SIGMM

SIGMM Blog closing- Start using Macul Space!

2008-09-18T11:03:00.004-04:00

The SIGMM blog is closing as we move to using the SIGMM Group area on Macul Space. So please go to:

maculspace.ning.com

Set up an account if you do not have one. Bookmark our SIGMM Group page (look under "groups" on the front page) and then get involved. We will also use the listserv and the SIGMM page on the Macul web site:

www.macul.org

We hope this works well and we encourage you to get more involved with MACUL in general.

Michael Rio

SIGMM Director

SIGMM June 2008 Update

2008-06-02T10:16:00.001-04:00

We had our annual MACUL officers retreat in May where we worked on MACUL and SIGMM planning for the upcoming year. Steve Schiller will be moving from SIGMM Director to the MACUL Board, congratulations Steve! Lisa Wickman (Haslett) will be the new SIGMM Assistant Director and Melinda Waffle (Union City) will be the new Communications Officer. I will be replacing Steve Schiller as the new SIGMM Director. As always SIGMM will be seeking input from our Steering Committee and any other SIGMM/MACUL members who care about multimedia in education.

Leslie Fisher is lined up for another SIGMM all day precon(s) for the MACUL Conference in Detroit 2009. I shared many e-mails and conversations during the last few months about SIGMM workshops we can do ourselves either in the summer or the fall. Some of the ideas included: GarageBand, Digital Storytelling, Adobe software (Flash, Photoshop, Premiere, etc) and video workshops. Scheduling in the summer has proven quite difficult as many computer labs are being updated, cleaned, and replaced, or trainers/presenters are not available. There is also a challenge of geographical locations. We had several gracious offers of labs, so we are still working on offering at least one or two workshops in the late summer or the fall. Our other challenge is finding good presenters/trainers. If you or someone you know may be interested please contact me and we can discuss the details of what may be possible.

I hope everyone has a great end-of-the-school year and enjoys their summer break! Check your e-mail as we will occasionally keep you updated of SIGMM plans, discussions and ideas.

Michael Rio
SIGMM Director (elect)

Summer Workshops

2008-04-21T08:05:00.002-04:00

We are now planning one or more summer workshops. Some ideas that have been shared so far include:

- Windows MovieMaker (in the Detroit area)

- An Adobe CS2 related workshop (details not decided yet- Quincy/Coldwater area)

- Digital Photography and/or Digital Video, maybe including a zoo visit, Battle Creek area

Any other ideas for topics, trainers and/or locations?

Michael Rio

SIGMM Assistant Director

MACUL 2008-Friday March 7, 2008

2008-03-07T13:26:00.005-05:00

The MACUL Conference 2008 has been very successful! Some of the highlights include Leslie Fisher (Our precon, Acrobat, Premier Elements, Gadgets, etc), Hall Davidson, Jason Ohler (Digital Story Telling), Steve Dembo (Discovery Education), Ladd Skelly and many more. Our SIGMM officers elect are:

Michael Rio- Director

Lisa Wickman- Assistant Director

Melinda Waffle- Communications Officer

We also started our Steering Committee to include those who want to be more involved than just members.

What ideas do you have for future SIGMM workshops, partnerships, activities or online sharing related to multimedia in education?

Greetings from MACUL 2008

2008-03-05T10:19:00.013-05:00

I am at our first Leslie Fisher preconference workshop this morning on Photoshop Elements. Leslie always does a great job presenting! I especially like learning in a fun and relaxing environment with enough time to go more in depth. If you have never been to a preconference workshop, I highly recommend it in the future. What multimedia-related training workshops would you like to attend or present this summer? SIGMM is planning now and hopes to offer one or more training workshops this summer.

SchoolTube and School Video News are at MACUL and will be hosting a Broadcast center, so perhaps some MACUL video news will be online soon (check the www.macul.org web site). Thanks again to SchoolTube for providing their service for the SIGMM Video and Multimedia contest this year. The contest went very well for our first time moving it online this year. Many entries can be found on SchoolTube (search using SIGMM in your criteria).

We hope all of you who attend enjoy the conference and we hope to see you here! Leslie Fisher will also be presenting four sessions on Thursday. Our other G.A.M.E.S. preconference workshop is going on at Grand Rapids Christian School.

Enjoy the conference!

Michael Rio
SIGMM Assistant Director

MACUL 2008 Preconference Workshops

2008-02-13T14:04:00.002-05:00

The MACUL 2008 SIGMM preconference workshops on Wednesday March 5, 2008 are a great opportunity to learn some new skills in depth and meet other educators with similar interests.

Here are the SIGMM preconference workshops:

G.A.M.E.S. – Great Applications for Multimedia Engagement of Students!

8:30 AM to 4:30 PM * Grand Rapids Christian High School
Sue Summerford, Educational Technology Coordinator, Lenawee Intermediate School District

Students love video games! Learn how to create your own video game today! This workshop is hands-on, with free or inexpensive, easy-to-learn game-making applications. Pick up free tutorials, tips on web gaming resources, and digital gaming curricula you can use with your students tomorrow. Bring a flash drive to save the games you create.

Photoshop Elements for Mac: Cool Tips, Tricks, and Features

8:30 AM to 12:00 PM * DeVos Place
Leslie Fisher, lesliefisher.com

Learn how Photoshop Elements can be used to enhance, edit and output better digital photos. Start with an overview of Photoshop Elements, and move on to learn intermediate photo editing techniques, file format saving options, and time saving tips and shortcuts. This workshop will use the Macintosh version of Photoshop Elements; there will be tools and options covered that are not available in the Windows version. Mac laptops will be provided on a fist-come, first-serve basis. You may also bring your own Mac or Windows laptop with Photoshop Elements pre-installed (download a free 30-day trial version at home).

Introduction to Flash for Educators

1:00 to 4:30 PM * DeVos Place
Leslie Fisher, lesliefisher.com

Flash is becoming a popular choice in primary schools as well as secondary schools. The basics of Adobe’s Flash will be covered, such as, time line, tweening, objects, symbols, layers, sound, making web pages, and much more, for beginners and intermediate users alike. This workshop will be taught using Mac laptops, but is for anyone who wants to learn Flash skills. Mac laptops will be provided on a first-come first-serve basis. You may also bring you own laptop.

Sign up now! These should be excellent preconference workshops. Please inform anyone you know who may be interested.

Multimedia and Video Contest Deadlines extended

2008-01-31T14:52:00.000-05:00

Hello to All (please forward this and spread the word)!

Due in part to bad weather and to the change to "going online" we have extended the application deadline for the SIGMM Multimedia and Video contest until Tuesday February 5, 2008! You can submit the actual project after the application has been sent in until Friday February 8, 2008.

We hope this helps with getting more participation. If anyone has any questions or problems please contact Lisa Wickman or Michael Rio, contest and contact info on the SIGMM home page:

http://www.macul.org/page.php?pid=14

Also on our SIGMM Blog: www.mimultimedia.blogspot.com

If you have concerns about student projects being "public" on the Internet, please contact us and we will try to figure a way we can share them with voting SIGMM members and not have them be so public. To be honest these will mostly be viewed by SIGMM and/or other MACUL members. They can be left up just through the conference for voting and sharing. We are open to your ideas, questions, comments and suggestions.

We hope you and your students get involved!

Michael Rio
SIGMM Assistant director

SIGMM Multimedia & Video Contest Submission Information

2008-01-25T13:01:00.000-05:00

We are hoping for increased participation in the MACUL SIGMM Multimedia and Video contest this year. We do have some new changes and updates. At the high school level the video contest has been opened up and the multimedia contest dropped. Both contests are still at the elementary and middle school levels.

We know there are many excellent projects that have already been made that would be great to have entered into the contest. We will also be hosting and voting on entries online for the first time this year. Since this is a transition year, we are willing to work with all entrants to make their involvement as easy as possible. We do need applications submitted by February 1st, 2008. In the past this was when entries needed to be postmarked. Since we are not using the mail this year (unless you contact us and have problems with online options), we will allow projects to be posted online up until February 6, 2008. If possible tell us with your application where you are posting/hosting your projects (SchoolTube or other option). If this changes between February 1-6 then make sure you contact us with the changes. We prefer you try SchoolTube first (instructions below) as this would make it easier to put all of most projects in one central location. SchoolTube has been generous to partner with us to offer this FREE upload and sharing option. The directions are as follows:

SchoolTube submission guidelines for the MACUL SIGMM Video Contest below (and multimedia if you make a movie out of it first).

Make sure you get all of the contest information first!

SIGMM Home Page: http://www.macul.org/page.php?pid=14
SIGMM Blog: www.mimultimedia.blogspot.com

A. Submission for Videos/movies:

- Send in the application(s) by February 1st (see the contest info on the SIGMM Home page)

Go to: www.schooltube.com (we prefer you use school tube as one easy and free place to share entries).

1. Compress video to 100Mb unless video is already under 100Mb.
2. Register on SchoolTube.com
3. Begin Upload process on SchoolTube.com
4. Select Standard Upload
5. Step 2 or upload process calls for a Title, Begin Title with "SIGMM:" and then title the video accordingly
6. Step 2 of upload process also calls for Search Tags, tag video with "SIGMM " and then any other keywords that relate to the video

If your video is “Harpercreekmovie” then name it “SIGMM:Harpercreekmovie” (don’t forget the colon!). If you have a special reason why you want to host your video elsewhere, just let us know the link where each one is hosted.

B. Submission for Multimedia

Same as videos if you submit your multimedia project as a movie (Flash, WMA, Quicktime).

If your multimedia presentation is not a movie (eg. PowerPoint or Keynote) then simply host it on a web page and send SIGMM the URL/Link. If this is a problem contact SIGMM and we will help you host it somewhere as long as your application is in by February 1, 2008 and your are ready to host no later than February 6, 2008.

Feel free to forward this e-mail to your staff, SIG, or anyone else you think may be interested in the SIGMM Multimedia and Video contest this year. This information will also be posted on the SIGMM Blog for easy access (bookmark our blog!).

Good luck and please take the time to submit entries.

SIGMM Multimedia and Video Contest/SchoolTube Update

2008-01-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

There are only about two weeks left until the entries for this year's SIGMM Multimedia and Video contest are due by February 1, 2008. For the first time we are moving the contest online. We expect some challenges as we all use the web to post and share projects. If you have any questions about submitting your projects please contact:

Lisa Wickman: Wickmall@Haslett.k12.mi.us
or
Michael Rio: Michaelrio@aol.com

For contest information please go to: SIGMM Homepage

We are excited to be partnering with SchoolTube

To submit video please contact SIGMM and you will need to host your video online. We can help you with the technical details. We recommend you use SchoolTube, which is free. Here are the submission guidelines:

1. Compress video to 100Mb unless video is already under 100Mb.
2. Register on SchoolTube.com
3. Begin Upload process on SchoolTube.com
4. Select Standard Upload
5. Step 2 or upload process calls for a Title, Begin Title with "SIGMM:"
and then title the video accordingly
6. Step 2 of upload process also calls for Search T ags, tag video with
"SIGMM " and then any other keywords that relate to the video

We are hoping we will get more participation and build interest by submitting and sharing videos with SIGMM members online. All SIGMM members will be allowed to vote for the contest winners this year. More information will be coming soon about this process.

Also we are offering three preconference sessions:

SIGMM 2008 MACUL Pre-Conference Workshops

G.A.M.E.S. – Great Applications for Multimedia Engagement of Students!

8:30 AM to 4:30 PM * Grand Rapids Christian High School
Sue Summerford, Educational Technology Coordinator, Lenawee Intermediate School District

Students love video games! Learn how to create your own video game today! This workshop is hands-on, with free or inexpensive, easy-to-learn game-making applications. Pick up free tutorials, tips on web gaming resources, and digital gaming curricula you can use with your students tomorrow. Bring a flash drive to save the games you create.

Photoshop Elements for Mac: Cool Tips, Tricks, and Features

8:30 AM to 12:00 PM * DeVos Place
Leslie Fisher, lesliefisher.com

Learn how Photoshop Elements can be used to enhance, edit and output better digital photos. Start with an overview of Photoshop Elements, and move on to learn intermediate photo editing techniques, file format saving options, and time saving tips and shortcuts. This workshop will use the Macintosh version of Photoshop Elements; there will be tools and options covered that are not available in the Windows version. Mac laptops will be provided on a fist-come, first-serve basis. You may also bring your own Mac or Windows laptop with Photoshop Elements pre-installed (download a free 30-day trial version at home).

Introduction to Flash for Educators

1:00 to 4:30 PM * DeVos Place
Leslie Fisher, lesliefisher.com
Flash is becoming a popular choice in primary schools as well as secondary schools. The basics of Adobe’s Flash will be covered, such as, time line, tweening, objects, symbols, layers, sound, making web pages, and much more, for beginners and intermediate users alike. This workshop will be taught using Mac laptops, but is for anyone who wants to learn Flash skills. Mac laptops will be provided on a first-come first-serve basis. You may also bring you own laptop.

Sign up now! These should be excellent preconference workshops. Please inform anyone you know who may be interested.

Student Video News @ MACUL

Student Video News will be covering MACUL with an on-site video broadcast studio. Student video journalists will be selected to cover MACUL and make online video reports. For more information please go to School Video News and learn about possible opportunities for your students to get involved with hands-on experience at MACUL.

Michael Rio
SIGMM Asst. Director

Happy Holidays/Contests Reminders

2007-12-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

Holiday Greetings to All!

A few reminders...

1. Video/Multimedia contests: deadline is February 1st 2008. We are going online this year, more information about posting/hosting options coming soon. SIGMM members will also be voting online for the winners.

2. Leslie Fisher Preconference workshops: sign up ASAP if you are interested in one or both of the Leslie Fisher preconference workshops on Flash or Photoshop Elements. Space is limited and Leslie always does a great job and is a lot of fun too! The preconference workshops are on Wednesday March 5, 2008.

3. A G.A.M.E.S Preconference workshop. This will be a unique opportunity to learn about the educational uses of making video games. See Blog posting below for more information.

4. Do you use video in the classroom? Does your school have a video news program? Check out:

- School Video News: www.school-video-news.com

- SchoolTube: www.schooltube.com

Tell us about your video classes, programs, cameras, editing software or anything else video-related.

Leslie Fisher Precon Update

2007-11-27T15:09:00.001-05:00

After much discussion and input we have decided that the MACUL SIGMM Precon with Leslie Fisher will offer two half-day workshop sessions. The morning session will cover Flash and the afternoon session will cover Photoshop Elements.
We are planning to have 25 MacBook laptops available on a first-come first-serve basis, but everyone is welcome to bring their own laptops. The Mac versions of these two applications will be used, but the sessions should be very relevant to Windows users of the same applications. Leslie Fisher (www.lesliefisher.com) is an excellent presenter and these will be hands-on sessions (or if you prefer you can relax and just watch).

More information will be provided when the MACUL pre-conference options are posted. If you are interested in these excellent workshops then please sign up early! This should be a fun day of learning about these exciting multimedia applications. Spread the word!

Leslie Fisher is not planning to cover these topics at the regular MACUL sessions.

Michael Rio
SIGMM Assistant Director

What are you doing with multimedia?

2007-10-31T07:39:00.000-04:00

What are you doing with multimedia in your classroom, school or other institution? Are you using or making any of the following:

- Multimedia presentation: If so, what do you use? Powerpoint? Keynote? Other?
- Digital video: what software, cameras and other equipment do you use? How do you like it?
- Animation: claymation? Stop-gap animation? Flash? Share what you use and do.
- Web-based multimedia tools: Have you ever used web tools for multimedia?
- Digital Photography: do you edit photos with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements? Other software? What cameras do you use?
- Other?

Please share what you do in relation to multimedia. What are your interests? What works well for you? Any tips or tricks? Web resources? Other books or resources? Contests?

Also, what can SIGMM do to help meet your needs and interests? What would you like us to do in the coming year?

Please share! You may or may not use your real name.

Precon Changes

2007-10-23T00:12:00.000-04:00

We are still planning a precon featuring Leslie Fisher. See below Blog post to discuss possible topics. SIGEE will be offering a "Digital Storytelling" precon featuring keynote speaker Jason Ohler (jasonohler.com), so we encourage those interested to look into this option.

The second precon that SIGMM is planning to offer is on making video games. Here is some information:

G.A.M.E.S. – Great Applications for Multimedia Engagement of Students!

Students love video games! Learn how to create your own video game today! This workshop is hands-on, with free or inexpensive, easy-to-learn game-making applications. Pick up free tutorials, tips on web gaming resources and digital gaming curriculum you can use with your students tomorrow. Bring a flash drive to save the games you create.

Session Objectives – Participants will:
o Discuss Game-Based Learning (GBL), its application to higher level learning, and the direction of educational technology in the early 21st century
o Create simple video games by exploring powerful, user-friendly game design applications
o Create a video game to save and take home
o Experience the hands-on constructivist learning that engages today’s students
o Gain knowledge of gaming resources online, adaptable curriculum, and affordable gaming solutions for the classroom
o Take back ideas to incorporate gaming into the classroom

More information to come! Start planning now. Check out the new contest information on the MACUL.org web site (SIGMM page). Comments? Questions?

SIGMM Fall Discussion Topics

2007-10-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

WOW! The school year seems to be going by fast already. SIGMM is busy planning for the MACUL conference in March in Grand Rapids. We have Leslie Fisher booked for two precons on the Wednesday of the conference. Some of the topics under consideration for her to cover are: Photoshop/Elements, Flash or iLife 08. What topics would you be interested in for Leslie to do? If you are not familiar with Leslie (most MACUL regulars are!) then you may check out her web site at: www.lesliefisher.com

SIGMM is also assisting with a large educational technology professional development two-day workshop in the Forrest Hills schools in November. And we are still looking into setting up a better web presence for sharing multimedia and related resources with SIGMM and other MACUL members.

One last thing, the contest information for 2008 is going up this week so check out the guidelines and spread the word! We hope to increase multimedia and video contest participation. We will also be moving most or all of it to the web if all goes well. Yes, we are planning for YOU, SIGMM members, to vote online for the winners. More information will be forthcoming.

Fall 2007 Update

2007-09-18T13:23:00.000-04:00

Welcome back! After taking a nice summer break we are ready for a busy new school year. Plans are being made for the following:

- a multimedia resources for educators stand-alone web site
- at least two exciting preconference workshops on the Wednesday of the MACUL conference
- making changes to the MACUL-SIGMM Video and Multimedia contests

Do you have any ideas for the coming year? Our goal is to become a valuable group for sharing, learning and using multimedia in education. Your comments, ideas and questions are welcome!

Steve Schiller, SIGMM Director
Michael Rio, SIGMM Assistant Director
Lisa Wickman, SIGMM Communications Director

SIGMM Contest Changes

2007-05-16T08:33:00.000-04:00

The MACUL Officers retreat is this weekend May 20-21 and we are planning to iron out the details of the SIGMM Multimedia and Video contests changes. Feel free to post your questions, comments, or ideas about anything having to do with the SIGMM contest.

At the high school level we are planning to drop the multimedia contest and to change the video contest to open things up. Here are my personal tentative ideas for simpler topics for the rubrics:

videography
editing
Creativity
Copyright
Story/idea
Originality
Audio
Educational merit (or explanation of educational skills used)
Lighting

We hope to keep it simple but still cover important areas for evaluation. What does everyone think? You can post on this blog, send an e-mail to Steve, Lisa or myself personall, or reply on the SIGMM listserv.

Michael Rio
SIGMM Asst. Director

Video editing and podcasting

2007-04-20T14:23:00.000-04:00

Here at SIGMM we hope to build a community of Michigan educators (and a few others from nearby states) who are interested in learning and sharing about multimedia uses in education. We plan to use this blog as one way to share such information and feedback.

Do you make and edit digital videos? If so, what software do you use? Have you made and posted any video or audio podcasts? If so, how did you make them and where can we find them (if you do not mind sharing)?

Summer Training?

2007-03-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

What summer multimedia workshops or training sessions would you like to attend? Are there any you may be interested in offering or hosting? Please share any topic and location ideas.

SIGMM Contests

2007-03-20T13:29:00.000-04:00

This section is for discussion of the SIGMM Multimedia and Video contests. As previously discussed on the listserv and at our annual meeting at MACUL, we are looking to make some changes to improve our contests. We hope to make some decisions soon, hopefully in the next month or so. Lets discuss here our ideas for possible improvements.

Welcome to the SIGMM Blog

2007-03-20T13:19:00.000-04:00

Greetings! We now have a SIGMM Blog to share information. This is meant as a temporary way to share information and may be replaced with another web presence in the future. For this first section I thought we would each post something brief about ourselves: name school, subjects taught, technology uses, etc