reflection

audio_resources_and_video_resource.docx

Audio Resources

Choose one of them or any other of your choice to record your voice with a short discussion of these ideas and how you might use SOUND in your Integrated Thematic Unit and how your ITU is progressing. Conclude by stating which application you are using to record, and save as a sound file to the Discussion Board.

Sound Sound Technologies are available for classroom and training use via Windows, Apple, Microsoft Office, software, the WWW, Internet applications, APPs, etc. and can be created in many ways. This important multimedia component often brings new life and excitement into learning and is often neglected. Remember that research shows that the more senses stimulated, the greater the retention. Special Needs students benefit in many ways, as well.

FILE FORMATS

WAV or waveform	.wav	A file extension developed by IBM and Microsoft for a standard Microsoft audio file. It is supported by all computers running Windows and by all the most popular web browsers. The WAVE format is one of the most popular sound formats on the Internet for music or speech.
Audio Interchange File Format	.aif or .aiff	A file most commonly used in Macintosh Operating System
Musical Instrument Digital Interface	.midi	A digitally synthesized sound file format for sending music between electronic music devices like synthesizers and PC sound cards. This interface was created in 1982 by the music industry; it is very flexible, ranging from very simple to real professional music making. MIDI files are supported by all the most popular Internet browsers, software systems, and platforms. The downside of MIDI is that it cannot record sounds (only notes), or to put it another way, it cannot store songs, only tunes. MIDI files do not contain sampled sound but a set of digital musical instructions (musical notes) that can be interpreted by your PC's sound card. The upside of the MIDI format is that since it contains only instructions (notes), MIDI files can be extremely small. Via Wikipedia
Real Audio Media	.rm or .ram	These are two file extensions used for Real Audio players. The RealAudio format was developed for the Internet by Real Media. The format also supports video.
MP3	.mp3	MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, for the transfer and playback of music on digital audio players. MP3 is an audio-specific format that was designed by the Moving Picture Experts Group.

Applications (ideas for both PC and MAC)

Text to Speech Make a choice under Voice selection. Preview Voice. Click Apply. You will hear this chosen voice when we open an application later. Under the Speech icon, you will find a tab Text to Speech (originally Text to Speech and Sound Recognition).

Siri

Voice Comments in Word *** cool functionality

Click on the sound icon on the right to insert comments for Word 2003.

Sound in Excel

Consider creating a simple spreadsheet which uses sound in some way... an example is a Sight Word List- list the words, and highlight them. Click on the Text to Speech toolbar and activate text to speech. Speak Cells.

Windows Sound Recorder

Red actually starts the recording.

You can mix sound files; spend some time with this and design according to your needs. Combine sound files. Check the file extensions.

Natural Reader

www.naturalreaders.com/free_version.htm

Free. Visit this site to hear the voice differences. Do you see any value here?

WebQuest for Sound Files

Complete a WebQuest searching for different sounds which may work for your Integrated Thematic Unit. Consider finding sound effects, speeches, music, cartoon comments, etc. One example for you is http://www.findsounds.com.

Camtasia Software Work with Camtasia would fall into this sound category; see the option to save as .mp3.

Sound FX

This compact disc collection is available in many stores carrying music media. If you need sound effects, they are available.

Webpage Sounds

Notice that music on the web is copyrighted, and you should have permission of the holder of the copyright before using music on your web site. If the music is in the public domain it is free to use on your site. You also have some protection with the FairUse provisions (10%/ education/ non-profit/ not compromising the profit of the creator).

You can set a background sound for a web page. When a user opens the page, the sound is played. You can play the sound continuously or play it a specified number of times. Note that this feature is not supported by all web browsers.

Consider sound in PowerPoint and on webpages. Try to code your music into your pages so that the music is not forced onto the user, but so that the user may choose whether or not to listen. This is just one of the courtesies of the WWW. Embedded music plays automatically so that the user has no choice. This is actually rude to force on a user. Access http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/mark/audio/play.htm for help adding a sound to a webpage.

Windows Media Player Go to Start- Programs- Windows Media Player

Click on the Library tab, and consider playing some of your favorite music or prerecorded music in your classroom or as background.

Audacity This is a free, cross-platform sound editor. It is very popular application which has an easy learning curve, has advanced features for those who need them, and is… Free. Download Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

There are Windows, Mac OS 9 or X, and Linux/Unix versions available. Download also the LAME MP3 encoder which allows Audacity to export MP3 files. This download is also available at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ . Recording your voice with Audacity is very simple, and the website provides easy tutorials. Plug your microphone into your soundcard's mic input, and open up Windows' Volume Control. Click: Start Navigate to: Programs|Accessories|Entertainment|Volume Control On Volume Control in the upper left hand corner Click: Options and highlight Properties Select: Recording. Press: OK. Make sure you put a check in the Select box under where it says MIC. The Volume switch can be adjusted using the slider control as you begin to do your recording. Start a new recording using Audacity; edit your test audio, if needed. Save the audio as mP3.

Voki This is worth a look and some of your time; could this clever tool (avatar) fit into your Unit?

Skype

Free calls over the Internet; can this be used? Are there perhaps “experts” you could include this way into your classroom?

Horizon Wimba Voice Tools in Blackboard

Enter the Live Classroom via Blackboard for an informal discussion. You will need your external microphone.

Dragon Naturally Speaking

http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/

Magix Samplitude

There is a free download, if interested. http://www.magix.com/us/samplitude-music-studio/?partnerid=9015.

Garage Band (Apple platform) Excellent and free. http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

Stock Audio http://www.istockphoto.com/audio.php

Instant Messenger Audio

Check out options in Instant Messenger. Is this a tool for communication/ collaboration/ etc. that we should be considering?

Google Voice http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html *Although it seems to tie in with audio media, Google Voice also transcribes voicemail to text, sends voice mails as e-mails, and sends text messages as e-mails.

1. Voice Sticky Notes

www.freedownloadscenter.com/...and.../Voice_Sticky_Notes.html

http://www.google.com/insidesearch/voicesearch.html voice search with Google

2. Social Network for Music

Video Resources

Video, as an element of multimedia, dramatically appeals to today’s audience (students and trainees). Video streaming offers a unique opportunity to students and teachers for access to a wide variety of quality programming. Whether a full-length film or more popular video clips or “chewable chunks”, teachers/trainers are able to powerfully make a point, demonstrate a technique, or show a far away or inaccessible person/place/thing. Now very readily accessible as a learning modality, a teacher/trainer has many unique options.

As you create and find videos, consider that this activity could be for you as Teacher/Trainer to create the learning experience OR it could be an activity you have planned for your learners. Be creative.

Note that when your Unit is completed, you will also create a video TOUR of the Unit, pointing out key features and explaining your work; this will be uploaded to the DropBox Cloud.

FILE FORMATS Internet Distribution
Macromedia Flash	.swf .fla	Ideal for WWW Cross Platform and most compatible for viewing on different browsers Full motion video and larger applications can be produced with the quality users like
Windows Media Player	.wmv	Ideal for longer or higher motion recordings Current Microsoft streaming file format Requires Windows Media Player, must constantly be updated from Internet, therefore connectivity is issue Produces very good quality images Necessitates understanding of bandwidth, therefore difficult to produce Limited editing options Cannot be converted to another format
Quick Time Movie	.mov	Common but requires upgrades, therefore connectivity is issue MAC audiences Plays while downloading… streaming Multi-platform, so good choice if audience is Windows and Apple operating systems
FILE FORMATS CD/ DVD Distribution
Audio Video Interleave	.avi	highest quality possible Editable with video editing programs Easily converted to other movie formats; can be edited in Camtasia and most editing software Entire file must load to a computer before viewing (no streaming) Common and easy to use Large and small files
Windows Media Player	.wmv	Ideal for longer or higher motion recordings
FILE FORMATS Other
Real Media	.rm	Small files Not downloadable to the computer Plays in RealPlayer and browser with the plug-in Great for audio compression
Camtasia Studio	.camv	Raw video for Camtasia Requires RealPlayer plug-in, therefore discourages viewing
Animated GIF	.gif	Ideal for short animations to .ppt due to small size and highly condensed format with limited colors Not streamed Common and plays in many viewing programs

Following are some applications for finding video clips and for creating videos; explore these options with as much time as needed/wanted.

Applications to consider

United Streaming http://www.unitedstreaming.com Discovery Education is a digital video-on-demand and online teaching service to help improve students' retention and test scores; it is aligned to U.S. state and provincial standards. Find out what more than 30,000,000 teachers and students already know.

Google Video http://www.google.com

YouTube Consider publishing your video to Youtube or having students do this; they can be private! http://www.youtube.com

CCC Video on Demand http://www.cccvod.com/ fee-based clips, films, animation, movies All subjects/ standards-based

Safari Montage http://www.safarimontage.com/

Teacher’s Domain (FREE) http://www.teachersdomain.org/

TeacherTube http://www.teachertube.com

Windows LIVE MovieMaker Capturing video (courtesy of Windows HELP) You can capture video and audio to your computer by using Windows MovieMaker. To begin capturing, a video capture device must be connected properly and detected on your computer by Windows MovieMaker. Some audio and video capture devices and sources that you can use include a digital video (DV) or analog camera or VCR, a Web camera, a TV tuner card, or a microphone. You can capture content live or from video tape.

When capturing video and audio in Windows Movie Maker, the Video Capture Wizard proceeds as follows:

1. Select the capture devices you want to use. For more information about choosing capture devices, see Choosing a video and audio capture device.

2. Specify where you want your captured audio and video file to be saved. For more information about choosing a destination for your captured audio and video file, see Choosing a saving destination.

3. Choose the video setting. For more information about choosing a video setting for capturing video and audio, see Choosing a video setting.

4. If you are capturing audio and video from a video tape in a DV camera or DV VCR, choose the method you want to use to capture video and audio. For more information, see Choosing how to capture from a DV device.

5. Capture the video and audio. For more information, see Capturing video and audio.

Google Earth http://www.google.com/intl/en/earth/index.html

Cell Phones (SmartPhone) Video

Digital Video Cameras

WebCams

Videoconferencing

Camtasia http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html Create video or record PowerPoint

Media 100 for MAC http://www.media100.com/

Avid http://www.avid.com/US/

Captivate http://www.macromag.com/products/captivate/

FLIP Camera on Amazon

How Stuff Works http://videos.howstuffworks.com/

Jing Screen capturing computer program, taking picture OR video of computer screen to be uploaded to WWW/ FTP/ Clipboard. Automatically creates as URL to share. Cross-platform.

Apps Smartphones and Tablets ? Search for possibilities Most powerful!

EduVision 2.0

Machinma (video created using 3D virtual worlds & games) is bringing a whole new tool set to the classroom for teaching visual & media literacy skills, creativity, and collaboration. Students are using Second Life, Quest Atlantis and online games to learn an array of skills from preproduction storyboarding to postproduction editing. Students can create sets, characters, control environments, collaborated with peers to interact with an entirely different environment. Students can create their movies with students from other schools in real time. https://machinimasound.com/

Go Animate https://goanimate4schools.com/public_index

Educreations Teach Anything From Anywhere https://www.educreations.com/

Wideo http://wideo.co/en/ Make professional videos

Present.me Record your classroom http://presentme-edu.com/

WeVideo Create Videos https://www.wevideo.com/

Kizoa Videomaker http://www.kizoa.com/

Showme Online Learning http://www.showme.com/

Google Expeditions Virtual Reality https://www.google.com/edu/expeditions/