A Great Example of Using Multiple Forms of Media
Last year “We Choose the Moon” was launched in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. This is a fantastic example of using video, audio, photos, and animation all in one course. Here is the link, www.wechoosethemoon.org. It is absolutely worth the visit.
Also, here is a video from AdobeTV that provides some background on the development of “We Choose the Moon.”
If you liked this course, you will also like these courses on space and NASA.
Explore the Apollo 11 Landing Site - NASA
International Space Station - NASA
One Small Step - NASA
NASA 50 Years - NASA
Rocket Science 101 - NASA
A Sense of Scale - The Elegant Universe
Trace Space Back to You - NASA
And there are plenty more on the Free e-Learning page.
Green Screen Video Studio at CDPE
I have written about building my low budget video studio in the past, but today I was really amazed at what the Center for Professional and Distance Education at the University of Central Oklahoma (CPDE) has built for less than $2,000. Today they presented for the e-Learning Guild’s DemoFest. They are doing a fantastic job using video to personalize their online courses, but in addition to that they shared the details of their amazing feat of building a green screen video studio.
Here is the final budget of the studio, which as you can see they really got bang for their buck.
Sanyo High Definition Camcorder – $349.95
Botero Chroma Key Green Background – $129.95
Smith-Victor: 4 Photo Flood Lighting Kit – $459.00
Shure Lavalier Microphone System – $299.00
Premiere Pro CS4 – Educational Price $190.00
Boris FX Chroma Key Software – $299.00
SanDisk 16GB Video HD SDHC Memory Card – $67.50
Slik 700DX Pro Tripod Legs –$99.95
Room Rental – $70.00
Cables - $50.00 – $80.00
Laptop Computer – $800.00
TOTAL: $2844.35
TOTAL (without laptop or CS4): $1854.35
Finer details of the studio set-up can be found in the PDF they were nice enough to provide, which you can download here.
In addition to CPDE’s presentation, DemoFest included 4 other great demos. In case you missed it, a recording is available at the eLearning Guild.
For Those of Us Who Didn’t Get a Google Wave Invite
If you did not get a Wave invite, but would like to get a peek at it, here are few videos from those that did get invites.
And here is the Google Wave team on launch day.
FYI: If anyone out there still has a Wave invite, I am still interested in receiving one. Thanks!
Using Screenr to Create a Video Post
With all the hub-bub around Screenr, I had to check it out. It is extremely easy to use. If you have not heard about it yet, Screenr gives you the ability to capture your computer screen, mouse movements and audio (e.g. software simulations). Once you click done, it compiles it and sends it and your text description out as a tweet.
While I was playing around with it, I realized I can capture my webcam on it…what an easy way to create a video post that I can tweet. Here is the result of a 2 minute investment of time.
If you would like to see it in my Twitter timeline, you will find me at http://twitter.com/minutebio (@minutebio).
It Came From Hollywood - Storyboarding
At the moment I am busy storyboarding a course. So, here is what I would like to share today…a great video about the history of storyboarding, how it is done in the film industry, and its benefits. Please pay attention because much of it translates to what we try to accomplish in e-learning.
Developing With Flash Lite Video Series
Dale Rankine recently launched the first video of his video training series for Flash mobile developers. If you are interested in developing with Flash Lite, say m-learning, you will want to check this out. The videos are developed for delivery on Adobe TV, but he is also making them available on Vimeo. Here the link, http://vimeo.com/adobeflashlite.
I am looking forward to seeing more of these videos and will be adding this to my Free e-Learning page, of course.
Descend into a Black Hole
Here is a great video on what it would be like to descend into a black hole. Yes, I am an astronomy nut and I love educational videos/animation. Plus, it comes from my alma mater, University of Colorado at Boulder. So, when I saw this video and the great stuff coming out of Jila at CU, I had to share it.
The video contains insets that include a map of the trajectory and a clock that displays the time left until central singularity, where space and time come to an end. In e-learning central singularity is 1 continual hour of clicking next buttons. Had to throw that in.
Here are all the details of the science behind this video - http://jilawww.colorado.edu/~ajsh/insidebh/schw.html.
US Army Using Interactive Videos
Here is an article on one way the army is using videos in online learning. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/15/soldiers.videogames/index.html
They are creating “immersive cultural simulation” programs, which uses realistic video created in California, but also combines it with actual footage from Iraq. They make an important point in the article that “…soldiers relate more to human characters than virtual avatars.” I would think this is extremely important when it comes to cultural sensitivity, which they are using the simulations for. Bottom line, they are presented with a realistic video depicting a scenario where they must make a choice and then shown the results of their choice. Not a terribly complex design, but probably effective.
Online Skateboard Training
I was looking for some new online training to add to my Free e-Learning page and found these gems. For anyone who urgently needs to learn how to effectively kickflip your skateboard, these are a must. All kidding aside, both of these guys make good use of YouTube for delivering instruction. Kudos guys!
The Video Studio is Done - Take a Tour
The video studio is now complete and ready to go. I have uploaded a tour of the studio on YouTube, which is embedded below.
