How to Create a Podcast or Vodcast Part 2 of 3

Hello,
Today I will be covering the following steps:

3. Installing Audio Software to Record Your Podcast
4. Using Audio Software to Record Your Podcast

So, let's get started with installing the audio software.

3. Installing Audio Software to Record Your Podcast: You want to use the best possible free software to edit and prepare your podcast. The one I recommend is Audacity. It's free and a very good sound editor. It can be found by clicking on the picture above. Once you go to the site you want to download Audacity 1.2.6 Once you get to the site you will want to choose Audacity 1.2.6 installer and if the download does not begin, choose the option direct link Save the file to your desktop. When you are using the software in Audacity you will need to convert your sound files to an Mp3 and you will need to download the LAME encoder by going to LAME Mp3 Encoder Once you visit the site, you will need to choose the operating system you are using, then click on the LAME download page Toward the bottom of the page you will see the following picture. Click on the appropriate link on the site, and save it to your desktop. Next, you will go to your desktop and double click on the icon and it will ask you to run it, click run and follow the instructions. You will want to remember where you saved it, usually it will be in your Program files menu. Next, double click on the audacity icon on your desktop and you will see the following:

Open Audacity and click on Edit -> Preferences -> File Formats Now this is what you will see. Click on Find Library and follow the instructions. (Here is where you want to find the LAME Mp3 Encoder file, remember it is under Program Files)

4. Using Audio Software to Record Your Podcast: Once you have your software and the Lame Mp3 encoder is installed you are ready to test your microphone. You can either use a headset with a microphone or you can use a microphone and your computer speakers. Plug in your microphone or headset. The microphone is usually the red jack and the headphones is usually the black jack. Go to Start -> Control Panel and double click on Sounds and Audio Devices. Next, click on the Voice tab and click the Test Hardware button. Follow the instructions to test your microphone. For additional tips on settings to make your recordings great visit the following site Great Tips on Recording When you are in Audacity make sure "Microphone" is selected as the recording source in the drop-down menu on the mixer toolbar.

Go to Edit -> Preferences -> On the Audio I/O tab make sure your sound card is selected as the device for playback and recording. In the Channels drop-down box under Recording, choose 1 (Mono). You can use stereo if you want but it will make your file larger and you want to try and keep it as small as possible. Under the Quality tab make sure you choose 44,100Hz as the Default Sample Rate and 16-bit as the Default Sample Format. Under the File Formats tab make sure you choose WAV (Microsoft 16 bit PCM) as the Uncompressed Export Format.

Now you are ready to record. Check on the microphone Meter toolbar in Audacity and you should see a red level indicator moving when you start recording. You can talk into the microphone and make adjustments to the volume until it looks like the picture below.

Now, your almost ready to record. Down below in the picture you will see the featured buttons to start your recording.



Simply push the Record button and you can start talking. When your done recording press the yellow square button to Stop the recording. If you want to edit your file, where you want to cut out parts of your recording or delete parts. You simply edit out parts by clicking and dragging to highlight the part you want to remove. Select Edit and choose either Cut or Delete. The part you want to edit will turn a grey shaded color. If you want to keep only one section of a recording, highlight that section and select Trim from the Edit menu. Take a look at the picture down below and you will see how to edit your clip.

You can also record many multiple tracks to add to your podcast, which is one of the many features you can't do with movie maker 2.Ok, next week I will be talking abou the final steps in your podcast, step 5. Turning your Podcast into a Vodcast and step 6. Publishing and Promoting. I will also be covering how to add music to your podcast and how to convert your WAV file to an MP3 so you can post online. See you next week.

How to Create a Podcast or Vodcast Part 1 of 3

Greetings,

Today I am blogging about podcasting and vodcasting. According to wikiipedia, podcasting is defined as a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. It is a series of digital audio files, usually MP3 that can be downloaded on a regular basis automatically. It's kind of like having your own radio station and you are the broadcaster. Vodcasting or Videocasting is defined as online delivery of video, or using still digital pictures in a video. There are four steps to creating a podcast: plan, produce, publish, and promote. The detailed steps into creating a podcast include the following stages:

1. Planning

2. Gathering Ideas

3. Installing Audio Software to Record Your Podcast

4. Using Audio Software to Record Your Podcast

5. Turning your Podcast into a Vodcast

6. Publishing and Promoting

This blog will break down these steps in a 3 - 4 week blog episode. In this blog episode I will be discussing the first 2 steps. 1. Planning and 2. Gathering Ideas

1. Planning: When you start to create a podcast you need to plan what you are going to say by scripting your words. You might want to have an introduction and a welcome. After you have your script then you can practice recording it. You want it to sound like a radio broadcast or a radio show. When you start a podcast it is important that you continue to create new and regular episodes for your listeners. If you are planning on your students to create podcasts, then you need to monitor the planning process to make sure students are well prepared before recording their podcast.

If you are going to create a podcast or vodcast, and put your students' voices in the project and upload them to the internet, then you are going to need a podcast/vodcast permission slip for their parents to sign. You also want to include a brief detail of what a podcast is, (this will educate the parent) and how only the voices will be used. Now, back to planning your podcast: Here are a few questions you want to ask yourself while you are planning your podcast. What do you want to communicate to your listeners? What do you want your students to communicate in their podcast? How often do you want your students to create a podcast? What do you want to teach your listeners? What type of action do you want your listeners to take during the podcast?

2. Ideas: What topic or idea do you want to share with your listeners? You want to create a 3 -5 minute podcast for your listeners maybe once a week or once every 2 weeks. You want your listeners to always want more from your future podcasts. Here are some additional web sites of sample podcasts:

Elementary Schools:
http://www.kid-cast.com/
Willowdale Elementary School
Wells Elementary School
Jamestown Elementary

Middle Schools:
Harrington Middle School
Mabry Middle School
Twin Valley Middle School

High Schools:
Amphitheater High School
Coral Gables High School
Briggs High School

Educational Podcast Directory You can also go to Itunes and search for student podcasts. You can also go to google and search for podcasts as well. Here is a Podcast Legal Guide you may want to review to make sure you follow all the legal guidelines in podcasting http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide

Here are 25 more ideas that you may want to think about for your podcast or vodcast:
1. Visit http://www.pppst.com/ – This site has thousands of teaching PowerPoints that can be used for Podcasting
2. Talking books
3. Having students read a book
4. Vocabulary lessons
5. Oral tests
6. Test Reviews
7. Spelling lists
8. Pledge Allegiance
9. Numbers and Alphabet songs
10. Recording lectures
11. Introduction to staff
12. Faculty meetings
13. Communications to parents and community
14. Homebound lessons
15. Announcements
16. Lecture notes
17. How to:
a. Check out books in the library
b. How to use the Grade book program
c. Validate grades
d. Fill out forms
e. Do a certain project
18. Book reviews
19. Field trips
20. Student forms
21. Staff Development
22. Dictation
23. Student information
24. Registration information
25. Senior information

Hope these ideas help you out, as you plan your podcast. Next week, I will cover step 3. Installing Audio Software to Record Your Podcast and step 4. Using Audio Software to Record Your Podcast. See you next week.

Free Resources You Can Download and Use in Your Classroom!

Greetings Colleagues,

Today I am blogging about a Great web site where you can find free, and valuable resources that other teachers have created and posted. You can sign up and join the community for free. When you sign up, you can search for all types of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point documents, as well as pdf's. You will find many forms on classroom management, behavioral reward systems and behavioral contracts. I personally have searched the site for many useful documents that I have shared with other teachers. Just click on the picture to the left of this post to get started. Here is a list of 10 additional resources you will find on the site:

1. Beginning Teacher & Professional Development
2. Teaching Practices
3. Classroom Management
4. Managing Student Centers
5. Homework Ideas
6. Writing Ideas
7. Seasonal and Holiday Ideas
8. Science, Social Studies, Math, Reading, Language Arts Ideas
9. Technology Ideas
10. Visual and Performing Arts Ideas

Hope you enjoy the site. This is probably one of the most comprehensive collections of helpful documents I have found. When you get a chance, sign up for a free account and search for many ideas that you can use in your classroom. Hope this helps. Next week I will be blogging about podcasting and vodcasting. See you next week.

How to Copy and Paste

Hello,

Today I will be video blogging about how to copy and paste information from the internet into a Microsoft Word document. This will also work when you are copying and pasting information from another document into another document. A few weeks ago I was teaching elementary students how to copy and paste and they loved it. Simply push play on the player below and you can follow the instructions. Don't forget in a few weeks I will be blogging about podcasting and vodcasting. I will also be filming more helpful video clips to post online. Hope this helps. See you next week.

How to Turn any Room into a Presentation Room With Your Computer Part 2

Hello,

Hope you are all doing well. Today I will be blogging about part 2 on how to turn your room into a presentation room. That's right, I will be giving you my own professional recipe, and also reveal the type of system I am currently using in my classroom. If you look at the picture to the left.  This is the wireless system I am using in the classroom.  This system requires no connection to your computer.

The students are amazed by it, especially when they get to talk on it, or give presentations. Just this past week, elementary students from first to fifth grade were able to hold the wireless microphone, while I used the lavaliere microphone clipped to my tie.  If you are interested in this system click on the picture above.

The students were so excited to hear their own voice over the speakers in my room. Several students were able to ask questions, read the daily objective, and give PowerPoint presentations while using the wireless microphones. I think they really cherished and enjoyed this experience.

The professional VHF wireless microphone comes with 4 wireless microphones. I have been using this system for the past 2 years and it is a pretty good system for students to use. Last year during the end of the school year party we pulled out all four microphones plus another corded one I had, and had a great Karaoke party in my room. The kids really enjoyed the experience to hear their voice amplified through the system. These are just a few uses you can use the system with.

This is a professional VHF wireless system from Pyle that comes with two handheld microphones, two belt pack transmitters that clip on to your belt with lavaliere and headset microphones, power on/standby/off switch, four 9 volt batteries and ¼ audio cable included, RF indicators, AF level meters, individual volume controls, ¼” individual and mixed output, frequency range: VHF 160-270MHz, operation range: up to 240 ft., power supply: 110/220 V Dimensions: 16.5” x 8.2” x 1.8”
Model Number: Pyle Pro PDWM4300


When you look at the picture on the left, you will see the VHF wireless system I am currently using with my students. I also use a corded microphone (not pictured) that you can buy separate. (I use the Memorex brand) I have the headsets put up in my room.

We get the headsets out on special occasions. I have a MPA-30 20 Watt PA amplifier 120V/12V by Radio Shack, which is connected to a little speaker that I place in the center of the room. (By the way, the amplifier, and the speaker were given to me by a close friend of mine, who found out I was using professional microphones in my room.

You see, when you are doing great things in your classroom, people tend to want to help you out!) There are several 20 watt PA amplifiers you can find online, just google them. As I was writing this post I saw some on Ebay, for as little as $10. Also you will need to get some small speakers (not computer speakers) to plug into the back of the amplifier. Once you connect all these together you are ready to use it.

By the way if you go to this site you can see the manufacturer’s manual: http://www.pyleaudio.com/manuals/PDWM4300.pdf The manual will give you even more detail about the system. At the time I was blogging, this professional VHF wireless system retails for about $267. You can check it out from the Manufacturers web site at by clicking on Here. As I said you can build this system for under $200. When I purchased my system I paid around $110.



 Unfortunately the price has gone up. If you are interested in the VHF wireless system, check out the one above to see if these are in your budget. Ok, we will see you next week, coming up in a few weeks you will hear about the podcasting and vodcasting classes I am teaching with a colleague of mine. Talk to you later.

How to Turn any Room into a Presentation Room with Your Computer Part 1

Hello,

Today I am blogging about how to set up a microphone PA system in your classroom. You can turn any room into a presentation room by using your computer, and your computer speakers.

 I think teachers should create a Great Experience for their students, and having a microphone, and speakers in their room does that. You can have students give presentations, and they can hear their voice amplified over your speakers. You can teach your students interview skills, and presentations skills. You can also teach them how to defend proposal, and premises in front of the class.

From my experience of visiting different elementary schools, I am finding about less than 1% of the teachers use microphones in their classrooms. So this can be a great way to help your students in having an unforgettable experience that they will never forget, while teaching them presentation skills at a young age.

It is as easy as connecting a microphone to the back of your computer through your sound card. You want to make sure you have computer speakers connected to your computer, so the sound can come through them. As you can see in the picture, you connect the round metal tip to the back of your sound card. At the end of the cord, it is usually color coded to match the color of your jack input in your soundcard. If it is not, then you are looking for an imprint or picture of a microphone on the back of your sound card.

Your other options are to buy a USB Microphone and just plug in the Microphone into a USB port. Many USB Microphones come with software you have to install before you connect the microphone to the computer. Once you do this, then all you have to do is to go into your sound and audio devices in your settings on your computer to turn on the microphone. To do this you have to left click on your green start button on the bottom left side of your computer screen. There are two views you could be using on your computer. (To enlarge the pictures you need to rapidly double click the pictures with the left side of the mouse)

The first view is the classic start menu and the second view is the new start menu. Let’s go over the first one, the classic start menu. Older computers have this menu and it looks like this Click on control panel and you are looking for an icon that says Sounds and Audio Devices Once you find it, rapidly double click with the left side of the mouse and you will see a menu like this

The second view is the newest view for Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Left click on the green start button on the bottom left of your screen. You are now looking for this button on the right side of the start menu. You will need to left click on the control panel button. Next, you will see this menu You will need to rapidly double click with the left side of the mouse on the Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices. This is the next menu you will see after you have opened up your Sounds and Audio Devices Options. You will be on the sounds tab button. You can place a check by the Place volume icon in the taskbar and then you want to click the button below that Advanced and you will see a menu like this You will want to uncheck the box that says Mute under the button that says Microphone, so you can hear sound coming out of your microphone. Do not worry about the other checks. You can close the Playback Control box and close the Sounds and Audio Devices Menu. You should now be able to talk with your microphone and hear the voice sounds projecting through your computer speakers.

Hope this helps if you have any other challenges while setting this up, please visit this following resource site: http://atr.k12.hi.us/tutorials/tutorials/sound/soundpt1.htm#one We will see you next week with part 2 on how to create set up a four professional wireless microphone system in your room for under $200. That's right I will be giving you all the details of where I purchased my professional wireless microphone system fron under $100. See you next week!

How to Take Pictures of Your Computer Screen Using MS Office 2003

Hello,

I hope you had a great week. Today I am sharing with you how to take screenshot pictures using MS Office 2003. Remember, all you have to do is push the print screen button on your keyboard. Whey you do this it will take a digital image or picture of your screen, like you see on the top. After you click it, you will not see any message that tells you that you have taken a picture and it is now ready to post. In fact you won’t notice anything different about your screen. When you click on the right side of the mouse chose the option paste and it will copy your picture in your office Document or PowerPoint. To edit the picture you have to double click fast on the left side of the mouse and you will see the Format Picture Box. If this does not work you will need to go to the very top of the screen and and chose the third option View. Then go down to the Toolbars option and check the option: picture and you will see a Picture tool bar appear on your screen like this Once you see the Picture option box, choose the little dog. It is the 4th Picture from the right side of the toolbox and choose the option Tight.

If you want to edit or crop the picture chose this icon Once you click on the little crop icon, you will see black lines around your picture. All you have to do is left click on the lines while holding the mouse and move the mouse to where you want to crop or cut the picture. Now if you double clicked on the picture you will see the following six tab options Color and Lines, Size, Layout, Picture, Text Box, and Web. You want to chose the third tab or the Layout option. When you chose this option you will see the following Next, you will click on the Tight option. It is located in the middle of the screen. Now you must decide if you want the picture aligned left, center, right or other. I would chose other and the when you click on the picture it will allow you to move it anywhere you want in your document. Once you chose the option you want click on the OK button on the bottom. You will see little white round dots around your picture (To see these white dots look very closely at the picture at the very top), which means you can now hold down the left side of the mouse to move it anywhere you want in your picture. You can also make the picture small or large by clicking on one of the dots and moving the mouse. Hope these directions help you out when you are practicing taking screen shot pictures and inserting them in your Documents or Power Points. We will see you next week.

How to Take Pictures of Your Computer Screen Using MS Office 2007

Hello fellow Colleagues,


Today I am blogging about a screen shot picture (a picture of your screen). Did you know that you can take pictures of your screen? Then you can crop (cut out the image you want out of the picture) and edit the picture and then you can put it in a Power Point or a word document.

This feature is the best kept secret for screen shot companies and they do not want you to know this. All it takes is one button and that one button is called the Print Screen button. It is located on your keyboard, right above the insert button. This button is also on the right side of the F12 button and left of the Scroll Lock button.

All you have to do is push the Print Scrn button. That's it, it is that easy. Then you open up MS Word or Power Point and you right click with your mouse and select the paste button and it will paste the screenshot in your document. To crop the picture you will need to double click on the screenshot with the left side of the mouse. Then you will left click on the crop feature button it looks like this picture. It is located on the right side of the ribbon. Once you have clicked on the button it will create lines around your picture in which you can left click to control how much you want to cut or edit out of the picture. Then you will look for the text wrapping button on the ribbon. It is usually a picture of a little Dog with horizontal lines around it. Next, left click on the text wrapping button and chose the Tight option. After you have done these steps you can now move it anwhere you would like it in your document. If you want to make the picture smaller or larger just left click on the picture and left click on the little circles around the picture and move the mouse. You can also copy and paste it into another document if you want.

Once you get the hang of taking screenshots you will be taking many screenshots of your screen. If you are looking for more information on this feature go to google and type "print screen in MS Word 2003 or 2007" Please keep in mind that these instructions are for MS Office 2007 version only. I hope to publish the MS Office 2003 version next week. Now, if you do not have MS Office 2007 I have posted a link where you can get it. Stay tuned and we will see you next week.

The New Flip Camcord Camera by Pure Digital

Happy New Year!

Greetings Colleagues and Friends,

Today is the day; I know you have all been waiting for the amazing video we shot on my trip to Abilene, TX on Christmas Eve. Remember we were taking a trip from Dallas to Abilene, which is usually a 3 hour trip, but on that day it took us over 9 hours to get to Abilene due to the winter storm we were caught in. Now, I must admit, I drove and my wife shot the video from the front seat while heading west on Interstate 20. I was driving about 20 to 40 miles per hour, until we eventually arrived to a complete stop for about 2-3 hours on the highway. We eventually had to exit near Cisco, TX. I hope you enjoy the winter adventure.



The video was shot with the new Digital Flip Camcord Camera by Pure Digital and I have been asking others about the video we shot and we have been getting great reviews. Remember I said before in an earlier blog that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, what is a video worth that tells a story? I really like the convenience of just pulling the camera out and pushing the button and capturing video. In fact, it is too easy to shoot video anywhere and at anytime. It is even easier to share the video you just shot with others by replaying it on the screen. By the way, the video was edited in Windows Movie Maker 2.

The camera retails for about $150 and you can find more information on their new HD Flip camera at http://www.theflip.com/ I would recommend this camera, if you do not have an iphone. I personally like the iphone camera, except you have to quickly push a few buttons on the screen to get to it. So, if you are just shooting events, family or friends this camera will make a great addition to all the new tech gadgets that are out. Another thing I like about the flip camera is that on the side you will find a USB connection which you can plug in your USB port in your computer.

One of the great features is that the software and the capability to edit your video clips come with the camera. No CD to load into your computer. The software is built in the camera. That's right! So all you have to do is load the software when you plug it in to any computer. The flip camera lets you record up to 120 minutes, but this has not been a problem since you can unload the clips you shoot on your computer. If I had to improve the camera, I would let flip know to add a light so you can capture shooting at night. I hope you enjoy the film we shot and produced. Stay tuned to more exciting videos in the future.

Package Includes: camcorder, 4 GB built-in flash memory (records up to 120 minutes), 2 AA batteries, tv cable, wrist trap, soft case & quick start guide. You can also buy the optional rechargeable battery pack.

The Digital Video Format: H.264 video and AAC stereo audio in MP4 file format, Video

Resolution: VGA 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second The Minimum Computer System

Requirements Include: PC: 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or faster processor, Windows XP SP2 with 512 MB or RAM or Vista with 1 GB of RAM, and USB 2.0 port MAC: 1.0GHz PowerPC G4, Intel Core or faster processor, 512 MB of RAM, OS X Tiger 10.4 or Leopard 10.5, and USB 2.0 Port

Next week, I will be talking about how to easily capture pictures or take screen shot pictures in Ms Word. I will also be sharing with you how to edit and crop (cut) the pictures so you can insert them into documents or Power Point presentations. I will also be sharing a few photo sharing sites in which you can post photos for free.

$30,000,000 Deal for Sharing Video!

Greetings,

I recently visited with a colleague of mine this past week, and it gave me an idea to blog about today’s topic. Most people have already heard about Youtube. You know where you can create a free account and post your own videos online. Here is a real life rags to riches story. Recently an unknown film producer produced a short four minute video costing around $300, in which robots where attacking a city and Hollywood found it. There soon was a bidding war for the video and finally Sam Raimi, the producer of "Spiderman" offered him a $30 million dollar deal. That’s right a 30 million dollar deal to collaborate with him to produce a new movie with robots of the future blowing up a city. If you the video above is not working, here is the link Panic Attack! or you can click on the picture above. So far this video has received over 5,500,000 hits. To learn more about the video, yahoo has posted a blog discussing more details of the future Hollywood blockbuster. Just visit http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/buzzlog-uruguay-to-hollywood.html So what kind of effect does this have on teachers?



If you have a video creation in which you are teaching a concept or idea you can post it on either http://www.youtube.com/ or http://www.teachertube.com/ Teachertube is a video sharing web site, in which teachers post their collection of videos. When you go to presentations for staff professional development, you know how the presenter usually has a funny video clip stressing an important point in his or her presentation. This is the site where most of those clips are coming from. So check out these new video sharing web sites and yes, you too can produce your own videos to share with the whole world.

Stay tune to next years blogs. I will be teaching you how to download videos from Youtube directly to your computer that you can use in presentations. I will also be reviewing the new flip camera by flip and sharing with you my exciting video about the Wintery Blizzard in West Central Texas I encountered, where I was stranded on the highway for 9 hours with thousands of other people. I will be showing you how to edit, crop pictures and take screen shots of your work in MS Word and soon I will be going step by step how to set up your own microphone in your classroom. I can't forget twitter, how to host your own web cast, and how to create your own podcast, as well as more picture sharing web sites. We have an exciting new year coming so stay tuned and we will see you next year. A lot of school districts have banned Youtube so I have posted the video here.

Tell the Whole World!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a talking picture worth? This week I am introducing a new web site that lets you turn any picture into a talking picture. That’s right, a regular picture into a talking picture. All you have to do is click on the picture to the left or click on the following link: http://www.blabberize.com/ Just like the picture says, it only takes 30 seconds. It's fast, easy and also fun to use. How would you like to use this tool to teach the students a concept or an idea from a talking picture?Your students or audience will love it. You can also put it in presentations or entertain your audience to make a point. Hope you have fun playing with it and we will see you next week.

Express Your Next List of Words With Creativity!

Greetings fellow Colleagues,

As you know, we all give our students list of words, ides or concepts to remember. How can we find a unique and fun way for students to remember them? Well here is a cool web site that can turn your list of words or ideas into a format that represent them in a unique way. It allows us to express creativity by putting words all together to make unique vertical and horizontal designs called word clouds. You can use different colored fonts, layouts and colors in your own word cloud. After you have finished creating your word cloud then you can save it or print it or share it with others in their gallery. You can also see other word cloud creations that other people have made and shared with the world. To try it out for free you can visit http://www.wordle.net/ Hope you enjoy this site and we will see you next week.

Valuable Writing and Brain Based Resources!

Hello,

Today I will be sharing valuable writing and brain based research resources. My first web site has numerous writing resources you can use with your elementary writing class. The web site is located at: http://tinyurl.com/Writing201 I attended three full days of training in which most of the ideas came from Colleagues/Teachers who attended the New Jersey Writing Project and shared their wonderful ideas with us. Here is a list of the recommended books that were given to us at the NJ Writing Workshop.





The next web site has many brain based research resources that Eric Jensen shared with us at a Workshop in San Diego, California. Eric Jensen is a major leader in the brain based research area and speaks at numerous engagements every year. Also there are resources and ideas from another work shop I recently attended in Dallas, Texas. Most of the ideas can be used as topics for discussion with teachers to facilitate collaborative discussions in Professional Development settings. The web site is located at: http://tinyurl.com/ErikJensen Hope you enjoy these two resources. Here are a few of the resources that were mentioned in his workshop and I have already added these resources to my library.

Making Professional Movies with Digital Pictures/Videos for Free!

Today, I am going to share with you some valuable resources on how to make free movies or digital stories with your computer. There is a free software program the Microsoft has installed on all computers that have Windows and most people do not even know that this program is on their own computer. The name of this free program is called Windows Movie Maker (2).

So, what do you do with all those digital pictures and videos you have taken over the past holiday? You can turn them into a professional movie by using the program above. To find the program on your computers you click on Start -> Programs -> Accessories or you can find it in your Programs menu. Look for this picture to the left, when you are looking for it.
Now, I can go over the program and explain all the details of how to add pictures, add video, edit, clip, copy, cut, combine full-motion video, still images, narration, music, effects, titles, and transitions to create your own movies or you can learn it for free by viewing the following link through atomiclearning: http://www.atomiclearning.com/moviemaker2 When you click on the link you will watch professional videos on how to use the program step by step. You can watch from the comfort of your own home, then follow along step by step. Hope you enjoy the free tutorials (they are priceless). Here is another tutorial in which you can read step by step on how to use Windows Movie Maker (2): http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx With this program you can also learn about Creating Digital Stories with Windows Movie Maker 2 Just click on the link above and it will take you to the University of Houston web site on Creating Digital Stories. Hope this helps and we will be sharing more and exciting and free info. in the future with you.

Power Point Resources - Free!

Greetings:

Today, I am sharing a wonderful web site that has hundreds of pre-made power points you can use with your students. You can also download them to your computer or a flash drive/jump drive or a portable hard drive. Here is the web site. http://www.pppst.com/

If you are interested in creating your own blog, it is as easy as clicking on this link below to get the instructions. http://mikejmoran.typepad.com/visual_media/2009/11/creating-a-blog-using-blogger.html or you can click on this link below to see the document http://www.scribd.com/doc/22339943/Creating-a-Blog-in-Blogger If you want to download the power point or PDF then you can become a member of http://www.scribd.com/ for free and download all types of free informational documents. You can post any online document to share with the community. You can also charge for people to download your document and you keep 80% of profit. Happy exploring, and we hope you will enjoy the web sites. More valuable resources to come in the future, so stay tuned.

Welcome!

Welcome to my Technology blog. Here you will find valuable resources that you can utilize with your students. We look forward to collaborating with you online. Take care.