Movies

toc =Instructional Videos= Instructional videos on "how to do" a task have been shown to be very beneficial for students; because it means that they can do the skill while referring back to the video, pausing when necessary and watching as many times as required. Students can then watch these videos on mobile devices like PDA, video ipod or you can use them in class.

=Recording the Video= There are a range of different ways you can create your videos however the most common are video record the task being done using:
 * 1) Digital camera
 * 2) Digital Video Camera (Camcorder)
 * 3) Spyglasses

Then transfer the video onto the computer. How you do this will depend on which recording device you have used. Back

Digital Camera
My Canon PowerShot A85 records video in .avi format. You transfer the file to your computer by connecting camera using mini-USB cable. Locate file using Windows Explorer. Then copy and paste videos into My Videos (in My Documents). You use the same procedure for spyglasses.

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Digital Video Camera
i.e. Digital camcorders Keeping it simple there are three kinds of digitial video camera and the distinction is how they capture the video image:
 * 1) Mini DV (which is a mini tape - tape can hold about 45 minutes of video footage)
 * 2) DVD - records directly onto a DVD disc
 * 3) HDD (Hard Disk Drive)



From my experience if you want to edit on a PC with Movie Maker the mini-DV digital video camera are a lot easier than both DVD and HDD. With a mini-DV digital video camera you can capture the video footage directly in Movie Maker. With the other types of digital video camera you are more likely to have to install the software that comes with the digital video camera which is an issue if you are trying to keep the whole process simple. (NOTE: the software that comes with these devices normally has editing functions it is just that we use Movie Maker for a range of applications so it makes it easier to stick with using just Movie Maker). Back

Panasonic NV-GS27
Click on link if you prefer to download instructions. Panasonic NV-GS27 digital video camera is a mini-dv digital video camera so you record the video footage, then connect to computer using a mini USB cable. Switch digital video camera on and onto playback mode.Open up Movie Maker and follow instructions below to capture video from device to transfer the video footage from the digital video camera onto the PC.



Click on your device (refer to diagram below). My digital video camera will not show if it is no switched on. Then click next and name your video (this is the name of the video you are recording by capturing footage from your device which will be a different name from your final video podcast). Now click next and then keep on Best Quality for play back on computer.



Start your video device playing and then click on capture. You should see the video playing in the preview screen. When you have finished click on stop capture and then finish. Do not worry if you have stopped to late or started too early because you edit this when you using Movie Maker. When you click on stock capture and then finish, it will break your video footage into clips (small sections - you will need to drag each section onto your timeline to have the entire footage).

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JVC Everio GZ-MG26AA
Click on link if you prefer to download instructions. With the digital video cameras in the College Learning Resource Centre's JVC Everio 20 GB Hard Dick Drive digital video camera (GZ-MG26AA) you will need to install the PowerDirector Express from the disc that is in the box with the digital video camera. Then you copy the video onto the computer using the mini USB cable (Frances, has a similar model of JVC digital video camera and all she has to do is change the file extension from .mob to .mpg). However this is not working with this digital video camera. To edit with Movie Maker you will need to:


 * 1) Open up PowerDirector Express, convert video to .avi format (follow diagrams below)
 * 2) Open up Movie Maker, import .avi video and edit in Movie Maker.



Back =Editing using Movie Maker= Ideally it is best to edit with Movie Maker to improve quality.

For online information go to how to use Movie Maker 2 to create videos or click here to download instructions.

Back =Playing Movies on PDAs= The problem with Windows Media Player when you play movies using it on a PDA is if you do not shut it down properly it will continue to play in the background. Instead I recommend that you install [|TCPMP] - this is one of the best available audio/video player and it is free! I have a range of videos of parasites that I like to show my students that they can now view using this program on a PDA. Definitely for me "a must have" program. Once you install you will need to go into the Option Settings for TCPMP and change File Associations to include Windows Media Video files (i.e. wma and wmv files).

Back =Accessing Resources easily on PDAs= It is much better to set up resources so that students can access them directly from your front screen. I use [|cLaunch] - This allows means access my programs and files directly from the today screen rather than searching through the start menu. This means I can tap on an icon rather than searching through the start menu for what I want to access.

Once you have installed cLaunch you need to display it on the Today screen via 'Settings'>'Today' icon>'Items' tab>then clear the ticks from all items except claunch.