Sign up Before October 23-27
Designers, developers, and business and education leaders – sign up for Adobe’s Max 2010 conference to learn best practices for creating next-generation multiscreen applications (over 300 sessions and labs).

Explore the newest software tools in Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 and the latest technologies in the Adobe Flash® Platform.

Network with thousands of the industry’s leading innovators at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE.

Morning sessions focus on Adobe solutions, resources, and best practices. Afternoon breakout sessions will be led by educators spanning tracks in Design, Interactive, Film, and Development.

Educators and students receive discounts.

For more information, link to Adobe Max 2010.

Latest Smartpen
Last year I reviewed the 1 GB Smartpen. It worked great recording lectures in the pen, and notes written on Livescribe’s special memory paper. My daughter dashed off with it to college. And I bought one for my son to use in high school. He has problems with listening and taking notes. Now he can go back, review lectures and write in key points in his notes. Works great for test reviews, and for taking business meeting notes.

Here’s a link to my article: Livescribe Smartpen

Now, Livescribe has a new pen – Echo.

Here are some highlights:

“Echo features a sleek ergonomic design with a rubberized grip and anti-roll surface. It is available in 4GB and 8GB models, recording approximately 400 and 800 hours respectively. This new smartpen also features industry-standard connectors, micro-USB and 3.5 mm audio jack, to enable customers to use their favorite ear buds for private listening as well as share common USB cables with other mobile devices.

* Launch Line: a new way to access and launch applications in seconds
* Password protection: ensures recorded audio on your smartpen remains private and safe
* Custom smartpen name: display a name or other contact information on the OLED screen, making identifying the owner of a smartpen easy
* Custom notebooks: group and organize notes as easily as creating a playlist in iTunes
* Pencast import/export: save and share pencast files locally to your desktop, a server, or to send to others as an integrated audio/notes document. Anyone with the Livescribe Desktop software (free download online) can now open, view and interact with a native Livescribe file.”

In addition, users can download various apps from the Livescribe website.

Consider the Smartpen a good investment into your education, or business.

Contact: www.livescribe.com
Cost: 2GB – $129.95; 4 GB – $169.95; 8 GB – $199.95

What’s Your Story?
I’m writing a hands-on, elementary grade science issues for Science Weekly. My topic is the Science of Movies. Yet, how do you teach this topic when every schools may not have available classroom video cameras? Movies are just individual pictures on frames that flash by at very fast rates (typical speed is  24 frames/second). To teach how movies are created, and allow students to create their own movies, teachers can demonstrate using clay animation.

Let the students develop their own script, create their own clay figures, take digital pictures, and upload the pictures on PowerPoint (PPT). By either saving as a PowerPoint presentation, or saving as a movie file in PPT, teachers and students begin to understand the technology involved in creating movies.

Why Offer This Activity?
1. Combines art, technology and science.
2. Incorporates the “T” and “E” from STEM (Technology and Engineering)
3. Allow students to be creative, helps build their understanding of story development, organization.
4. Working as a team, problem solving, improving organization skills, product completion.
5. Schools don’t require the latest software, computer, high speed browser. Material required covers Playdoh or clay, action figures, colored paper and crayons, table lamp, various props (example – sand, dirt, flowers, rocks, buttons, small stuff!), digital camera, maybe a tripod, PowerPoint software and a standard computer.
6. It’s inexpensive, fun and motivational! ‘Nuf said.

Sample Lesson
Animate (an-i-mate) means to “give life to”. By “animating” the clay figures, or moving them allows students to create their own movie. Clay figures can lie flat, or stand up on a background picture.

You Need: background paper, crayons, clay or Play-doh, props (sand, gravel, grass clippings, small flowers, etc), long cookie sheet, digital camera, table, tripod, computer, PowerPoint software, table lamp

Step 1. Create a movie script. Write a story with a beginning, middle and end part. Ideas for stories: turtle laying eggs, rocket launch, growing flowers, bees flying to flowers, erosion, biology of a cell.

Step 2. Draw any scenery on the background paper. On a table, place the paper on the cookie sheet, or against a wall.

Step 3. Add your movie props. Set the lamp to light above the background paper.

Step 4. Set up the camera on a tripod (if available). Or, make sure to hold the camera in one place. Do not move it. The clay figure will move, not the camera.

Step 5. Create your clay figure. Take pictures to animate your story. Follow your script.

Step 6. Upload pictures into PowerPoint. Ask your teacher for help.

Step 7. On the first slide, add the title text box. On the last slide, add “The End” text box.

Step 8. Run the slides by clicking on the mouse quickly.

Here is one PowerPoint presentation created into a movie. Transition time between slides is .2 seconds.

Remember:  Students can either click on the mouse quickly, or change the transition mode to less than one second.  Adjusting the transition time allows students to produce the mood and feel of the animation. It’s a lot of fun, and students as young as 4th grade can start making science movies.

Let me know how your class likes this interesting project!

Keep Clam with Music
Ok, here in the Northwest we say “Keep Clam” (our version of Be Cool). Yes, it’s a northwest thing (Puget Sound stuff, home of Jimmy Hendricks & Pearl Jam). Sibelius is definitely clam on music, since they have various software programs to engage students in learning music.

I reviewed Groovy Music Shapes for ages 4-7, which was awesome, and now let’s talk about Groovy Music City.  Groovy Music City has a similar set up to Shapes, in that the user selects an avatar to begin their musical journey.  A screen opens up displaying a city background.  The budding musician selects different symbols on the top menu bar, which identify different sound bites, chords, melodies and rhythms.  String the different symbols together, press play and their creative song instantly plays.   These sound rhythms can be changed by dropping in either strings, brass, drums or other musical instruments into the symbols.

What if the user wanted to change the musical beat of different symbols?  No problem, new notes could be added to the chord, and saved.  Or the budding musician can record their own instrument, and patch into their song.

Songs can be saved, downloaded on CDs, transferred to podcasts or emailed. Go to the Groovy Music website, and musicians can join others to share their talented creations.

Creative Practice
Struggling trying to engage students in music, or learning about music? Consider Groovy Music as a fun, dynamic solution. This software is very creative and engaging for young students, interested in music or not. I’ve only scratched the surface describing this software. It has a lot to offer from budding artists to garage band musicians. It’s fun!

Subject Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4, or Windows XP
Contact: www.groovymusic.com
Cost: $69.00 US

Grades: High School to college, Marketing, Design, Technical

“Eye Burning” Functions in CS5
Adobe just released Creative Suite 5, with this software’s focus on improving the connection to creative business design and solving the challenges of endwork results. CS5 combines and enhances content creation, analysis, and optimized delivery of the end result.

Delivery of content is key across multiple platforms and new delivery systems (netbooks, smartbooks, tablets and slates, smart phones), not to mention a wide variety of browsers. Adobe has delivered a wickedly smart program for photo and video production, web design, and illustration.  Some key features are:

• Design – No code building required.  CS5 allows designers to provide and design their products across multiple devices.  New functions, like Fine Edge, allows fine tuning grabbing and moving subjects, in addition to the “smart” insert of backdrop.  Flash Catalyst  allows designers to insert illustrations and design without writing code.
• Video Editing – Mercury Playback Engine provides 64 bit, native rendering (share, render, move files faster, cleaner). Rotoscoping is painless, really, with the Rotobrush.  Incorporate the script, specific lines or scenes descriptions as metadata using Adobe Story. Naturalistic painting tools allow touchup right on the image.
• Web Premium – Flash Catalyst allows design movement created in Illustrator and InDesign without writing code.  Change flat illustration into 3D images.  Display live view of web pages while clicking on Dreamweaver code to see direct results side-by-side.  Open the Browser lab to display images in multiple browsers, compare side-by-side, or overlap as an onion skin.
• Photoshop – MiniBridge allows to merge photos in HDR, and with 64 bit system, photographer can choose which exposure for content. Quality increased with improved Sharpen Images,  Noise Reduction, maintain saturation and contrast.  Content Aware Fill is a cool function to extract a subject image, and intelligently fill in behind it.  New Natural Media Bristle Tips and Puppet Work allows t make natural patterns and distortions.
• Flash 10.1 -  Allows wider access to multiple desktop platforms and devices, improves navigation on lsates and tablets.

This list is a very short, taste of what Adobe CS5 offers.  Adobe Creative Suite 5 products are scheduled to ship within 30 days, with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales. Estimated street price for the suites is expected to be $2599 US for Master Collection CS5, $1899 US for CS5 Design Premium, $1799 US for CS5 Web Premium, $1699 US for CS5 Production Premium and $1299 US for CS5 Design Standard. Upgrade pricing and volume licensing are available. Adobe CS5 products integrate with Adobe CS Live Services, which are complimentary for a limited time.

System Requirements: Click on Adobe Creative Suite 5 for details.

Contact: Adobe.com

The Wow Factor in Pictures
In the book A World in HDR by Trey Ratcliff, the author takes time to share the experience of creating and capturing each image in high dynamic range (HDR). This book not only provides vivid pictures, but describes the experience and how to create opportunities to capture stunning imagery. This book is a page turner, not only because of the pictures, but the story power behind each image.

Inspirational, But Doesn’t Hold Your Hand
HDR is not just for expert photographers. With each picture, Trey Ratcliff provides the readers ideas to inspire creation. He talks about the philosophy behind each image, but doesn’t go into depth on how he created each photo. He encourages photographers to develop their own ideas to create distinct images. The last few chapters in this book do offer tutorials, but this book inspires and tempts photographers to experiment.

Show and Tell With HDR
Each picture provides gorgeous, mouth dropping imagery, some so surreal you wonder “How did he get that picture?” Terry explains his motive and setting, yet mostly he delves into the why and wherefore of each image. It is interesting looking behind the philosophical eyes of the photographer. The reader has a sense of being there, while reading the author’s quirky and humorous perspective.

Beyond Your Comfort Level
Terry prods amateur and experienced photographers to strive beyond their comfort shell. He takes the approach anyone can create HDR images, even young students. Age and limited experience are factors that should encourage, not discourage discovering HDR.

Take the opportunity to read this book. It’s an awesome read, has great imagery, lots of interesting stories and provides an enjoyable experience musing over the fantastic scenes.

Contact: www.StuckinCustoms.com; PeachPit Press
Cost: $29.69 – $44.99 US; $53.99 CAN

“Remote-Learner today announced new integration with Adobe® Connect™ to deliver synchronous web conferencing inside of Moodle, an open-source learning management system that helps educators produce Internet-based courses and web sites. This new plug-in provides a single sign-on between the two systems to facilitate eLearning through Moodle. Instructors can now create and manage their meeting rooms inside of Moodle, with students able to click and load them easily within the eLearning environment.”

“Information about the integration, including installation instructions and a user guide will also be made available at the Adobe Connect User website and at the Remote-Learner website (http://remote-learner.net/adobeconnectpro). Adobe Connect software offers an integrated, easy-to-use web conferencing and online learning tool available to a learning community anytime, anyplace. The software serves educational institutions looking to extend their reach and increase enrollment through virtual classrooms that bring faculty and students together online to teach, learn, and collaborate in real-time. For more information, visit: http://www.adobe.com/education/products/acrobatconnect.html
“The Remote-Learner plug-in provides Acrobat Connect customers with a powerful, free Learning Management System integration solution with Moodle,” said John Schuman, Solutions Architect for Adobe Education. “Now higher education institutions have a high-impact, cost-effective way to deliver online teaching, learning and training.”