Adv Tech Course - Module 10

Keynote for Mac is a a world-class presentation software that enables the online course instructor to create and share professional presentations with ease.  Of the numerous benefits of using the software to produce course multimedia, three items stand out as being its greatest strengths: Simplicity of use, powerful tools and effects, and cross-device and platform compatibility. These strengths lend to Keynote's versatility in how course instructors (and students) can use it to enhance the online learning environment.

Keynote is designed with simplicity. Its interface is streamlined, with the most-often used tools and options directly at the user's fingertips. Other features and functions are found in a "Format Panel", which automatically adjusts the options displayed based on the element selected in the presentation.  This organized functionality enhances workflow, making the construction of presentations efficient.  In addition, Keynote can export in different formats and share a presentation in seconds, be it to YouTube, through e-mail, or social media, enabling viewing on any device, including mobile.

Probably its most desirable feature for the online course instructor is just how easy it is to make and share a high-quality recording of a narrated (nor not) presentation. The recording can be edited, to include editing a slide that was already recorded, and can be exported in a number of formats, including QuickTime and HTML, making its inclusion in an online course a breeze.

In regards to powerful tools and effects, Keynote is packed with not only the typical format-editing options, but also eye-catching animations and transitions, all of which are categorized and arranged to make finding what you want quick and easy.  In addition, all format and enhancement editing can be previewed, allowing one to scroll through the variety of options to find that perfect one.

As for compatibility, Keynote works seamlessly between Mac and iOS devices, and can export, import and edit Microsoft PowerPoint, which means the course instructor, or students collaborating on a group project, are not hamstrung to working on a presentation from a certain device. In addition, since Keynote can connect with iCloud, export and share presentations to Google Drive, etc., students and instructors can access files and collaborate on assignments from anywhere, at any time.

The only limitation of the software that is worth mentioning is that to take full advantage of what Keynote can do for instructors and students, it is obviously beneficial to have an Apple device, be it a desktop, laptop, iPad, or even an iPhone. For example, although Keynote can export and import files to PowerPoint, most, not all, of the features, effects, animations, etc., added to a presentation by either program are maintained in the file conversions.

Finally, the ability to collaborate (student-student and instructor-student) with Keynote has already been mentioned as a use in the online classroom, but there are a number of other obvious uses for the software. For example, a course instructor can utilize Keynote's capabilities to create presentations that introduce a course or lesson and review key concepts. Furthermore, as was the case in making the video below, an online course instructor could use Keynote, in conjunction with screen capture and movie editing software, to make tutorials for assignments, exercises, and even for guidance to students on navigating a learning management system.

All said and done, Keynote for Mac makes it simple for an online course instructor to efficiently create and deliver effective, professional presentations that provide an easy means to enhance a course with multimedia.

Watch the short video presentation below for more information, including screen captures that demonstrate Keynote's user-interface and a handful of its capabilities. After watching, please take a few minutes and click on and the survey to provide your thoughts on using Keynote in the online classroom.

 Please take the survey: Keynote for Mac - Would you use it as a feature in an online course?

Adv Tech Course: Audacity

Here's a short mp3 made using Audacity... Godzilla sounds and music, mixed with Rob Zombie's appropriate "Super Beast".

Adv Tech Course - Best Practices & Lessons Learned on Good Video Production

Short video on best practices and lessons learned on good video production for online courses.

I have NO shame...

Your conspicuous CG effects, are very conspicuous

Remember that nearly forgettable "The Thing" prequel that was made back in 2011? 

©Universal

Well, films can suffer from conspicuous CG effects. 2011's "The Thing" was one such film. The integration of the CG with the live-action work was dodgy, leading to special effects failure, which caused the audience to reject the narrative. End result? Very disappointing filmmaking. 

But, there's a really, really funny story about that...

A practical effects company, Amalgamated Dynamics (ADI), was hired to make the beasties for the 2011 film... As in, practical effects just like the classic, yet-to-be-matched artistic wizardry of Rob Bottin and Stan Winston that you saw brought to unbelievable life in John Carpenter's 1982 "original". Well, the executives at Universal... the brilliant people behind decisions such as "Jurassic World"... after watching the working print of "The Thing" prequel, decided it would be better to replace nearly all the practical effects with awful CGI... Which, consequently, is the primary reason why the films was universally panned by critics. Pun, intended.

Here is a behind the scenes video of the ADI team performing their magic... 

©ADI

All I have to say, is WOW... And what a freak'n shame... But! Good news (hopefully)... A petition has been started for Universal to release the working cut of the film, before the CG bastardization, on the 10th anniversary BluRay in 2021.  So, maybe this lapse in judgement will be fixed. Maybe the the film will be salvaged with the release of the work print, allowing us view the original artistic vision.  Thing is, Universal will only come out a head... Not only will fans of 1982's "The Thing" pay to see it, but so will the legion of practical effects fans studios apparently forget still exist.

So, do something with your life... Make a real difference. Show the putzes at Universal that you are tired of them being, well, putzes. Watch the video. After you collect yourself from being blown away, take 5 minutes and sign the bloody petition:

Change.org - Release the original work print of the 2011 film The Thing

Adv Tech Course - Ipadio

Podcasting by phone? No thank you. This option, I did not like at all, and would never use.  Why? Well, it comes across as being more trouble than what it's worth, and the quality of the audio is absolutely terrible. I would never use it in a course, particularly for the latter reason.  As it is, I receive many complaints about the low-quality audio in videos I currently use in my course, which actually have better audio than Ipadio!  So, to avoid the additional headache, I will forget about Ipadio... If I do podcasting in a course, it will be with Podomatic or AudioBoom, or something with comparable audio quality.

And here's the link for your aggregator: Saurierlagen's Channel - Ipadio

Adv Tech Course - AudioBoom

In regards to likes/dislikes of podcasting... I guess there isn't necessarily anything to dislike (other than I hate the sound of my recorded voice).  Personally, I can't just sit down and start babbling... I like to think out what I will say, make a few notes, and then hit "record".  That said, in the end, podcasting... making sound bites... does reduce time you'd otherwise spend writing text-based posts.

For using AudioBoom in a course?  As I state in my AudioBoom recording, I would only use such a short sound bite as I would Twitter... assignment reminders, etc.  I can't image how it could be used for anything more substantial, like real instruction, etc.

Adv Tech Course: Podcast

So here's my first stab at a podcast... Overall, easy enough to figure out and make. However, there was one hurdle I had to fumble through before I figured it out; how to record. The course directions don't quite match what you see at PodOmatic in that there is no option for "Record using a Microphone"... It only has the option to upload an audio file. What I ended up doing, was using QuickTime to record the audio, and then exported as an MPEG-4. From there, I uploaded it to PodOmatic.

The podcast contains my thoughts about an article published in the March 2015 National Geographic entitled "The Age of Disbelief", by Joel Achenbach. The article explores the old but troubling phenomenon of why so many of us reject the evidence scientists painstakingly compile.

As for using podcasts in a course, I could imagine using them for short introductions to course lessons, emphasizing main take aways, etc., or maybe even as verbal directions/explanations to accompany written directions for assignments, again as a means to stress key aspects, expectations, etc. In addition, I could conceivably envision using podcasts as a way to introduce myself to students as the Course Director or Instructor. Of course, accessibility to podcasts from external hosting sites would be the limiting factor for me. But, to get around that, I probably would simply upload the audio files I made directly to the server, with links to them in the course (skip having to use PodOmatic).