Final Video and Blog #8

Blog #8:  Final Video Production

The overall production of my final video went more smoothly than I expected.  Although last week I struggled with new programs to insert narrative along with my video, that learning process helped me to work more quickly this week.  Snagit 11 was extremely useful to allow me to record video from the internet (such as You Tube) and also in adding narrative to my screen shots.  I also found Audacity easy to work with for adding narration to my images.

It was challenging turning my proposal into an interesting story.  I completed my story map last week, but realized that it wasn't a very compelling story and that I had left out some critical information such as why I chose to use wikis for peer editing as opposed to blogs or other technology.  Therefore I kept the basic story core but included these elements to show more of the inner struggle I had in determining my CE Proposal topic.  It was also somewhat difficult to find images to use for my comparison of technology in 1980 versus in 2012.  At one point I was close to requesting photos on Facebook of friends peer editing in the eighties!  I also almost went home to my parent's house to find a similar image.  Creating my narrative also proved to be challenging to me.  I find that I struggle to speak without a script and therefore was drafting all my narrative for each section.  The end result is that I sound a bit monotone and boring, at least that was the response of my roommate who wasn't sure why I sound much more interesting in person.

One thing that I would do differently is that I would have bought a MAC instead of a PC.  I really like the video production features of iMovie versus Movie Maker and it seems as though less converters and add ons are needed for the MAC.  As far as changes to my actual video production, I would have written out more detailed narrative when I was creating my storyboard.  This proved to be very time consuming since I was writing it out as I went along.  This course has challenged the technology novice in me, but I did enjoy the process of creating the videos.

DV #4 and Blog #7

Blog #7  The below video outlines my storyboard for my final video project.  The purpose of this video is to share my culminating experience proposal with our cohort.  I feel as though I explained my story core and story board in detail through my narrative and therefore am going to focus on the challenges I faced in creating this video for my blog. 

Because I am not tech savvy and have recently purchased a new laptop, I find that every assignment has been more difficult than I anticipated to complete.  This week, I completed my storyboard using Microsoft Powerpoint and then realized that I couldn't upload my powerpoint directly to my blog.  Therefore I started downloading all kinds of software before seeing in the instructions that Snagit would assist in creating videos using my screen shots.  Snagit worked well and I was able to take those video clips and import them into my Microsoft Moviemaker.  The only problem is that I only have a 30 day free trial to Snagit and need to see if the other suggested software is free or find another alternative. 

I realize that all of my problems are user errors, however these are the issues that non-digital native educators will run into that will cause frustration and possibly end the implementation of certain technologies.  Professional development is key in teaching educators how to use these tools and resources.

This video was more difficult to produce than the previous two.  The required insertion of video and the need to use a converter made the process more tedious.  Although I had used my own camera in the past to take short home movies, this was the first time that I attempted to post my videos to a blog. 

Coming up with a topic was also a problem for me.  When I think about the things that I would be able to teach our cohort, I couldn't think of anything interesting.  I'm not the most creative chef, spend my day creating excel spreadsheets and word documents to send to the Department of Finance (sounded boring), like to do Insanity and run (but nobody wants to see that a video of that).  Finally I realized that there were many devices that still needed to be set up in our apartment.  Since I still can't figure out how to connect the wireless router, Xbox 360 was the logical decision!  Plus, I miss my Dance Central II game and needed my Kinect to use it.

Recording the video required the assistance of my roommate, and we talked continuously through it without realizing we were being recorded.  It took me about a half hour to figure out how to shut off the sound in Window's Moviemaker which was recorded by the camera microphone.  Although I had worked with music in video two, I struggled to decide which music would go best with teaching others how to connect a Xbox.

Once my movie had been created, it was so large of a file that it took a very long time to load.  In the end, I had to adjust my settings to make it a more manageable size.  Although this particular video took a very long time to create, I think that the process would go more smoothly in the future.  Overall, it was an enjoyable experience!

Chapter 13: My Ideal Digital Storytelling Toolbox

In this chapter, Ohler discusses the essential tools that teachers and students need in order to tell digital stories.  The following statement hit close to home for me in my attempts to create digital stories the past few weeks.

"Fancy gear and software is not important.  When it comes to effective digital storytelling, less is often more."  (Ohler, 2010, 2214 of 2900).

While creating our first video, my new laptop had an issue with the video card that would not allow me to add captions to my pictures.  In order to post my video, I dusted off my seven year old laptop which allowed me to create my video in about fifteen minutes.  I have since downloaded the updates to the driver on the new laptop which will allow me to use Window's Movie Maker, but only after I spent four very frustrating hours attempting to pinpoint the problem.

This week I realized that I only had hard copies of many of the photos I needed for my digital story.  I wasn't worried because we have a fairly new printer/scanner/copier that should be easy to use and scan and save my photos onto my laptop.  Unfortunately, some of the printer colors were running low and the printer would not allow me to scan photos until I replaced the ink cartridges.  This seemed silly because I wasn't going to be doing any printing, however it refused to let me bypass this control.  My solution was to pull out my old HP printer/scanner from the bottom shelf of the closet which worked perfectly despite being over seven years old.

This weekend I will be moving to another location and both laptops and printers will be taking the journey with me.  When it comes to hardware and software, it is more important that the tools can get the job done rather than how many complex functions are possible.  In my case, the less complicated the tool the more likely I will be to make use of it effectively.

Video 2

This video tells the story of my 2005 trip to New Zealand.  This adventure pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to grow as a person.  I had just turned 28 when I embarked on this journey and it was truly a life changing trip.

Ohler's Five Phases of Media Production

 In chapter 11, Ohler discussed the first of the five phases of his media production process.  In my prior response, I commented on the use of peer pitching to assist students with developing their story core.  My experience with this approach at our face to face session reinforced my feelings.  Receiving feedback from my classmates assisted me in determining where my transformation would be taking place in the story.

Chapter 12 continues with the remaining four phases of the media production process.  Phase II includes the steps involved in preproduction such as developing a media list and obtaining the necessary media.  This seems like a logical step in the creation of digital stories.  One of Ohler's suggestions that would be beneficial in any classroom is "Find out who the software and hardware experts are in your classroom or workshop and feel free to call on them" (Ohler, Kindle Edition 1960 of 2900).  Just tonight, I utilized the expertise of our iMET cohort through our Facebook page attempting to troubleshoot an issue I was having with captions in my video.  It is very helpful to have a network of assistance rather than having to immediately contact a teacher or professor.  

The author suggests including learning the basics of iMovie or Movie Maker in either the Prephase I or in the third phase of production.  Having spent four hours attempting to add captions to my video tonight, I would attempt to include this step as early as possible.

The remaining steps of the production process seem logical to me and would work well in creating media projects in the classroom.  Ohler stresses the importance of including proper credits as well as music, transitions and effects during the postproduction phase. 

Hiking has always been a big part of my life.  Since we were in high school, my best friend and I would spend our summers outdoors hiking in Lake Tahoe.  In my fourth year of teaching, one of the teachers at my school challenged a group of us to prepare to hike half dome by the end of the school year.  This video details our journey.