digitalwriting

Vlog Tutorial 1: Why Create Vlogs

Welcome to the first of five vlog productions on vlogging designed for use with my two Fall courses, CI5410, Teaching Digital Writing, and CI5472, Teaching Film, Television, and Media Studies.  I’m making these vlogs to demonstrate what you will be doing yourself in constructing your own vlog posts.

 

 

You will be creating vlogs, then editing them using iMovie (Macs) or Windows Movie Maker (PCs), then uploading your videos to the University’s Media Mill to store and compress them, then adding them to YouTube, and then posting the YouTube URL to your blog.

 

 

These vlogs will coincide with the use of the textbook, Secrets of Vlogging. For another useful tutorial on this whole process if vlogging by Steve Garfield, John Barth, Jason Crow and Four Eyed Monsters: http://projectnml.org/examplars/06vlog

 

The first vlog will provide you with an overview of the nature and value of vlogging.

 

 

I would like to note that the production of these vlogs has been supported by a grant from the College of Education and Human Development.  And, purchase of the Kodak Easyshare cameras for your vlog production was supported by another grant from the College’s Committee on Academic Uses of Technology.  So, your College technology fees are being put to good use.

 

 

Let me also note that the written version of these vlogs are on the two course blogs as well as on the digitalwriting wiki and the teachingmedialiteracy wiki.  The URL links for sites I refer to in these vlogs are in these written versions.

 

If you need technical assistance for work on any of this, you can contact myself at rbeach@umn.edu or Yang Lin, the C & I Tech Fellow located in 125 Peik, at yanglin@umn.edu  For use of certain editing software programs such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker in the computer labs such as 355 Peik, you will be able to seek assistance from the lab assistants.

 

 

What Are Vlogs And Why Produce Them?

 

Let’s begin with the question, What are vlogs and why produce them?

 

 

Vlogs can be described as video versions of blogs.  Vlogs are also like video podcasts—podcasts with video material.  Rather then simply producing a blog post as a print text, you will be creating a video to convey your message.  Your entire post could be just a video or you could supplement your written post with a video.  Your audience can now view a video of you and/or another person verbalizing what you might have put in writing.

 

 

So, why use vlogs? Why not just write out your posts?  Why bother with making video when you could just write out your message on your blog post.

 

 

There are several reasons for the increased use of video. In the age of YouTube, video has become an increasingly popular way to attract and engage audiences.  Audiences are now more accustomed to viewing videos on their iPod or cell-phone video players.  A recent Pew Family  & the Internet study found that one in five Americans views an online video everyday.  To attract audiences to your message, given the option of a blog post with or without a video, many audiences will select the post with the video.  This does not mean that audiences necessarily prefer to view your video.  Some may rather just read your post rather than viewing a video.

 

 

Vlogs have also become a popular tool for sharing all kinds of new media, for example, podcasts about digital storytelling on The Digital Story blog http://www.mefeedia.com/feeds/9862/ or discussions of blogging on Digital Campus http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/3105891/

 

 

Vlogs also serve as a form of citizen journalism created by people who are present at an event and can share photos and video quickly for large audiences.  A number of bloggers captured photos and video about the 35W bridge collapse to share with others; see examples of the MPR WaveLength blog: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/wavlength/archive/2007/08/citizen_media_cover_bridge_col_1.shtml

 

Vlogs are also popular for audiences who enjoy seeing you talking to them rather than simply reading your words.  Or, if you interview someone else, they may enjoy seeing that other person.

 

 

Vlogs also serve as a useful means of provide audiences with visual demonstrations on how to do certain things.  For example, vlogs may include screencasts of how to exe e certain computer programs.

 

 

I am using these vlogs to demonstrate some of the things you will need to do in creating your own vlog posts such as how to use the Easyshare cameras or edit your video.  For example, the HowDoIMac vlog provides advice on using a Mac http://howdoimac.com/ One popular vlog on how to create video is Izzy Video, in which Israel Hyman provides specific tips on video production http://feeds.feedburner.com/hyman/

 

 

And, rather than just posting your video onto the Web and hoping audiences will stumble across it, with vlogs, your audiences can subscribe to vlog or podcast RSS feeds that are then delivered to them.  And, audiences can then comment on vlog posts, provide producers with a sense of audience reaction to their work.  Thus, rather than simply creating videos to park on the Web, you are creating videos that can be readily shared within the blogosphere to both others in the class as well as larger audiences.

 

 

Vlogs are also particularly useful in teaching media literacy, which is why we are using them in the media studies methods course to analyze or critique media texts.  Rather than just referring to media texts, you are actually showing audiences screen shots or video media texts, along with your written or voice-over commentary.  To do so, you import images or video into the “Main Entry” section of your vlog posts, for example, YouTube videos, and then analyze the image or clip in the “Additional Entry” section.

 

 

Through learning to make videos, you are learning film techniques that can be applied to film analysis.  And, in learning to make vlogs, you begin to determine what constitutes effective vlogs, understanding that can then be used to critically analyze vlogs themselves as a form of new media.

 

 

Another advantage of vlogs is that they foster interactive exchange between you and your audiences. Rather than simply creating videos to park on the Web, you are creating videos that can be readily shared within the blogosphere to both others in the class as well as larger audiences.  And, your audiences don’t have to search the Web to find your material. Rather, signing up for RSS feeds from a blog. Rather than just posting your video onto a website and hoping audiences will stumble across it, with vlogs, your audiences can subscribe to a blog’s RSS feeds so that they then receive notice of new posts.

 

 

In this course, you will be setting up a free Bloglines account to receive feeds from both of these course blogs, as well as other blogs related to either digital writing or to teaching media literacy.  I’ll be talking about setting up your Bloglines account in the next module—for those of you in the media class, see the section in the Richardson book on setting up Bloglines.

 

 

Another advantage of vlogs is that, as is the case with YouTube or Flickr, you can then receive comment on your vlog posts, provide producers with a sense of audience reaction to their work.  In these courses, you’ll have the option of posting your videos on YouTube and then insert a link to your YouTube video in your post.  If you don’t want to put it up on YouTube, you certainly don’t need to.  If you do post to YouTube, you will not only be sharing your video with your peers, but you will also be sharing it with the larger YouTube audience.

 

 

In creating vlog posts, you are learning how to communicate in multimodal ways that combines print with image and video, something that you will need to be teaching your own students.  In doing so, you think about how certain images or video serves to illustrate their print text.  And, in creating and editing video, they need to learn how to select and edit visual material that will effectively convey their message.

 

 

As a teacher, you also want to create a classroom community in which students work collaboratively with each other.   In these classes, you will be working together as blog partners, sharing each other posts. One advantage of vlogs is that with RSS feeds, students can subscribe to each other’s blogs and then read and respond to each other’s posts, all of which enhances the sense of operating in a classroom community.

 

Vlog Tutorial 1: Pt. 2: Using blogs

In the second video of this first tutorial, I’m going to discuss your use of blogs in these classes, how to learn about vlogs, and address the question as to why create vlogs: what can your students learn from creating vlogs.

Using Blogger In these two classes, unless you already have a blog, we will be using Blogger to create your own individual blogs.  I’m having you create your own individual blog so that you’ll learn how to create and use blogs on your own so that you can then model that process for your students. 

I’ve also selected Blogger because it’s one of the easier, user-friendly platforms to use for blogging. At the same time, in the future, you may to employ a single classroom blog that all of your students post to. By using a central blog, as is the case with one-stop shopping, you can find everything you want on these course blogs. 

While students can access each other own blogs using RSS feeds, by having a single blog, they then see each other’s posts on the same blog. To see an example of a classroom blog for an online composition course at the University taught by Krista Kennedy, you can go to the Life in the Network blog http://blog.lib.umn.edu/kenne329/3401s07/ This course is similar to the media studies class in that it involved writing about different aspects of the media.  On this classroom blog, students include clips of media texts that they then critique.

Some of you who are in the English post-bac program will be taking composition methods course from Candance Doerr, whose blog contains examples of multimedia presentations by members of the 2007 post bac cohert: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/doer0026/cyborgs/

Photologging

One variation on vlogs is what is known as photologging in which people include a lot of photos to describe events in their lives.  Photologging is particularly popular for photographers who want to share their individual work beyond sites such as Flickr, but you don’t have to be a photographer to create a photolog. These photos can be embedded within an entry or in the sidebar.   

People will typically put their images in the “Main Entry” and commentary about the images in the “Additional Entry” section. To see some other photologs, or create a photolog account on another site, you can go to Fotolog http://www.fotolog.com/, Photoblogs http://www.photoblogs.org/ or TextAmerica http://www.textamerica.com/

Learning about vlogs by viewing them

One way to learn about vlogs is to visit some of the vlog sites.  There are an extensive number of vlog sites described in the Secrets of Videoblogging textbook, listed on the digital writing resource site: http://digitalwriting.pbwiki.com or found on vlog directories such as Mefeedia, http://mefeedia.com, FireAnt, http://fireant.tv, iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes or VlogDir http://www.vlogdir.com 

You can go to VlogMap that contains a Google Map of vloggers from throughout the world. One local popular vlog is Minnesota Stories http://www.mnstories.com/ described on page 40 of the text.  This vlog includes daily posts featuring stories about local Minnesota issues. Another Minnesota vlog, ReelDiscussions, http://www.reeldiscussions.tv/home.html features video reviews from four Minnesota film fans Joel Sterling, Joni Weston, Paul Carr and Karen Calla.  

Vlog Tutorial 1, Pt. 3: Analyzing Vlogs and Why Create Vlogs

In viewing these vlogs, consider differences in the quality and rhetorical effectiveness of vlogs. Well-made vlogs exploit the video aspects of the productions to engage audiences—how the visual is used to compliment the verbal to communicate to audiences. 

In the Minnesota Stories vlog, the close up shots of individuals is designed to engage you with them as if you were talking with them in a conversation.  In the Reel Discussions vlog, the reviews include film clips as well as some disagreements about films within the group that serve to create interest in the vlog.

Well-made vlogs also convey producers’ strong interest or passion about a certain phenomena.  Producers convey that interest and passion through their delivery, nonverbal cues, and knowledge.  It is therefore important to select topics about which you have a strong interest that you want to convey to your audiences.

In viewing vlog posts, you may also notice that they are relatively short—typically about 2 – 5 minutes. It may be the case that audiences may also not want to view vlogs longer than 5 minutes on their screens.  One reason that vlog posts are short is that videos consume a lot of memory, even when they are compressed.

All of this means that in creating your vlog posts, you have limited time in which to convey your message, so you need to plan your post by create a script.  And, if you’re going to be using different shots, you should also create a storyboard. 

In creating your script, since you’re going to be importing your video into an editing program such as iMovie, you should note where you plan to   between different shots. And, well-made vlogs employ effective sound, lightening, and editing.  Because you are compressing your original video down to a 320 x 240 screen size, you don’t need to worry about making a high-quality Hollywood movie.  However, you want to make sure that camera is close enough to you so that the sound quality is good and that the lighting is adequate. You also want to edit out any extraneous footage, something I’ll discuss in a later module.

Summary: Why create vlogs?

Why then am I asking you to create vlogs in these courses?

- Just am I doing with you, creating vlogs provides you with examples of vlogs to share with your own students.  You can then model what you did for your students.

- Because these two courses are all about Web 2.0 interactive new media, you are also learning to employ a new media tool to communicate your thoughts and ideas in a multimodal manner.

- And, in making vlogs, you are learning film and editing techniques, know-how that is important for analyzing films.

- And, you can also use vlogs to analyze examples of online media or film clips that you insert in your vlogs or post on your blog, something evident in the ReelDiscussions vlog.   Moreover, as evident in the increased use of YouTube videos in political campaigns, vlogs can be used to tool to persuade others.  As part of teaching persuasive writing, it is therefore important for students to know how to create vlogs.

- Vlogs also invite you to voice your beliefs and attitudes about the world. Sharing your thoughts and ideas with your peers through vlogs means that your peers get to know you better as a member of the classroom community.

- And, because vlogs allow for comments, your peers can provide you with reactions to your work.   And, in work with your own students, you are creating opportunities for students to receive positive comments about their work, as well as potential for dialogue about that work, something that is essential for improving their writing.

To wrap up, in this first module, I have discussed the nature of vlogging and why I am asking you to use vlog posts in this course.  In the next module, I’ll discuss the kinds of equipment needed for creating your vlogs.

Vlog Tutorial 2, Part 1: Equipment and software for vlog production

For this second tutorial, I’ll be discussing the equipment and software that you’ll be using in creating your vlog posts, material that is discussed in Chapter 3 of your Secrets of Videoblogging text.

 

You also need to realize that your final vlog production will only be about 5 or 6 minutes at the most (if you posting it on YouTube, you have a 10 minute limit). So, you may only need to shoot for about 7 to 8 minutes at the most—assuming that you will edit down your vlog.

 

 

In the next module, I’ll be discussing how to use the equipment to record your video, followed by another module on how to edit your video.

 

 

 

Cameras

 

For filming your vlog posts, you can also certainly use your own digital still cameras if they have a video component.  You can also use you own camcorder; one advantage of camcorders is the flip viewer is useful for recording yourself, for example, as you are filming yourself as you are walking down a street or through a building. 

 

 

You can use your laptop if it has a webcam in it or hook up a webcam to your computer, for example, the iSight camera on a Mac computer.  To create these vlogs, I’m using my MacBook.  I put my script on my desktop Mac directly in front of me but record into my MacBook.

 

 

One advantage of using a Mac computer with a webcam is that you can open up iMovie and record right into iMovie for further editing.  On iMovie, you simply move the button from edit to record (the video camera icon) and push down on the space bar.  When you’re done recording a certain segment, push down the space bar again, and the clip of that segment appears in the clip box.  (I’ll talk more about recording in the next module).

 

 

If your Mac computer does not have a webcam built into it, you can just plug in a UVC-compliant webcam into a Mac that has OS X 10.4.9 (for a list of webcams: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2390). If you have at least OS 10.3, you can purchase the Ecamm Network iChatUSBCam 2.2.1 (http://www.macworld.com/1637). 

 

 

If you don’t have a webcam, your other option is just to hook up your camcorder with a FireWire cable to your computer and iChat AV should indicate that the camera is recording (Breen, 2007, p. 92).  You need to make sure that the camera doesn’t switch off by removing the tape, turning off any energy-saving option, or putting it into single-image capture mode.

 

 

 

The Kodak Easyshare Z885

 

Kodak Easyshare Z885 cameras.  For students in these two courses, if you do not have access to a digital camera, some of you will be using the Kodak Easyshare Z885 digital cameras from the C & I Curriculum Library located in the basement of Peik Hall next to the pop machines and is opened until 7:30. 

 

 

These cameras were purchased from a grant I received so that you can check out cameras for an extended time period to use in creating videos. Unfortunately, there are 12 cameras available for use in two courses, so there will probably not be a camera available for each of you.  You and your blog partner may also want to share a camera. 

 

 

Features of the Kodak Easyshare cameras. Let me highlight some of the features of the Kodak Easyshare cameras relevant for creating vlogs.  Although it is a still camera, this camera has a video component that can be saved as .mp4 files that you can use to create video and then download into a computer.

 

 

To use the Kodak Easyshare Z885, you can get the User Manual online;

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/publications/urg00714toc.jhtml?pq-path=10848

 

You can also go through the Kodak Easyshare System Tutorials that tell you how to use the controller button for setting your picture quality, deleting and saving pictures, protecting pictures from being deleted, and other features: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tutorials/index.jhtml?pq-path=4688

 

 

When you check out the camera, and are using your own computer, make sure that you also check out the CD with the Kodak EasyShare software on it (if you’re using the mobile lab computers, the software will be on those computers).  You’ll need to upload the Kodak software into your computer so that you can hook up the camera to your computer.

 

For uploading photos to the Kodak EasyShare Gallery, you should get the Firefox add-on, the Firefox Companion for Kodak EasyShare Gallery. This will allow you to upload photos directly to your Gallery to create albums: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4441

 

 

The Kodak Easyshare camera comes with a 2GB card, which is a lot of memory, which means that can typically shoot for an extended period of time. The more memory on your card, the longer you can record without having to download to your computer. 

 

 

 

 

Shooting video

To shoot video, you need to select the video option and then press the Shutter button down to record; to stop recording press the Shutter button again:

 

 

Once you’ve recorded, you then have 5 seconds to decide if you want to keep the recording.

 

 

 

 

When you’re reviewing, you will see the following icons:

 

 

 

To zoom in and out, use the W and T buttons in the upper right hand corner

 

 

 

If you want to record yourself without holding the camera, you can set the self-timer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

To review your video, press the review button and the left-right buttons to locate the video you want.  Then press the down button to play the video:

 

 

 

To delete video, press the delete button.

 

To create a single print from your video, press review, then menu to find Make Picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

To edit in the camera to trim material you don’t want, go to review, then menu, then Edit Video, then Trim

 

 

For creating photos for your posts, you would obviously just use the camera as a still digital camera. 

 

 

 

Canon camcorders

 

You can also check out for a short time period (2-3 days) the Canon camcorders: the Canon Elura series & Canon ZR Series  (for downloadable copies of the manuals, go to the Library site:

http://intranet.education.umn.edu/ci/tech/equipment/default.asp

 

 

 

When you check out the camcorders, make sure that you also check out a FireWire cable for importing your video into your computer and the AC adaptor.  The camcorders are particularly useful for self-interviewing if you are moving about on a site because of the flip-out video viewer.

 

 

The Library also has Sony Cybershot DSC-P50 or DSC-P32 still cameras available that have a video component, but they have no sound recording capacity, so they won’t work for creating vlogs.  If you want to use one of your own still digital cameras, make sure that it has sound recording capabilitity.

 

Tripods

 

 

You can check out one of the 5 tripods from the Library

 

 

If possible, you may want to obtain a small, inexpensive tripod keep the camcorder steady.  Radio Shack has three tripods available for less that $10.00: http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2105764&cp=2032055.2032127

 

Microphones

 

 

You may want to have access to an external microphone for recording voice-overs directly in to the iMovie audio track.  You can check out external microphones from the Library; there is one VHF Wireless Microphone: Audio-Technica Pro 88W available and 3 PZM Microphones Crown SoundGrabber II Hemispherical Condenser Microphone. 

 

 

You may also want to obtain a microphone for your computer, for example, a headset microphone, which you can also get a Radio Shack.

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?s=A-StorePrice-RSK&x=8&y=12&f=Taxonomy%2FRSK%2F2032061&categoryId=2032061&kwCatId=2032061&kw=mics&pg=1&searchSort=TRUE&retainProdsInSession=1

 

 

 

Vlog Production 2: Part 2: Creating Blogger, Using Flick

Video files eat up a lot of space.  While you can store them on your computer, if your computer doesn’t have a lot of space, you may want to store them elsewhere.  Or, if you’re using the mobile laptops in class or in the lab, you won’t be able to store you Windows Movie Maker or iMovie files on those computers, you will then need to store your files elsewhere. You can store them on DVD discs, but you can only store them on one disc at a time.  The better option is to purchase a 2 GB USB Flash drive from the U Bookstore or Target; here’s some of the options at Target:

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re going to doing a lot of video production, you may want even more storage, so you’d want to get a portable external hard drive—which you can get for about $50.00 - $70.00.

 

You other option is to store your files on the University server—you have up to 1 GB of space.  To store files, you must move the files to your space on the server using SFTP or FTP software. For information on transferring files, go to

http://www.umn.edu/adcs/help/filetransfer.html

 

 

Creating your blog

 

You’re also going to need to set up your blog, in most cases, using Blogger.  I won’t be spending time in this tutorial on setting up your blog; here’s some useful sites on how to do so:

EdWeb

K12 Online Conference

Blogger: screencast

Blogger tutorials

Teach and Learn Online

Anne Welsh

 

 

After you set up you blog, you may also want to add JustBlogIt Firefox extension http://warmbrain.com/justblogit/

for easy right-click posting to a range of different blog platforms, including Blogger. For example, you come across interesting story or news item on the web. You may want to share the introductory section from that story (not the whole story—if it is copyrighted).  However, you don’t want to bother with opening up your blog. You can use JustBlogIt by highlighting a section of the story you want to appear on your post and then right click to post it on your blog.

 

You can also post YouTube videos directly to Blogger by going to your YouTube Settings and selecting Blogger as your option. Then, when you view any video, you will see a download option for posting to your blog.

 

 

 

Using browser add-ons to capture Web material.  You can also use an add-on to your Firefox or Internet Explorer called Yoono that allows you to “buzz” text, images, and video into a window to then send to your blog: http://www.yoono.com/releases/ff/4.0.2/

Another add-on is VideoDownloader https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2390

 

For some other blogposting tools:

EspressoBlog 2.2.3 (Mac, free) http://mac.sofotex.com/download-124947.html

Blogjet (Windows) http://www.codingrobots.com/blogjet/

Slug (Windows) http://www.3e.org/slug/

w.bloggar http://www.wbloggar.com/

 

 

 

Moblogging

 

Let’s say that you’re out and about and realize that you want to take a photo or video of something, but you don’t have your camera. You can then use your cell phone and send that photo or video to your blog—what is described as moblogging.  In Moblogging, you are posting material to your blog from a remote location.  You are sending your picture or video to an email account that then posts it to the blog. To create moblogs for Blogger, you need to set up an account at go.blogger.com: http://www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g

 

You can set up a new blog with go.blogger or use your existing Blogger account.  You can then use your email or cell phone to send your material to go@blogger.com; you also need to log in to go.blogger.com to provide them with your Blogger account information and enter the token we sent to your phone.

 

Here’s the phone services supported by go.blogger.com:

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=50153#us

 

A key question terms of submitting videos, is whether your cell-phone serve include what is known as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) to send photos and/or video to your email account (Dedman & Paul, 2006).  Sprint’s service is called PCS Vision while Verizon calls it Video & PIX Messaging. 

 

You can also email material to your blog using mail2entry

http://joi.ito.com/archives/2002/12/26/mail2entry_script_for_mt_moblog.html

 

There are also other sites for use in submitting photos, including Azure

http://web.vee.net/projects/azure/ Kablog http://www.kablog.org/ or Sharp MT (Windows)

http://www.randyrants.com/2006/08/sharp_mt_pocket.html

You can even submit from your Palm using plog http://www.dbradby.net/plog/ or Moblog: Palm http://www.moblogworld.net/twiki/bin/view/Moblog/WebHome

 

Using Flickr

 

Another strategy for importing photos to your blog involves the use of Flickr, a photo sharing site owned by Yahoo on which you can get a free account to store your photos.  You first need to set up an account with Flickr at http://flickr.com by creating an account on Yahoo.  To use Flickr for uploading your images, and how to add descriptions and the all-important tags, here’s Flickr tutorial:

http://www.flickr.com/configurator/

 

You can search for photos on Flickr according to categories or titles.  You can also search for photos using tags—which are categories assigned to images; images can have more than one tag.  To find tags, pull down the Explore menu to select popular tags; you can also find tags at http://flickr.com/photos/tags

 

One type of tags are those photos linked to a specific place, for example, Minneapolis—what is called geotagging.  For geotagging your photos with Flickr: associating them with a specific place on a world map

http://www.flickr.com/help/screencasts/vol1

 

You cannot use copyrighted images on your blog, but you can use images that have a Creative Commons copyright; to find only images with the Creative Commons copyright: http://flickr.com/creativecommons

 

Once you have set up your Flickr page, go to Your Blogs and set up a link to your blog.  You can then obtain an email address for use with your cell phone.  Add that address to your phone’s address book to send in photos to Flickr and then your blog.   

 

Vlog Production 2: Part 3: Subscribing to podcasts

Software for viewing video

 

If you don’t already have software for viewing videos installed on your own computer, you’ll need to download that software.  You should have the latest version of QuickTime, to play .mov and .mp4 files, in this case QuickTime 7 http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

 

You should then go into QuickTime Preferences to open System Preferences.  Then go to the MIME Settings to open plugin settings and, under video, check all of the options.  You will also need the latest version of Windows Media Players for playing .wmv and .wmf files.

You can also add these different software as Firefox plugins:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:7

 

RSS Feeds programs for subscribing to vlogs

 

Rather than having to go out and search for blogs or vlogs, you can subscribe to what are known as RSS feeds for subscribing to blogs and vlogs.  RSS feeds are a way to capture posts from a blog or vlogs based on your subscriptions.

 

The first thing that you need to do is to create a place to view your RSS feeds. An RSS Reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader provides you with lists of blogs or vlogs you’ve subscribed to.  Each time these readers are updated, you will get the most recent posts for these blogs.  For students in the media studies class, see the section in the Richardson book on setting up Bloglines.

 

You can download Bloglines http://www.bloglines.com or Google Reader from http://www.google.com/reader/ (you’ll need to set up an account with Google). For lists of other feedreaders and tutorials on setting up feeds:

http://digitalwriting.pbwiki.com/CreatingFeeds

 

For a screencast from Clay Burell on setting up Bloglines:

http://burell.blogspot.com/2007/02/what-heck-how-to-set-up-bloglines.html

For directions on setting up Bloglines from Learning 2.0:

http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com/2006/08/8-make-life-really-simple-with-rss.html

 

Once you have created your Bloglines or Google Reader accounts, then, you should first obtain feeds from your blog partner’s blog and other blogs in the course.  The feed for my digital writing blog is

http://teachingliterature.typepad.com/digitalwriting/rss.xml

and the feed for my teaching media blog is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Teachingmedia

 

Then, you may want to go to some of the other blogs in the blog roll and create feeds for these other blogs.  Here’s some feeds that I’d recommend:

Will Richardson’s Weblogg-ed

http://www.weblogg-ed.com/xml/rss.xml

Cool Cat Teacher Blog

http://feeds.feedburner.com/CoolCatTeacherBlog

Edublogs

http://feeds.feedburner.com/edublogs

Todd Finley (a former student): English Education Professor

http://www.eeprof.com/blog/?feed=rss2

David Warlick: 2 cents

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/feed/

Teachers Teaching Teachers: National Writing Project teachers

http://teachersteachingteachers.org/?feed=rss2

Bud the Teacher

http://feeds.feedburner.com/BudTheTeacher

Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning

http://feeds.feedburner.com/SpotlightOnDigitalMediaAndLearning_Identity

Steve Hargadon

http://feeds.feedburner.com/SteveHargadon

Troy Hicks, Digital Writing, Digital Teaching

http://hickstro.org/?feed=rss2

 

As mentioned in the last module, there are also RSS readers specific for vlogs that allow to view videos on their sites, as well as download videos for viewing on your video iPod or iPhone.  As described in your book on pages 19-33, the major vlog RSS readers or aggregators are Mefeedia http://mefeedia.com, FireAnt http://fireant.tv and iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes

 

Subscribing to podcasts

 

You may also want to also subscribe to some podcasts associated with digital writing or media such as those listed on the digitalwriting wiki in http://digitalwriting.pbwiki.com/Educator+and+classroom+podcasts

You can also subscribe to podcasts using iTunes, Podcast http://www.podcast.net or Podcastalley http://www.podcastalley.com

 

For example, for those of you interested in teaching writing, I recommend the Teachers Teaching Teachers podcast, featuring teachers associated with National Writing Project sites discussing uses of technology in teaching K-12 writing: http://teachersteachingteachers.org/

 

For those of you interested in use of technology tools in general, The Tech Teachers http://thetechteachers.blogspot.com/

Or, if you’re interested in issues related to academic uses of instructional technology, you could subscribe to Digital Campus http://digitalcampus.tv/

 

 

Vlog Production 2: Part 4: Recording, Editing, and Storing Video

Software for editing your video

 

I now turn to some of the software you’re going to need for editing your videos: iMovie and Windows Movie Maker; you will need to download one of these programs.

 

Here’s an introductory tutorial from Freevlog on the software you’ll need for editing/compressing vlogs.

http://www.freevlog.org/index.php/category/tutorial/

 

One advantage of using iMovie with Macs with iSight webcams is that you can record your video right into iMovie. When you open up iMovie, you just set video (the icon with a camera) instead of edit.  You can also use iChat AV to conduct online videoconferences with people to then include in your video.

 

One advantage of using iMovie with Macs with iSight webcams is that you can record your video right into iMovie. When you open up iMovie, you just set video (the icon with a camera) instead of edit.  You can also use iChat AV to conduct online videoconferences with people to then include in your video.

 

Once you load your video into a computer, you will then want to edit the video to add titles, transitions, or music, as well as cut out unnecessary material.  However, since you’re not making a sophisticated movie, you may only need to do a minimum of editing, or, in some cases, no editing.

 

 

 

Once you’re done editing, you then need to save your project.  You will then go to File and select Export to compress your file in iMovie.  It’s important that you select “Expert Setting”—the last option and not the other options.  You should then see the following screen—so you can save your file as a Quicktime file to the desktop to upload to Media Mill or to your computer or flash drive.

 

 

 

You can also use Windows Movie Maker—the software in the 355 and 325 Peik PC computer lab, that does many of the same things as iMovie. When you start up WMM, you need to turn on the webcam on the top of the screen so that you should then see yourself on the screen.  You can then record your video and then edit it using WMM by dragging clips into the strip along the bottom.  You can then save it and upload it to Media Mill for storage and compression (leave some time for this—longer files may take a good while).  You can also save it on your 2 GB flash drive—may sure that you create two folders to save the file—a project file and storage file.  You can obtain help on doing this from the lab assistant—on Thursday morning, the assistant is Yang Lin.

 

I’ll be discussing use of iMovie and Movie Maker for editing your video in the fourth module on editing your video.

 

Uploading your video to your blog

 

In the 4th module, I’ll be discussing how you will be storing and compressing down your video to add to your blog.   Blogger has a new feature that allows you to simply simply post your video directly into your blog--select the upload video option next to the upload image option.

 

 

 

 

Using YouTube

 

One option that involves wider distribution of your video is to store your video on YouTube and then post the YouTube URL into your blog (you have a limit of 10 minutes or 100 MB for any video on YouTube). To do so, you’ll also going to need to set up an account with YouTube http://www.youtube.com. You could also use Google Video http://video.google.com, Mefeedia http://mefeedia.com

or Blip TV http://blip.tv/file/post/ or any of the other sites discussed in the Secrets of Videoblogging book.

 

 

When you’re viewing videos, note the different options for saving to favorites, adding to groups, sharing the video via email, or posting a video to your blog.

 

You register by going to the Member Login box and the sign up link. After you have subscribed, you then want to for configure YouTube for posting to your blog.  You should go to the My Account link and then to the Account Settings.  Then click on Video Posting Settings and then Add Blog/Site.

 

Then, click on Blogger and enter into Blogger user name and password. and Click on Add Blog.

 

 

You can then post your own or any other non-copyrighted video to your blog.  Once you select a video, if you’ve registered for a blog link, underneath the video, you should see a Post Video option.  When you click on Post Video, you then see a box with your blog.  Add a title for your post and add text you want to describe the video.  Then click on on Post to Blog.

 

 

You can also also add videos to blogs, wikis, or websites by copy and pasting the code in the “Embed” box.  For example, in PBwiki, when you click on Plugins, select the YouTube option.  Then, copy and paste the code into the pop-up box.

 

 

You can also use YouTube to record your video on a webcam directly into YouTube using the YouTube Quick Capture.  You need to go to “Upload videos” and provide information about your video.  You then select “Use Quick Capture” and then click “Record.”  You video will then be stored on YouTube.  You can then copy the “embed” code to your blog or post directly into Blogger.

 

 

If you’re going to be creating a series of videos, you can created you own Channel or personal profile on YouTube that itself can serve as a vlog.  Explore others’ Channels by clicking a person’s name; you can then subscribe to that person’s channel.  You can personalize your channel page in your My Account page.

 

You can also use YouTube to create a vlog (Miller, 2007).  click on Playlists in My box, the select a playlist or create a new playlist to create a vlog.  Then click on the Set as Vlog button—your vlog then is on your channel profile page as a series of your videos.

 

 

You can also use YouTube as a teaching tool (although many districts block access to it).  To become familiar with YouTube, explore the different tabs for browsing videos: videos, categories, channels, and community.  Note also that, as in Flickr, you can tag videos to store in My Favorites—here’s where you can keep videos for use in teaching.

 

Uploading your video to your blog using Media Mill

 

So where will you be able to store your big files other than on your computer or 2GB flash drive?  You’re be storing and compressing your files on the University’s Media Mill, something that I’ll be discussing in the 4th video on editing your videos.

 

Once you've completed editing on iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, you'll export or share your file using the "Quality" option to Media Mill.  The limitation is that it takes a long time to upload files in the "Quality" option from home--several hours for a large file, so you need to set aside some time to do this.  (There's other faster storage options, including storing files on YouTube--but you're limited to 100 MB files).

 

In the 4th module, I’ll be discussing how you will be storing and compressing down your video on the University’s Media Mill site to add to your blog.   

 

 

For a description and tutorial on Media Mill:

https://mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/embed.php?media_id=2451&live=true

 

When you log onto Media Mill you will select either Mac or PC and then create a little mill icon that will go on your desktop.

 

                                       

 

 

You then go to “upload videos” on Media Mill and you’ll be given a user name (a number) and password.  You’ll then add that information and drag

your file into the Files box and then click on upload.

 

                                                       

 

Remember, you need to allow for a good period of time for this upload: for a 150 MB file, from your home computer, it may take about 30-40 minutes.

 

Once you store and compress your videos on Media Mill, you then click on the little round icon to create “Derivatives”—in this case, you select Quicktime 7: small (refresh your computer to move this process along).  This will then create both a much compressed Quicktime file (about a tenth the size of your original file) to upload to your blog or YouTube as well as a file with HTML code to cut and paste to your blog or YouTube. To do so on Blogger:

“When you go to the Blogger post editor, you'll see a new button () next to the image uploading one. Just select a video from your computer, wait a few minutes for the upload and processing to occur, and voila! Now when you visit your blog, you will see something like this (of course without Tomo, the Blogger Akita)”

http://buzz.blogger.com/2007/08/3-2-1-action.html

Once you store and compress your videos on Media Mill, you can then embed html code in your blog or upload the video to Blogger:

“When you go to the Blogger post editor, you'll see a new button () next to the image uploading one. Just select a video from your computer, wait a few minutes for the upload and processing to occur, and voila! Now when you visit your blog, you will see something like this (of course without Tomo, the Blogger Akita)”

http://buzz.blogger.com/2007/08/3-2-1-action.html