September 2, 2012 Web Conference Reflection

I attended the web conference on September 2, 2012.  During the web conference there were a lot of questions pertaining to posting on the discussion board and using Blackboard for the class.  Students were having challenges in learning how to do assignments and discussion boards on Blackboard. Dr. Abernathy and Dr. Jenkins provided links for finding videos to help us learn how to submit assignments. Their patience in answering questions about Blackboard was great as this was our first class to use Blackboard. Needless to say there was a learning curve for those of us who do not use Blackboard every day.

Questions were also asked about field supervisors, action research projects, TK20, and the upcoming assignment. The information gained from the web conference was beneficial to those who attended the conference.

If there was one thing to change about the web conference it would be to have a separate conference for Educational Technology students and Educational Administration students. Sometimes I feel time is used to answer questions pertaining just to Educational Administration or principal certification students and the Education Technology students may not need to know.  Examples of this would be questions about ILD courses or blogs. By having separate web conferences, the conference could be geared toward the specific set of students who are attending.

Overall the web conference is very beneficial to all students who are attending it. Information about the upcoming assignments and contact information is important to all of the students. The information about using Blackboard was also very useful. 

PSA Post-Production Reflection

Wow! What can I say? I began the PSA production with great trepidation.  I did not know what would happen.  My experience with group work hasn’t always been the greatest.

This assignment began with a fabulous group coming together.  We quickly started our pre-production assignment.  Everyone in the group was willing to help in all areas.  During this process we learned how to use Anymeeting.com for our web conferences, Dropbox for a storage area, and Google docs to collaborate on scripts and narration. 

In week 5, production really took off.  We had completed all of our pre-production tasks including videotaping, writing scripts, storyboards, and narration.  Everyone in the group worked diligently to get our PSA completed.  We learned to use Anymeeting.com to videoconference four times during the production process.  It was a great tool to use to see everyone face to face and discuss changes that needed to be done to make the PSA better.  We were able to record the meetings in case we needed to review what we had decided.   It was exciting to see everything come together and have changes made to the PSA almost instantaneously.

I have learned so much in EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology about making movies and using different kinds of software to make the movies.  Making the digital story, podcast, and PSA has really expanded my knowledge of digital media.  Not only did I expand my knowledge but I was able to work with four fabulous ladies and I gained four friendships.  They were truly encouraging and motivating during the process. Thanks to Dana Boozer, Germayne Yanez, Gina Castillo, and Shelbi Blackmon for all of the hard work.  All of you have taught me so much during the production.

Check out our video at Dangers of Texting While Driving.

December 10th Web Conference Reflection

The web conference on December 10^th was great.  In this conference Pamela Comer joined us.  Pamela works with TK20.  Dr. Abernathy said there were three things we would need to upload to TK20 – collaboration document, pre-production document updated in Week 5, and the team video.  Pamela suggested we go to the Artifacts tab first when we go into TK20.  She said we needed to create and upload the artifacts first, then go to the Course Binder and attach the artifacts there.

There was also clarification given regarding the documents we will submit. The pre-production document is the one we completed in Week 3 and submitted.  That document will be updated for Week 5.

Final grades will not be done until January according to Dr. Abernathy.  She said EPIC would be closed after this weekend and grades will not be posted until January. 

After attending this conference I felt a little more at ease regarding what we were supposed to submit in Week 5. 

December 3 Web Conference Reflection

The web conference on December 3rd was full of information for the upcoming week.  In the third week we will begin our pre-production for our PSA.  The groups should already be formed at this point. If someone was not in a group it was suggested they post a message in the discussion board asking to be part of a group.

The amount of information discussed in this conference was overwhelming. Dr. Abernathy said everyone in the group would need to submit the same form.  There was clarification given regarding the Shot List.  For instance, if there was a person sitting in the car then we would need to list that person as the talent and the car as the setting.  Also we will need to shot more movie clips and photographs than we will need to allow us enough footage to edit. 

In addition to discussing various aspects of the pre-production week, Dr. Abernathy discussed the problem with grading for the Week 2 assignment.  She said the grade would not be included in our average because of a problem in EPIC. 

Web Conference Experience

I found attending the web conferences helps me to put a face with the names of the other students in my class.  It is also a good way to receive information on upcoming assignments. 

The web conference is a valuable way to get clarification on assignments.  Attending the web conference allows you the opportunity to ask questions about methods of completing the assignment.  In a recent web conference one of the attendees mentioned they had problems uploading to YouTube in a certain format. Students gave their experience with uploading files. This collaboration is a great help to everyone who attends the web conference.

Sometimes students on the web conferences are further along in the assignment and they are asking questions you may come across later in the assignment. The web conferences are a great way to get and give information.

Movie Editing Software Evaluation

Before this course, I did not need to look at video editing software.  Last week I learned about Photo Story 3.  The Digital Personal Story peaked my interest in doing other stories with my family photographs. This week I looked at Windows Live Movie Maker and VideoPad Video Editor.

I chose to review VideoPad Video Editor from NCH Software.  I found this software to be a little more sophisticated than Windows Live Movie Maker.  Windows Live Movie Maker required you to record the narration into a sound file and then add it to the story.  In VideoPad Video Editor you can narrate the story while you are watching the video clip.  It was also easy to edit the narration when you finished recording. The software was user friendly when editing sound tracks, effects, and transitions.

VideoPad Video Editor makes it easier to work with the various options for your movie clip than Windows Live Movie Maker.  Some of the options include clipping, importing other clips, capturing video, adding subtitles, and splitting.  When the movie is saved you may choose .qvi, .wmv, .asf, .mpg, .3gp, .mp4, .mov, .flv .swf, or .rm as the file extension.

In the future, I would like to make tutorial movies for the students in my class who are having a hard time with various concepts.  It would also be a great way for the parents to access the information from home and learn what we are doing in our class.

EDLD 5363 Digital Story Reflection

This week we made a Personal Digital Story in EDLD 5363. I thought it was going to be easy to do. No, it wasn’t as easy as I thought. First I had to decide what to use for the storyline. It was a tossup between our summer adventure and the trips shared with my sisters. I decided to use the story about Craig’s and my adventure this past summer. The time spent together was priceless.

Then I had to decide what program to use to make the digital story. I chose to use Photo Story 3. It was relatively easy to use, but it was time consuming.

After deciding what to use for the story, I had to decide what part of the trip I wanted to focus on in the story. I decided to focus on the historical parts of the trip. As I sat down to actually write the story I found myself writing and rewriting the story. Finally, I uploaded the story for my partner to read. Then I had to decide which pictures to use. That was the easy part of the assignment.

The hard part of the assignment was trying to make the voice over work with each picture. It took a lot longer than I anticipated putting everything together. After getting the talking and pictures together I had to decide which music I wanted in the background. I listened to a lot of different types of music before I could decide. Finally I decided on Latin (Brazil) music.

The movie turned out much better than I thought it would. I am very pleased with it. The next story I write should go much quicker since I know how to make the movies now.

I hope you enjoy my digital story.  Craig and Ruth's Summer Adventure