Final Thoughts

For now, this will be my last post. IT469 has been my favorite class this semester. There wasn't ever an assignment or day I was truly dreading do or come to. I have enjoyed almost every minute of Dr. Yuen's class.

I have learned about many different multimedia applications that could help not only in a classroom setting but in other fields of work such as advertising, business, even music/art. I have met many different people in this class. I have made at least one good friend because of the experience.

I have even talked to my boss at work about a couple of the programs that maybe useful to them. I appreciate that Dr. Yuen found and taught programs that were free to use. On a tight budget, this comes in extremely handy. During the current economical state anything free that an employee can use to help their employer, whether it be in education or business, is usually always welcomed.

Its hard to pick a favorite assignment but I would have to say that it would have to be Animoto. It looked so professionally created. The finished product looked like it may have taken hours to complete, when in all actuality it took probably 30 minutes from upload to their completion of the information. My friends and family were extremely impressed by how simple it was to use and the results of it. I believe upgrading to the paid subscription would be well worth the money.

Audacity

As I was looking at my blog I have realized I missed sharing one of my experiences with you. Audacity is an audio recording program. It is a free program where you can overlay prerecorded audio and created audio. You can add fade ins and fade outs. You can even add a door bell sound. I found it extremely fun to use. It could be useful in adding personnally created audio for videos. I could see this being used in a high school setting to teach how to mix tracks, create their own songs, or even to recreate audio for a video if the video recording didn't come out correctly.

One reason I had really enjoyed it was that it had me achieve a goal of mine. My dad really likes Star Trek, so I have always wanted to take the different themes of the show and blend them in some fashion to create a soundtrack for him to play. With this program, I was able to create this soundtrack. Now for those Trekies out there who may happen to read this:

1. It is in show publication order.
2. It does not have the last show Enterprise on it because its particular theme was a Rod Stewart song and really didn't fit well with the others.

I loved the way it came out and hope you like it too.

Windows Movie Maker

This assignment was to create a movie with Windows movie maker. The irony in this assignment was that I created my YouTube video with the program and when I went to refine that particular video, I just couldn't make it work. Therefore, I created a different video. It is of only pictures, but I still enjoyed making it. I found movie maker easier to use than some programs like Pixorial.

I could see using this program in a production type format for high school students and others who would like to create their own home videos that look more professional. It could even be used to capture still life and mix video for use in reception videos or even wedding videos to capture memories. \

The piece I created was from my trip to Anaheim, CA in June of last year. I used the song "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by the Verve as a back ground music. It just seemed appropriate. I hope you enjoy it.


Find more videos like this on IT469/569

Jing

Jing is a screen capturing program that allows you to not only take snap shots of screens but also record screen images to do a tutorial. There is also an ability to highlight certain sections of the screen after recording or capturing an image. I found this program extremely easy to use. It was easy to install and to set up an account. I also like the way it gives your archival space on its sister site Screencast.com  without having to set up an additional account.

I could see this being extremely helpful in the class room or even in an office setting to teach new computer software programs to students or staff. I enjoyed this program and will save it on my computer for future use. My work is getting ready to transition software programs. I could see them using this to teach us these new programs without constantly having to stand over our shoulders to keep remembering how to do something.

Below I have included the tutorial and a screen shot I created using Jing.

YouTube Assignment

I had to create my first YouTube video. What better test subjects than a little brother and his friends. My brother loves D&D (Dungeons and Dragons for those of us who are not familiar with the game abbreviation). I really enjoy making the video and the boys were more than willing to be in it. I chose a metal band back ground song because it just seemed to fit the action.

I found uploading the video and adding the annotations fairly simple. I had a little difficulty with the music. The audio swap seemed to take a long time to add. That was my only real problem with it. I can see how it is very popular with people to share videos. Personally, I enjoy watching old movies I can't find in anywhere else. I also like the option to play all videos when you have several short videos that relate together like a an old movie which allows you to watch the videos as one.

YouTube can be powerful in teaching in the class room. Short clips like from "Mr. Wizard" could prove enough to keep a child's attention while teaching them something new about physics or chemistry. My psychology teacher used it to show us a video on child psychology experiments. She also used it for extra credit opportunities.