Assignment 4 was a screencast that had to be uploaded as a YouTube video. This assignment was harder than I expected. First of all, the software or programs available for this assignment were not as available as I would have liked. A number of the programs could not be used with my Mac. That meant I was stuck, at the last minute of course, trying to find something that could be used and did not cost anything. I ended up using Screencast-o-Matic. Once I chose something to capture the video, I had to decide what I was going to demonstrate. I decided to demonstrate how to create a vlog with Photo Booth and post it to blogger.com. Learning to use Screen-o-Matic was pretty easy. The only thing I did not like was the fact that once I created the project, I could not find it again. I mean once I uploaded it, I lost it.
Using Photo Booth has become one of my favorite past-times. I enjoy capturing images and videos at will. I really enjoy experimenting with the different effects. Basically, I like the overall ease with which videos can be created. I recorded an introduction to my blogfolio. After the video was created, I uploaded it to blogger.com. Initially, I could not upload my video to YouTube. I am not sure exactly why now, but I think there was something about a difference in the format I used and the acceptable format. I converted my video to another format and was immediately able to upload it to YouTube, making this my first YouTube video.
After I completed this assignment, I decided to see what other kind of videos were offered on YouTube. I was amazed at the sheer volume of videos. There were videos on everything imaginable. Of course a number of them were not related to anything educational. There are, however, so many different ways students can use YouTube. There are wonderful educational videos on YouTube. However, a number of teachers do not have access to YouTube at school. Sometimes there are filter and blocking issues. Until the administrators and technology directors realize the importance and educational value of such a resource, teachers may be more resistant to creating and uploading videos. Teachers, administrators, and technology directors must come together and decide how to use information without putting students in danger or violating funding requirements.
Working with video can be a challenge because of all the different video formats. Luckily there are also many tools that will convert video formats. I use zamzar.com for a bunch of conversion needs as long as the file isn't too large.
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