Media Matters

I’m working on my presentation for NECC on things you can do with code and tinkered a little with the work of Cindy Lane, Jen Dorman, and others nicely noted in Matt Monjan’s blog. The trick is doing chromakey (the “weatherperson effect”) where a video clip can play inside another clip through a color that is “keyed out”. Final Cut Express and Adobe Premiere Elements can do this masterfully but for $50 or so. What if you could do it in Windows MovieMaker? Turns out you can. You can also pick the color that gets keyed if you play with a little code–and by “play” I mean just cut and paste. You can create your own transitions in MovieMaker. One of these can replace the color of a clip and overlay it onto the preceding clip (details here). Turns out, the code that allows this can be manipulated. By adding a line, you can specify the color that goes away. Below, the blue line is added to the trick Matt reported. The red is the color that is replaced. Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as typing in “yellow.” Computers don’t work that way. But you can find the code for the color you want and add it–that’s the red number, the HTML code. “000000” is code for black, so black disappears, letting you put a video of a student threatening, say a city, as in the images above. Or, have a student inserted into a DiscoveryEducationstreaming video or image. I like doing this with images. Below is the code that keys out black for the image above, which I believe came from the Ezedia iMovie chromakey plug-in (for Macs). Others here.

<TransitionsAndEffects Version=”1.0″>
<Transitions>
<TransitionDLL guid=”{C5B19592-145E-11D3-9F04-006008039E37}” > <Transition name=”BlackChroma” iconid=”11″>
<Param name=”KeyType” value=”0″ />
<Param name=”RGB” value=”0x000000” />
</Transition>
</TransitionDLL>
</Transitions>
</TransitionsAndEffects>

To do this, you have to know the color you want replaced. Shazam! There are eyedropper-driven code identifiers on the web. You can cheat and eyedrop the colors to replace with HTML Color Picker from Blue Chillies then select colors from here , which gives you the number HTML number to paste into the code. I have now several new Transitions in MovieMaker. It is not perfect and, yup, Final Cut Express and Adobe Premiere Elements are better. But this is fun, and it’s free. Enjoy! And, remember, that you don’t have to master this, but what a great thing to toss to your kids to build on. The code behind what works. A very good thing for them to know. It was bicycle mechanics that figured out flight. A look behind the curtain can go a long way! See you at NECC for this and more arcane (and entertaining!) tricks for K-12! And stick around for the cell phone session. Mmm, what can streaming video, cell phones, and students have in common….:).

Note: the images above are from the code for chromakey green, which I used to make my head (from a previous Google Earth post) float over DiscoveryEducationstreaming videos. The code is for green, not black. I build the slide in PowerPoint–truly cheap graphics!

Although some of you may be thinking that this is the most wonderful time of the year because the school year is ending, for me it is also the time of student media festivals and teacher awards. Slick Rock had theirs, and you may have had yours at the school, district, or state level. On Saturday, I had the priviledge of hosting the 42nd Annual California Student Media & Multimedia Festival,the nation’s oldest. You can start your own festival, of course! See the comment from Cynthia Ochoa from Nevada who started one from scratch using the CSMMF as a model (their motto: “stimulating students bit by bit,”). Yes, it can work! It is always inspirational to see student work on a big screen. One of my favorite moments was the interview afterwards with students from Val Verde Continuation High school with their fantastic teacher, Robert Del Campo (”DC” to the kids). It was an exceptional entry (see below). The student who did the music said he was dropping out until DC got him involved with video production. He composed an original score for the video. The lead character said he did drop out, but returned because he was compelled to tell the story in the project. The director, who pulled it all together, said video production pulled together all his skills. All three now have plans to continue their education. There are two microphones above because both little and tall students had their say in acceptance speeches. Behind the scenes stories were the best: the teacher who explained her kindergarten kids took three weeks to type in the captions to their PhotoStory (or was it iMovie?) entry. Speaking of behind the scenes, pictured right are are Brad Upshaw and Dennis Grice arranging the plaques. Their both left their classroom assignments for the weekend to help celebrate the work of the 50+ winners. Top prizes were $1,000. Of course, the video contest with the $50,000 prize is still open. Don’t let that one slide by! Two minutes maximum time for video entries…. Brad and I have done this for more than a dozen years, and this year we had a Men of Media snapshot. The purpose of the Festival is to spread the word about media content creation fo students and the spreading has already begun. At the National Training Institute at the Discovery Channel headquarters today (June 2), I showed some of the winners. One of the most fun was Santiago High Schools Hamlet movie “trailer” show entirely with sock puppets. Movie previews are called ‘trailers’ in the movie industry because originally they were cut while the movie was still being shot and brought to the set to watch in the trailers there. This week is also the Time Warner National Teachers and Principals of the Year Awards in Washington, DC. Scott Kinney and I will be there for that. I’ll get pictures of Scott. Wonder if he’s bringing the guinea pig this time, like FETC. Enjoy samples of the student media projects below for a taste of the great California Student Medai & Multimedia Festival. It was supported, with prizes and presence, by the DEN and Wells Fargo Bank.

Who Am I?

Hamlet Trailer

They opened the NASA film vaults and built the biggest winner since Planet Earth. The Discovery Channel premiered “When We Left the Earth” in Beverly Hills for an audience of science celebrities–and teachers. The DEN was in full force at the Paley Center for Media where they were wined and dined and shown what turned out to be a great program that went beyond images from space. The American public in the space race days was more innocent and more obsessed with sky than dirt. The spirit of the times shows through every frame of Discovery’s new series. The cars, the clothes, the crewcuts, all were reflect an era was would end soon enough. Bill Paley, the broadcast pioneer at CBS who basically invented networks, would have loved the program in the center named for him. Bill Nye and Buzz Aldrin were there, and Buzz was generous with his time with the DEN. It was quite a special evening. There was even a special drink, The LiftOff, although neither ex-pilot Buzz nor any teacher had one (I swear!). Too far to drive and school in the morning for everyone (but the picture is for you, Mark Bantle). A great moment was when the representative from Discovery thanked Buzz for his inspiring a generation. And then thanked the teachers in the room for the same thing. Nice feeling in the room! The premiere gives me the excuse to share some very cool space media for your desktops– some brand new and some you have read about here before. Microsoft just released the World Wide Telescope. Tiz cool. Visit the site and wait out the eternal load–it’s worth for the pretty, pretty, pictures. Video introduction below. Free. Don’t forget the Stellarium, also free. And our older friend, Google Sky. And a newcomer to me, Celestia. Yep, free. Some educational support here (the CelestiaMotherLoad). As the year winds down, drawn the blinds, bring out the LCD and let kids compare the sites! They talk a lot about storytelling at World Wide Telescope. It’s a beginning. Enjoy the videos below from Ted.com. Most interesting talk videos since the Academy of Achievement and the Infinite Thinking Machine. End the school year with some stimulation! See you at the summer institutes. And don’t forget to take two minutes and enter the YoungScientistChallenge for teachers and students ($50k prize for a media-making.) Video supplement 1: Ray Gould, a researcher at the Harvard Center for Astophysics gives the first public demo of the World Wide Telescope: Ray Gould: The World Wide Telescope.

Video 2: Bill Stone discussed mining lunar ice for space fuel and studying Europa: Bill Stone

Video 3: Stephen Hawkings on the Universe: Stephen Hawkings

I haven’t been able to describe what I do since I left the classroom. “I teach math” was easy, and nothing in the twenty years since has been that simple to summarize. But since the last post, by way of apology, here is where I’ve been: Saturday (4/12), San Francisco (Leadership 3.0), Sunday, Orange Co. CA (DEN event), Sat (4/19), Fontana (DEN), Sat (4/26), Charlotte, NC (Day of Discovery), Sunday, St. Michaels, MD, Fri/Sat (5/3), New York (BOCES), Baltimore (CTE), Washington (Congress on Content), and Long Beach (TechForum) (5/9). The Tech Saturday for the Gifted Association was moved to next Saturday in LA. Lots of travel and people. Of course, I love it. I got to speak to more than a thousand educators. Here’s what I learned: Oovoo.com: Site for 6-way live video chat. Free download (thanks, Bob!). Schools can get Direct TV for free..(thanks Paul!). Piclens.com is a great Google image display resource (thanks, Brian). Jott lets you Twit from your cellphone, and translates word to text! (thanks, Alan). And I found Alan’s twit on tweetscan.com. Yes, you can search for your own name. Some fun!

Forgive the quick post, but we are getting lots of requests for the PowerPoints used in the webinars for the Discovery/3M Young Scientist Challenge. They are posted below. Students and DEN teachers each have their own category so each have their own PowerPoint.
Student Challenge PowerPoint
Teacher Challenge PowerPoint
We have recorded the webinars and as soon as we can clean them up and convert them to media files, they will pop up here. Early next week at the latest! Don’t forget there are two more teacher orientations coming up. April 30 , 8 PM Eastern, and May 6, 6 PM Eastern.  Reminder:  This Challenge consists of  making a two-minute video about a preset (short) list of science concepts. If  you  are not deep into science, your explanation probably will be  more to the point than someone who knows too much!  Give this a shot!  (Pun intended.)

This posting is made as a companion for the webinar series Discovery Education and 3M are sponsoring to support students and teachers entering the Young Scientist Challenge. This Challenge is entirely video-based. Entrants must create a one to two-minute video (max!) from a list of scientific concepts. Below are some different ways those videos can be made. The examples are from the California Student Media Festival. They are posted to complement the videos made by some of last year’s finalists posted here. No video is superior to any other. They are posted to stimulate middle school thinking about the ways to communicate science. Inspired by Mythbusters, this Challenge is all about communication! Make it make sense! Other tools listed in the webinar include storyboards here (thanks to SchoolHouseVideo). Joe Brennan’s on-the-money tips for building on the success of 2007’s videos. By request, the PowerPoint used for the student webinars is also here. The videos below were winners in the science category. These are only excerpts. Be aware that some of the music and other resources are used in these videos may not be used for the Young Scientist Challenge. The California Media Festival honors videos made in and for a classroom. The Young Scientist Challenge will use video submissions across the web and maybe even on television. So the rules for the Challenge are different than for the Festival. Also, these videos are not on the topics mandatory for the Challenge. So look at the videos posted on Teacher Tube below as example of what you can do when you think outside the lens. Bioaccumulation was made with paper cut-offs moved by hand across construction paper. A photo was taken after each movement. Plate Tectonics Rock! is made with clay and still photographs. Super Baling Man was made with a computer editing editing program. Watch the blogs and the website for more information about making your video!

Bioaccumulation (below)

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=3129b71419171602664f

Plate Tectonics Rock! (below)

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=53442cdfb5dc8229dfe3

Super Baling Man (below)

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=64dd0192d219f8be3be5

Super Baling Man, Sheldon High School, teacher Shawn Sullivan, student Justin Purdy; Plate Tectonics Rock, The Girls’ Middle School, teacher Marjorie Lucks, Student Emily Kellison-Linn; Bioaccumulation, TBA

For the Young Scientist Challenge webinars explaining both the student category and the DEN teachers category, I wanted to have the overall student winner from last year say a few words as well as hear from a commited scientist at 3M. But the webinar schedule was extensive –inconvenient for both 11-year old Erik Gustafson and 3M scientist/Vice President Alex Cirillo. The solution seemed to be record their remarks via phone–but what was the easiest technology for that? I was willing to commit one trip to Radio Shack, maximum. First, I tried my trusty Olympus podcasting recorder. No good. It was great for 3D podcasts (see earlier posts) but not good with phones. since a buzz seemed unavoidable. The solution turned out to be connecting my telephone handset directly into the computer and recording in QuickTime Pro. QT Pro, the cross-platform $29 upgrade to the free QuickTime player, worked really well! Here’s how I did it. I bought a stereo (important) 3/32″ - 1/8″ adapter at Radio Shack (see picture). 3/32″ is the standard for cellphone and handset earphone jacks. 1/8″ is the standard Walkman/iPod, etc., headphone jack. 1/8″ is also the standard microphone input on computers (not talking USB). I connected the phone and the computer mike with a 1/8″-to-1/8″ stereo cable. Then by opening QuickTime Pro’s “New Audio Recording” and hitting record while talking on the phone, I created a QuickTime file of the conversation. Note: You can’t hear the recording being made so you can’t talk to the person on the other end unless you have a second handset, which I had (two wireless low end Panasonics). QuickTime is very easy to edit in Pro, another plus. First, I recorded Erik Gustafson, the student winner from New York state. I was able to edit his remarks into a great two-minute statement. The kid really is remarkable. He talked eloquently about the compelling power of video for this Challenge. I edited our 8-minute conversation into a collection of small bites. Next, Alex Cirillo graced me with some great comments about the importance of science education and teachers. He didn’t need an edit, but we got to do two run-throughs which I could then easily sort. Note: Obviously, both these folks knew they were being recorded and granted permission (Erik’s parents, too). To hear their remarks, tune-in to the free webinars. While you’re there, learn about this remarkable Challenge that ties the power of video to enthusiasm for science. (Kid’s prize: $50,000 bond, plus a trip to DC. Not too shabby!). Next task, I’ll dump three years worth of my daughter’s phone messages into QuickTime. Maybe throw some images in with them (simple paste in QT). Great blackmail for when she turns teen. Did I say blackmail? I mean “immortal tribute.”
Final Note: QuickTime Pro is also great for shortening editable DiscoveryEducationstreaming clips!

The Discovery-3M Young Scientist Challenge kicked off with a technology challenge as the online seminar locked up on my computer. Fortunately, old pal and fellow media maven Joe Brennan was able to take over from his. One fine thing about this Challenge is that it is NOT about technology. It’s about creativity and communication and a passion for science. That never left us, so the first webinar was a model of what a teacher or student video might be and still win–technology-challenged but communication rich! The PowerPoint, which might have been seen, is here. Download it if you like. It has the roster of upcoming webinars— so tune in! This is one you can win! And for students, as we heard from last year’s winner, participation is fun and very satisfying– winner or not! One big perk last year–the student finalists got to be on the Mythbusters (April 26th, 8PM, Science Channel with a repeat on the Discovery Channel, April 27, 12 noon). Thrilling stuff to visit the show which gave the spirit to this video-only Challenge. If you can snapshot a science concept in a two-minute video, this Challenge is for you (it can be done–see here). Two big personal highlights from the webinar last night. First, reconnecting with Denise Thomas from Norfolk, Virginia, who created such a cool video by editing her Gizmoz avatar into DiscoveryEducationstreaming clips. I lost her name (see previous blog posts) and then she turned up during the webinar. I loved it! BTW, her kids are the odds-on favorites so far this year. Secondly, interviewing and sharing the comments of last year’s overall winner Erik Gustafson. The future is in good hands. Tune in to the next webinar if you want to hear from a remarkable kid. Alex Cirillo, VP from 3M, will be making an appearance, too. I’ll recommend he doesn’t follow Erik. See you on the webinars. Note: Prizes for students: $50K in bonds and trip to DC. For teachers, all expense trip to DC and some other goodies. Final PS: Nice to see Tennessee Magee at the webinar, too.

The Discovery Educator Network had a team meeting in California this week. As with any group of educators, this means food is not to be taken lightly. Here, servicing the hungry crew, Vice President Kinney fries up the eggs as Jannita irons waffles behind him. The crew at the table chows down, with Dembo hitting the fridge in the background. Click on Scott’s and you’ll notice he seems to be lighting the burner with laser vision…Lots accomplished, but we realized we needed more time. Many folks don’t realize that often the DEN team only sees each other at conferences, the same time we are fortunate enough to meeting with the DEN. The life virtual…Tomorrow marks the first webinar in the revisioned Discovery/3M Young Scientist Challenge. This challenge is all about communication and all about the media. The task to explain a scientific concept (from a list) in video of less than 120 seconds. It is a challenge for a video generation! For the first time, there is a teacher component–which means the teachers who can make a meaningful video in under 120 seconds that works in classroom appropriate mode to explain the concepts on list will win! The student winner will get $50k in bonds. The teacher won’t get that–but will get an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC, to participate first hand in the Challenge. It will be something! Check out the details. The webinars are for everyone but only DEN members can take the Challenge! The orientation webinar schedule begins tomorrow at 8 PM Eastern time (Thursday, April 17). I’ll be there with a tentatively scheduled Joe Brennan to give hot tips on how to win! Got 120 seconds to give up for science? It’s all about communication and Mythbusters-style media to promote a passion for science. Join us! PS - Be sure to see last years’ student winners on Mythbusters, April 26th. That could be you next year!

Interesting thing about Dubai. In education, we share the visionary talk about conceiving things and then making them happen. In Dubai, there is the physical manifestation of that. They are going bricks and mortar big time. A town (right) that in 1990 was a figment of a royal imagination has become real in less than twenty years (left, 2003). And more to come (below left, this year). What happens in the end will not be a failure of imagination. Maybe it’s the response of a farsighted culture that knows it needs a paradigm shift (real, not talk). The oil is running out (they know the date: 2010) and they need something to takes its place. So they acted. In our own culture, we need somebody to take our generation’s place as innovators and leaders–let’s hope those of us in education can produce the goods. Dubai shows all is takes is the will and the money. Now for a little photographic proof of the dunes. I am there in my black ski cap –I truly snow skied just two hours before–with friend Sam Farsaii, of Irving ISD, Amir, the absolutely mad Emirati driver, and Peter Schneider of Atomic Learning. In the photo left, Flat Keitha of the desert. Emulating the travels of Flat Stanley, Keitha who at retirement discovered a health problem that made impossible to travel, now virtually travels with friends. She kept trying to get lost but we always found her. More on Dubai later, and more at Darcy Hardy’s blog . Move forward in time with her (first shot, my discovery the DEN webinars were blocked in by the telephone monopoly). Finally, two bits of media. First: It occurred to me that for students, a school day can be like a 20-hour plane trip from Dubai to Los Angeles—nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no talking. What effect would media have? On the last leg, some cabins had self-selecting video players with a myriad of choices as well as the main movie offered by the airline. In the other cabin (coach), no choice: just the single shared screen. Coach, it occurred to me, was like media in the old film strip/movie/VCR classrooms. Everybody watches the same content. Business and first class were what the technology allows–individualized selection. What percentage of people were doing what in both cabins? With notebook and pencil, I observed that in coach, of 80 awake people, 29 were watching media. Three were doing work on a laptop. The rest (33%) were watching the same movie–and at the same time. In the other cabins, where there was media choice, of the 20 awake individuals, 12 (60%) were watching media. Not a single person was watching a simultaneous presentation with another person. It might make you wonder whether we were missing a few kids in the days of simultaneous viewing. But to me it indicates the importance of simultaneous, shared media viewing with classes. It creates a common base and a common point from which to branch–and teach. As students, we all sang “Ring Around the Rosie”, that centuries-old plague song. Gave us something in common with plague-infested Europe. Wait, somebody comment with a better example….Lastly, Emirates Air has cameras in the noses and belly of their airplanes. Nifty! What is below is the landing at JFK from Dubai. At the last, I switch from the bellycam to the nosecam. I don’t think those guys in the orange jackets have figured out that they’re on camera. Enjoy. And watch for Keitha.