Media+Creation

=Media Creation=

This section will contain information and examples on the different forms of media students and educators can create for themselves. The emphasis will be on using intuitive tools.

Animated Gifs
Animated gifs are a very useful media format when publishing information with visual supports (eg Clicker 5 documents or Grids, web pages, PowerPoint Shows). The use of animation is particularly useful in demonstrating abstract concepts to students with special needs. There are now a growing number of tools available for educators to create their own animated gifs. To create more 'fluid' looking gifs it is best to work from a video file to extract the required frames. A quick method of capturing video (where sound recording is not required) is to capture the action with a webcam or digital camera in movie mode and then convert it in to an animated gif. A media converter may be required to convert the captured video file in to avi format to allow for the frames to be extracted. Three media converters are recommeded ; [|MediaCoder], [|RAD Video Tools] and a free online conversion service at [|Media Convert]. The movie below demonstrates the use of RAD Video Tools and [|123 Avi to Gif Converter] to create an animated gif.

Video production is within easy reach with the use of a Web camera. Even though there are some limitations compared to the use of video camera, a web cam can be a very effective capturing tool in many classroom situations. The Logitech web cams which support the use of Video Effects are particularly worth investigating. The software bundled with these models allows the use of Avatars. The face tracking technology calibrates the facial features of the user and the result is a synchronized recording of the selected Avatar. Free Avatars can be downloaded from the Logitech web site. This [|link] contains information about the compatible models and the pages to download the software and the Avatars. Examples of some Avatars and a recorded video to view.

Download View online media type="file" key="Video 28.wmv"

Digital Movie Creator 3
These video recorders are worth investigating. The resolution is of minimal but sufficient quality but its big advantage is that it is easy to use, is very robust (made of high strength plastic), and is bundled with very intuitive video editing software. This new version now allows for memory expansion with an SD card slot. [|Digital Movie Creator 3]

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