(video link here)

Open Quicktime and go to File > New Screen Recording and use the pulldown menu (the little arrow) to select your settings and save destination.

You may also send your screencast to YouTube by going to Share > YouTube…

Start making those tutorials by recording what happens on your video screen! Don’t have Quicktime X? Try these other options for screen recording and capturing.

Improve Your Browsing Sessions with SuggestRSS (via WebAppStorm)

More Challenges with Wikis: 4 ways to move students from passive to active (via The Journal)

Have a look at Matthew Needleman’s Video In The Classroom (Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Grades and Beyond) site to view student films, film techniques, tutorials, tips and rubrics.

A Missing Piece in the Economic Stimulus: Hobbling Arts Hobbles Innovation - an excellent article on why art education matters and how it leads to innovations in other areas. (from Psychology Today via Journeys in Art)

The 3 Best Sites To Read Manga Online (via Daniel Pink on Twitter)

Photos should be resized and then inserted into a document. This may be easily done within iPhoto itself. Using Jing, our tech director created a video tutorial demonstrating how to do this. You may view this quick PD session here.

In related news, check out Go2Convert.

Go2Convert is a set of free web based tools that allow you to convert and resize a picture without having to install any software on your computer. It supports over 100 major image formats. Once you convert or resize an image, you can choose to copy the image’s URL or download it directly to your computer. (via SmashingApps)

Scroll half way down the page here to view other resources for Photo Imaging.

What’s Inside the PDF:
1. Break the Digital Ice
2. Find Your Classroom Experts
3. Get Off to a Good Start
4. Think Globally
5. Find What You Need
6. Make Meaning from Word Clouds
7. Work Better, Together
8. Open a Back Channel
9. Make It Visual
10. Use the Buddy System

(thanks once again to Shane M. for the tip)

So, which one to recommend? Personally, I prefer Animoto, especially if you have access to the Educator’s Pass. Otherwise, you could pay for the video upgrade or settle with the 30 second video. Animoto looks flash, professional, modern and the transitions are synced to the music. You are able to highlight certain photos too. You can do this with the other two, but you would have to play with the transition times to do this. Animoto has a simple click option. The DVD quality upgrade costs five (US) dollars per flick.

UPDATE: As of today (what a coincidence), Animoto has announced that you can add video clips to your Animoto videos! Watch a few sample videos and find out more here. You can upload clips from your camera or phone, or use some from their collection (from iStockphoto and Getty Images). You can choose highlights of up to 10 seconds each, though they recommend using only 3-5 seconds as that works best within the flow of an Animoto video. (I’ll update it on the chart later as the file is on another computer)

Stupeflix, though in beta mode, does not store your video. It only hosts it for a month, allowing you and viewers to download it. This may be a good option for those teachers willing to share videos with parents, but unwilling to post them to YouTube etc. (It would also save time of burning it to disc.) Therefore, it also does not allow embedding. You would have to download the video and then upload it to a sharing site. Stupeflix states you may also upload video, but when I tried, I was not permitted. I even converted the file (more investigation needed on this). I didn’t really like the black background at times and some of the cropping of the shots.

Photopeach does not allow downloading. It only hosts. It was rather fast and simple to use though. If you could download it, it may have stretched to number one. One option I did find interesting was the “Spiral View.” When you create a slideshow, you may switch between the two modes for viewing. It also has a quiz option that teachers may find useful. I did prefer the larger display area for photos.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

UPDATE 2: I have updated the change in the chart to the Animoto category regarding uploading video.

However, everyone has different tastes. You may view the three examples below. Which do you prefer? I’ll give my breakdown and verdict tomorrow. Do you know of any other alternatives? If so, please let me know.

Example 1: Animoto

Example 2: PhotoPeach
Eastern Canada Trip 2009 on PhotoPeach

Example 3: Stupeflix (Note: Stupeflix only holds the video for 1 month. I  downloaded it and then uploaded it to Vimeo.)

Eastern Canada 2009 from FNC videos on Vimeo.

Google Web Search – Classroom Lessons and Resources

Web search can be a remarkable research tool for students – and we’ve heard from educators that they could use some help to teach better search skills in their classroom.

The following Search Education lessons were developed by Google Certified Teachers to help you do just that. The lessons are short, modular and not specific to any discipline so you can mix and match to what best fits the needs of your classroom. Additionally, all lessons come with a companion set of slides (and some with additional resources) to help you guide your in-class discussions.

I also have a previous post on search tips on video here.

Google is the most powerful search engine available, but when it comes to searching for something specific, Google may churn out general results for some. For instance, a search for a song in Google may return the singer, the lyrics and even fan sites – depending on the keywords you entered.

This is when niche-specific search engines comes into the picture. These search engines allows you to search for the things you’re looking for, and because they are more focused, their results tend to be more accurate.

E-books & PDF files, audio & music, videos, etc. are probably the most commonly searched items everyday and with this list, you’ll be able to locate them easily from now on. Enjoy!

(Click the above link)

video link here