A. Media Development

An optimal environment exists when the technology is "invisible" -- in other words, a situation where both students and teachers can focus on a lesson's content, irregardless of whether they are using textbooks, pencils, or a computer. Unfortunately, your students may or may not have the necessary prerequisite skills related to technology -- at least in the beginning. To ensure success, plan to review necessary skills and/or target the activity toward existing skills.

Consider, for example, the procedure for a multimedia activity focusing on the Gettysburg Address:

• Divide the Gettysburg Address into enough parts that students can work in pairs.
• Assign each part to a group to learn and memorize.
• Record each group reciting their part with the video camera.
• Import all of the clips into iMovie. Combine all of the clips and remove the video. Distribute this file to your students.
• Have students choose pictures from a Civil War website to download and import into their movie. Students should have enough pictures so that if each picture lasts 8 seconds they last long enough to cover the sound.
• Have students add the sound file to their movies.

For the Gettysburg Address lesson, the students needed the following skills:

• Ability to take 2-sided notes
• Ability to use a video camcorder
• Ability to import photos from a web page to iMovie
• Ability to sequence photos in iMovie
• Ability to overlay photos on recorded audio track
• Ability to add music to the sound track

It is beyond the scope of this class to present specifics on media production skills (several media courses are available through your school district). Instead, this section provides links and examples of various skills that may be useful for your review or your students' review.

Scanning

Practically anything that exists in hard copy format can be scanned and turned into a graphic file. In addition to photographs, objects such as bugs, hands, cloth, etc., can provide very interesting input for multimedia activities.

• A Few Scanning Tips - Excellent site with tips and techniques for scanning.
• Images Q & A - Quick answers about scanning and other issues.

Still Photography (Digital)

Digital cameras have become affordable for schools. They eliminate the cost of buying film, the time for development of the film, and the need for scanning!

• Working with Digital Photos and Scanned Images - Tips and techniques
• Converting Images - An article discussing conversion software and techniques

Digital Video

Digital camcorders have also become feasible for many schools. With a digital video camera, cable, and a computer (with lots of hard drive space), students can shoot, edit, and produce their own videos. If your school has "old-fashioned" analog camcorders, you can digitize the video using a converter or video capture card.

• iMovie Basics- Scroll down the page to find step by step instructions for iMovie
• Windows MovieMaker - Scroll down the page to find step by step instructions

Audio

Audio can be a component of a digital video project, or it can be an audio-only element of a multimedia activity. Compared to video, audio is relatively inexpensive to implement, and it does not require as much storage space on the computer.

• GarageBand Basics - Step by step instructions for GarageBand
• Audacity - Step by step instructions for Audacity

Graphics Editing Programs

Graphics can be created from scratch (with graphics software programs), scanned, downloaded from the web or shot with a digital camera. For more information:

• Adobe Website -Online tutorials, FAQ’s, downloads, samples, and online product reviews
• FCIT's clip Art Server - Large clip art collection

Other Multimedia Tools

For quick answers to real classroom technology questions, visit Tech-Ease, an online service of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse at the University of South Florida. Tech-Ease provides tutorials, animated demonstrations, podcasts, and step-by-step instructions related to hardware, software, and technology integration.

• Tech-Ease for Macintosh computers (iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand, etc.)
• Tech-Ease for Windows computers (Audacity, Windows MovieMaker, etc.)