Hi Steve,

I should have known that you would complicate things with a Mac solution.  :^)

But I guess I'm really just exposing my Mac ignorance and will have to admit
that this process sounds much easier in Mac World.

We have used a Windows-based program called "Camtasia" to produce video
tutorials for Delaware adult learners.  It's owned by TechSmith (techsmith.com)
and available online at the educator price of $149.  Camtasia functions in the
same way described below.  Everything that happens on your computer screen is
captured to a file and then output to various video formats:  AVI, QuickTime,
Windows Media, Flash, Animated Gif, or a self-contained executable file.  Add a
microphone and you can narrate your tutorial.  After the initial screen and
voice recording is made, you can return to the editing tools to make changes to
either the video or the audio.

Using Camtasia is really simple.  After opening the program and clicking the
"Record" button, you only have to worry about the area of the screen that you
want to record:  a region, a specific window, or the entire screen.  Choose
whether you want to include audio and you're ready to record.  The start and
stop buttons are the standard "VCR" controls.

After using other kinds of software to create tutorials and presentations, I'll
have to say that this is best that I've found.  Quick and easy.  If you know
what you're going to say and what you want people to see, you should be able to
complete a ten minute finished product in about eleven minutes.

David C.

-----Original Message-----
From: technology-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:technology-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
Of Steve Linberg
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 11:25 AM
To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Technology] New and emerging technologies: what shouldwebelooking
at, discussing?


On Mar 1, 2006, at 10:46 AM, David Collings wrote:


> The simplest method for attacking both of these problems may be the 

> digital-to-analog video converter.  These have been around for many 

> years and are available at most computer supply stores.  The cost runs 

> between $50 and

> $200, depending on the features.  Fancy units can be over $1,000.   

> After

> connecting one of these units to your computer, the other end of the 

> cable can be connected to a VCR.  This would allow taping of anything 

> that happens on the computer.  This would include browsing the Web as 

> well as demonstrations of word processing and other software.

>

> Does anyone have an easier or less expensive method for doing this?


On Mac OSX, there are a variety of ways to capture activity on the screen (web
browsing, using applications, or anything else) and send it to movie format
(such as QuickTime, and with the addition of an audio layer for narration or
other purposes).  The iLife suite that comes on all new macs (and is available
for purchase for older
machines) includes iMovie and iDVD, which make creating pretty snazzy movies and
DVDs really, really simple.  Snapz Pro is one example of an application that can
do very sophisticated recording of desktop work with powerful output options,
and the results are usually better than videotaping and converting a computer
session, since it's digital all the way through and the compression is much more
efficient.

Also, the new "MacBook" intel-based Mac laptops have digital videocameras built
into the screen, to facilitate videoconferencing and simple recording.  They're
tiny cameras mounted above the screen, so they aren't really suitable for
filming classrooms and so forth, but for "sitting in front of the computer"
stuff, like interjecting some narration or commentary into a recorded session,
they're fine.

I know that Windows still dominates in most arenas, so this may be of limited
use to a lot of you, but it's worth keeping on the radar, and any programs with
Macs or access to Macs might have a lot more tools for working with video than
they realize.  On a side note, if the new Intel-based macs are able to run
Windows natively at some point soon, as many rumors hold, that might make them
more usable for programs with big investments in Windows software that they
don't want to lose.

Digital-to-analog converters are great for converting analog formats (notably
videotape) to digital, for encoding for DVD or internet.  I have a Canopus
ADVC-100, which I bought a few years ago for about $300, and I'm using it
(slowly) to convert my old videotapes to digital formats (so I can throw them
away).  Most of them have RCA/ svideo inputs and firewire outputs - some newer
ones probably use
usb2 and maybe even firewire 800, I'm a little out of date on them - and hook
right up to your PC.  Again, on the Mac side, you can pull the video straight in
with iMovie and edit it from there... an afternoon of practice will get you up
and running surprisingly well.

On the Windows side, I'm not as up on what's out there, but I'd assume there are
equivalents.

--
Steve Linberg, Chief Goblin
Silicon Goblin Technologies
http://silicongoblin.com
Be kind.  Remember, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.