Are your students using iPads or iPhones?

If they are, then they won't be able to access a lot of flash movies online. This should be a consideration as you decide which platform/s will host your class's work.

Fortunately, HTML5 is accessible on multiple platforms. And developers are adding functions to it every day. Take Mozilla, for example:

"Video on the web has always been a bit disappointing.

After all, it’s pretty much just like television, only smaller. And unlike the rest of the web, video is just as much a passive experience in your browser as it is anywhere else.

Mozilla would like to change that. Developers at the browser maker’s Drumbeat project — an initiative that advocates new open web technologies — have created Popcorn, a tool intended to make web video every bit as interactive as the rest of the web.

Popcorn is a very new effort and still a bit rough around the edges, but results are already impressive. Popcorn adds metadata to HTML5 native web video, annotating videos with information like location, details about the people and topics in the video, subtitles, and licensing details. The metadata can be used in real time to add to the experience."

More info here at Webmonkey.

In a New Dork State of Mind

Learning Film Making Online

Courtesy of Ken Radio
Great site that provide a real-world education of the complex world of motion picture production through a series of easy-to-understand, yet comprehensive videos, workbooks and resources. By partnering with industry leaders in the creative and technological fields, we strive to teach real, cutting edge techniques to filmmakers around the globe. We also seek to build an online community of filmmakers to help forge long-term connection between filmmakers from all disciplines.
http://www.powerfilmmaking.com

Social Networking in the Classroom?

For most Teachers/Schools, Social Networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Imeem are not allowed. But that may change soon. Recent research has been showing both the benefits of online connections and which fears have been misdirected. (Turns out bullying may be a much bigger problem than solicitation of minors.)

No matter whether I'm teaching computer programming or digital editing, I try to find a way to work in a conversation or two about how the youth/students are using social networking - and strategies for using it responsibly. Personally, I think it should be a standard part of every school's curriculum. Here's a great guide from the FTC that can be easily adapted for the classroom: Social Networking Sites: A Parent’s Guide

Exploring these issues can also make an excellent video or multimedia project.

Keeping up with the trends...

10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2009 - ReadWriteWeb: "'Social media' was the term du jour in 2008. Consumers, companies, and marketers were all talking about it. We have social media gurus, social media startups, social media books, and social media firms. It is now common practice among corporations to hire social media strategists, assign community managers, and launch social media campaigns, all designed to tap into the power of social media.

But social media today is a pure mess: it has become a collection of countless features, tools, and applications fighting for a piece of the pie."

The Digital Future Looks Bright

LAFD's One-Man Geek Squad Brings Web 2.0 to Firefighting: "Firefighters are known for their bravery (and their popularity with the ladies). But geek cred? Not so much. Brian Humphrey is trying to change that. From a decommissioned bomb shelter four stories beneath Los Angeles City Hall, this 23-year veteran is single-handedly hauling the city's fire department into the Web 2.0 era. He has about 80 projects in the works—involving everything from Twitter to BlogTalkRadio—that will not only help broadcast urgent information to the public but also gather crucial intel to assist first responders on the ground."