BP13-Final Video

Students need to learn about themselves in relation to the world around them and we need to teach them how to make it best work for them.  

PE9-Flash

Flash: Voilà!

Above is my self created image from Flash.  After over seven long hours of Lynda.com training on Flash Essentials and over 24 chapters to view, I must say that I feel filled to brim with Flash knowledge.  

I feel proud that I drew images such as the book that appears to be flying mid air.  I did succeed in working some of the functions such as tweening.  But I couldn't get past how to break apart my images and create them into symbols.  I knew that things like that had to be done.  I just couldn't remember the order and sometimes the process.

So as you look back at my silly but amazingly frustrating journey with Flash, please take this tiny morsel of knowledge; that Flash is a program made for programmers (is my take) and that the best way to handle understanding the dynamics of the it is to take it bits and pieces at a time.  Make a mental to note to learn one thing and then try to execute the activity.  

I learned the hard way that reading the manual all the way through before using the product won't guarantee that you can use it any better than the guy that opened the box and just started fidgeting with the gadget.  So, as my flash picture stated, "Teachers rock because they rule."  And that's even when they aren't successful at Flash ;).

From Flickr

PE8-Flash

Flash: We're Getting There

From Flickr

So as I get closer to my last few chapters of video, I wonder what will I try to produce.  I still want to work toward the challenge of creating some type of motion video in Flash.  I figure based on my previous attempt that it will be short.  The goal is to create most of the images myself with maybe a few shapes and images pulled from iPhoto.  I mean he makes it look easy.  Each step he presents usually takes about less then 10 minutes to view.  

From Flickr

Well, again I realized that every step is contingent on the previous one.  I don't get how lost I can become once left alone to figure out the steps.  It's like I'm back in high school trying to figure out how I am to dissect the frog after the teacher just showed me on the board.  You see all the steps in your head, you just can't for the life of you figure out how to put the mess of information in your head together to figure out the first and next step.  And that is where I am.  I am stuck between one step and another.


So, next I try to work out a chapter together by leaving the screen in the background while I apply the skills .  Again, as before, it is not the same as working with an instructor in person.  Or maybe it is, and again, Flash is such a higher level program that I need to take extra baby steps then I am currently taking.  Well, since again I am almost through the training, I will finish it and see what I can come up with to show what I learned, even if it kills me.

PE7-Flash

Flash: Here We Go Again

So I go on the Lynda training for Flash.  I am very happy to see that I am almost done.  I think that once I am done I will be able to create that marvelous flash video that I promised in the last PE blog.  As I view chapter after chapter of the Flash Essential tutorial, I realized that promise may have been spoken to early.

I am a visual learner.  I thought that if I just listen to each video and dibbled with the program once in while after I look at a few chapters, I would be able to accomplish what was shone in the video, but I was wrong ...again.  It seems that my visual learning is stunted when it comes to media ...or again maybe its just Flash.  I mean, really?  Is this program even made for the average computer user as myself?  I think not.  I keep trying not to get frustrated and mad, but I can't make head or tails out of the many functions involved in creating the simplest thing in Flash.

From Flickr

So, before I pull another hair or bang my head against the wall, I am going to see what happens in the end.  And if anything, I can at least get a certificate of completing the over 7-hour training.  The sad part is that I may not have anything to show for it.

PE6-Flash

Flash: Trying my Patience

From Flickr

So okay,what am I doing?  Even though I am only half way through my tutorial, I wanted to see what I could accomplish with what I learned so far.  And I discovered that what I could create wasn't much, wasn't much at all.  As I fumbled through the program with my new found knowledge I realized that what I thought I knew was pretty superficial.  Every time I thought I knew what I was doing, the thing wouldn't respond or act right.  But the real issue was that I wasn't doing it right.


Trying to put what I learned together with the multitude of things that are interactive was a step by step process.  I wasn't prepared for the amount of involvement that the program required.  I feel now more than ever that I am in over my head ( I knew I should have chosen something less difficult and easy like GarageBand--my bad!).


Seeing is believing and it is being in the program itself is where I will make the most out of my learning.  This program is one that can't be learned over the course of a few hours of video and very little practice sessions--which I found difficult to implement since I had no true person to coach me through the process.  I am truly worried that if this is going to be the case, that if I can't find a way to get a better grasp at understanding Flash, I am going to be extremely vulnerable when we get to month 6 in the program.


But on the bright side, month six is a few months away and you never know what can happen by then ...looking at the very positive side of things.  However, if you thought that from my very low trodden self talk that I wasn't able to accomplish some type of media to present to you, you were mistaken.  Below is an attempt to use flash.  


WARNING:  May cause seizures due to the way the material is presented in the video repeatedly.

Next time, I promise it will be better.  I'll be the postman and bare their motto."Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night will keep me from my appointed rounds."

PE5-Flash

Flash:  Testing, One, Two, Three...

From Flickr

The next step in my discovery mapping of Flash is testing and getting a feel of the program.  After dibbling and dabbling with it, trying to use my newfound knowledge, I realized that I learned very little.  That when I was faced with actually trying to use the program for something other than playing with the features, I was lost.

I realized that my technology skills are really child's play compared to the tools, tabs, templates, and a variety of other gadgets made available to you with Flash.  One of the major realizations is that even if I go through all seven hours and seven minutes of the videos that I will still just as lost as I am going through the repeated first half that I have been viewing.  I can't imagine how I going to accomplish anything.

What I learned about Flash is sizes and shapes that you can create.  Beyond the two type a main files that are in the program you work with the most, there are several others listed for those who are in business and not a simple home/ school user at best.  The things that where talked about but didn't leave a lasting impression on my poor overloaded mind are the different types of artistry tools I could use to manipulate and create objects.  The tools available to create, change, and use shapes and colors, and an awesome transforming tool.

Overall the best thing I could create on mind own is sad screen shot below.

It is my hopes with further tutorials, I will be able to create a stunning video.

PE4-Flash

Flash: Viewing the Videos

Taking on the challenge of working with a program that I have never even looked at informally or formally was intimidating and down right scary.

From Flickr

But I am trudging through the videos.  At first glance, I am very aware of the complexity of the program.  I admit that even in my fear, I am fascinated by the amount of tools and possibilities that are presented.  Now the tutorial that is available on Lynda.com is pretty intensive.  Yet, even in the massive amount of time that is needed just to get the basics - I mean "essentials" to Flash, the author Todd Perkins seem to be an easy enough tutor to follow along.

My biggest setback will be what can I accomplish with what I learned and is there something - a product that I can create that will be worthwhile.  Reviewing the lessons a second time doesn't seem to help with the amount of information that is being presented to me.  Maybe if I try to open the program and work with it while I view the video it may click in my brain a little better.

Not!  I am by no means ADHD.  I can multitask, but trying to view two screens on one laptop, manipulating one while viewing the other is crazy talk.  I tried and failed.  The effort it takes to juggle your eyes on two miniature screens so that you work with Flash while you learn was a task that was far to difficult for me to achieve.

Back at square one, I am viewed a few more segments and hope that my next post will be worth while.  There is a great chance that Flash is too flashy for me, but I can only hope that  if I view the tutorial enough times I will be able to understand through osmosis. ;)

BP12-OMM-Thesis Builder

A one minute movie on the web 2.0 tool Thesis Builder.  Please enjoy!

BP11-Comment to Maya

screen capture from teambox.com

Follow this link to Maya's blog on Teambox, a very interesting web 2.0 tool.

BP10-Comment to Bryan

Please follow this link to learn more about Go!Animate through the eyes of Bryan.

BP9-Tom March:Thesis Builder

Screen capture of http://tommarch.com/electraguide/

Tom March: Thesis Builder is a good tool for research projects.  It gives students access to a variety of tools that will allow them to use a variety of topics to build outlines and concise thesis statements.  On the main page the student has many options to choose form to help build a thesis.  The site gives three steps to complete the initial beginning to writing an essay.  First the student chooses a topic, which they are given a variety of topic examples.  In the second step they create a good thesis statement and an example is given for reference as well. And the last step is to generate an outline, which another detailed example is given.  

Screen capture of http://tommarch.com/electraguide/

After the steps are completed, students have several choices based on which type of essay they are expected to create, on thesis builder.  The choices are: The Original, Persuasive Essay, thesis Builder & Online Outliner, Topic-O-Rama, Causinator, and TubePrompter.

Each choice links them to another page that allows them to fill in the necessary information to have one created based on their input. Topic-O-Rama, one of the listed choices, offers an idea pool of 50 prompts to help brain storm topics for persuasive essays.

What's great about this site is it allows students the choice to choose a format for their essay.  It gives students how may not be familiar with outlines a base to create one without the hassle of the formal format.  And for students who aren’t as creative with topics, it gives them a list to pull from if needed.

The tools I used prior was just having them type it in Word. I taught a lesson on outline structure and then gave them an example, and hoped for the best.  I usually got a whole lot of questions and if I didn’t, I would find alignment issues at the least and the content incorrectly placed and stated.

Screen capture of http://tommarch.com/electraguide/

A similar tool that I am aware of and use at times is Inspiration.  It is a program that allows the students not only to create mind maps/ graphic organizers using all types of visual representation, but outlines as well.  Whats good about the program is students get a template of an outline that they only need to plug in their on content to complete.  The bad about the program is that some still don’t fill in the correct information in the outline which is why Thesis Builder is a wonderful site.

PE3-iMovie

iMovie: Take Three 

Third Times a Charm?

From Flickr

As the saying goes, third times a charm ...at least for most people it is.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.  Okay, it wasn't as bad as I am making it out, but really, I wanted it to be as easy as it seemed on Lynda.com, and it wasn't.

The first thing I did was exactly what I learned from a Lynda video on making the sound effects (music from iMovie) have beat markers so that the pictures will change with the beat of the song.  Sounds awesome, right?  

Well,  I looked for the same song he (Lynda trainer) used in his example and placed it in the project library.  In case your wondering, the song was titled Greasy Wheels Long.  What he suggested, and I did try, was to listen to the song and use the quick key M to make the markers at each beat you hear as the song played.  

Here is the sample he showed me that got me hooked below.

Now he also gave a suggestion as to how to remove mistakes but that wasn't the problem.

What he failed to tell me, or I just didn't comprehend, is that you cannot add transitions after you use beat markers.  So I had spent the later part of twenty to thirty minutes working on beat markers for the song and placing pictures to match up with my storyline, only to find out, after it was all done and I was trying to add transitions, that the markers would no longer be effective if the transitions were added.  

I didn't know how to fix it, and I didn't want to go to square one and try to hit the beat again (I learned I have little to no rhythm).  So, I scrapped the idea and picked a new one without the beat markers (maybe next time).

Adding transitions were a breeze.  But figuring out the time, with the transitions and the titles, was a train wreck.  Every time I thought that the title was on long enough, the clip was too short.  I finally figured out after thirty minutes of trial and error (30 being my time of brilliance it seems) that the clip length determines, in a way, the length of the title.  So, I made sure the clips were the length needed to read and adjusted the title accordingly.  

In the end, the video was pretty good, I think.  The biggest draw back is that the information I tried to present is too long for one minute.  But I made it work as best I could.  The funny thing looking back, when  I looked at my script, I thought it wasn't long enough.  Imagine that.

"The" video below.

You can see it better on my BP8 blog through my Viddler video account.

PE2-iMovie

iMovie: Take Two

Photo from alasmedia.wikispaces.com

Before I dive into my project for creating a one minute video of a fabulous tool that I researched, I thought I would try taking my other web tool, Go Animate, and edit a video using that tool.  I thought that editing a video would be an easy start to my renewed learning process.  

From Go!Animate.com

It was hard for me to figure out how I was going to allow my viewers to see my creation from Go! Animate but I remembered the tool that I was advised not to use for my BP8 project AKA one minute iMovie video.  The tool was ScreenFlow.  I was not proficient in its uses either.  So, boy was I making this harder for myself.

From Flickr

My first hurdle was that in didn't understand the controls of ScreenFlow and couldn't get it to stop when I wanted.  Starting was easy because it did it automatically with a nice 3-2-1 count down before it begins.  So my first project once I import it into to iMovie is to figure out how to get rid of the access video.

Chopping off sections wasn't that hard. But what bummed me out about the process or the program (both of them) is that I couldn't use any special effects or transitions.  I can only assume because it was a ScreenFlow video and not photos or a video linked with iMovie that it didn't work.

Nevertheless, I learned a little more by trying to apply what I learned from Lynda.com as well as what I remember from the older version of iMovie to create a nice video for my students to learn about Go! Animate.  I only hope that my third attempt will be more pleasing.  

Below is my video again in iMovie for you to review.

PE1-iMovie

iMovie: Take One

Photo from Flickr

The biggest obstacle I face with iMovie is that it changed drastically from the older version (shown above) to the newer, iLife 09, version.  I use it heavily with my language arts students for several of their projects during the school year.  I admit, however, that they used it more than I.  What I did was more of troubleshooting then actually knowing how to use the program efficiently.  But I must say that doing what I did for three years kept me the iMovie guru at school (amazing!).

Anyway, I had barely anytime to really get under my belt the older edition but I thought once I opened the program, it would be like riding a bike ...but for me it would be a trike or had training wheel.  Nevertheless, I was astonished to see that I fell flat on my face because the program now than before was like comparing apples to oranges.  I didn't know what I was looking at and to make matters worst I thought I could finish in less than three hours.  NOT!

I watched Lynda.com hoping they could catch me up to speed, and honestly the videos were very easy to understand.  I was very happy with what I learned but still rather upset with the new changes and leery as to how I was going to accomplish my new task of a time constraint video (because I am long winded with information).

BP8-OMM-Storify

Why Storify?

Storify is a wonderful tool where everyone can learn through the synthesis of information given from everyone in all types of formats in a story-like manner on Storify. Enjoy the video I created to help others believe in the magic.

BP7-Comment to Nicole AKA Audiochik

Please follow this link to my comment on (my group buddy in Learning is Social for EDMT program for Full Sail University) Nicole's blog.

BP6-Comment to Shana

Follow this link to my comments for (my group buddy in Learning is Social for EDMT program for Full Sail University) Shana's blog about video production.

B5-Go!Animate

GO!ANIMATE is great tool to create short, animated films easily and publish them on the Internet. Go!Animate turns out high quality animation with and ease of use.   You can choose a wide variety of characters that can be made to perform a wide variety of actions and show plenty of entertaining emotions and reactions. There are also several scenes to choose from whether you want the characters to be on the beach or presenting a newscast, the software gives many choices.  

You can choose between props, scenes, sound effects, and change a multitude of objects in the animation to make it your own.  The best feature is the ability to use voice in the cartoons you create -no dialogue bubbles needed overhead.

The account is free and perfect for my middle school 8^th grade language arts classroom.  But really it is wonderful for anyone!  I was able to create my video in less than 15 minutes.  But if that isn’t good enough, seeing the example on the site of the animated version of the Mac versus PC characters is an impressive way to show that amateurs and experts use the tool.

One of the important parts of this tool is the ability to save it and share it anywhere on the web.  It gives you a URL address and an embedded code for Twitter, Facebook, or your own personal blog.  

Go!Animate has its own community where you can view, comment, rate, and subscribe to other member’s videos –there’s even a favorite list.  Yet, if you’re a new member such as myself and want to see some great ideas with the site then there is a community tab that give you access to view others such as Staff Picks, most views, and most recent. 

They even give their users contest to inspire creativity and inspiration.

Go!Animate is a wonderful community that allows users the ease to create fabulous cartoons that can be used in a variety of environments. Even my school has a commercial link there to nab up and coming computer animators. 

                                             Logo and screen shots from Go!Animate.com

BP2 Google Screen Shots

Look at the amazing way you can use google to connect to the important things in life! :)