EDTECH 513: Hardware/Software...

(Our department recommends you purchase the "Design Premium" CS4 suite, which will save you some money over purchasing individual software packages, especially if you will be taking other courses from us: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/design/)

Dreamweaver CS4 (earlier versions okay)

($$, included in the Adobe CS4 Design Premium package)

You can use earlier versions of Dreamweaver

KompoZer

Image Editing Software

Adobe Fireworks

($$, included in the Adobe CS4 Design Premium package)

GIMP

Free and open-source image editing software. A great value.

Adobe Fireworks

($$, included in the Adobe CS4 Design Premium package)

GIMP

Free and open-source image editing software. A great value.

GIMP

Part of the Ubuntu program package, so no need to install this excellent image-editing program.

Podcast Aggregators

iTunes (free download)
Google Reader (part of Google Apps at Boise State)

iTunes (free download)
Google Reader

Google Reader

Bloglines

Podcasting Resources

Blogger
Use Blogger to create RSS feeds for podcasts. Simple and easy to use.

Feedburner
A podcast resource that also creates RSS feeds for podcasts

Free Flash Player

Get Flash Player

Use Automatix (installer) to install codecs & plugins to Firefox

Digital Audio Recording Software

Audacity (Free and Open-source)

Audacity

GarageBand (included in Apple OS)

Audacity

Audio/Video recording and Encoder

QuickTime Pro ($$)

Capturing/

Editing Video

Windows Movie Maker (included in OS)

iMovie (included in OS)

Avidemux

Publishing Videos Online

YouTube
Probably the best-known but sometimes most over-used resource

TeacherTube
More for educators, with more controlled content

blip.tv
An excellent online resource (think of it as a video/podcasting blog, too) that also will upload audio files and like all video programs, provide embed code to put video on your blog, website.

vimeo
This program will allow you to upload longer than 10 minute videos (limit set by YouTube) and also produces quality videos for online viewing. There is a vimeo gadget for uploading to Google Sites.

authorSTREAM
Will upload PowerPoints to YouTube and produce as videos. You can now embed authorSTREAM videos or presentations to Google Sites.

ustream
WAY COOL tool that will allow you to broadcast a LIVE SHOW and also save it for viewing later. Viewers can chat and even hook up to communicate with webcam/microphone. Free version includes ads at the bottom.

Screen Capture

(Most of these have trial versions.)

CamStudio (free, and looks good)

Camtasia ($$) Good screencasting software; also includes a PowerPoint plug in to export PPT files to various formats

Adobe Captivate ($$, really good, does simulations)

Jing
Free software for shorter screen capture (about 5 minutes max) supported by TechSmith and offering free hosting. Cannot edit, but great for quick screen capture. Includes some free space for hosting videos on screencast.com.

Camtasia for Mac! Now available and looks very good.

Screenium

This also looks like an excellent screencasting program for Mac. Quite reaonably priced.

iShow U ($$, easy and not too expensive)

SnapZPro ($$, I have also used this, not as much
experience as iShowU)

ScreenFlow ($$, easy, works great)

Jing
Free software for shorter screen capture (about 5 minutes max) supported by TechSmith and offering free hosting. Cannot edit, but great for quick screen capture.

recordMyDesktop

Slidesharing Web
Applications

Slideshare

Upload and share your PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and Adobe PDF Portfolios on SlideShare. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to make a webinar.

Slideboom

Another slidesharing online service.

AuthorSTREAM

Share and upload PowerPoints and also upload them to YouTube

Prezi

A pretty neat new tool that creates more of a visualization of your slides on one slide and then allows the user to control the presentation, zoom in, zoom out.

animoto

Not exactly a slidesharing program, but a neat way to create quick presentations of photos and/or videos.

Slideshare

Upload and share your PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and Adobe PDF Portfolios on SlideShare. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to make a webinar.

Slideboom

Another slidesharing online service.

AuthorsSTREAM

Share and upload PowerPoints and also upload them to YouTube

Prezi

A pretty neat new tool that creates more of a visualization of your slides on one slide and then allows the user to control the presentation, zoom in, zoom out.

animoto

Not exactly a slidesharing program, but a neat way to create quick presentations of photos and/or videos.

Slideshare

Upload and share your PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and Adobe PDF Portfolios on SlideShare. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to make a webinar.

Slideboom

Another slidesharing online service.

AuthorSTREAM

Share and upload PowerPoints and also upload them to YouTube

Prezi

A pretty neat new tool that creates more of a visualization of your slides on one slide and then allows the user to control the presentation, zoom in, zoom out.

animoto

Not exactly a slidesharing program, but a neat way to create quick presentations of photos and/or videos.

Digital Storytelling

PhotoStory (Microsoft's FREE program that makes easy production of images/digital stories)

Soundslides ($$, one of my students used this Fall 2008, with excellent results

QuickTime Pro (slideshow feature)

Picasa 3 (Slideshow capability with narration insertion)

VoiceThread

This really cool tool can provide another way to present digital content, with others participating in the conversation. Check it out.

iPhoto, iMovie (included in Mac OS, can easily make slideshows)

Soundslides (one of my students used this Fall 2008, with excellent results)

QuickTime Pro (slideshow feature)

Picasa 3 (Slideshow capability with narration insertion)

VoiceThread

This really cool tool can provide another way to present digital content, with others participating in the conversation. Check it out.

Impress (Open Office version of PowerPoint also exports to Flash)

Picasa 3 (Slideshow capability with narration insertion)

VoiceThread

This really cool tool can provide another way to present digital content, with others participating in the conversation. Check it out.

PowerPoint to Flash for online viewing

(Also, look at Slidesharing Web Applications above for other ideas.)

Camtasia PowerPoint plugin (if you purchase Camtasia, you have this plugin for PowerPoint, which is very easy to use.)

iSpring (PowerPoint to Flash conversion $$)

Keynote ($$ exports PowerPoint to Flash)

OpenOffice Impress exports files as swf (flash)

Don't pay too much for your software! Here are two places where you can obtain the academic (lower priced) versions of many software applications:

Boise State Bookstore: http://www.boisestatebooks.com (Click Technology/Software)
Academic Superstore: http://www.academicsuperstore.com (Search for titles)
The Ultimate Steal (for Microsoft products): http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

Required Hardware

Computer with speakers
External microphone

(Most computers come with an internal microphone, and in a pinch, these work okay.)

You can get by with a microphone/headphone headset. However, the quality of your voice may not be what you want. To get a better quality sound, you’ll need to buy a studio-quality microphone.

Recording Space

Don't worry, you WON'T need to record in a professional studio, but you WILL want to set up a quiet place (no phones, no grinding computer fans or other noises in the background, no interruptions from kids and colleagues) in order to be efficient in your recording. Sure, you can edit a recording once it's done, but it's a heck of a lot easier to record it as best you can as you are doing it. Make sure you set up a location that will be quiet and includes your equipment so you are ready to go.

Microphones

Here are two of my suggestions:

Blue Snowball USB Microphone $99.99. This is one of my favorites, since it is multi-platform (like the Samson below) and super-easy to install and use. Plus, it is very cool looking! "The three position switch on the back of the mic lets you change between the capsules – giving you cardioid, cardioid with a 10dB pad and omni-directional patterns. The result makes Snowball a multi-talented recording tool—the first USB mic designed and engineered by people who know sound. With stand and cable" (bswusa.com website description)
Samson C03UPKG from BSW Audio $199.00 (if you call them, the prices are cheaper) This package includes a mic clip, MDS desktop mic stand, shockmount, and USB cable. It also comes in a durable aluminum case for travel.

Headphones
This is not a necessity, but sure makes recording a lot easier, since you can hear yourself and it blocks out annoying background noises while you are recording:

Sony 7502 Closed Ear Headphone $49 (again, call bswusa for a better price.)

Closed ear headphones (optional, but very helpful when recording on good microphone)

Optional Hardware

Digital Cameras/Video Cameras

Digital camera (many cell phones come with built-in cameras, which work just fine for web images.
Digital video camera (these keep getting more reasonable in price. Even though they are older, the miniDV tape video cameras work with most video editing software.
New!! The iPod Nano has just come out with a new generation iPod which also takes videos. They are pretty good quality and would work out great for most web-based video viewing. Check out this new iPod at: http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/
The Flip Mino or Ultra HD video camera is also a very good buy. Find out more about these cool video cameras at http://www.theflip.com/store/