The Multimedia Maven

In my hasty brain dump, I neglected to mention one of my favorite tools, the Flip Camera by Pure Digital. I guess I was more focused on free tools. The Flip Camera is available on eBay, walmart.com and from any number of outlets. It is a wonderful device because it allows you to record up to 60 minutes of video (depending on the version). It has a USB built in so you literally plug it into the computer. It also has editing software. When you see my clips on line, that’s the camera I’m using most of the time. Once I figure out how to disable the autoplay feature on Twitcam video, I may switch gears.

The Flip Camera does not allow you to plug in an external mic but it offers sound that will get the job done in close settings or places where the speakers are generating great sound. When I attended the Presidential Inauguration in January, that’s the camera I used.

For those who have the iPhone 3G, there is a video camera built in that allows you to skip the video transfer step. A reporter at CBS in Miami shot and edited a package using only iPhone video. No time for the quality discussion. That’s not my purpose here. My job is to let you know about resources. People are using them, you don’t have to do so. If you want to use a tool great, if not, great.

A tool for podcasting is BlogTalkRadio, Here’s their description on the website: “BlogTalkRadio is the social radio network that allows users to connect quickly and directly with their audience. Using an ordinary telephone and computer hosts can create free, live, call-in talk shows with unlimited participants that are automatically archived and made available as podcasts. No software download is required. Listeners can subscribe to shows via RSS into iTunes and other feed readers. Our network has produced hundreds of thousands of episodes since it launched in August of 2006.” I’ve had students cover sports stories using this tool. They could do play by play and provide analysis following the game.

Livestream and Ustream allow you to capture events live. Again, you can archive the clips. And you can use more than one camera. It is a great exercise to have students figure out how to cover an event using this technological tool.

They still need substance, historical data, etc. If they don’t read and research, they don’t have anything to share. The tools are just a way to reach people, to tell stories, to share information.

Other thoughts:

1. Have students Twitter or Facebook an Event
2. Students can use Coveritlive to cover a story and interact with their classmates in real time.
3. Promote your story or event on Twitter and Facebook, be creative but not annoying, track your success and write an article about it.
4. Partner with professionals, high schools or any other entity to enhance the learning experience, use skype, tinychat, coveritlive etc.
5. Have students create Tutorials on new tools they find. This is an invaluable resource for the masses who don’t know what they don’t know. It’s also a way for you, the educator to learn the tools.

Another point worth noting is that when you try something innovative, whether it fails or succeeds, you can get positive coverage about the experiment. When University marketing departments figure this out, some faculty will be encouraged to try more creative things. It’s crazy, but some failure sells, either the story about it or the lessons from it.

Share:

As I prepare to teach this fall, I can’t help but take some time to assess the tools that I have in my toolbox and think about which ones to use and why. Just because I know a website application exists doesn’t mean that I need it.

Here are my thoughts so far:

Coveritlive is a liveblogging tool that could be used when an educator is at a professional conference. He or she could live blog and interact with students in the process. Participants can ask questions. The questions can be posted on the blog with moderator’s approval. Now that Coveritlive allows other moderators and gives the option to incorporate Twitter feeds, in addition to embedding videos, adding images and polls and many other very useful features integrating it in a course makes sense. Students can use it to cover stories and share educational experiences in real time. You can embed the code on your website and the session is archived. This is fertile ground for research. Think about it, not only could you research the topic but also the cognitive process. It takes quite a bit to cover an event, answer questions in real time and keep up with the Twitter feed, etc.

Utilizing audio/videconferencing to enhance the classroom experience is an inexpensive way to tap into expertise. Students at Howe Public Schools in Oklahoma under the leadership of Tammy G. Parks have been using Skype to interview professionals. They also produce CLE Live an online show for free, barring the cost of computers of course. It has been a very positive experience for all involved. Likewise, you can invite industry leaders to participate in liveblogging as well.

If you claim to be an educated person, stop saying you hate something before you try it. You want students to care about topics, they don’t know. Yet, when faced with something new, some of you are not setting a good example. Twitter is just a tool. You don’t have to use it. However, you should understand how to use it in order to do right by your students. In short, use Twitter for research. Go to summize.com and search any topic in real time. If you get a Twitter account, use Twellow to find people to follow. Download Power Twitter to improve your interface. Add Tweetdeck to separate followers into groups on Twitter. Let students find knowledgeable people in the field of study. Once you have followers, ask relevant questions. Follow the links that people share. Read them. This is a research tool and much more. It is a critical tool in the news gathering and disseminating process. Don’t over TWEET. Don’t SELL. Use it wisely, strategically.

Twitcam is a new addition to the Twitter arsenal. It combines the real time micro blogging tool with the ability to go live thanks to a partnership with Livestream. You could lecture from an onsite location, provide regular updates for students, students could do the same.

Facebook is much more than just a social networking site, you can experiment with setting a up a group like my Mass Media class inspired by Brian Steffen’s Media Law and Ethics group (please join them and help us educate the future). I have no idea if this will work. I know I post many, many links on media on a regular basis. How much will students read? Will students interact with each other? non-classmates? Will they post articles? Will they understand the concept of crowdsourcing? A lot of that burden falls squarely on my ability to facilitate. At least, we have a place to do so.

Blogs, been there, done that. I had blogs for 3 classes last semester. They are still there, Practicum Pioneers is one example. We, Paul Chenoweth and I had students create tutorials about different web applications from OOVOO to then Mogulus which is now Livestream. There were too many blogs for me to manage. I still advocate making sure students know how to set them up, post to them, make comments and how they are used in their respective fields of study. Students should also read and follow relevant blogs as well. They should use Google Reader or a similar application to follow syndicated blogs which is basically what RSS is. If you go this route, be sure you don’t commit to monitoring the site on a 24/7 basis. Empower students to check each other’s posts.

Of course, what is a course without You Tube. Whether you create videos or watch them, this can be a useful tool. A professor can tape his/her lecture post a short clip on You Tube or a longer clip with better quality on Vimeo. Students can interview people for research or video tape relevant art or what have you. The possibilities are really endless.

For social networking, consider using Tumblr, Ning, or Kick Apps.

To capture anything that’s on your computer screen for up to 5 minute use Jing Project. That’s how my students recorded their tutorials.

I’ll stop here for now, please share other tools and let me know how you use them.

Share:

Check him out at: Speed of Creativity

Share:

At Oklahoma University presenting to high school teachers on multimedia and learning a lot too.

Share:

I’m on the run but here’s my take on the new Spotify application for the iPhone. Check out the company and here’s the video on the new application on You Tube. Thanks to Mashable for the article.

Share:

During the Q & A after her talk at the Open Video Conference , Lizz Winstead answered a question about the Jim Kramer/Jon Stewart exchange. (Google it if you missed it.)

Share:

One of the memorable speakers for me at the Open Video Conference was Lizz Winstead. Winstead was a co-creator of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a stand up comedian in her own right and a very clever satirist in front of a live audience. She runs Shoot the Messenger and works on any number of other projects.

Winstead’s main point was that comedy is just another way to expose hypocrisy. She also said that “satire in the media has become the watchdogs of the watchdogs.” In other words, comedians are now policing the media to keep the media honest. Her advice to others is basically to react to reality and seize moments to take a comedic spin on what’s happening.

After her talk, she wished that she had mentioned the conflict in Iran. So I asked her to do so on camera. I also asked her for advice to students.

Share:

So often, if the television set is on, I’m watching it alone.  That’s not a problem.  It’s just the way it is. I typically don’t have my computer on at the same time. But now that I finally have a wireless router, I can use my laptop anywhere in my home.  When, the 2009 BET Awards came on, I just happened to be on Facebook and quickly realized that I was not alone.  There was a group of about twenty of us critiquing the show from start to finish in real time.  Many were watching the entire show for the first time or for the first time in years.  After all, the show was a partial tribute to the late Michael Jackson. I forced myself to write the word “late. ”

With record numbers of communication using Twitter and Facebook not to mention email and text as people shared the news of the King of Pop’s passing, we all must take a pregnant pause long enough to really understand the impact of the seismic shift in media usage and consumption. We know people are not passive and that they want information any time, any place, and any way they want it.  We know more people have mobile devices than computers. And we know that there are more than 200 million people on Facebook.

As more and more people joined the conversation about the BET Awards, from the opening number featuring New Edition including Bobby Brown, I slowly realized what was about to transpire.  I didn’t have to watch the show alone or make a phone call. I didn’t have to text. All I had to do was remain on facebook and participate.  I thought about how ideas spread, a notion Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell and others discuss at length.  I reflected on the power of peers.  I even pondered the First Amemdment, the notion of Free speech as the folks at BET bleeped inappropriate language so many times, I truly lost count.  The key here is that I’m thinking about how to facilitate and improve the way that we interact.  And, thanks to crowdsourcing, I don’t have to think alone.  I posed this question to those who were on Facebook watching the Awards show:

Hey, before everybody goes. Tell me about your experience discussing the Awards show on FB. Have you done this watching any show before? About how many people in your network are participating? What does this mean? How can we innovate, build apps and do thing(s) with this tool in the future? I will post comments to my blog using first names only.

Tonya said:

“Actually, I think there needs to be a better way to respond multiple discusson threads…I have been corresponding with multiple ppl, and I have to keep scrolling back, click on the notifications (which are sometimes delayed) and must keep refreshing ’cause the network keeps freezing…”

Colleen said:

“when I saw one particularly fun FB friend commenting quite a bit about the show, I tuned in to watch, even though I wouldn’t normally and even though I was supposed to working. I enjoyed the experience. And one other FB friend was also commenting about the show, so that was interesting to compare their comments. I wanted to somehow get them to communicate w/ each other.”

Mardell said:

“I didn’t do it the entire time like you all did but had fun when I did. I was checking to see what you all were saying even when I wasn’t participating. I had only one more person in my network comment.”

Angie said:

“I had fun commenting the entire awards show. It was great to see what others had to say and the comments that were discussed. It was funny because many people were thinking along the same line. I did get a good laugh.”

Based on these responses and my insight, here are some suggestions for media, marketing and many people who want to maximize their opportunities virtually.

Any event can be interactive. You can live blog using coveritlive.  You can cover the event live on your website using sites like livestream or ustream.  You can add a Twitter feed, just use the # (hashtag) and the word and you’ve created a separate strand through which to communicate.  You can record interviews on Skype by using Jing or Snapz Pro.  The possibilities are truly infinite in many ways. Just take the time to think and to experiment.

Be tuned into your audience. There were audio difficulties throughout the show.  The producers seemed to be aware of them, however, if an associate producer or even an intern can monitor social networking during live taping, it would be a wise use of resources.

Allow your audience to interact in real time. I know this is a terrifying proposition but with all of the new media tools,  a show could Skype some people in just like Oprah Winfrey does on a regular basis now.  She is saving thousands, if not millions of dollars by not having to bring in all of the guests and not to have to purchase satellite time. You have to have Twitter and Facebook available at all times.

Just like the Open Source movement which allows computer programmers, designers and others to compete on different projects because the source code for the actual computer program is free and available, any show can post a rundown on their website and get ideas from the audience about how to improve the show.  It’s called shared control.  You still have the final say as the producer, howver, you have many more ideas from the audience. Only a few people will typically contribute.  You’ll see the cream rise to the top and may be able to recruit future employees this way as well.  Transparency is beyond essential in the virtual age.

Learn how to create and build applications for platforms like Facebook and the iPhone.

Know that people will stumble onto your site or show because their friends are there. That means you need to have extra information for people who are less familiar with the show, product or information.

Always offer additional online resources, on the Awards site there are plenty of extras.

Let me say, that the highlight of the show was Janet Jackson. I was absolutely stunned yet beyond happy that she appeared. She looked absolutely beautiful and spoke just as well. She was the best representative.  The second highlight was the O’Jays.  They sang and danced marvelously.

Last words, don’t worry about anything or anyone else, be original. I wanted to get this written before I fell asleep. Please excuse any typos.  Like Jamie Foxx on the Awards show, I’ll make a shameless plug, if you need help, I’m happy to help by doing a seminar, workshop and/or consulting session.  Just email me at drsyb@drsyb.com.  THANKS!

Share: