aclJohn's Media Finds

Here is one free video editor that practitioners should check out; not just for themselves but for their learners to use before submitting evidence for portfolios.

vReveal is software that offers basic one-click editing for videos allowing users to...

• stabilize,
  
• sharpen and
• clear up blurry videos easily (I know because I've tried it out with a video clip taken by Colin)

Once vReveal has been installed, start by...

• importing videos into the gallery;
• select the video to edit and preview...

Lighting is an extremely important factor in photography.

Sylights is an online tool that helps photographers share their lighting suggestions with other photographers.

Sylights...

• is a free to use web service.
  
• helps people illustrate the position they place the subject within a photograph.
• lets users create a diagram of their photograph setup. Using this technique, users create diagrams that remind them and/or show others how to get the best lighting effect.
  

Users...

• start by sp...

A number of learning providers block video sites like...

• blip.tv,
  
• break.com,
  
• dailymotion.com,
  
• facebook.com,
  
• livevideo.com,
  
• metacafe.com,
  
• myvideo.ch,
  
• myvideo.de,
  
• veoh.com, and
  
• youtube.com

But so many of these sites have video clips that will enhance current teaching & learning.

Media Converter allows users to 'grab' a copy of these clips to use off-line.

Is it legal? In their words...

"This website operates in a grey area. So it is hard to say if it ...

Before you read too much note that this works with Vista and/or Windows 7 only. 

This Flickr Drive tool allows users to browse and edit your photos as if they were located on your own hard-drive.

Users can...

• access features such as drag'n'drop to add photographs to their online Flickr photosets;
• manage photographs by editing tag properties directly in Windows Explorer;
• browse photographs from other Flickr users by adding accounts to the root of the Flickr Drive folder;
• search for photogr...

This Blog entry provides an overview of both...

• Claymation - an animation technique used with clay figures. (Wallace and Gromit) and
• Stopmotion - the original animation technique used to create cartoons. (Using toys -lego for example)

Learning providers, who have used claymation and/or stopmotion teach have found that it teaches learners...

• patience;
• attention to detail;
• photography; and
• communication skills.
  

Learners find that creating both types of movie very rewarding!

The blog c...

Like most media, animations should only be used when appropriate. However I don't believe we should reinvent the wheel and Animation Library provides over 13,748 free animations for practitioners and learners to use on their websites, Interactive Whiteboards (IWB), Virtual learning environments (VLEs), ePortfolios, presentations, etc.

To navigate Animation Library, just use the Links in the menu at the bottom of the screen or on the sidebar. Users can also search the free animations using ...

If you have learners creating...

• podcasts;
• videos; or
• other multimedia projects...

• When creating an audio podcast or a video that uses music tracks, the sure way to avoid any worries about copyright infringement is to use music you created.
  Unfortunately, often that is not a feasible option for most of us.

• The next best thing to using music you created is to use Creative Commons licensed music or royalty free music. ...

Spreaker is an online service that will let anybody have their own web radio station and broadcast whatever they want.

The audio content can be created and shared all over the Internet, and users can create their own radio shows by mixing voice, music and sound effects.

Users can...

• broadcast live, or
• produce podcasts that anybody can listen to whenever they have the time.

Spreaker already takes integration with social networks into account.

This now makes it very easy to reach a g...

Jesse Brown brings a sarcastic view on the need to save newspapers from the Internet.

"How will mankind survive if we let the Internet kill newspapers? Classifieds, crosswords, comics and ads MUST be delivered to our doors each day or society will collapse."