PE2_iMovie

Well, I am back!  I have been paddling for a number of hours!  I ate my lunch just floating along with an in coming current, which help me reach my next destination easily.  As I have been paddling I have been watching the Lynda.com iMovie lessons!  I have learned so much!  I will be able to wrap it all up for you in my last blog for this Practical Experience! (I have highlighted some of the effects I used in the final clip)

An item was familiar with, was having limited transitions.  I was taught this when studying Power Point presentations and Keynotes.  It is a lot of fun to add in all the cool bells and whistles while making it, but is sure can make your viewer nauseated.  You know, like kayaking in rough seas with 6 ft swells.  It looks good on camera, yet going through it will make you chum! (term from fishing to attract fish) I have been sticking to using only two different types of transitions per video.  I have been told by instructors in this program in the past to add more transitions.  I guess now I know better!  LOL

I have wanted to use some different fonts on intro or credit slides and did not know why they were not available.  Well, now I know it is because special fonts are only available on certain intro and credit slides.  I have also learned more about using sound effects and Ducking much more effectively.  I tried Ducking on a very early video and just could not get it to work.  Now, I know why.  I was trying way to many things to make it work.  It is a one button click!  Also, I saw how to better use the effects on your photos. There are like 16 available effects!

I was really looking forward to the altering speed of a video clip.  I need to have some were I slow down the crazy pets and then speed them up!  Also, I did not know about how to freeze a frame and the video starts before your selection, freezes on the pic, and then continues with the video!  Very nice touch for a sweet family video or making a specific point in a lesson!

Finally, I was so pleased to learn about white point controls.  In one of the movies the FAB Five turned in month two, my clip compared to my group member's was very yellow!  I now know how to fix that by selecting a white point in the picture and the pic will adjust!  You can also use a true gray.  Can someone show me true gray?  I will use white.  Here you go!  I thought you would like to see the fix!

PE1_iMovie

Good Morning!

I hope you are rested well today!  The Sand Hill Cranes woke me up early with their morning squawking!  I have cooked a fine breakfast and packed up my gear and I am now ready to paddle toward the incredible Lynda.com iMovie practical experience.

I just started using imovie in December when I started the program and never even thought about looking at Lynda.com to help me understand how to us the software!  I trialed and error plunked my way through it to this point.  I have made some very good movies and of course I had the original talking head for my Bio!  LOL

A new item I learned about and just love, is the ability to listen to audio while skimming!  Our videos involve a lot of audio of us teaching, for example.   See the button with the cursor under the horse's nose, that is where you can turn the audio on or off for skimming.  This will enable to me to make efficient edits with out trying to watch what my mouth is saying!  Yeah!  (I used to have horses too!)

The other item I fell in love with, was the "Fine Tuning on the Fly"!  (That is just fun sounding also!  LOL)  I think it is great to go into the "preferences" and choose to add an icon to edit your clips quickly and cleanly.  You can use the left and right arrows to move the clip frame by frame.  This will make my edits even cleaner than before and cut the time down editing! I have also picked up a few hot keys to just make adding a clip quicker, like using the "e" key to add clips from the events.


Overall this has been a great experience in learning more about iMovie.  It  will benefit me, my students and even my friends and family with great videos!  Videos you can learn with!  Videos you can remember with!  I am ready to start up again on my adventure through the iMovie tutorial!

Oh, yeah!  While I am paddling around the state of Florida my pet sitter has been sending me clips of video and I will be putting them all together for you through this blog-a-rama in the Practical Experience for iMovie.  I bet you are wondering how I can do that and paddle with a boat full of food, water and camping gear!  What can I say?  Women are just remarkable! Rock on!  Paddle fast in gator country!  I will meet you at the campsite!

BP4

WWWWeeeeeooooo!  This is Carnival! (Car NEE val) I have found a great Web 2.0 tool!  It is iVoted!  You will need an SPF of 50 and a long white sleeve shirt to not get sunburn from this brightly glowing tool!  The yaks are ready to set sail!

 

I am in the crystal clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico paddling with a sweet breeze at my back!  I have on my favorite visor and have donned my crisp white angler shirt!  My Eddyline Merlin is tracking directly towards a great presentation tool that gives the participants instant result!  Yes!  iVoted is a polling tool to be used with groups!  You can find it through Go2Web2.0 link or at http://ivoted.com/view/welcome .

Your participants, up to 25 with the free version, can instantly response through Twitter, email, and texting.  I will use email with my fellow faculty, since we will be using our computers during the lesson; vote@ivoted.com.  Your participants will respond to your multiple answer questions by voting on a keyword the system or yourself generates.  As, soon as they are done responding, “Ding” the results are ready for you to reveal!

I found this website very easy to use and no bugs!  It did not kick me to the curb or hang up on me.  It does not lose your info if you jump around on the site.  You just type in your first questions and then underneath the questions put in the multiple-choice answers.  The results are then available for review instantly in a bar or column chart!  I will be hooked into a projection system so everyone can see it! I felt, even though I created a formal survey in month 3, I needed to have a fun and group way to evaluate what my students want to learn.  This was perfect to find!

Permission to be the administrator can be given to others.  I think this would be a great way to make the interaction student centered and let them run with it.  I think it would be great to let each participant think of a question or small groups to. It gives your learners some control and owner ship over the learning adventure!

With this tool being instant with the response to the questions.  When you get the response to a question it will then enable to you follow the needed direction of questioning. I feel this will make a good compass for which direction your students are leading you! 

Well, I am now back in my kayak and heading for the next campground along the Florida coastline.  I need to rest after partying at the iVoted Carnival!  Give it a try!  

 

Made in USA - Please help! Not for class, but for all Americans

Hi Everyone!

My education blogs are all with the adventure in mind to make them fun and flowing!

Now, I am going to go in a little different direction.

We all know someone who is not working in the economy and it may even be you!
I recently went shopping at SteinMart a nice store with great clothes that are just a little different just like me. LOL I purchased three tops that day and when I got home I discovered they were Made in USA!  I immediately phoned my mother and told her.  We were both very pleased this occurred.

Two weeks ago I heard if you make the decision to purchase American made products with just a difference of $3.67 you would be helping to create 10,000 jobs!  I have shared this at work and now I want to share this with you too.  This evening I heard that ABC would be airing all next week how we can buy American made with Diane Sawyer on the evening news. 

I am not trying to promote ABC or Diane Sawyer.  I want to see the kind of information they will be sharing to help my fellow Americans.  Please do not stop giving to your local or national organizations continue helping those in need.  Just when you are getting ready to make a purchase, small or large, please consider where it is made. 

Both of my grandmothers worked in textile sweat shops.  My grandma on my father's side was 6' tall and worked with adult coats.  This was very, heavy, hard work and she put in the linings.  My grandma on my mother's side worked with children coats and she was only 4' 9".  Again, heavy hard work and she did buttons and button holes.  Both were honest hard working first generation immigrants.  Neither finished school, because they had to help raise the children and work.  It brings tears to my eyes to think of either of them losing their jobs.  It is no different for anyone else in this country educated or not. 

Please, please, please take the time to make the decision to try and find and purchase American made products!  Thank you for just reading this simple request!  If you know of any products American made you use regularly, would you please share a comment to my blog!

My best to you and yours!
Michaelann

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

Wow! It is so bright and sunny I will need my polaroid glasses and a wide brimmed hat!  I have fallen in love with my iGoogle pages!  Above is my home page and I just love how I can change the template to have beautiful natural backgrounds, since I am not able to travel, paddle, camp or hike in school right now.  It gives me a little boost as I navigate as fast as lightning from one site to another.  I am organized and have found my niche!

Here is a perfect example of the neat stuff I am enjoying on my pages!  All of my FSO stuff in one place.  I can even add different styled "To Do Lists" to each page.  See that clear blue water!  That is like paddling down the rainbow river in Dunnellon, Florida!

My CBR page is a little sparse, but I do not believe that is going to stay that way as we adventure further into the trails of our CBR project.  I imagine by the end of this class alone I will learn from our instructor and you my readers all sorts of gadgets to add!

This page rocks!  I love being able to launch my Blog from here.  Just one click and I am in.  No more going to my sticky notes to get a URL or bookmarking so many different items.  I can't find the ones I use regularly!  These iGoogle pages have saved me so much time!  I love that!  Now, if I can only figure out a way to bunch that time all up and go on a fantastic kayak trip to Cumberland Island, GA!

BP2_LetterPop

Hi Everyone!

Make sure you have on plenty of sunscreen to read this blog!  I chose to use LetterPop for my newsletter creator to be used to inform my fellow faculty of up coming adventures in learning about technology!  I am trying to make this as much fun as possible to help them infuse more technology into their classes.

I found this newsletter publisher to be sunny with clouds.  I very much liked all the templates they had available!  The platform is very easy to use, but a bit buggy.  I had to start over four times because it kicked me out or did not like the image I chose to use.  I did find that it is a bit slow, but does save your work if you are knocked off of the site or you computer locks up.

I watched the tutorial for using the publisher, but they really only covered the very basics of dragging the template over and then dragging photos to it.  I wanted to change the color of my font, but that is not available on the free version.  Although, it will let you upload 25 of your own images for free!  I like that! When you sign in and go to "My Account" you will find all sorts of helpful stuff in designing, locating, editing and uploading images there!  They just do not tell you to go there in the tutorial.  Well, I can't complain now when I work with other Web 2.0 tools and I am having trouble I will go to the "My Account" section and find out more!

I will continue to use this newsletter publisher for my staff at work, but I will keep my eyes pealed for others as I travel through the valley of Web 2.0 tools! 

So, just keep paddling smoothly along as we continue our journey on the Education Expedition!

Bye for now!  I am turning down my sleeping bag and getting ready for an evening by the campfire!  Don't forget to keep the tent zipped up the mosquitoes are starting to come out and FEED.

"Hey, you want some fresh coconut sprinkled on that?"
 

BP1_Welcome to my blog

Hi Everyone!

I am so glad you stopped by!  I hope your bags are backed and your kayak loaded on your vehicle.  We are now getting ready to embark on a fantastic journey on the Education Expedition!  I will be your tour guide and hostess Michaelann.  Stay close by and do not take any detours from the chosen path!  I do not want any one to miss out on the adventure into Education Media Design and Technology research!

Just a reminder there is no turning back now!  There may be rough water ahead or angry gators, but we will make it together!  When we reach camp we can hold hands and walk in virtual circles around the campfire to comfort one another!


I love having you along!

Bye for now!

Michaelann