing a map, allows you to show travels to various destinations which would be great for geography or vacation videos.

I made it through the entire essentials training, now I hope I can find time to learn even more about imovie!

Practical Experience 2 with iMovie Day 2 (9-22-2010)

Day two-
Today I learned that if you press the option key + command key, it allows you to trim +1 or -1second of your clip on your project. For extreme fine tuning skills, you can click at the beginning/ending of your clip (in your project), then press and hold the option key while adjusting with your arrows. (this allows you to add or delete frames. Pretty cool huh!

I also was reminded that with a transition we want to add cohesiveness. The speaker made a good point, "How often do commercials/tv shoes use these exotic transitions? It shows signs of a beginner." He also made a good point to use the transitions for special occasions or when you really want to emphasize a point.

I learned about "pinning" music to specific clips so that the music goes with the clip as it is moved around on the project box.


(I must admit, I really wish I had watched this during the first month. It would have saved me a lot of time! And, I think I would have better understood how to make a project in iMovie. What a valuable resource Lynda.com is. I am thankful for the opportunity to for the chance to pick a topic of my choice to learn more about.)

Reading

For week 4-

I printed off a large chunk of my articles, and have them scattered on my desk/floor. I am working on organizing them into a logical way for my literature review. I have almost all of my articles for the review. But I am still doing a little last minute searching.

I also want to note that today it was so nice to stop by the library, log on to my google account and everything that I needed at the click of a button! I was also able to save the articles to my google docs to view from home! I was pretty excited. Just wanted to share that little bit of info with you!

Stay tuned for more info on how my action research project is going! I will be starting cycle one next month!!! (This year, is going by ever so quickly!)

Practical Experience 2 with iMovie Day 1 (9-20-2010)

So, as you all know, I am new to the Mac world and am determined to learn as much as I possibly can! I am so very thankful for the Lynda.com subscription for the year. This time around, I choose to check out and learn more about the iMovie application.

I have been working with imovie for the last 3 months, and have learned probably the bare minimum to do what I need to do. But I must admit, I have seen some pretty awesome videos that my classmates have made and am jealous. I know I will be using imovie in the upcoming months so I am taking this time to invest in learning more about the application.


For the first day, I am learning about the storyboard and various functions/shortcuts.

Did you know that you can switch your project screen with the library screen to create more working space for your projects?

This little button right here, located around the right hand side of the screen towards the middle. 

More to come tomorrow!

Practical Experience with Flash (Day 3) 9-20-2010

(This was a project in process, from the exercise files with the Lynda.com training)

Ok, so now that I have moved beyond "basic shapes, drawings, and colorings" I am finding the shortcuts more difficult to remember. Flash truly has a tool for EVERYTHING! You can change gradient patterns, color match objects,or really do anything one's little heart desires! I know that I will not be an expert within the three days of watching some of these videos, but I still feel like I have gained more of an insight on how Flash works. (To be honest with you, I truly thought Flash had to do with the camera Flash and to add effects to various photos and artwork. Boy was I wrong, Flash does so much more!)

I also found a great free resource called HeyFlash.com. You can find several videos online from this source.

Flash is such a fun tool. I think students and teachers who were exposed and able to interact with this program could really enhance lessons. Things of the wealth of knowledge that some of the students could convey through the use of a flash movie, drawing, etc. I encourage everyone to check out Flash and spend some time getting to know this amazing program. It sounds like in month six of our program, we will be working quite a bit in Flash.

I am by no means an expert in this program now, but I do have more of an idea on how to navigate the screen and to do a thing or two! :)

Practical Experience with Flash (Day 2) 9-19-10

Today, I had the chance to work some more in Flash. As I learned some of the the ins and outs of the tools for Flash, this program now reminds me of an artist's drawing board. (To be honest, I an also see myself using some of these same tool concepts for my digital scrapbooking layouts! I am very excited about this!) I think that the shortcut keys so far seem to make sense, but there are so many of them, I'm just not sure I'll remember them all at first.

I had the chance to play (yes, you read right, play) with some of the tools that the video covers and I like what I see! Check out my picture below of some of the various tools that I tested.

Pretty cool Huh!

Look for one more post on Flash tomorrow, then I will be checking out another program!

Reading

I am finding much more information after searching not just interactive websites, but yet the components that should make up an interactive website, such as blogging. I will be honest with you and tell you that I am more of a hands-on-learner. I do like the Diigo site for organizing websites ans sharing with others, but when it comes to sitting down and writing my lit review, pulling what is important and organizing my thoughts, I will be printing off these articles and lay them in order for me organize my thoughts. I like to write on the paper, cross out ideas, highlight/combine thoughts. I guess you could call me old fashioned on this one. But, I will be using Diigo to post the PDF's of articles that I have found so that my critical friends can view them and give me feedback. As usual, I have myself here a work in progress, but here a few of the many articles that I did find. Still trying to rework my wording for my searches to find some other articles. I will keep you posted!


Kebritchi, M., Hirumi, A., Kappers, W., & Henry, R. (2009). Analysis of the supporting websites for the use of instructional games in K-12 settings. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(4), 733-754. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00854.x.


Kong, K. (2009). A comparison of the linguistic and interactional features of language learning websites and textbooks. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 22(1), 31-55. doi:10.1080/09588220802613799


Sang, A. (2009). The Creation of the ‘Hong Kong Visual Arts Education Web’ and the Use of the Inquiry-Based Teaching Approach. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 28(2), 215-224. doi:10.1111/j.1476-8070.2009.01608.x


Damico, J., & Baildon, M. (2007). Examining ways readers engage with websites during think-aloud sessions. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(3), 254-263. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.


Fancovıcová, J., Prokop, P., & Uşak, M. (2010). Web-Site as an Educational Tool in Biology Education: A Case of Nutrition Issue. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 10(2), 907-921. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.


Moorthy, D., Cappellano, K., & Rosenberg, I. (2008). Nutrition and Crohn's disease: an update of print and Web-based guidance. Nutrition Reviews, 66(7), 387-397. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00048.x.






A Search  (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&db=buh&db=ufh&db=ehh&db=20h&db=eric&db=f3h&db=funk&db=8gh&db=hlh&db=lxh&db=lkh&db=ulh&db=prh&db=bwh&bquery=(Education)+and+(websites)+or+(blogging)&cli0=FT&clv0=Y&cli1=RV&clv1=Y&cli2=DT1&clv2=200009-201009&type=1&site=ehost-live )

Practical Experience with Flash 9-16-2010

As I began the tutorial, I thought to myself, "Wow, Flash is similar to imovie, yet a bit more techy!" You almost have to learn a whole new language, or so it seems. They seem to have all the shortcuts you can thing of and more! They are pretty easy to remember like "t" for text! :)

Bitmap graphics are pixelated whereas vector graphics are created using lines/mathematical equations. Did you know that? Flash is created for making vector artwork, which looks way better than bitmap.

There is also a difference between "merge" drawings and "object" drawings. Oh, and to note, you can't combine the two! Going to practice with the two....I'll get back to ya tomorrow! Goodnight.

BP11_OMM_Issuu

Check out my one minute video on a really cool Web 2.0 tool

BP10_Comment to Melissa

Follow this link to my comments on Melissa's Blog.

BP9_ Comment to Leland

Follow this link to my comments on Leland's Blog

BP8_Issuu

(Screen Capture from my Issuu explore page)

Issuu

Web 2.0 Tool #2

As you all know part of my Action Research project is creating an interactive website. So, I am determined to make my time researching Web 2.0 tools worthwhile! After looking at the 100 Essential Web 2.0 tools for Educators I found one called Issuu. 

Issuu allows you to upload pdf files, PowerPoints, and word documents to create on online publication to share with anyone and everyone (in my case, my students and colleagues). You can then give out the link or embed into your MySpace, blog or website. You can design how you want the publication to look with pictures, statistics, or just words.

Once you sign up for Issuu and create a free account, you will now have "A library." This is where all the publications that you want to view and have created will be stored for access anytime and anywhere. It resembles a bookshelf. You can make your publications public or private. It is so easy to add friends to make for sharing your publications quickly. (However, they do not have to be a friend to view it because you can still create a link or embed it in your blog.) Issue also allows you to view reports that will show the various statistics on your publication, i.e. how many hits it had or how many times the publication was viewed (even breaks it down by pages) or even to what locations has it been viewed via a map. This is great for beginning writers to get their work out there or in my case to allow students to have some concrete material to look at similar to but yet different than a textbook. Issuu also has a service called SmartLook where they will help you to take all the documents on your site and create them into Issuus. They will create a link for you to embed. This will help to alleviate unattractive PDF file downloads or long wait times for file downloads.

This seems like it will be a great tool to use for various Health/Wellness information that I have collected and want to present to the students so that it is organized and fun! And better yet, they really won't have to leave the website that I have set up for them. I am really looking forward to working with this program. I will keep you posted on more of my findings.

BP7_OMM_Wufoo

This is my video on a Web 2.0 tool that I am interested in using on my website!

BP6_ Comment to Pamela

Follow this link to my comments on Pamela's Blog

Not only do we get to research web 2.0 tools but we also get the chance to collaborate and learn from fellow classmates!

BP5_Comment to Torrey

Follow this link to check out my comment to Torrey's Blog Page

Part of this awesome grad school experience is the chance to interact with other educators and build a network of colleagues that we might not have had the privilege to interact with otherwise.

BP4_WUFOO

For my Web 2.0 tool, I can honestly tell you that I have spent over 6 hours looking through them all. I am trying to find tools that I can use in conjunction with my Action Research project, which has to do with interactive websites. I am looking for fun, safe, educational tools that I can use on my website to make it more fun and interactive with the students. My topic is that of health and wellness.

With that said, I choose to try out Wufoo. Wufoo is brought to you by Infinity Box Inc. Wufoo is a web 2.0 tool that allows you to create a survey online and virtually use it anywhere.

Wufoo has a notifications feature that will alert you when someone has taken your survey or made a comment on your link. (You can also set it up to receive text message updates as well.) You can e-mail, post it to a website, create a link to its own website, embed a code into your blog, etc. Once you have decided where you want to place your survey (in my case, on my blog, see my sample survey below), then you can start collecting your data. With this data you can create all kinds of reports to share.

Wufoo is very easy to use and you can be as creative and/or as simple as you want your surveys to be. I think this would be a great way for teachers and students to use to create surveys.

Wufoo Survey

Please feel free to take my survey! I want to see how the data collection feature works-OH YEA-they have that too!

Articles

Action Research: Preliminary Research

    First, let me start off by explaining what my action research project topic is at this moment and time. I want to create a health and wellness interactive website to enhance students learning and retention of knowledge for a lifetime. I will be setting up a website, taking surveys, posting videos, allowing for blogging, and some quizzes. So, with that said, as I work on finding peer reviewed articles for my action research topic, I am struggling to find good research on the topic of interactive websites. However, I am finding some research on gaming, blogging, and web 2.0 tools which essentially should make up/ be crucial parts of an interactive website. I am coming across some very interesting articles that explain how to set up an interactive website, things to incorporate on the website as well as a wide variety of links to attach to the website to make it personalized and more interactive. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I am on the right track here. I am working with Diigo, EBSCO Host, and trying various searches on Google. To all that follow my blog (not just my critical friends).I am very open to any input/suggestions/keywords or even maybe different sub topic ideas!

   I am thankful that there is no textbook this month but rather time to focus on our research and reading for our Action Research project. I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all that has to come together. Hence, before I check off that I have completed this activity, I am determined to devote a good chunk of time to ensure that I am not waiting till the last minute!

BP_Diigo Group

Diigo

Diigo is a social bookmarking site that we were recently introduced to in my Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture course this month.  If you would like to check it out, click on here.

(Below) You are able to see the other Diigo Groups that I am following including the one I set up for myself!

(Below) You are able to view a screen shot of my Action Research Diigo group that I established for myself and my critical friends.

My Diigo group is titled Action Research for BNHendrickson. I'm still getting to know how Diigo works. It seems like this site will really help me organize my thoughts and my research. You can see that I have started to find some different sites already and I have commented my thoughts below the links. I still need to play with it to figure out the screen captures within Diigo and highlighting functions. For those of you that are following my blog and wish to get in on my Action Research Project, you all are welcome to join and provide me with some feedback!

BP2_iGoogle Screen Shots

iGoogle Home

iGoogle FSO

iGoogle AR/CBL

iGoogle ETC

For this blog post I first had to set up my new PLE (Personal Learning Environment) on my iGoogle. I am really excited about this PLE and feel that I will be learning quite a bit this month through it. I loved working with Google to begin with but I think I might have just increased my love of Google after starting to set up my PLE. Google truly does have so much to offer! There seems to be a gadget/design for every type of personality out there! Google is very easy to work with, and I love that you can just drag and drop to set things up just like you want them. (There is nothing more frustrating to me than using a program that doesn’t allow a plethora of options!) And, if you find something doesn’t work/look like you want it to, it is very easy to exchange, update, more, or delete. I encourage everyone out there to set up his/her own PLE and invest some time in learning something new each day through a Google PLE.

I have to admit, I was first overwhelmed by all the new acronyms and trying to figure out what certain things are and where to put them that I had to teach someone. When I teach it to someone, I seem to develop more of an understanding and I gain experience in practicing. I am so thankful for a patient husband! Now, if only I could talk him into purchasing the new droid so that I can use Google on the go!

BP1_Google Reader

Google Reader opens up a whole new world for me! I had heard of RSS feeds and knew what they were but had no idea that I could subscribe and keep them all organized in one location.
I think it is important for you to know what my degree is in order to get a better idea as to why these RSS feeds are relevant to me. I am a middle childhood education major with minors in math, reading & language arts. Below you will find the first 5 RSS feeds that I choose to add in my professional folder in my Google Reader. I know that there are millions out there, and I look forward more to help me in my career. Feel free to click on the titles and check out the actual sites to see if you might be interested in adding them to your Google reader.

TeacherTube
TeacherTube is a great video resource for all teachers. I can use these videos for how-to demonstrations or an intro/conclusion to a lesson or simply to enhance my lessons. I can also get some creative ideas from fellow teachers on how to approach a certain subject or how to spice up my lesson. It is free and my school will allow access to it!

National Council of Teachers of English
This website fits well with one my minors which is language arts. I think that even though I am currently not teaching English in the classroom, it is still vitally important for me to stay on top of what is new and current in the teachers of English realm. They send out at least one post per week with very beneficial information.

ALAN-Online
ALAN is The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. Reading is one of my passions, hence why I choose a minor in reading. As a teacher of any subject, not just reading, I want to make sure that my students are reading good literature. I am always trying to stay on top of some of the new adolescent literature that is out there partly because I want to be able to recommend good books to my students and partly because I want to be able to relate to them in what they are reading. One of my favorite courses in college was adolescent lit, and ever since, I have just really taken an interest in adolescent literature.

NCTM on Twitter
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is an awesome organization. I was a member for a little while, and let it expire not too long ago. I choose their twitter page because they provide daily math problems! This is a great way to get kids to use technology/a program that they already have/know how to use and still make it educational. I would encourage the students keep a log of the problems in the their math notebook and then they would get a grade at the end of the week! (They must show their work in order to get credit because NCTM does send out the answers.) Just like with the NCTE, I feel that keeping up on the latest and greatest is so important in my professional career. I encourage students to learn something new everyday, so why not take my own advice!

Suite101: Curricula/Lesson Plans
Suite101 is a in a sense a social networking site. This site allows for the novice writer and the expert writer to publish articles on all kinds of issues/topics. Suite101 is also a meeting place for readers who are looking for answers to specific questions. In my case, they post a variety of lesson plans, classroom management techniques, great icebreakers, and even just advice from more experienced teachers.  I have found quite a few activities and resources from this webpage for all age groups. I encourage some of you to check it out!