What a wide range of cool video subjects! I was impressed with all the class videos. I especially enjoyed the instructional videos that made ordinary tasks (chopping an onion, etc) seem funny. Heather’s video on Strong Female Characters for Girls rocks!
Having been at the mall one too many times in October (due to the mass amount of people with November birthdays in my family) I echo Amy’s sentiment that stores decorate TOO early for the Christmas holiday. Seriously, folks, Christmas decorations in October?? I don’t even know what we’re doing for Thanksgiving yet!
If you haven’t checked it out yet, watch it here.
Also, Tom’s video of his harmonica talents is very good. He gets major kudos from me for actually being brave enough to film himself with more than his hands showing!
Watch Tom’s musical talents here.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Around the house
Addicted to the Net
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Do educational videos stand a chance?
As time goes by, I think the line between what defines an educational and entertainment video is being more and more blurred. I never cease to be amazed at the creative ways people find to present educational topics in funny or entertaining ways. Overall, I think the quality of educational videos has improved since I was in, say, grade school, especially those that discuss sensitive topics.
One recent example of this I can give is in my workplace. I was asked to join a team of co-workers tasked with purchasing a set of training videos for employees. After watching more videos than I care to remember, we got down to being split between two routes - one set was more straight forward but kind of dull (educational) while the other option was more interactive (entertaining) and tried to include humor and real-life scenarios. In the end, we bought both sets of videos. We plan to show the educational videos that present the material in a lecture-type style to our technical employees who generally come from scientific/academic backgrounds. On the other hand, we plan to show the more entertaining videos to our sales team because we think the presentation of the material speaks better to their talents and learning styles.
In general, I think there will continue to be a market for both educational and entertainment videos. It depends on the topic, the audience, and the needs of the viewer/organization.
One recent example of this I can give is in my workplace. I was asked to join a team of co-workers tasked with purchasing a set of training videos for employees. After watching more videos than I care to remember, we got down to being split between two routes - one set was more straight forward but kind of dull (educational) while the other option was more interactive (entertaining) and tried to include humor and real-life scenarios. In the end, we bought both sets of videos. We plan to show the educational videos that present the material in a lecture-type style to our technical employees who generally come from scientific/academic backgrounds. On the other hand, we plan to show the more entertaining videos to our sales team because we think the presentation of the material speaks better to their talents and learning styles.
In general, I think there will continue to be a market for both educational and entertainment videos. It depends on the topic, the audience, and the needs of the viewer/organization.
"Great minds think alike."
Here are some things we as classmates have in common:
Enjoyment and appreciation of family, pets and homes/home life
Love of travel…and great scenery shots to prove it!
A lot of us travel on the same roads – and most of us hate Rt 18 – me included!
We need our favorite beverages to keep us going!
When on campus, we visit some of the same places, study areas and eateries
We have lots of similar textbooks and tech gadgets (go figure?!)
Here are some differences:
We have a wide array of hobbies, education and work backgrounds
Being an on-campus or online student makes a big difference in the SCILS experience and changes the "tools" you need
We all have our own unique places and methods of studying
Enjoyment and appreciation of family, pets and homes/home life
Love of travel…and great scenery shots to prove it!
A lot of us travel on the same roads – and most of us hate Rt 18 – me included!
We need our favorite beverages to keep us going!
When on campus, we visit some of the same places, study areas and eateries
We have lots of similar textbooks and tech gadgets (go figure?!)
Here are some differences:
We have a wide array of hobbies, education and work backgrounds
Being an on-campus or online student makes a big difference in the SCILS experience and changes the "tools" you need
We all have our own unique places and methods of studying
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Nikki and Tim
I’ve noticed most people enjoy romantic stories so I thought it would be fun to tell you the story of how my cousin Nikki met her husband Tim. This story takes place around the summer of 2000 in northern New Jersey
Or, visit my story about Nikki and Tim here.
My cousin Nikki had just ended a relationship with a semi-loser (in other words, one of those bad boy types everyone kept telling her was bad news but she just couldn't - or wouldn't - see it). She just didn’t get it until he emptied a bank account, ran up her credit cards and rear-ended another driver with her beloved Toyota Camry. Shortly after the break-up...
Or, visit my story about Nikki and Tim here.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Another entry in my book of low-tech comparisons...
Unlike most of my other posts where I say all programs are basically the same, I think podcasts and text based blogging are fundamentally different. The one core similarity is they’re both ways to put together a unique, self-published message that can reach others via new media. Both can be subscribed to or accessed in a variety of ways. There are pros and cons of both and the choice to use one or the other really depends on the type of project. Here are a few points from my less than tech savvy perspective:
Podcasts…
can be fun to record (once I got the hang of it!) because you can use the inflection in your voice to help convey the tone of the message…this is a major plus for something like this week’s assignment of storytelling…but it IS really strange to listen to your own voice ;-)
can communicate information in an alternative way to those who may have physical impairments (loss of vision)
can be accessed anywhere or when you’re on the road/commuting via downloading to a portable device
have essentially no way (that I know of!) for a listener to comment on podcasts but can be interactive in other ways like recording a responsive message
Text based blogging…
can add other elements like pictures or video to the post
has text content that can be skimmed over to find needed info
can have their content indexed so they can be found using search engines
can be easier to learn for a newbie like me…getting the podcast to actually record and work was a bit challenging for me!!
Podcasts…
can be fun to record (once I got the hang of it!) because you can use the inflection in your voice to help convey the tone of the message…this is a major plus for something like this week’s assignment of storytelling…but it IS really strange to listen to your own voice ;-)
can communicate information in an alternative way to those who may have physical impairments (loss of vision)
can be accessed anywhere or when you’re on the road/commuting via downloading to a portable device
have essentially no way (that I know of!) for a listener to comment on podcasts but can be interactive in other ways like recording a responsive message
Text based blogging…
can add other elements like pictures or video to the post
has text content that can be skimmed over to find needed info
can have their content indexed so they can be found using search engines
can be easier to learn for a newbie like me…getting the podcast to actually record and work was a bit challenging for me!!
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