Help! Mostly on PC’s. I was down in Kankakee, IL this Saturday for a Day of Discovery and the team of teachers I was working with had all recently been equipped with new Sony hard drive camcorders along with some still cameras. Everything was going along just fine. I was even enjoying just popping one camera after another into the docking station to show each team’s preliminary door scenes from the AFI’s “Lights! Camera! Education!” training program. When we got to the final project only one lady was able to coax Windows Media Maker to import her video files. All the other laptops were lacking a codec. As it turns out she was working on her own personal laptop and everyone else was on a district machine. We couldn’t figure out what her computer had that the others didn’t, so I thought I’d throw it out to you readers. What’s needed to get WMM to work with HD camcorders? And while we’re at it, how about importing video from a DVD camcorder? When asked, I’ve steered people away from both formats, they are not going away though and not dealing with a lot of tapes at school is appealing. There has to be some simple (sic free) solution. Adobe Premiere Elements solved the problem for one team. But as much as I like that program, it seems impractical for a whole lab.
Anyhow, it’s a good thing they seemed to have gotten it from the start judging by their introductory videos which were imaginative and very funny. Those final edits will just have to wait for a good codec solution.
And iMovie isn’t totally above all this either. The newest release will read an HD camcorder, but I’ve had to pull some import and conversion end runs with previous versions.
N.B. NEVER let your students slip a mini-DVD (or mini-CD for that matter) into a slot (rather than tray) reader in a laptop or computer.
High school PC people, you’ll have to act quickly for this one. Sony would like to see what your students can do with their Vegas editing software to create a video sharing their vision of how technology will shape the future. If you get your Call for Entry in by this Friday, Feb. 22nd, they will send you a kit including their Vegas Pro 8 software and support materials. Check the Technology in Motion: Vision of the Future site for full details on how to win one of the three prize packages worth $20,000.
…have come and gone. And though my warnings are not as grave as the one I sent to Caesar a few years ago, it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on your senators. In any event, beware the looming deadlines of several video contests and festivals! Again, even if you don’t enter into a competition, take a look at the challenge and then go back later to look at the winners for some great ideas to use with your own classes. My past blog posts on these can be found in the Contests/Festivals archive.
The first one I have is actually new and I’ll have more on it in a future post (HT: Tricia Fuglestad). The Shortie Awards are hosted by the Documentary Center at The George Washington University. There are three age groups for 2nd through 12th grade students and one more just for K-12 teacher created videos. Deadline is March 21st.
If you live around the northwest suburbs of Chicago, the Schaumburg Screen Test Festival has extended their deadline until February 22nd. There is a wide variety of genres and categories: Comedy, Drama, Non-Fiction, Experimental, Animation, and Performance. Videos can be up to 15 minutes long.
21st Century Connections would like to see a PSA from your students on why digital learning tools are important in their learning. Due February 29th.
Great Minds Foundation. The due date is March 25th. Keep your videos on the benefits of healthy living under 2 minutes and do not use any name brands in your commercials. (HS and college)
And on a historical note, the Romans marked the Ides of February with some wild celebrations that would put anybody’s Mardi Gras or Carnival to shame. That’s how St. Valentine’s chaste celebration of love ended up where it did on the calendar.
Thanks to Bernajean Porter’s DigiTales newsletter, I see that Quantum TV has restructured its video challenge and extended their deadline to March 31st. For a grand prize worth $50,000 in cash, tech equipment and playgrounds, students make two, 2-3 minute videos documenting their school’s or community’s efforts to make a change in the environment or in social conditions at home or around the world. One Canadian school showed how their addition of solar panels and a wind generator not only helped in their own power consumption, but inspired schools in the UK, Korea and Australia. The first video should explain the process of choosing and developing the project. The second documents the project itself. And if you don’t have an idea or anything in the works, click on the action partners and organizations in the sidebar on the right. They might just provide the inspiration to move your students to action.
Here’s a 23 second video explaining the contest. One big change since the video was produced - the grade categories have been merged into one.
Continuing to catch up to the end of January, here are some of my highlights from FETC
On Tuesday as I was just about to board my plane, Hall called asking me to find a DVD of the first Matrix movie while I waited for him in the Orlando airport. Fortunately, they had one and he used a scene perfectly to set up his presentation on using code to get the most out of Google Earth or commandeer an iPod. I’ve said it before, though maybe not here, there is a lot of James Burke/”Connections” like thinking in Hall’s presentations.
We also got to listen to Scott Kinney rehearse his introduction of keynote speaker, Jeff Corwin. In spite of a mysterious voice from next door, Scott remained poised and packed a lot in a little time to prepare the audience for a very special keynote.
Wednesday morning was a special, preconference DEN get together with many fine presentations topped of with a potpourri session done by our own attending DEN members. Then we hopped a bus for Downtown Disney and lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. There was just enough time for us to get in a little shopping before heading back for Jeff Corwin’s keynote (we’ll get Lefty that light saber next year, Steve). Jeff Corwin’s keynote lived up to Scott’s intro and all attendees received a DVD of Jeff Corwin exploring Florida’s ecosystem.
That night I joined Apple and other Apple Distinguished Educators for dinner and a tour of Full Sail University in Winter Park. Talk about just in time learning! They accept and graduate students preparing for the entertainment industry every month except December. Their 178 acre campus covers an old shopping mall and two office parks, and includes a backlot street that is about a block long. Among the awesome collection of studios and editing suites were a number of green screen sets including one that is almost two stories high! Visit the website. It really does their philosophy and programs justice. Thursday I got to spend a little time in the booth, visiting vendors and dropping in on presentations. That evening, while the DEN crew was turning the corporate presentation room into a classy reception area, I was very privileged to be sent across the street to accept an award from “Technology & Learning” magazine. “An” award turned out to be four! Discovery Education Science and Discovery Education Health were recognized with 2007 Awards of Excellence from the magazine, while Discovery Education streaming Plus and PowerMediaPlus each received a Legacy Award for “standing the test of time and evolving.” Then back to the redecorated Discovery room to celebrate those awards, the DEN and each other. And a big tip of the hat to Discovery’s Jen O’Brien who kept the red carpet rolled out and the corporate room organized and looking good in all its many roles. Friday was basically a travel day as I raced back to Chicagoland for a couple of presentations of my own Saturday morning and the impending birth of my grandson (who accommodated my traveling with his own premiere just after midnight on Saturday). I did, however, manage to sit through a dry run of Hall’s newest preso, “Revenge of the Digital Immigrants,” and catch some of Jannita’s presentation on Digital Storytelling (looked good, JD!) on Friday morning.
So, after I take another look at the Super Bowl commercials, I may just be (temporarily) caught up.
Well I sure got my money’s worth at the DEN Virtual Conference this morning. After months and months of telling people there are no plug-ins for MovieMaker Cindy Lane showed me that there are (the chat window can be an invaluable thing to keep an eye on during webinars). You can buy ‘em and you can download some for free including the coveted chromakey/blue screen. AND there is a very good YouTube tutorial by a very poised student to walk you through the process.
There’s nothing like a DEN gathering for learning new things!!!
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