Learning how to do stop motion animation!
Day one: Motion Animation at the Ringling Institute for Teachers
Check out this lab! I want one!
How to be a Tummler
How to be a Tummler – Designing for Conversation
Tummel is a Yiddish word meaning noise (as in much tumult)
Comedian Heather Gold talks about how to engage everyone in your community. Really something to think about.
SSSMS Podcasting Video
My school is a grantee of the Avi Chai Foundation’s Educational Technology grant. I wasn’t able to attend their one-day program, but I did prepare a video of the project.
Click for charity
I’m sure you’ve received emails telling you to go to such-and-such site to click to ensure that some corporation will donate money to breast cancer research, food for homeless pets, etc. Today I got one that read:
Friends & Family,
In an effort to raise money for research on autism, the band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.40 to Autism Speaks for *each time* the video is viewed on the attached link. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your friends and family. They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal.
Link to the site:
http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214=20
So immediately I went to Snopes to check it out and found out that it’s legit (I love when that happens).
Here’s the deal: the site contributes money to one of the designated charities each time someone views one of the posted videos. Charities include:
- Augie’s Quest (www.augiesquest.org)
- Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org)
- Fisher House Foundation (www.fisherhouse.org)
- Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org)
- United Service Organization (www.uso.org)
But – and this is lovely, just lovely – anyone can create and upload a video on the topic of “what kind of world do you want?” Imagine – plain old people just making videos about their vision of the world and what it can be, posting them online, sending them out to their friends and families, and raising money for charity at the same time.
Why, I feel a class project cooking up.
I spent a few minutes checking out the videos on the site (there are currently 183). Many are about people living with autism, ALS, and Asberger’s Syndrome and the effect on their families. One is about war’s effect on children (okay, I cried). The cool thing is that while I’m raising money for charity, I’m also learning the human side of these charities and the people they help.
What an awesome class project: pick one of the designated charities, make a video, raise money.
YouTube video about Friedrich Kellner
This was posted to the Edtech listserv…
From: Dr. Robert Scott Kellner <rskellner@suddenlink.net>
Two weeks ago, a young lady in Holon, Israel, with the nickname of “Ilanushkah,” created a YouTube video about my German grandfather, Friedrich Kellner, who was a justice inspector during the time of the Third Reich. As a Social Democrat, Friedrich Kellner campaigned against the Nazis in the 1920’s and 30’s. During the war, he kept a diary to record Nazi crimes. His diary will be on exhibit at the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library in May. In November, a Canadian documentary about the diary, “My Opposition – the Diaries of Friedrich Kellner,” will be shown at the United Nations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The Israeli girl did a wonderful job creating the video, and it is getting a lot of praise, yet it is also attracting some neo-Nazi types and Holocaust deniers. YouTube has deleted some of the vile posts. I am hoping that you, and perhaps some of your friends, would take a few minutes to view the video. The increased number of views will help to keep the hostile views in perspective, to dilute the percentage of such views. At present, about 1,800 people have looked at the video — which is a rather modest number.This is the link to the Kellner diary video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kJLE9zvo44
At the YouTube site, you will find links to Wikipedia articles about Friedrich Kellner. A very dramatic story about my courageous grandfather is online at Jewish World Review, which has reprinted an article that appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Thank you,
Dr. Robert Scott Kellner (University of Massachusetts, Ph.D. 1977), College Station, Texas
Animoto now offers downloads
The biggest problem I had with Animoto when it first came out was that you couldn’t download the videos in order to put them on DVD. Well, now you can.
I haven’t been able to test it because you need a full access account to do it (and that costs $30.00), but that could really make it worth purchasing. Imagine – creating an uber-cool music video could be that easy…
Here’s a little test video using our photos from Israel
Vodpod videos no longer available. from animoto.com posted with vodpod
About
Debbie Harris is the director of educational technology at the Sager Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook, IL. Involved in Jewish education for over thirty years, she has an education degree from Northwestern University with a concentration in instructional media and a master’s degree in professional Jewish studies from Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. She is skilled in using and teaching desktop publishing, video editing, presentation and animation software; and consults and presents regularly on integrating technology into Judaic studies. Her students podcast, blog, edit video and create claymations. She co-chaired the technology track for CAJE 33 in Vermont, is a SMART Certified Trainer for SMART Notebook, and a 2011 recipient of the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.
When not learning, teaching or writing about technology, Debbie likes to sketchnote and craft. She likes to knit, do calligraphy, sew, watercolor, paint fabric and just generally play with fun toys like scrapbooking supplies and anything with texture. Debbie travels to California every summer to paint tallitot with high school aged campers. Finally, she is incredibly proud of her two daughters; Lori, who teaches English at a community college; and Allie, who is the director of the URJ’s Camp Newman in California.
Look for her at:
Debbie Does Desktop
Flickr
Twitter
Diigo
YouTube
Ravelry
Email Debbie here
MuseForJews 