Class Two: Wednesday, January 29, 2009


Class Two Topics

Review Assignments from Class One

We will spend some time reviewing the Class One assignment in which students were asked to find and download an educational video clip.

Digital Video File Formats

There are several file types you will encounter when searching for video clips on the web. What program was used to create the video, how it will be displayed and several other factors (that we will discuss during the semester), will determine whether you will be able to download the video. 
 

File type (format) File extension  Characteristics
Windows Video .avi older video format for PCs, good quality, large file size
Windows Media Video .wmv
.asf		 more recent video format for PCs, significantly better compression, good quality, smaller files
QuickTime .mov
.qt (Mac)		 default video format for Mac, good quality, large files, should play on both PCs and Macs
MPEG .mpg
.mpeg (Mac)		 another common digital video format, versatile cross-platform ability, good compression, good quality, moderate file size; however there are a number of different versions of mpeg, with different uses
Real Media .rm a popular streaming audio and video format designed to play over the Internet, but not to be downloaded

 

Free Digital Video Players - Software Required for Playing Videos Not Embedded in Web Pages

 Players

Operating System

File Formats Supported

Windows Media Player

Windows

.avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mov, .mp4, .flv

QuickTime Player

Mac & Windows

.mov, .qt, .mp4

VLC Media Player

Mac & Windows

.avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mov, .mp4, .flv

ALShow

Windows

.avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mov, .mp4, .flv

Real Player

Mac & Windows

.rm, avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mov, .mp4, .flv

FLV Player

Mac & Windows

.flv, .swf

 

Other Options for Saving Video from the Web

RealPlayer version 11 for Windows or Mac can be downloaded for free from http://www.real.com/ and includes a Web browser download button that allows users to download video clips directly from Web pages.


The Apple QuickTime Player available for free from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ does not include a Save option, but the Pro version which can be purchased from Apple does allow you to save video clips in the QuickTime format.
 

Inserting a Video Clip into PowerPoint

There's nothing too complicated about the traditional process of adding video clips to PowerPoint slides. To add a video clip you have found or created, follow the steps shown below:

PowerPoint 2003:


PowerPoint 2007:




 

The method for embedding a Windows Media Player in the middle of a PowerPoint screen is described at the following sites:

PowerPoint 2003
http://www.cuttingedgeppt.com/video_objects/index.html


PowerPoint 2007
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7103195/Embedding-Media-Into-Power-Point-2007

PowerPoint 2007
Windows Vista
http://www.informit.com/guides/content.aspx?g=msoffice&seqNum=282



 

Inserting a Video Clip into Web Pages

Using Macromedia Dreamweaver

Locate the video file you want to insert into a web page and place it in a folder so that it will be easy to find. Important note: The video must be in the .FLV (Flash Video) format.

When you have the video ready, launch DW and select HTML, to create a new HTML page.


 


Go to the Insert Menu, scroll down to Media and then select Flash Video.


 

You should then see a dialog box indicating that you need to save the file before the video can be inserted. Save the file in the same folder where your video file is located.





Browse to the location where the video file is located.




At this point, you can determine what type of video controller you want to be used to play the video. Note that there is a pull-down menu of choices for the type of "skin" you want to use.






In this example, the Halo Skin 3 is selected.






You will next need to indicate the width and height of the video. This will determine the size of the video when it is shown in a webpage. I recommend clicking on the Detect Size button, which should be able to fill in the actual width and height of the original video. If you want, you may change these settings so that a smaller version will play.


 

 

When the size settings have been made, the video will appear in the Dreamweaver window as a black box.




Save the file and go to the folder where you saved the HTML file and you should now be able to open it in a web browser where the video file can be played.

The last step is to upload all of the files in the folder to a web server so that the page and the video can be shared over the web.

 

Inserting a Video Clip into a Blog Posting with Blogger

One easy way for sharing videos online is through a blog. You can use Blogger (which is now owned by Google) to set up a free personal blog that allows you to include video clips

Setting up a personal blog is a fairly easy as described below.

To begin the process, you can go https://www.blogger.com/start and click on the Create Your Blog Now link.


Below are links to a video (they are the same, just 2 different video formats) that describes how to set up a blog in Blogger.

Setting Up A Blog in Blogger
http://www.rpgmp3.com/work/blogger_account.flv 
http://www.rpgmp3.com/work/blogger_account.wmv

Here is a video that discusses how to post comments to a blog in Blogger.

Posting To A Blog in Blogger
http://www.rpgmp3.com/work/blogger_posting.flv 
http://www.rpgmp3.com/work/blogger_posting.wmv 
 

 When you have a video file to upload, go to your personal blog and make a new post, Then you can add the video by clicking on Blogger's Add Video button as shown below. 



This will bring up a dialogue box where you should click on Choose file button to select the video file you want to upload. 



You will then need to give the video a title such as "BRobin-Assignment4.wmv" and agree to the upload conditions. 

When the upload begins, a video player with the orange and white Blogger log in the middle will appear in your blog window and you will notice the words "Processing Video" at the bottom of the window. It may take several minutes for the video to upload completely, depending on how large the file is.




After the video has successfully been uploaded, the video player should have a play button (a white arrow) in the middle, indicating that the video can be played. You can click this button to make sure the video plays properly, and if it does, you should click the Publish Post button to complete the process.




Your video should then be viewable in your blog, as shown in the example below.



For more information about uploading video with Blogger, go to:

How do I post a video to my blog?
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=67428 


 If you want to, you may also upload your video to any online site where it will be accessible electronically. If you don't already have an online location, you can upload your file to YouTube or Google's free Picasa Web Albums (where you get 1 GB of space).  

A tutorial on uploading your video to YouTube and embedding the link in your blog is located at:
http://courses.coe.uh.edu/brobin/resources/upload-videos/upload-videos.htm

Class Two Assignments

Reading Assignments:

Course Discussion Blog Assignment 2:

For this week's assignment, select and use at least one of the three methods of inserting video we discussed in this week's class:

1) adding video to PowerPoint using an embedded player with controls

2) adding a video with controls to a web page

3) adding a video clip in a blog posting (other than the course discussion blog)

Please try to use an educationally-meaningful video clip when completing the assignment and when you have done so, go to the Course Discussion Blog and post a comment under the Discussion Assignment Two in which you discuss which of the methods you selected and how it worked.

If you chose to add a video to PowerPoint using an embedded player with controls, please bring both the PowerPoint file and the video file with you to next week's class. If you selected one of the other two methods, please include the link to the web page or blog posting so that it can be viewed by others.