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Audacity

drivera — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:47:02 CST

See Also: Audio Resources

Goals: Today we will:

identify various types of audio resources
locate Audacity and LAME
download Audacity and LAME
edit and create audio files using Audacity software
identify web-based repositories for copyright-free audio resources
import audio files into Audacity
navigate the Audacity audio-editing environment
use Audacity’s basic audio editing tools
adjust/add effects to imported audio tracks
create additional audio tracks within an audio project
layer and combine different audio resources in order to generate completely new audio tracks
render completed Audacity files into different formats

Audacity & Lame

Find Audacity and Lame

Audacity is an open source program that allows users to edit sound. In order to use it more effectively, consider dowloading LAME, an mp3 encoder that comes in assorted "flavors":
Windows
Macintosh
Linux

Install Audacity and LAME

Here are a few directions (from different sites) for installing Audacity and LAME.

Center for Teaching Innovation
Guides and Tutorials has instructions and lots of other useful resources.
How To Podcast has step by step directions
Indiacom's site (with a very helpful video)
SEGATech's guide to installing both programs

Using Audacity

Shortcuts

Want to use keystroke commands? Sourceforge has a page of Audacity shortcuts!

Tools

Audacity has tools and control buttons that make editing sound easy and productive. The main tools that most people need to use when editing sound are:

The Selection Tool (it helps users cut, copy, and paste sounds)
The Envelope Tool
Time Shift Tool (a useful way of aligning sounds)

Note that Audacity's Preferences also help users make the most of the resource.

The Transom Tools site has an excellent description of the tools and how they work written by Jeff Towne.

The Audacity Manual also offers a tutorial for beginners. Check the Quickies section!

Media Literacy

drivera — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:46:38 CST

See also: Multimedia Resources

What is Media Literacy?

Among the most powerful resources educators can give students are tools for analyzing and evaluating information disseminated by today’s media. Critical thinking skills, the means to disassemble and carefully inspect ideas, will serve learners long after they’ve left the classroom behind. Pupils need to be able to think. They need to be savvy media consumers, discerning individuals who are more than ready and able to intercept and counteract cunning manipulations of information. In order to survive and thrive in the 21st Century world of politics, culture, and business, students must acquire and hone the ability to filter obfuscations.

Media literacy is the ability to find, analyze, judge, and disseminate information in a number of differing formats. Being conversant in a variety of information genres prepares students (and educators!) to navigate the challenging landscape of digital resources. New technologies and the demands of converging global information streams are altering our conceptions of what it means to be literate. It's no longer enough for people to be able to read and comprehend. More than ever, being able to locate information, disassemble it into more manageable chunks, verify it's authenticity, and evaluate its merits is key to economic, scientific, political, and cultural success.

Why Media Literacy is Important?

From the Center for Media Literacy

The influence of media in our central democratic processes.
In a global media culture, people need two skills in order to be engaged citizens of a democracy: critical thinking and self-expression. Media literacy instills both of these core skills, enabling future citizens to sort through political packaging, understand and contribute to public discourse, and, ultimately, make informed decisions in the voting booth.
The high rate of media consumption and the saturation of society by media.
When one considers videogames, television, pop music, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, the internet – even T-shirts! – we are exposed to more mediated messages in one day than our great-grandparents were exposed to in a year. Media literacy teaches the skills we need to navigate safely through this sea of images and messages -- for all our lives.
The media’s influence on shaping perceptions, beliefs and attitudes.
While research disagrees on the extent and type of influence, it is unquestionable that media experiences exert a significant impact on the way we understand, interpret and act on our world. By helping us understand those influences, media education can help us separate from our dependencies on them.
The increasing importance of visual communication and information.
While schools continue to be dominated by print, our lives are increasingly influenced by visual images -- from corporate logos to building-sized billboards to Internet websites. Learning how to “read” the multiple layers of image-based communication is a necessary adjunct to traditional print literacy. We live in a multi-media world.
The importance of information in society and the need for lifelong learning.
Information processing and information services are at the core of our nation’s productivity but the growth of global media industries is also challenging independent voices and diverse views. Media education can help both teachers and students understand where information comes from, whose interests may be being served and how to find alternative views.

What Media Literacy is NOT

From the Center for Media Literacy

The following is a list of ideas to help explore and understand how media literacy is different from other literacies and what are some of the basic elements of a more comprehensive media education.

Media 'bashing' is NOT media literacy, however media literacy sometimes involves criticizing the media.
Merely producing media is NOT media literacy, although media literacy should include media production.
Just teaching with videos or CDRoms or other mediated content is NOT media literacy; one must also teach about media.
Simply looking for political agendas, stereotypes or misrepresentations is NOT media literacy; there should also be an exploration of the systems making those representations appear "normal."
Looking at a media message or a mediated experience from just one perspective is NOT media literacy because media should be examined from multiple positions.
Media Literacy does NOT mean "don't watch;" it means "watch carefully, think critically."

Audio Resources

drivera — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:45:33 CST

FileTypes

The following types of file extensions are associated with sound. If you see them, there's a pretty good chance that audio resources are available.

aac	aiff	au	midi
mp2	mp3	mp4	ogg
qt	wma	wav

Audacity works with many but not all audio formats. For more information, check out the file formats portion of the Audacity site

Audio Resource Repositories

Whether you're concentrating on ambience, foley, enhancing voice-overs, or just tinkering with effects, you'll need lots of unique sounds. Here are few places where you'll find music and sounds:
.
ccMixter
Freesound Project has lots and lots of copyright free ambient sounds
Internet Archive's intriguing collection of audio files (for example, check out Coconut Monkeyrocket's wild Martinibomb).
Looperman's got free loops and samples
Freeplay Music has copyright free instrumental music that you can download. The only time Freeplay Music allows for free use is for student/teacher user within the classroom. Be sure to read the terms of use.

Multimedia Resources

drivera — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:42:54 CST

We are compiling web resources and tips for using multimedia in instruction. TIE members, please add to this by modifying the sub-pages to the left and below.

Digital Images

Video Making 101

Digital Images

drivera — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:42:25 CST

PHOTO INFORMATION & TUTORIALS

PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE

Tux Paint is a free, award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 to 12 (preschool and K-6). It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program.

Picasa is software that makes it easy and fun to view, organize, edit and share the digital photos on your PC. Picasa won't delete your pictures or put them online without your permission. You can cut, crop, resize, straighten, or touch up your photos with a few clicks. Picasa also allows you to create photo CDs, screensavers, movies, or even upload your images to Picasa Web - which gives you 1 GB (1024 MB) of free storage, all free of advertisements or fees! If that isn't enough storage space, you can pay $25 per year to upgrade that to a whopping 6 GB.
Picasa is not available for Mac (you have iPhoto) but Google has released plugins for Mac users to that they can use their Picasa Web Album accounts in programs like iPhoto.

ArtRage, the easy to use, stylish painting package that lets you get painting from the moment you open it up. You can paint with oils, sketch with pencils, sprinkle glitter, and more. You can paint with gold leaf, silver foil, and other metallic colors. You can even load in your photos as Tracing Images to help you recreate them as paintings.

ONLINE PHOTO EDITORS

Splashup - Advanced online photo editor with an interface similar to Photoshop’s
SnipShot - Edit photos from your hard-drive, your Webshots account, or your Flickr account in one place, and then save them back to any of those locations. Very streamlined and simple.
Picnik - Photo editor with many interesting features which is directly connected to many photo sharing sites. Cool effects, pretty fun.

PHOTO SHARING

SlideShare - SlideShare is a content sharing site where you can host and display presentations. Maybe you would use it to show your professional work, or just for personal photo sharing, power point presentations about your latest entrepreneurial idea, or graphics you designed.
Flickr - The most popular photo sharing site. Upload photos, create sets and join one of the greatest communities of professional and unprofessional photographers.
Picasa - Google’s answer to photo sharing. The main application is a download, but there are also web albums.

FREE PHOTO HOSTING

Photobucket - one of the most popular image hosting services around, favorite amongst MySpace users. Makes it very easy to post your images to social networking sites; gives you 25 GB of monthly traffic and 1 GB of storage with images themselves being up to 1 MB in size.
ImageShack - The most popular image hosting service. Upload images up to 1.5 MB and embed them in any web page.
AllYouCanUpload- There is no limit to the image size you can upload. You can also upload up to three images in the same time.
SmugMug - SmugMug is a photo uploader, editor, and community portal all in one. You can upload and share your photos, then store the photos with up to four backup copies of each photo in three varying states.

PHOTOGRAPHY BLOGS

Digital-Photography-School - Darren Rowse’s photo tips. This is an excellent blog covering all sorts of advice for photographers.
FlickrBlog - While it’s not exclusively a photo blog, but from time to time the Flickr staff will pick a few photos and feature them on the blog and the users see this as a big honor.
Shutterlog - some great photos here with attention to detail.
Chromasia - no words, only great photos
A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - Landscape Photography & photoblog by Kathleen Connally. A+

PHOTO MASHUPS

FlickrVision - displays Flickr updates from various users on a Google Map.
Captioner - adds comic-style captions to your images.
PictureSandbox - Searches the Flickr archive (as well as that of YouTube and some other sites) based on the type of license; great tool for finding images you can actually use in a project
Colr Pickr - One of the most useful Flickr Mashups; enables you to search Flickr photos based on their color. Works surprisingly well.

PHOTO PRINTING/BOOK CREATION

Snapfish - Snapfish is run by HP, they let you store and share your photos for free, and prints are cheap with highest quality at 12¢ each. You can also have things like mugs and cards made with your pictures on them.
Shutterfly - Shutterfly not only lets you store and share photos and then have them printed, you can also pick up your prints right at Target stores.

PHOTO SEARCH

Google Image Search - a resource so commonly used it doesn’t need a special explanation; still one of the best ways to find images of any kind on the web.
Kitzu - A search engine for education media kits. Search for a topic and get edu-friendly media!.
EveryStockPhoto - this site is indexing over 1 million completely free photos from various sources.
MorgueFile - provides completely free photos; no registration required to download.
PicSearch - image search with some interesting options; for example, you can choose to search only black and white or color photos.
YotoFoto - a search engine which claims to be indexing over a quarter million Creative Commons, Public Domain, GNU FDL, and various other ‘copyleft’ images.

Video Making 101

drivera — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:40:57 CST

Goals - Today we will. . .

capture original video footage using a digital video camera
convert MPEG2 files to editable AVI files
import digital video, digital photos and Power Point slides into editing software

capture and save still images from digital videos
add text and graphics to digital videos
add transitions and effects to digital videos
mute existing audio in digital videos and replace sound with original narration
import audio narration and background music
create titles and credits for digital videos
use split-track editing software to modify digital videos
save edited digital video in .wmv format
upload edited video to the TIE Network website

Digital Video Cameras
When I began researching digital video cameras that would meet the needs of most Georgia educators, I identified several "must haves" and then asked for the help of Brian Wray, a videographer at Georgia Public Broadcasting, who has been making movies longer than I have. We visited several local stores, captured sample video from various digital video cameras, and tried importing the video into Windows Movie Maker before making the final selection.

Must Haves:

Within budget ($500 - $600)
Hard disk storage rather than tapes
USB rather than FireWire connection
Windows Movie Maker compatibility
Built-in microphone
User-friendly

Final Selection:
Sony DCR-SR42 30GB Handycam® Camcorder
The camcorder records video in MPEG2-PS format is which is compatible with Adobe Premiere Elements if your school has that software in place. (Thank you Deborah Hargroves Massie Heritage Center media specialist and webmaster for helping me "test" the MPEG2 video compatibility with Adobe Premiere Elements after our TIE Network event held in Savannah!) If you are using FREE movie editing software, you can convert the MPEG2 video to AVI (using the two FREE options we identified below) and then import the digital video into Windows Movie Maker for audio/video editing. Since most of the school districts in Georgia use PCs, we needed to find a free solution that is compatible with free editing software like Windows Movie Maker.

For all TIE Network Mac users out there who use iMovie to edit videos - I would love for you to provide feedback that I can post on this WIKI. According to the the iMovie web page, "iMovie supports standard and high definition video, as well as the most popular formats, including DV, HDV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and even AVCHD." We have started uploading the "raw video footage" captured during the Savannah TIE Network event hosted at the Armstrong Atlantic State University ETTC on October 20, 2007. You can download this raw footage by logging into www.tienetwork.org with your previously-created username and password and then click on the "Resource Center" blue button. We've created a separate center for "Raw MPEG2 Video Footage" which Georgia educators can download and edit for educational use.

Time-Saving Techniques12 Tips for Shooting Digital Video created by Christopher Essex at Indiana University. The Knight Digital Media Center at the University of California at Berkeley provides some good online tutorials.

Additional resources: Take a look at MediaCollege.com. It's a free resource website that shares educational and reference material in the field of electronic media. This site is rich with information and strategies related to video and digital production. Be sure to explore the different types of camera shots. Also worth visiting is Kids' Vid, an instructional web site that gives teachers and students information, ideas, and tools that are useful in implementing instructional video production. In order to get a better idea of everything involved in making a video, swing by Pittsburg Video Production's examination of the video-making process.

Converting MPEG2 Digital Files to AVI Files Some video editing software programs will not allow you to import MPEG2 files, so you may need to convert the video captured wiith your video camera. Two options for converting files appear below.

Web-based Solution:

Transfer the digital video footage from your camera to your computer.
Upload your MPEG2 video file to the following website: http://media-convert.com

Browse for your video file.
Select the Input format of the existing file by using the drop-down menu provided. (MPEG2)
Set the Output format to WINDOWS and Audio Video Interleave (.avi) using the drop-down menus provided.
Check the "I accept the terms" box.
Click the OK button.
Wait for the video conversion to happen.

3. Download the AVI file from the Media Convert website.

Software-based Solution:

Transfer the digital video footage from your camera to your computer.
Download version 1.1 of MPEG Streamclip software from the Squared 5 website.
Download QuickTime Alternative version 1.81 or purchase MPEG2 Playback for Windows.
- Note: MPEG Streamclip requires either QuickTime Alternative or MPEG-2 Playback for Windows to function properly. You can download QuickTime Alternative at http://filehippo.com/download_quicktime_alternative/?2615 or you can purchase MPEG-2 Playback at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/
Run the MPEG Streamclip application.
Select File > Open Files.
Select File > Export to AVI.
Select Compression > APPLE DV/DVCPRO-NTSC.
Increase quality to 100%.
Select Frame size to 720 x 480.
Choose to Make AVI.

MP3 Recorders

katherineaiken — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:16:19 CST

Goals - Today we will. . .

access digital content stored on the MP3 recorder
record digital audio files using an MP3 recorder
save digital audio files to the MP3 recorder
export digital audio files from the MP3 recorder to a computer

import digital audio files into audio editing software
edit digital audio files
save final audio files in .wma or .wav format
upload audio files to the TIE Network website

MP3 Recorders
Sometimes you want to be able to record audio in the field without having to lug your computer with you. That's why an MP3 recording device is a handy gadget to have. Whether you are interviewing an expert or recording your authentic reaction to a specifice event or experience, and MP3 recorder is a cost-effective, mobile solution!

Must Haves:

Within budget (< $100)
At least 1 GB storage capacity
Windows & Mac compatibility
User-friendly

Final Selection:

1GB T-Sonic MP3 610 (with FM Stereo)
Transcend MP3 players: T-Sonic 610™ and T-Sonic 612™. This new MP3 player features a streamlined design of vibrant colors and a self-luminous OLED LCD display with 4-way joy-pad. The T-Sonic™ MP3 player supports USB 1.1 connectivity. Measuring just at 70x34.5x15.5mm, the T-Sonic™ is about the same size of a pack of Tic-Tacs! Available in 512MB and 1GB capacity models. Click here for the 1GB Data Sheet.

Features:

	FM Stereo function
	MP3 Player supporting MP3, WMA, and WAV formats
	Digital Voice Recorder
	Li-ion polymer rechargeable battery (Up to 14 hours of operation).
	Powered directly via the USB port for data transfers.
	AB Repeat allows continuous replay of partial or full track.
	Preset 20 FM channels allows recording from radio to a WAV file (610 model only).
	Auto power-off after 5 or 10 minutes of idle time.
	Self-luminous OLED display provides vibrant clear display & vivid colors. Easily viewed from any angle.
	Auto screen-saver conserves power when idle.

Specification:

	Size: 70mm x 34.5mm x 15.5mm
	Weight: 28g (with battery)
	Display: 128x64 pixels dual color OLED
	Support Format: MP3 and WMA
	Record Format: ADPCM (WAV)
	Compress Rate: 32Kbps-320Kbps
	2 Year Warranty

Accessories:

Click here for a list of included accessories

T-Sonic MP3 Recorder Basics
With the help of my 60+ year-old mother, we developed user-friendly directions for the T-Sonic MP3 recorder. We debuted these directions at the TIE Network Birds of a Feather session held during NECC 2007 in Atlanta. Click here to view the directions.

T-Sonic MP3 Recorder Basics

katherineaiken — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:12:16 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

License to Thrill Agenda

drivera — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:09:41 CDT

Here's a brief outline of the activities we'll be doing today and when we'll be doing them:

Arrival
Ground rules and housekeeping
Create a desktop shortcut to the TIE Network License to Thrill website (File-->Send-->Select shortcut to Desktop)
Register for del.icio.us and a free Google Mail account and related services such as
Explore examples of advertising techniques that can be adopted by educators for the purpose of increasing engagement in content-specific concepts
Where and how to find free resources (like the TIE Network's collection of goodies or the Freeloader's Guide over at SEGATech) for creating educational advertisements

Using the GIMP (or GIMPShop)
- Getting started, work environment, tools
- Impatient? Ready to get started?
- The importance of layers
- Selection tools
- Tricks with transparency
- If possible (that is, if we have extra time)
  - Placing images in text (via the GIMP Talk forum)
  - Blending in images (also via the GIMP Talk forum)
  - Drop shadow
  - Threshold
  - Color changes
  - Quick mask
  - Filters
  - Rendering
  - Tutorials
Picasa
- Basic fixes
- Tuning
- Effects
- Geotagging
- Web upload
- Photo galleries
Picnik
MyBrochureMaker
Online graphics generators such as Says-It and Motivator
Creatw wall-sized graphics with Block Posters
How to use Audacity and other resources to generate soundtracks and sound effects for audio presentations, slide shows, and videos
- Archive.org
- Freesound Project
- CCMixter
- Freeplaymusic.has content that may be used for educational, non-commercial use (limited to student use on school grounds for in classroom, non-broadcast projects)
How to create a short educational advertisement video clip using Microsoft Movie Maker (it comes as built-in component of Windows XP--look in your Programs list)

Impatient (again?)--click here to see how to use Microsoft Movie Maker

Go on, get started using Microsoft Movie Maker
What the heck--here's a link to Microsoft Photo Story, too

Question and answer
Evaluation

-jg

Sketchup

drivera — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:10:36 CDT

http://sketchup.google.com

Google SketchUp (free) is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program that enables you to explore the world in 3D. With just a few simple tools, you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects - even space ships. And once you've built your models, you can place them in Google Earth, post them to the 3D Warehouse, or print hard copies.

This course will list resources for SketchUp, organized by sections below. Don't forget to check out the official SketchUp community for quick answers to common questions. Enjoy!

How does SketchUp help my students?

To quote Google: "We live in 3D. Why shouldn't we start thinking and teaching that way?" SketchUp integrates mathematics, spacial thinking, problem solving, and real-world tools to help visualize complex concepts. Students explore and work with geometric concepts instead of just reading about them. SketchUp is fun and very easy to use, allowing you to spend time teaching the subject, not the tool. Check out these links to learn more.

SketchUp For Educators Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Google Educator's Sketchup page: Has lesson plans and a quickstart guide, and incorporates SketchUp with Google Earth & unitedstreaming.
Student Gallery: Look at what these students are making!
Case Studies: Check out these detailed examples of how specific schools are using and integrating sketchup.
The SketchUp Student Workbook: a perfect book for your classroom. The initial chapters provide all basic concepts, which students then apply and build upon while working on "do-it-yourself" projects. Minimal guidance is provided when necessary. The accompanying Instructor Guide contains all necessary steps for each exercise and project, as well as cross-references to pages in the Workbook.
List of K12 schools using SketchUp Pro: So who else is using this program? See a long list of schools using it!

How do I start using SketchUp?

SketchUp Online Video Tutorials: Amazing step-by-step tutorials that walk you through specific SketchUp skills to perfect your SketchUp Fu.
Official SketchUp User's Guide - Online: Hyperlinked & searchable. 'Nuff said.
Official SketchUp User's Guide (PDF): Want the guide on the go? Grab it in PDF format.
Quick Reference Card (PDF): A handy, 1-page card that explains what all those menu buttons do.

What are other people doing with it?

SketchUp Examples: See a small sample of what people are making
3D Warehouse: A massive collection of SketchUp models, made by users like you!

I need more specific help. Where do I go?

If reading manuals is not for you, or if you have specific questions or issues that you would like resolved, then check out these links.

SketchUp Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): browse often-asked questions by topic.
Sketchup Help Group: A link to a Google Group of Sketchup enthusiasts. Join and receive assistance from others that are using this wonderful program!

Where can I get more stuff for SketchUp?

SketchUp Components: Components are pre-drawn objects (like trees, cars and people) that are useful for creating reusable models to be placed within other models. Google has included dozens of components in Google SketchUp (free) to help get you started, but there's lots more available. Here are some additional libraries of components that will help you create more advanced SketchUp models.

Sample SketchUp Models

Pythagorean Theorem
Conics - single cone
Conics - Double Cone
House Planning (with area)

Examples

drivera — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 08:22:50 CDT

Here are a few example of educational posters that can be used to advertise content specific concepts. We'll be adding more.

License To Thrill

mrconundrum — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:38:44 CDT

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: use free, engaging multimedia technology resources to overthrow boredom and educational apathy. Create an academic atmosphere where students want to learn!

Goals: Since students often become disinterested in critically important content specific concepts, we will learn how to use a variety of free, multimedia resources to strategically advertise what is to be taught and generate a desire for academic content. We'll learn how to use a number of freely available marketing tools:

the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) or, if we're a really advanced group, GIMPShop
Picasa
Picnik
web-based content generators that digitally create a number of advertisements.
Audacity
Microsoft Movie Maker

We will learn how to efficiently: and effectively

identify and replicate a number of advertising ploys in terms of educational content
become cognizant of copyright issues
locate free resources for creating educational advertisements
create and refine compelling graphics (in a variety of file formats) for posters, brochures, web pages, and digital videos
generate soundtracks and sound effects for audio presentations, slide shows, and videos
use digital video editing resources

By the end of our session, everyone should able to create a series of educational advertisements, i.e.:

a poster,
an audio-recording,
a video commercial

Let's get started! Here's the agenda for this training session.

Contact information:

Jeff Giddens
jgiddens@fdresa.org
Gmail: mrconundrum@gmail.com
Jeff's del.icio.us account

Daniel Rivera
drivera@fdresa.org
gmail: rivera.ga@gmail.com
Daniel's del.icio.us account

GIMP

mrconundrum — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:22:32 CDT

lsThe GNU Image Manipulation Program (or GIMP) is a program that helps users make and edit digital images. Whether users are creating pictures from scratch or doing a little touch up work on a photograph, the GIMP makes such work significantly easier to accomplish. Why use the GIMP? For starters, it's free. Anyone--educator, student, or parent--who wants to use the program can can download, install, and start using it immediately. Secondly, it works on a variety of computer platforms--Macintosh, PC, and Linux. Third, this free program can do many of the things Photoshop (a pricey commercial application) does. Finally, it facilitates the integration of technology into curricular activities, preparing learners and instructors for life in the digital economy.

In order to make the best use of the GIMP, potential PC users should...

install the GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment before installing and starting the GIMP
download and read the GIMP User Manual.
get a better understanding of the concepts of transparency and layers
explore a number of GIMP forums and tutorials

For this training session, we'll focus on using the GIMP to allow us to create images with multiple layers. Being able to construct images with multiple layers gives us enormous creative freedom. To understand why this is so liberating to aspiring digital graphic designers, consider the scenario described below.

Let' s say that we want to help our students understand the concept of individuality. To do this we decide to use a visual resource to supplement oral and text definitions of the term. We're well aware that, even though students hear words, read them, and write them down, our pupils may need additional opportunities to learn what they are all about. Toward that end, we decide to create a poster to display in our classroom that will reinforce the idea of being an individual, standing apart from the crowd. We need an image that'll make this concept a little less abstract for our learners.

We decide to find an image that exemplifies conformity--say a field of flowers--and "remix" the picture so that it creates a visual definition of individuality. Knowing that prudent educators make use of copyright free images, we make our way to the Open Photo Project where we usually search for and download images. After a few minutes of searching we come across an image of daffodils that we're sure we can use.

We read the license concerning use of the image and discover that we're free to to copy, distribute, remix, and transmit the work. Excellent! We download the image to our computer. Next, we use the GIMP to alter the original image, making one of the daffodils blue. We do this by using the GIMP to make a graphic that is composed of two layers.

The first layer--the top layer--of our image is a photograph of the daffodils with one of the flowers cut out, leaving a hole in our picture. It looks something like this:

The second layer--the bottom layer--of our combined image is an intact photograph of the daffodils. Thanks to the magic of the GIMP we colorize this layer, making it completely blue. It looks something like this:

In essence, we place one picture atop the other. The top layer has a "hole" in it allowing us to see the layer below it. Placing both images together, we have a totally new image.

We go from having the original image...

to having our new, two layered, "remixed" image...

After remixing the picture, we drop by a nifty web site called Motivator, where we turn our layered image into a motivational poster type of graphic. Afterwards, we have this...

This kind of image manipulation, being able to take a picture and add layers of varying details and effects to it, makes the GIMP an extremely useful tool for educators who are serious about doing what it takes to help students learn. Even more exciting is the prospect of teaching pupils how to use this resource. Imagine learners who crank up the GIMP in order to create a graphic that represents an idea that has been explored in class. As stated before, this program is free and works on multiple computer platforms. Students can take the GIMP home and use it on their own computers. The GIMP is definitely worth learning how to use.

Advertising

mrconundrum — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:46:15 CDT

We want our students to want to learn. How can we create environments where this is the case? The answer is difficult: we have to make sure what we're teaching is engaging and meaningful. Advertisers understand this. They craft their commercial messages so that they appeal to potential customers by promising to supply information or answers that clients need. Advertisers send a message such as, "Purchase our goods and you'll have solutions to problems that bother you." They use informational motives to drive their customers to purchase goods.

Advertisers also use transformational motives to encourage consumers to buy goods. Such advertising promises clients that, upon purchasing a given product, the consumer will change for the better (i.e., become more attractive, competent, or able to complete a desired action).

Should our content advertisements cater to informational or transformational needs? The chart below will help us refine the messages we want to send to our potential consumers. As with any successful business, we have to be able to follow through with our promises, or at least, convince our customers (students) that we have. For example, we could be crafting an advertisement that promises learners that learning Science will transform them from being bored individuals to excited participants. To insure customer satisfaction, we'd better be prepared to follow through!

Informational Motives: advertised content promises to help students	Emotional Sequence: if successful, content will help students move from
remove a problem	annoyance to relief
avoid a problem	fear to relaxation
deal with incomplete satisfaction	disappointment to optimism
deal with normal depletion	mild annoyance to convenience

Transformational motives: advertised content promises to help students	Emotional sequence: if successful, content will help students move from
gratify senses	boredom to engagement
gain mastery	being naive to being competent
conform or gain social approval	going from ashamed to proud

Software

drivera — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:18:56 CDT

Software Post your favorite software information here. If you have resources for the product, please create a new page for it and link to it from here. Create an obvious external link for things that we do not have pages for yet.

Audacity

Celestia

GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (or GIMP) is a program that helps users make and edit digital images. Whether users are creating pictures from scratch or doing a little touch up work on a photograph, the GIMP makes such work significantly easier to accomplish. Why use the GIMP? For starters, it's free. Anyone--educator, student, or parent--who wants to use the program can can download, install, and start using it immediately. Secondly, it works on a variety of computer platforms--Macintosh, PC, and Linux. Third, this free program can do many of the things Photoshop (a pricey commercial application) does. Finally, it facilitates the integration of technology into curricular activities, preparing learners and instructors for life in the digital economy.

Google EarthGoogle Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop. View exotic locales like Maui and Paris as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals, schools, and more.

SketchupProduced by google, this free program lets you create full 3D models in seconds. It's very easy to use and comes complete with step-by-step tutorials. Students can design buildings, settings, and 3D shapes, then export those to Google Earth!

Saving A GIMP Image

mrconundrum — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:02:48 CDT

Now that we have a layered image, we need to save our work. To get the most from GIMP, it's a prudent idea to save our work in the GIMP's very own xcf format. We can do this by going to File, choosing Save and looking carefully at the Save Image window that appears. If we click on the + sign next to Select File Type (GIMP XCF image) another window opens. We'll click on GIMP XCF image like so:

Doing this allows us to save our image as a GIMP image, with layers intact. We're doing this in case we ever want or need to edit, add to, or refine the layer work we did. We know that even if we think we'll never have to tinker with an image again, sometime, somewhere, the need will arise. Having wisely saved our layered image as an xcf file, we can repeat the process again, choosing gif or jpeg as a final format for our image.

We'll get this ominous-looking warning but it isn't anything to fret over. All we have to do is click the Export button.

A Save as JPEG window opens. All we have to do now is click OK. That's it! Our multi-layered image is compressed into a one-layered image and our work is complete!

jg

Toolbox

mrconundrum — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:43:39 CDT

In order to start using the GIMP, we need to examine the Toolbox. It contains the tools we'll be use when we work with digital images.

Since we're beginners, we'll limit the number of tools we'll be working with to a manageable amount. The tools we'll be most concerned with at this point are the Selection Tools. The image below is a screen capture of the Selection Tools. They're great for choosing the part of a picture we want to edit.

The Rectangular Selection tool allows us to select areas that are square or rectangular in shape.

The Elliptical Selection tool allows us to select areas that are circular or elliptical in shape.

The Lasso tool allows us to create hand-drawn selection areas. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to be less than reliable or easy to use. We have to make a complete circuit to create a selection area. It draws a line as long as the mouse button is held down. However, fingers tend to get tired quickly. When the mouse button is released, GIMP draws a straight line back to the point of origin and selects everything inside the hand-drawn shape. This can be problematic. For this reason, we probably won't use this tool very much.

The Magic Wand (or Fuzzy Select) tool is used for selecting contiguous areas. It selects everything of the same color connected to the point clicked. This can be very handy for selecting odd shapes (if they are of the same color). The "threshold" at which point GIMP decides to include or exclude ambiguous points can also be adjusted.

The Select By Color tool allows us to choose a single color as a selection area. It's a very useful tool.

The Intelligent Scissors are supposed to work by following, as closely as possible, color contours in an image between subsequent points clicked by the mouse. However, at the time of this writing, the Intelligent Scissors is a GIMP tool that seems to be less than useful. For that reason, we will not be using this tool.

The Create Path tool is a very essential tool, one that we'll make great use of in this training session. It allows us to carefully create a selection "path" around objects in a picture. The wonderful thing about this tool (unlike the Lasso) is that it's very forgiving if we make a mistake. If we make a misstep when while creating a selection area with this tool all we have to do is undo (or press Ctrl Z). It makes complicated selecting simple. This is the tool we'll be using when we make our two layer image.

There are other, equally impressive tools in the GIMP's toolbox. However, this tutorial is only an introductory foray into the rich contents of the program.

Cutting Through Layers

mrconundrum — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:41:53 CDT

Now, it's time to use the Create Path tool!

This selection tool is going to allow us to make a path of points along a portion of an image so we can remove that portion from the entire picture. Suppose we have our image of the daffodils and wish to remove one of the flowers from the picture.

We can use the Create Path tool to trace out a selection area along the edges of the flower we want to remove. First, we zoom in on the region of the image we want to remove. We can do this by looking at the bottom-left corner of our image and clicking on 400% as our level of detail.

Next, we use the Create Path tool to carefully construct a polygonal path around the flower. It'll look something like this when we've finished:

IMPORTANT: Unlike other selection tools, which like us to complete an entire "loop" or closed figure around an object, the Create Path tool is a little more relaxed. All we have to do is create a path that ends up near our starting point. When we finish making the circuit around our flower, just before we might decide to "close" the loop by clicking on the first point, we stop.

Next, we click on the Create selection from path button.

Next, we go to Edit and choose Clear.

With the selected portion cleared, we have a picture with a "hole" in it.

Now we can turn off the selection path we've created.

We select the layer we want to colorize as blue.

Next, we go to Filter, choose Color, and Colorify

When the Colorify window opens, we click on the color we want, in this case, blue. From the preview image we can see that teh entire picture has been digitally dyed blue.

When we make the layers active and place them in the correct order, we can see that blue layer is visible through the "hole" we made.

Our two layered image is complete. Now all we have to do is save our work.

Working With Layers

mrconundrum — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:28:06 CDT

As we learned earlier, the GIMP allows us to work with layers. We can take one image, duplicate it and add varying details to each layer. We're going to do that now. The first thing we do is start the GIMP. Next, we go to File, choose Open, and locate the open source daffodil image we downloaded earlier. After the image is open, we want to look at our Layers, Channels, and Paths window. When it's open we see our image.

Next, we click on the Duplicate layer button a couple of times so that we have three layers. We won't be working with the original layer. We'll leave that layer alone in case we run into problems!

Bingo! We now have three layers. We can work with two of them as we create our masterpiece.

We'll want to rename the two new layers. It's an easy thing to do. We simply right-mouse click on our chosen layer and choose Edit Layer Attributes.

When the Edit Layers Attributes window opens, all we have to do is delete the current name (for example, Background Copy) and type in the name we'd like to use instead.

Let's name our layers as follows: We'll call the top most layer Selection as this is where we'll be cutting a hole into the image so that'll allow us to peek into a layer below. We'll name the second, middle layer, Blue. The second layer is the layer in which the entire image is digitally dyed blue. We'll it when we create a "hole" in our top layer.

Now, it's time to use the Create Path Tool!

This selection tool is going to allow us to make a path of points along a portion of an image so we can remove that portion from the entire picture. Suppose we have our image of the daffodils and wish to remove one of the flowers from the picture.

We can use the Create Path tool to trace out a selection area along the edges of the flower we want to remove. First, we zoom in on the region of the image we want to remove. Next, we use the Create Path tool to carefully construct a polygonal path around the flower. It'll look something like this when we've finished:

Next, we click on the Create selection from path button.

Next, we go to Edit and choose Clear.

With the selected portion cleared, we have a picture with a "hole" in it.

Now we can turn off the selection path we've created.

We select the layer we want to colorize as blue.

Next, we go to Filter, choose Color, and Colorify

When the Colorify window opens, we click on the color we want, in this case, blue. From the preview image we can see that teh entire picture has been digitally dyed blue.

When we make the layers active and place them in the correct order, we can see that blue layer is visible through the "hole" we made.

Now we need to soften the border between the two layers. We do this by selecting the magic wand tool and selecting the empty hole on the top layer. After creating a selection field, we can increase the size of the selected are.

We decide to grow the selection region by one pixel.

Add a little Gaussian blur

Adjust brightness and contrast within the layer

Work Environment

mrconundrum — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:13:44 CDT

After starting the GIMP, our screen should look something like this...

At this point we can close the long Tools window on the right side of the screen since all of the tools we're going to be using are also on the left-hand side of our screen. There's no need to overwhelm our senses at this point.

We can also close out the Tip of the Day window. Until we uncheck the Show tip next time GIMP starts checkbox, the tip of the day will appear on our screen each time we start the program. It's a useful feature in that it gives us information we can use to master the GIMP. It also gets in the way of the way of the work we'll be doing.

Since layers are the key to making the most of the GIMP, let's make sure we have a Layers, Channels, and Paths window. It looks something this:

If our Layers, Channels, and Paths window is missing (or we accidentally close it) we can easily open a new one by going to File, Create New Dock, and choosing Layers, Channels, and Paths like this...

One thing we can do is ask the GIMP program to remember which windows we're using and where they are located on the screen. We can do this by going to File and choosing Preferences.

Afterwards, we'll see a window like this:

The last thing we'll do is click on Windows Management. We want to make sure we click on the Save Windows Positions Now button. The next time we start the GIMP, our windows will be where we like them to be.