Week 5 Vlog

"The Raven" lesson using EDpuzzle

Media Discovery- Multimedia Assessment Tools

playposit

Usability:

Playposit, formerly known as eduCanon, is very easy to use. First-time users are led through the features and shown how to create their first "bulb". There are also several tutorial videos and articles to help users navigate and use the tool.

Motivation:

Playposit seems to be a great alternative to Zaption and Edpuzzle. It is a great tool for assessments and checking for understanding. It is also a great tool for helping students strengthen their listening skills. With the paid version, students can also create their own bulbs which could be another great assessment method.

Pros:

• Offers a free version
• Paid version is still less than $100 per year
• Offers an extensive library of pre-made "bulbs" or users can create their own
• Accepts videos from YouTube, Vimeo, TeacherTube, Shmoop, Google Drive, School Tube and other services

Cons:

• Free version offers limited features

Vizia

Usability:

Vizia is extremely easy to use. Simply upload a video from YouTube or Wistia and add questions; it's that easy. For those who need help their are tutorial videos and articles that explain how to use it.

Motivation:

Vizia is a great alternative to zaption. It could be used for assessment or checking for understanding. It offers a much more engaging experience for students than simply answering questions on a worksheet.

Pros:

• 100% free
• responses are collected in a spreadsheet that can be opened in Google Sheets

Cons:

• Videos can only be uploaded from YouTube or Wistia, so somewhat limited

Week 4 Vlog

Classroom Lesson Recording

Media Discovery 4

Wirecast

Usability:

Wirecast is easy to use, even for students at various skill levels. There are also numerous videos and articles that provide users with instructions and tutorials for navigating and operating Wirecast.

Motivation:

Wirecast offers high-quality, professional looking broadcasts. It could be used to broadcast lessons, provide video tutorials and presentations, or even to allow students to participate in a daily school newscast.

Pros:

• Offers a free trial version
• Captures presenters computer screen as well as video
• Works on Mac or PC
• Stream live to YouTube or record and save for future uploads
• Switch between "scenes" from multiple video inputs
• Add titles, images, and pre-made video or audio

Cons:

• Price starts at $495

Open Broadcast Software

Usability:

It is fairly easy to use if you understand a little about video creation and have taken the time to familiarize yourself with its interface. There are also numerous videos and articles available that provide instructions and tutorials on how to use and operate OBS.

Motivation:

OBS could be used to broadcast lessons and to provide tutorials and presentations. These could either be streamed live or recorded for future use.

Pros:

• Free, open-source
• Allows you to both stream live and record
• Add your own "watermarks"
• Can be uploaded to a variety of streaming services

Cons:

• Can be time consuming simply because it offers so many tools and settings
• Involves some tweaking and adjusting to get the end result just right

Week 3 Vlog

Video Editing Tools

Windows Movie Maker

Usability:

Windows Movie Maker is fairly easy to use; however, it can be time-consuming, especially for first-time users.  

Motivation:

Movie Maker is a great tool for creating photo/video slideshows. It is also a great tool for introducing students to the world of filmmaking and editing. The project potential that this tool offers for the classroom is limitless.  It is also a great tools for creating and editing tutorial videos for the classroom.

Pros:

• Free
• Easily add photos, video, music, text, and even voice overs to presentation
• Allows users to add a variety of effects
• Good sharing options

Cons:

• Other than being a little time consuming, I have not found anything that I don't like about Movie Maker.

   Camtasia

Usability:

Camtasia makes it easy to import and edit video, even for people who are new to video editing.

Motivation:

Camtasia is a great screencasting and video editing tool that could be used for a variety of instructional purposes including creating video tutorials and instructional videos for a flipped classroom.

Pros:

• Allows users to add images, captions, menus, narration and even quizzes to their video
• Allows users to add royalty free music to their videos
• Users can add links to websites or take viewers to another part of the video
• Offers reduced prices for educators

Cons:

• Costs around $200

Irony Edventure

Week 2 Vlog

Media Discovery- Slide Show Tools

Google Slides

Usability: 

Google Slides makes it incredibly easy to create and share presentations.

Motivation: 

One of the best things about Google Slides is that it allows users to share and collaborate with other users.  It can also be used with other Google Apps for Education which makes it particularly appealing to teachers whose schools have embraced GAFE.

Pros:

• Free
• Work is instantly saved 
• Teacher can monitor student work and provide real-time feedback
• Users can easily share and collaborate on presentations
• Users can access their work anywhere anytime
• Users can easily add images, video, sound, and animation to their presentation

Cons:

• No offline access
• Presentations are pretty basic

  PowToon

Usability:

PowToon is fairly easy to use; however, it can be quite time consuming to create presentations, especially for first time users. It does offer a variety of templates that can be edited, which makes it easier for users, especially young user, to get started with the tool.

Motivation:

PowToon offers a great alternative to the traditional PowerPoint type presentation. Animated elements combined with music and narration create movie like presentations that are more engaging then traditional slide-decks.

Pros:

• engaging
• includes a variety of ready-to-use templates
• includes a free version 

Cons:

• free version is somewhat limited
• can be time consuming to create

Haiku Deck

Usability:

Haiku Deck makes is extremely easy for users to create presentations that beautiful, simple, and to the point. Because of its limited design options, a teacher could realistically teacher his/her students to use the app in about minutes.

Motivation:

Haiku Deck forces users to focus on the visual aspects of their presentation and to keep the text, bullets, and notes to a minimum. Users must really choose their words wisely.

Pros:

• Includes something like 30 million free photos which available under Creative Commons license
• Allow users to also use their own personal photos
• Clean and simple design
• Offers a free version
• Work is automatically saved

Cons:

• No offline work
• Some users may be turned off by the limited design options

Animoto

Usability:

Animoto is extremely easy to use. First time users are literally walked through the steps to help them create their first video slideshow. 

Motivation:

Animoto offers a great alternative to the traditional slide-deck presentation. It could be a great tool for introducing a new theme or topic or even for creating a visual story. 

Pros:

• offers a free version
• users can add pictures and videos from a number of sources including the Animoto image/video library, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, and much more
• offers a large selection of music 

Cons:

• Like most apps, many features are only available for a fee
• Uses in the classroom may be limited

Windows Movie Maker

Usability:

Windows Movie Maker is fairly easy to use; however, like PowToon it can be time-consuming, especially for first-time users.

Motivation:

Movie Maker is a great tool for creating photo/video slideshows. It is also a great tool for introducing students to the world of filmmaking and editing. The project potential that this tool offers for the classroom is limitless.

Pros:

• Free
• Easily add photos, video, music, text, and even voice overs to presentation
• Allows users to add a variety of effects
• Good sharing options

Cons:

• Other than being a little time consuming, I have not found anything that I don't like about Movie Maker.

Soundscape-Hiking Through the Forest in the Fall

I created this soundscape in Audacity using a collection of sounds that I downloaded from Soundcloud. I then uploaded the finished product to Soundcloud in order to post it here. The sounds that I used are: 1. walking on dried leaves 2. birds chirping 3. walking on rocks 4. cracking branches 5. running water 6. a rock skipping on water 7. a rock skipping on water with a "plop" 8. rushing water 9. someone breathing heavily 10. someone running 11. a breeze blowing through the trees 12. walking and then running on dirt 13. a bear growling

Week One Vlog on Multimedia Learning

Recording Tools for Vlogs and Screencasts

This week I was introduced to "vlogging" and created my first vlog ever using Google Hangouts on Air. Although the experience of vlogging is entirely new to me, I have used Google Hangouts on Air to record a live interview I did over the summer, so I was somewhat familiar with it already.  What's great about Google Hangouts on Air is that it's really easy to use and the videos are automatically posted to your YouTube channel, making them easy to share as well.

Another online tool that is great for creating and editing videos that can also be easily posted to YouTube is Windows Movie Maker.  I've used Movie Maker several times in the past to create videos and presentations both for my master's work as well as for delivering content to my students. Although it could be a great alternative to using Google Hangouts on Air for creating vlogs, overall I found it to be a little more time consuming than using Google Hangouts on Air.

A tool that I have used for screencasting is Snagit.  Snagit makes it possible to take a still image or capture a video of the content on screen. It is also possible to record audio along with the video capture making it a great tool for tutorials. I found Snagit to be extremely easy to use and all captured content was automatically uploaded to my Google Drive.  Snagit used to be available as an extension in the Chrome Web Store, but now it must be purchased from TechSmith.