Blog Post Final Project Part 2

This video for part 2 of the EDTE 286 Final Project was created mostly using the Camstudio screen capture program.  The clips from Camstudio plus one brain picture and a few background crowd ambience sound tracks (and applause and crickets) and two additional voiceovers were put together in Final Cut Pro 4.5.  The purpose of the crowd sounds in the background is to simulate a functioning social network.

It is difficult to apply the Multimedia Learning Principles in an exploration of a website with lots of text but I avoided any additional text and kept the information content in the audio with the images of the website as support.

The development of the website is just getting going and there are many things that will be added and changed before it is ready to use.  However, this brief overview should give everyone the basic idea.

The view screen in the blog is too small and I recommend clicking on the, 'watch on YouTube' link for a better picture.

Do you think a Social Network for Second Language Learning, as presented here, is useful in offering authentic communicative opportunity for second language learners?

Blog Post Final Project Introduction

This video was created in Final Cut Pro 4.5 which is old and does not support MP4.  The most difficult part was finding the clips and images.  I used a program called Visual Hub to convert the material from MP4 to DV and then back to MP4 after editing.  I spent way to much time on this... especially considering the result...

Considering Multimedia Learning based on research guidelines, this video is not demanding on the viewer.  The basic points are simple and mostly conveyed in the voice-over supported by images.

However, some specific principles were applied.  The Segmenting Principle was employed in that the Introduction was broken into three sections, each with a specific content.  The Signaling Principle was used by titling each of the sections to prepare the viewer for the forthcoming content.  The Modality Principle was applied by avoiding the use of text and focusing on the spoken word.  The Personalization Principle was utilized on the vocal quality to give a sense of urgency to the message.  The Image Principle was implemented in the avoidance of the narrator's image appearing in the video.

The soundtrack was intended to enhance the sense of urgency of the message.  The viewer should have an uncomfortable feeling that encourages them to action.  Hopefully the action is to think about how Internet technology can be applied to second language learning in creating authentic communication opportunities.    Overall, the feeling should be one of motivation to learn more about the Social Network for Second Language Learning and that will come in the next video.  So, was that feeling of motivation created?

F2F post

Here it is another thing done...

Blog Post #5

I used three video editors in the first four module assignments: Imovie, Video Pad v2.3 (30 day free trial of NCH software), and Final Cut Pro v4.5.  I will use Final Cut Pro for my final project in this class.  I have used YouTube Downloader and Download helper from Mozilla to appropriate video from the internet.

During the opening credits you hear the sound of sirens and heavy breathing as if from running but it is a set-up.  Then the fade-in to the face of a young black man and you are free to interpret his breathing as a sign of guilt of something because of the sirens.  The simple act of going to the store becomes a morality play of prejudice.  The close-up of the clerk and the cut-away to his thinking... he sees the young black man having his mug shot... this means he does not see a young man... he sees a young black criminal.  This devise is used through-out the film.  The close-up and then the cutaway to the minds eye tells the story of prejudice.  In the boys mind we see his Christian baptism and his mother dying of breast cancer.  In the mind of the clerk and the woman shopper we see the prejudice images.  Finally, we see the truth.  This is a classic story of bait and switch.  The woman shopper is the thief and the young black man is a talented dancer dealing with his mother's cancer.  This award winning film shows us the power of prejudice and the power of imagery.

I intend to post a video addressing some advanced techniques for titles, the importance of sound, and camera tricks as soon as I can but I wanted to get this required part done ASAP.

Well, so much for intentions...
I did get a little done with titles and sound.  Ask me questions if you are interested in Compositing (combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images).

Blog Post #4

A Young Man On The Move

            The subject of this video short is an eleven-month-old named John.   He is a busy and on-the-move young man.  The short was shot with a Sony DSC-F828 still camera with a video feature.

            The opening long shot shows the stage for the short and zooms-in to introduce the actor and his wheels.  The second shot is an over-head close-up that backs away and arcs down and then arcs right to show perspective.  The next clip is a long movement shot from the subject's eye level.  The side-view left to right movement shot adds dynamics.   The first in-bound shot is a low angle shot and shows the subject racing to a collision and blackout.  Next, the mode of transportation changes to hands and knees and the long movement shots are repeated.   The end still is not flattering but the close-up shows the subjects determination.

            The Sony MPG video output was converted to DV in Visual Hub and edited in Final Cut Pro.  The clips were put together with cross-fade transitions.  Text was added in Final Cut Pro.  Nothing was done to the sound.  The finished video was re-compressed to MPG4.

            Lighting was one problem that could have been adjusted with more time to do multiple takes but the subject was not amenable to second attempts.  All the shots were hand-held which leads to shaky pictures.  The camera auto-focus was too inconsistent and left many frames out of focus including the crucial last few close-up frames.  The editing was straightforward but left me wanting to re-shoot the whole thing with a different camera.

Blog Post #3

The Brain and Second Language Learning

            For many years as a teacher of English as a second language, I have promoted second language learning as brain training.  If the students were receptive to this concept and energetically engaged in our activities, then they found clear and measurable improvement in a short time.  However, many students only wanted to memorize and repeat which does not lead to long term improvement.  Second language students must overcome the powerful formative influence of their first language in order to use a second language effectively.

            One principle of multimedia learning, the collaboration principle put forward by Jonassen, Lee, Yang, and Laffey, is arguably the most important concept in second language learning.  Second language learners need to interact and use language in authentic ways to gain success.

            In the Video 3 post, I played with the coherence, signaling, spatial contiguity, temporal contiguity, and redundancy principles where Mayer asserts people learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration, and on-screen text.  The graphics I used had a variety of levels of complexity as did the text.  I am interested in the comments of my classmates on the success of information transmission from these varying complexities. 

            Similarly, the split-attention principle of Ayres & Sweller suggests that sensory overload increases cognitive load and thus increases difficulty and reduces learning.  Again, it will be interesting if this principle has an effect on my classmates as they view this post.

            According to the personalization, voice, and image principles, Mayer asserts that a conversational style is better than a formal style and that the speaker’s image is not helpful.  So, I left my image out and spoke in what I believe to be conversationally.  I hope to have comments as to the impression of viewers of the style of my voice and its relative help or hindrance to information transfer.

            Finally, the multimedia principle of Fletcher and Tobias and if people do learn better from words and pictures than from words alone.  I must say, absolutely.  However, the words and pictures must support and reinforce each other and that is the goal of creating multimedia educational materials.  I doubt I found much success with this video.

            The viewing resources for this module included ideas and issues that I have long worked with.  Both Lukas and Scorsese are excellent case-studies for any aspiring creator of film.  I am also a student of Welles, Huston, Capra, Coppola, Spielberg, and Burns to name a few.

            The materials for this video were appropriated from:

http://www.positscience.com/human-brain/facts-myths/brain-101 - The Brain 101 and Brain Plasticity

http://www.jinmaloo.com/img/age.jpg - Easy or learning chart

http://www.cannyminds.com/blog/2009/05/11/learning-languages-boosts-brain/ - Learning a second language “boosts” brain-power.  People who learned a second language at a younger age were also more likely to have more advanced grey matter than those who learned late.

http://controlmind.info/images/stories/brain-training-exercises.jpg - Exerciser

http://www.braintrainingtipsandtools.com/wp-content/uploads/19_5_orig.jpg - Mystery

            I used a screen capture program and video editing program from NCH that can be found at: http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html.  I liked the programs and downloaded the whole suite of free software.  There is good control of audio and video but what I like best is the multiple formats that can be brought in or put out.

Blog Post #2

EDTE 286 Video 2

I am not comfortable with using someone else’s video but the assignment required downloading and re-editing video from the internet. I found a video composite of still images of a trek around the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal from May 2000, the same year I did the trek in October. A few of the images from Herve’s video were selected and recast into this video post. The music was found at a site offering samples of various types of music.

I used Final Cut to re-edit the appropriated video. I created still images out of the MPEG4 video and piled them together with simple cross-fade transitions. I added the intro and end text using the Final Cut text features. Yes, there is a misspelled word… I thought I fixed that but I guess I did not replace the text with the corrected version. The audio was layered in with some dynamic processing and fades. The voice was recorded with the voice-over feature on the computer internal microphone… Yes, there is fan noise. Also, there are some places where the background audio is too loud and makes the voice hard to hear. All this could be changed given more time to re-work the sound levels of each audio track.

I love Nepal. My time there is very strong in my memory. I used someone else’s images but I have many similar images on film and in my mind. The people and the place permeate a visitor’s person leaving an imprint on the very essence of their personality.