LT 731: Multimedia Production

I enjoyed this course very much. We were able to work closely with audio, graphics, video manipulation, production and editing tools. We also focused on etiquette and ethics in development of materials when incorporating them into a classroom setting.

The general consensus seems to be that students are able to retain important information more often than not when they can draw a mental picture of the material, which helps them better visualize the information. Concept Mapping allows students to create relationships among material. I used both inspiration and Visio to create example concept maps.

1. Inspiration Concept Map - Inspiration seems, to me, to be a step down from Visio. However, I believe it to be easier for student-utilization than Visio. In order to help students retain information, have them create a concept map on their own. In the sample below, I created a concept of the skills students will be required to learn in computer class. It helps them to better understand where we will start and where we will end.

· Click here to view my Inspiration Concept Map.

2. Visio: (A Microsoft Compatible Program) Concept Map - Visio was more Microsoft compatible than Inspiration Software. There were more choices in fonts and it seemed to produce a more professional looking product. In the concept map below, I created a path of how to hook to the server and map to a printer in our district. These are often tasks that students forget throughout the year.

· Click here to view my Visio Concept Map.

The Importance of Animated Screen Recording

Sometimes tutorials help students and staff to better visualize what is expected of them. Although our sense of smell is said to be the strongest, it is important to utilize as many of the senses as you can to help students better retain and make sense of information!

o Camtasia: is really quite an extraordinary program. I would say it is a step up from Microsoft Movie Maker, although I like the way Movie Maker allows you to work with chunks and add effects to pictures more easily. In the example below, I teach students and staff how to make their computers start up and run faster by eliminating unused and unwanted programs in the running icons bar on the start toolbar. In addition to this, I teach them how to work with the default settings in their display options. This allows them to change font size and icon size and to change their power settings so their screen does not go into sleep or standby mode sooner than they would like it to.

· Click here to view my Camtasia Animated Screen Recording.

This is a picture of my cat, Kitty. He is our pride and joy since we have no children. He weighs 20.3lbs and has been mistaken for a raccoon, so we rarely let him outdoors! I have grayed out the background and added a feathering to the outside of the picture. In addition, I have added his name using layer effects.	This is a picture of Scott and I at the Hoover Dam. I have given it a 20px feathered background and I have created a text, border, and artistic decorations to make it look as though it is in a frame. In addition, I have given it an artistic flare so that it looks as though it was hand drawn. It has also received some color variation changes.

This is a picture of some flowers that I saw in the Hills on one of our 4-wheeling trips. I am so drawn to things scenery like this and often I forget exactly where my pictures came from because no one is ever in them! For this picture, I used a feathering of 20px to get the transparency around the flowers. I then added a black background for a large contrast and added layer effects of texture to the black background. I then added a transparent text that had shadow effects.	For this picture, I created a feathering of 10px around the other edge. I added text with layer effects of a drop shadow and some texture. I also distorted the text to make it look bent. I then changed the entire picture to a sepia tone to age it. I then burnt the edges and background of the picture to give it depth. Pat and I are in Arizona for our annual National After School Association Conference. They say it doesn't ever rain in Arizona but it rained the entire time we were there - bummer!