Text Set Collection #2: Making Media Presentations

• How to Create Your Own Podcast: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

http://radio.about.com/od/createyourownpodcast/ss/How-to-Create-Your-Own-Podcast-Make-Your-Own-Talk-Show-Music-Program-or-Audio-Stream_2.htm

This article provides a number of useful sites and resources for making your own digital audio recording spiffy and available to share in a variety of formats.

For: All ages

• How to Create a Podcast Video Tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hrBbczS9I0

A pretty elementary walk-through for making, editing, posting, and sharing  a podcast. It also helps with working with Audacity and Wordpress. It also is very helpful in terms of sharing helpful podcast sites.

For: All ages

• Audacity

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

A free audio editing and recording program. It is a great resource for splicing together sounds.  Pretty much the cheapest and easiest way to edit sound files.

For: All ages

• Masher

http://www.masher.com/

A free, online video mash-up site. It allows you to use their library of clips, images, and music to make your own original videos. Allows you to easily share and imbed videos.

For: All ages, though I would use supervision

• Animoto

http://animoto.com/

Another free online, movie/slideshow maker. This one allows you to add music as well. It looks very crisp, professional, and clean. The website worked way better for me in Internet Explorer than in Firefox. I think this would be a good place to make a video slideshow for a book talk or a book/story response project.

For: All ages, as far as I can tell

• How to Make a Movie with Movie Maker Tutorial Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOcnV0UpIG4

A video walk-through of how to make a movie using MS Movie Maker, which is a free program you can download for PCs. It takes a little getting used to but it can be a quick and easy program to use once you get the hang of it.

For: All ages

• How to Create a Project in iMovie

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Project-in-iMovie-08

For Apple users, a relatively bare bones step by step set of instructions to make an iMovie. It is supposed to be so easy a child could do it.

For: All ages

• xtranormal

http://www.xtranormal.com/

A relatively easy way to take your words and make an animated movie. The site requires you to sign up and create an account,which is free. More options, like additional characters and settings are available if you want to get a paid account. There are also options for educators, including class sets of subscriptions.

For: All age students

• So You Want to Get a Ph.D in the Humanities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obTNwPJvOI8

A sample xtranormal movie. A funny, mean teacher/student advising session. Also, a pretty good critique of academia. Learn about a student who wants to make a living writing about literature. And death. Also about the poor, put-upon, and jaded professor.

For: College students

• A sample video

I made this video for you to see how xtranormal can work. The site lets you save, download, and imbed video for free at least one time (but you have to pay afterward). Enjoy!

For: All age students

The Great Train Getaway
by: sterg

• Goanimate.com

http://goanimate.com/

An even easier way to make a video than xtranormal, though you can only make a one-minute long video without having to upgrade to a paid membership. Also, no sharing other than offering a link. And you have to pay to download your video. You have to register, and there is a choice of characters, setting, and style, just like xtranormal. They also have an educator option. Don't forget to save your work, because I accidentally hit the back button and lost all my work the first time :(

For: All age students

• A model goanimate video

http://goanimate.com/videos/0VccAVTNXbro/1

Here is a video I made using the program. I tried to demonstrate what it could do and how the site works.

For: All age students

GoAnimate.com: sbotzakis%27s+Animation by sbotzakis

So, you made a video and want to post it somewhere?

• YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/


The granddaddy of video hosting sites. It may be blocked at your school, but there are ways around that by typing https in your web address for example. You can post among the crazy cats, insane babies, and vloggers. Requires registration to post.


For: Most ages, though supervision  and previewing are advised

• Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/

A free video hosting site. It tends to be more academic than YouTube, though it has its share of silliness as well. Requires registration to post.

For: Most ages, though supervision  and previewing are advised

• Teachertube

http://www.teachertube.com/

A free video hosting site with a specialty for educators. It has lots of educational videos in many subject areas and you can join in the fun there and post for free. Also requires registration to post.

For: All ages, as far as I can tell. Some subject matter may be too intense for younger students.