Doing Something Nice

Today, while picking up some page tabs at Dollarama, I found myself in a rather cute situation. I proceeded to the line after finding my page tabs and of course stopping to pick up a Turtles chocolate Easter egg (yummm..to die for!). While waiting in line an older woman pulled her cart up behind me. She politely said, "Excuse me miss, you see, I have quite a bit of stuff here (only about two bags worth), and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to help me carry it out for me?" I replied with, "Oh of course! No problem at all." Then she continued by telling me how she just had a hip replacement and was recommended by the doctor not to lift anything heavy. After thanking me several times before I even did anything, we made our way out to the parking lot where I loaded her bags up for her. She thanked me again and said how kind I was and gave me a big hug.

It felt good to do something nice for a stranger. I hope that when I am old and need a hand that someone kind helps me out. Usually, being from a small town, when opportunities like this arise I know the person that I am helping. I am glad I could make a positive difference in this ladies day.

I challenge everyone to leave a comment telling one nice thing that they have done lately! :)

Weekly Photo

This was obviously not taken recently, but like lots of you, I am really anticipating being done school. I can't wait for the warm weather so I can bask in the sun like my little kitten is in this picture. The countdown has started for the last two weeks before classes are done. Then final time (booooo), and then SUMMER BREAK!

I hope this picture brings a little sunshine into every ones day!

Survey for Mentoring Class in Italy

This is a survey intended for my mentoring class in Italy. Please leave it for them to fill out, as I will create a seperate survey later to compare the results (one that Ecmp 355 students can fill out)

Thanks!

Games in Education

Tonight we had an interesting class about incorporating games in the class. Second Life seems like it will be a great classroom tool that will take over in schools in the near future. I enjoyed seeing the students work in creating Batoch. I have been there, and could recognize a lot of the things that students spent time building after their trip there. One thing that peaked my interest was when the teachers emphasized how the students who were often less successful in the regular classroom excelled extremely in the virtual environments. Maybe this is because these students are less “social” in terms of verbal in the classroom, but they succeed when they work on their own, during their own time, without having to talk to other people if they don’t want.

Sylvia Martinez talked about how there are so many games that are a waste of time. They are labeled educational, but often do not really teach students anything. She discussed how games can be useful in the classroom if they get kids to want to play them and challenge them. One site that she suggested, ironically, was Awful Games.com

There is a lot to think about when bringing games into the classroom, but after tonight I have some great starting points and ideas.

Final Project

I have finished my final project and submitted my three videos to Next Vista.org. I had a few challenges throughout the process and learned several things.

I decided to do a project that connected with a project I was doing for another class. In Education Aesthetics I was doing my personal arts project on photography. I had originally planned to just make a simple picture slideshow for that class but decided to incorporate an audio element to give myself more of a technological challenge. I posted my project plan for the three videos, which began with the idea of just being one video. After submitting this plan to Rushton at Next Vista.org he suggested to split it up into three (they like to keep all videos under 5 minutes). This was a good idea because it allowed me to not have to rush with my pictures and descriptions. It was a bit harder though of course making three videos rather than one. I wanted to keep things uniform so they were like a sequence. After the first one was complete, the other two went much smoother. I sent my first set of videos in for Rushton to look at. I had forgotten to include where I got the music (which originally I had just downloaded, but decided after to get it off of podsafeaudio.com after fixing up a few other things). He also suggested that I leave more space and pauses in my audio to give the viewer more time to enjoy the photos. So, after these few minor adjustments my videos are complete. I learned a lot about working for someone other than just myself. It was good to have Rushton there to give me tips in making my project better. If I wouldn’t have been working with him my final videos would not have been as successful without the changes he suggested. It was a learning experience to have to communicate about the planning process and ideas (I am used to just doing things my own way). I think it was a positive experience because I gained a more professional idea of how to create an educational video.

These How To Videos will help me in my future teaching career. If I ever get the opportunity to teach a photography class or even if I am doing a project using cameras or videos, these will be a great quick little intro to help students think about what they are putting in the frame. Not only will it be able to help me in the classroom, but once they are posted on Next Vista.org they will be accessible to other teachers and students around the world.

Weekly Photo

How to Basics for Audacity

First of all, download the program free from the Audacity site. Then once the set up is all complete (if you have troubles with this check out a tutorial video on youtube for some help with that). There are basic buttons on the top including the red circle (record), green arrow (play), blue lines (pause), square (stop), etc.



Once you have your mic hooked up, let lose with the record button pressing stop or pause when you are done or taking a break. To cut, make sure the I button is selected on the far left at the top and highlight the selected area you wish to cut. To increase the size of the audio track (in order to see more detail to make it easier to be precise in your cutting) use the magnification tool (left click on the track to increase and right to decrease). If you need to add a silence or a pause somewhere within your recording, an easy way to do this is to go to Generate at the top menu, and then click Silence… Make sure your courser is on the point where you want this silence on the audio track. Then, a pop up box will come up and ask you how long of a silence you want. Type in the desired time (in seconds) and then click generate.



Another way to have spaces between tracks of audio is to add a new audio track below the first one. To do this click Project on the top menu and go to the drop down of New Audio Track. Adding a new audio track is also handy when you want to have two or more tracks playing at once (background music, sound effects, etc.)



A few important effects that should be noted with basic recording include Amplify, Change Speed, Fade In and Fade Out. Play around with the rest, but these are the ones that I use the most when doing normal recordings. To add one of these effects, highlight the desired area (using the I tool) and then go to Effect at the top menu and select the effect you want. Another important tool is the <--> which allows you to slide your clips along the track.

I think that’s basically it for starting out. The more you play around with things the more you will learn, just like everything else. If I wasn’t clear about something and you have a question just let me know! Amber.blow8@gmail.com

He's Just Got To Go

I decided to think of my podcast in an educational way. I am not feeling so great today. Maybe this was my inspiration for this tech task. I thought of coming up with a lesson plan that I could have ready for any age level of class if I was to be sick and needed to call in a sub. I thought that reading a children’s book filled with images and descriptions would be a great starting point for various assignments. After this, depending on the subject and age of the students, they would be required to complete an assignment based on this book. For example, if it is an art class, have students take one of the lines from the book and use it for inspiration to create a work of art (any medium). A drama class could act out one of the scenes from the book, create a mime, or do charades. If it is a social class, have students research a historical building or aspect of Vancouver. For elementary students, do a project on cats. These are just a few examples, but they can be taken as far as ones imagination goes. I only read part of the book due to the 1-3 minute time limit of this assignment, but you get the picture. I chose to read the beginning of Mister Got to Go by Lois Simmie, one of my favourite authors.

http://www.archive.org/details/MisterGotToGo

I ended up going a bit over three minutes in the end, but it was hard to end before that point. I added sound effects from Partners In Rhyme.com and music from Pod Safe Audio.com.

Weekly Photo

Google Map Tech Task

For the tech task of creating a personalized Google map, I decided to dedicate it to my mentoring class in Italy. I thought it would be neat for them to see where I am from and get a better understanding of Canada and Saskatchewan. I included some of my favourite restaurants, the University, places I like to go and places I have travelled. I included some pictures and text, but couldn't figure out how to upload a video... Can anyone help me out there?! Once I do get some videos on I will update this post.



View Larger Map

Podcasts: Tech Task 14

Tonight we learned about podcasts and iTunes. I found a few interesting things in my short search including a podcast on technology in education by Two Tech Chicks: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=165244308, and a short video podcast on a fashion show http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=126292549. This is a Chanel fashion show including "cutting edge" designs and interviews with designers. I chose this one because I enjoy watching fashion shows and seeing what new and crazy things designers come up with. The one done by Two Tech Chicks includes, "Tips and tricks for gadgets and software for your digital life given by two Texas chicks obsessed with anything digital. The podcast is geared specifically to educators interested in integrating technology into their curriculum. Companion blog, forums and resources at: http://techchicktips.net/" It discusses some story telling techniques and the writing process using collaboration as well as other cool tips to use in the class. Dean showed us a great video that shows how a grade 3 and 4 class uses podcasts in their everyday routine. It was so neat to see these kids working together. They seem to really be into sharing their knowledge with other people. I think incorporating this type of learning will be increasingly common in the future. It is crazy how easy it is for us to share things with so many people around the world. I found a site that will be helpful when I make my own podcast, How To Make A Podcast. I am excited to have a few spare minutes so I can check out the Canadian Indie music that Erika suggested on the CBC Radio 3.

The Art of Film: Tech Task 12

Ecmp class last Wednesday was spent learning about videos and filming. We learnt about flip cameras and experimented with them by creating short videos, some of which turned out unreal!

I chose a clip from the movie August Rush. If you have not yet seen it I highly recommend. It is a story of a musically gifted young boy who is homeless. The story has a great plot line. I chose this clip because it uses a variety of filming techniques that we have discussed. I counted the number of different shots and there were approximately 55 in the almost two minute clip. Although this may be distracting to some, I thought it made the scene more productive and effective. With all of these shots we understood that this boy is very musically inclined and that the other characters are rather impressed by his skills.

The clip includes close-ups and extreme close-ups: shots of his fingers, the strings and frets, his face, etc. It includes pans: going up and down the guitar neck and going from the window outline down on an angle towards Robin Williams sleeping. This short clip also includes many tilts where the camera moves up and down. An example of a tilt is when the camera moves from a shot of the guitar up to the boys face. A variety of shot angles are used including low, high, straight on and canted. An example of a high angle shot is when the camera is looking down on the boy playing guitar showing his inferiority as compared with Williams who is looking down on him. There is a point of view shot when Williams is standing in the door way and we see the boy as he sees him. An eye line match is used when Williams is walking down the stairs and it goes from a shot of him looking to the left to a shot of how he would see the boy. Techniques like zooms are used when the camera moves quickly in towards the guitar strings.

It is amazing how much work goes into making a film with all of these interesting techniques. We can see through this short clip that the people filming this movie put a lot of effort into each take and shot in order for an effective product.

Enjoy!

Mentoring Updates

I have been pretty excited the past few days with the several comments and emails that I have recieved from Seth's class in reply to my video. If you want to check them out just look under the blog heading Mentoring Video for Students in Italy. English is their second language, but they have been doing great in their replies! Tomorrow the class will be doing a wiki page to explain some psychology where Alex and I will be able to check it out and leave comments for the students.

Weekly Photo

Downtown Regina

Voicethread

I decided to try using Voicethread for a second way to tell a story. I liked how this site let you have a choice of where you wanted to upload your pictures from. It was an easy site to use, but I found it didn't have a lot of options in terms of transitions, timing, background music (there was no option on having that) and text. Voicethread would be a great device to used in an Elementary level class where all you want is to show a basic story using voice and pictures. I think the limited transitions, effects, etc. would make this less appealing to an older audience.

I think Voicethread was an alright way to communicate the story that I told, but I believe there are better ways out there. When comparing this tool with Animoto I think that Voicethread better projected the story I was telling. The use of narration rather than fancy effects and high paced music made it more of a personal endeavor rather than a commercial selling my trip. Both are great in their own ways.

Picture of the Week

This one goes out to Dean and all the Corner Gas fans out there.
(I took it a few summers ago at the lake, some family thing.)

Update on Final Project

I have recently finished one part of my final project, which was completing the How to Take a Good Photograph video. I planned to have it all in one video, but after sending my outline to Rushton (nextvista.org), he suggested I split it into three smaller videos. On Next Vista the rule is to be under five minutes in ones video. Anyways, I think I will wait to post them for a bit yet. I will be sending them to Rushton for him to check out in the next few days.

Missing Small Town Life

Once in a while you encounter an experience that makes you recall the things that are taken for granted in your life.

While driving on Sunday evening I started to notice something strange going on with my car. I was on Ring Road and noticed that my car was taking a bit more power to speed up. At that point I didn’t think much about it. As I continued from my apartment near the university down to Victoria Ave. I got wondering what was up. I turned on a side street and thought maybe it was just icy and bumpy causing my car not to ride properly. I thought I had best turn down my music and shut of my heater so I could listen to my car (who, by the way, talks to me and has a connection with me that not many people understand.) There was something weird going on. When I arrived at my friend’s house I got out to see what I had predicted, a flat tire on the front of the driver’s side. It wasn’t just soft or slightly flat, it was completely flat. How smart did I feel after driving over 5km going around 100km/hr on ring road?! Not very smart.

I have had to help change a tire a few times in my life so far, so I knew basically how to do it. The only thing I wasn’t so excited about was the fact that it was about -30 and the wind was blowing like crazy! It couldn’t have been an easy process where we got the spare tire out of the trunk, jacked up the car and tossed it on, OH NO. The spare tire was frozen solid into my trunk. How you may ask, well, whenever I open my trunk and there is snow or water on my car it falls into my trunk and seeps into where this spare tire is. After about 25 minutes of prying at it with a crowbar, (and after almost giving up and calling CAA) my friend and his strong muscles got the tire out. Then, the jack had to be chipped out from the few inches of ice in which surrounded it. After a few warm up trips into the house, we finally managed to get things done (about an hour and a half and twenty numb toes later).

I guess after this whole ordeal I felt a longing to be back home in my small town. If this would have happened in Tisdale, no matter where I was, I could have left my car there until it was warm enough to be outside to change the tire. I wouldn’t have had to be pressed with the time and worry of getting a ticket or getting towed. I also really missed my dad. This was because he is the one who does all my maintenance and fixing for my sister and I. Not like it was a big deal to change a tire, but I guess in the past he has just always been right there to help me out whenever things like that happen. Oh, the joys of growing up.

I like to tell people how being in a small town makes you feel safe. A great example of this was the time my sister’s belt blew off her car and she was stranded about half a mile out of town. She called me and asked if I could come and get her because she hadn’t gotten a hold of dad yet. At this time, I was driving around with my friends in our grad car (the big pink one featured in my Mastercard video). Right about the time she called, our big old beast was dying on the side of the road also. It had a tendency to overheat pretty easy and would take a lot of pumping on the gas to start up again. So I told my sister I would try and make it there as soon as our car would get going again. In the meantime, a few people had stopped to see if we needed help but we waved them on saying we could get things going shortly. And, not to my surprise, once we arrive at my sister’s car, my dad had stopped on his way home from work. What would the likely hood be of that happening in Regina?! Dad saves the day again…

One time while driving my friend’s old standard car on Main Street, I stalled. Thinking, well no big deal, just start it up, not like downtown is that busy. But, after turning the key several times we realized something was wrong, the battery cable had unhooked when I stalled the car, leaving us with no power. So we got out of the car and started to push. Did I mention Main Street Tisdale is kind of on a slight hill?! Anyways, everyone who is driving by waves and one of our friends from the store we were across from came out and helped us push. My mom popped her head out of the building she works at and yelled across the street asking me what was going on.

I guess those are some of the reasons why I like small town life. You are never far from someone you know. Actually, you are always near a lot of people that you know, and that you can trust to help you out whenever you are in need.

Animoto Video

Here is a quick little way to tell a story with pictures and some audio using Animoto. Like Erika said, it only takes about 10 minutes to make. It doesn't have many editing options, rather it is quick and simple. All one needs to do is upload some pictures (via your computer, or an online source), add some music (either from their collection or your own files) and then let them put it together for you.

All of these pictures were taken on a trip to Vancouver with a friend in the spring of grade 11. We went to check out the Art Institute, visit some of her family, and do some site seeing.

Photostory Experimentation

After last Wednesday's class I have been experimenting with some of the 50 Ways to Tell a Story. I have had some trouble and frustrations with my trials but I finally have managed to create something. It's not much, rather just a sample of what I have been trying out. I had troubles with Comiqs.com but ended up spending an hour of my time to come out with nothing because the program would not let me save my project for some reason. I tried several times and created a few different trials but none of which would save. I then decided to try Scrapblog. For all of these sites one needs to create a user account and often one is required to have a certain type of email account before doing this. Using Scrapblog you access your photos from another online source rather than straight from your computer, which I wasn't a fan of. I ended up signing up for a Flickr account and uploading some pictures. I thought this was kind of a weird process and it took a lengthy time. For some reason, this Scrapblog wouldn't let me save my work either. Maybe it is my technology illiteracy or something but I was very frustrated at this point and moved to One True Media where I created this little photo montage. I didn't find a way to record audio on this program so it just has a background music accompanying the photos with some text. It is more of a visual story rather than verbal. But, like I said, this is just a trial and once I have a bit more time and am less frustrated with things I will make a better product.

I enjoyed using One True Media because it automatically saves your project, and you can come back to it and start where you left off. It has some great background transitions and effects to make your pictures flow together nicely and interestingly. One True Media gives you the choice of uploading your photos from your computer, Flickr, Photobucket, Stock Content or using an Image URL. Along with getting images from several sources, this site has a variety of music choices to choose from.

I will keep working on learning how to use digital storytelling devices.

--> After viewing this online a few hours after posting I realized that none of the text that I had written under the photos saved (reason for the random "Tokyo Pop" and "Spring" phrases). This is a work in progress, so I will delete this one once I get it fixed up.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com