Audio slideshow links

Tammy Hillenburg by Amber Arnold, Springfield News-Leader

Building houses in Nicaragua, photos by Rainbow Network,
production by News-Leader

The Mac by student photojournalist Crystal Street

The State's Big Bet by the Cape Cod Times

Copecodonline.com: Is Gambling A Good Bet?

CLASS 3: Audio slideshow production

Introduction to iMovie interface

Project library

Project browser

Viewer

Event Library (store videos like photos in iPhoto)

Tools below project library and project browser

• Show / hide project list
• Play project full screen
• Play project from beginning
• New project
• Slider for units of display

Toolbar

• Open camera input window (to record yourself using your computer’s built-in camera and mike)
• Swap events and projects (according to your preference)
• Slider for size of icons
• Four tools for sorting videos
• Voiceover
• Crop, rotate, Ken Burns effect. [Use Burns effect at own risk, or never!]
• Adjust audio
• Adjust video
• Music and sound effects browser
• Photos browser
• Titles browser
• Transitions browser

Create the project in iMovie

File / new project

• Name project as such: MarkusByYourname. For me, it’s MarkusByEd.
• For the aspect ratio, select the “Standard 4:3” (typical horizontal photo).

File / project properties

• Transitions / add automatically / cross dissolve / 0.5s
• Transition duration / 0.5s / Applies to all transitions
• Title fade duration / 0.5s
• Photo duration / select a time that may apply to most of your photos
• Initial video placement / crop

Assemble the materials for your project

Image files

• In iPhoto, create an album; organize photos in the desired sequence.
• In iMovie, use the photo browser to find the album.
• Select all the photos in the album; drag them into your project browser.

Audio clip

• Find your edited audio clip in your flash drive or on your desktop.
• Drag the audio file to the iMovie project browser.

In the project browser, organize your photos.

• Click and drag your photos into the sequence you (if not already set).
• Make sure your first photo is appropriate for bearing a title.

Create the opening title.

Go to the titles browser and find the title style that will be most effective for the content of your first photo. “Lower Third” usually works for me. Drag the title icon over the first photo in the project browser and release.

Click on “show fonts” and explore the possibilities:

• Across the top
  
• Text underline and text strikethrough (of minimal value)
• Text color: crucial to making type stand out against photo color(s)
• Document color: background color for title with no photo
• Text shadow
• Turn on / off by clicking the icon.
• Successive tools adjust opacity, blur, offset and angle.

• Across the middle: Select type family, face and size.
• Across the bottom: Select style, alignment and other factors.

Edit the audio slideshow.

Review the project to see what you have, using various methods:

• “Play project from beginning” and “play project full screen” tools.
• “Scrub” along the icons with your cursor.
• Play selections using the playhead (vertical red line) and space bar. Scrub to the place where you want to begin; click below image icon. Tap the space bar on the keyboard to play; tap again to pause.
  

Make notes of moments in the audio where you want a specific photo to appear.

Make changes in photo sequence and number to achieve desired results.

Change the duration of individual photos to fine-tune the timing.

• Select the relevant photo icon.
• Click on the clock icon in the lower left of the photo icon.
• Enter a new duration.
• Choose “Applies only to selected photo.”

Add more titles to define segments, as desired.


Export, upload and embed the audio slideshow

In iPhoto, Share / export movie

• Select “movies” as the location.
• Select “medium” for the size to export.
• Click “export.”

At your YouTube account:

• Upload / video file / choose file / upload video (wait for upload)
• Account / uploaded videos / select the relevant video
• In the box to the right of the video screen, copy embed code.

At your Bear Claw Page:

• Find the relevant blog post. In this case, use the text I have provided.
• Quick add / video / paste embed code in space provided.

ASSIGNMENTS: Due Wed. 1/21

Download Audacity here. This link also provides instructions for downloading the LAME mp3 encoder. Make sure you do this.

Do the Audacity tutorials if you feel you need it.
The main tutorial page includes the following tutorials that you should view. Total viewing time is about 7 minutes:

• The Editing Tools
  
• Basic Editing and Trimming Your Audio
  
• Adjusting Levels
  

Begin the audio slideshow assignment
Follow the instructions in the materials I passed out on Wed., 1/14

E-mail me a progress update on your search for a specialty.

View the resources for audio slideshows listed in the syllabus.

Create an account at YouTube.

CLASS 2: first blog post

Use the card reader to move photos into iPhoto.

Remove flash memory card from your camera.

• Find the relevant compartment and open it.
• Usually, you can gently press the card farther into its slot and release.
• The card will spring upward and allow you to remove it.

Place the card in the reader.

• By trial and error, find the right slot and orientation for the card.
• Insert.

Connect the reader to the Mac using a USB cord.


Move the photos into iPhoto.

• Find the card reader’s icon on your Mac’s desktop.
• Double click on the icon.
• Click through the folders until you find the image files.
• If you want to view the photos before you move them, you can double-click on any image file and view it in Preview.
• Select the photos you want to use.
• Drag them to the iPhoto icon in the dock.
• [I am asking you to move the photos into iPhoto because it is a safe location. For some purposes, you may want to move photos to the desktop and upload them directly to your Bear Claw page.]

Resize your main photo in Photoshop.

• In iPhoto, drag the thumbnail of your photo to the Photoshop icon in the dock.
• In Photoshop, go to “Image” / “Image size.”
• Change the resolution to 72.
• Go to “File” / “Save as.”
• In the top field, rename the photo and keep the file extension, “.jpg”
• In the “where” field, select “desktop.”
• In the middle left area of the dialogue box, click “As a Copy.”
• In the lower right area of the dialogue box, click “save.”
• In the next box that comes up, click “OK.”
• Click on the red button at the upper left of the original file.
• In the next box that pops up, click “don’t save.” This step leaves the photo at its original size in iPhoto.

Resize your secondary photo in Photoshop (one step differs from above instructions)

• In iPhoto, drag the thumbnail of your photo to the Photoshop icon in the dock.
• In Photoshop, go to “Image” / “Image size / change the resolution to 72.
• THIS STEP IS DIFFERENT: Change the width to 240 pixels.
• Go to “File” / “Save as.”
• In the top field, rename the photo and keep the file extension, “.jpg”
• In the “where” field, select “desktop.”
• In the middle left area of the dialogue box, click “As a Copy.”
• In the lower right area of the dialogue box, click “save.”
• In the next box that comes up, click “OK.”
• Click on the red button at the upper left of the original file.
• In the next box that pops up, click “don’t save.” This step leaves the photo at its original size in iPhoto.

Place your main photo in the body of your blog post.

• Go to your Bear Claw page and find the post about yourself.
• Click on the label at the top of your post.
• Click on “edit post.”
• Place your cursor at the beginning of the first paragraph.
• Under “Entry,” click on the “Add an Image” icon, second from right.
• In the box that comes up, click on “browse.”
• In the next box, click on the desktop icon and find the photo you want to use. Single-click on the photo.
• In the lower right area of this box, click on “open.”
• At the bottom of the “Add an image” box, click on “Add.”
• Click on “preview” to see how your post will look when published.
• Click on “back” to continue editing your post.
• If you want to move your photo to a different position in your post, you can do so by cutting and pasting the code to the desired spot in the text. For example, if you’d rather have the photo appear after the first paragraph, you can cut and paste the code into a spot between those paragraphs.

Place your secondary photo in the body of your blog post.

• Place your cursor at the place in your text where you want the photo to appear.
• “Add an Image” / “browse” / desktop / single-click on the photo / “open.”
• Back at the “Add an Image” box at The Bear Claw, click on the delta next to “more options.”
• Click on the box next to “Wrap text around image?”
• Choose left or right photo position.
• At the bottom of the “Add an image” box, click on “Add.”
• Preview and revise as needed.

Place the hyperlink in your blog text.

• Find the URL of the Web site and copy it.
• Go to your blog and click on “edit post.”
• In your blog text, highlight the name of the Web site.
• Click on the “add hyperlink” icon, third from right.
• Paste the URL into the box that comes up. The box is trying to do you a favor by providing you with the beginning of the URL — “http://” — but make sure these characters do not appear twice.
• Go to preview and test the link.

Upload photos for your photo album to your page at The Bear Claw.

• Go to your Bear Claw page.
• Quick add / photos / more options
• Drag photos from iPhoto to the “photos to upload” window at your page.
• Click “next” and fill in the title and description fields.
• Click “upload.”

Add captions.

• Go to “my photos.”
• Click on each photo / “edit photo”
• Provide photo title and caption (“description”) in the spaces provided.
• Click “save.”

Create the album.

• Go to “my albums” / “Add an album.”
• Follow the instructions to create your album.
• Click “save” at lower right.

Link to your album from your blog post.

• In your blog post, insert a new paragraph at the appropriate place. Write “See photo album and slideshow” in bold.
• Go to “my albums” and select the album.
• Click on “get embed code.”
• Copy the direct link.
• Install the link in “See photo album and slideshow.”

Publish your post.

• Make sure your post looks the way you want it.
• Check for errors in copy.
• Preview once more, then go “back.”
• At the bottom right, click on “publish post.”

CLASS 1: orientation

Ethics

Civility

• Treat others with respect; put yourself in their shoes.
• Think before speaking, writing, acting.
• Remain calm, cool and collected when challenged.

Integrity

• Determine what is right and act accordingly.
• Recognize when you’re wrong and admit it publicly.
• Disclose what you will do to set things right.

Credibility: A reputation earned with a track record of —

• Ethical behavior
• Honest and accurate work

Weigh conflicting factors: News values (truth, public interest) must be considered alongside caring values (fairness, respect for privacy).


Responsibilities / opportunities

Self

• Consistency: practice, learn
• Improvement: do better each time
• Exploration: try new things [That’s how it works in newsrooms]

Bear Claw colleagues: Make sure your work reflects well on others.

Future students: If the semester goes well, this special-topic course may gain traction as a regular offering, and future students would benefit from your strong efforts.


Uncertainties

We need to embrace the fact that this is a new venture. The newness is thrilling, but results are uncertain. We must remain committed to creating a valuable learning experience under any circumstances.

Audience will determine the degree of interactivity. You and I need to be resourceful in creating an audience.

The reaction of university officials is not certain. Any risks we take must be carefully calculated.


Introduction to your work station

Log on

Note “Home.” Stuff stays there. Must return to the same work station to access your stored work.

Save things to “Home,” not desktop.

iPhoto and iMovie save things automatically.

Dock displays icons to open software.


Introduction to The Bear Claw
(open Firefox and go to your page)

Blog post (show sample)

• My Page
• Quick add / blog post
• Click on “more options”
• Post title: Label / Headline
• Byline if needed
• Typography limited. Just styles

Point out where other content is added

CLASS 1: digital storytelling

Digital storytelling: text first!

• Writing

More tolerance for text online than in print.

• Source: Poynter Eyetrack07 Study http://eyetrack.poynter.org/keys_01.html

Once Web readers commit to a story, they will stay with it longer.

• Source: OJR review of Eyetrack07 findings

Text, not photographs, is the entry point into home pages. Short paragraphs received twice as much attention as long.

• Source: Eyetrack III study

Use subheads and links. Keep sentences brief and straightforward.

• Source: Mindy McAdams tips on writing for the Web
  

Write in chunks that convey a single idea.

• Source: Mindy McAdams page on chunks
  

Web headlines: Unlike print heads, which exist within a context on the page, Web headlines must convey the entire story in limited words. A print headline can entice the reader with suggestions of content. A Web headline, which exists in a list without context, must be more straightforward.

• Source: New Media Bytes, How Web and Print Headlines Differ

• Reporting

Crowdsourcing: Harnessing the power of community on a continuing basis to improve a service or information base. Example: Asking the public to contribute to an online map plotting all the places in a coverage area to go for free wireless Internet access.

Distributive reporting: Asking for an online community’s help on a specific story or project. Example: Asking the publish to help in an investigation of ongoing concerns over rising utility bills.

• Source: “Journalism 2.0” online textbook

• Blogging, labels and tags

On the Ning platform, the blog post is the mode of expression. That is, everything we’ll do will take the form of a blog post. We need to distinguish among the different types of content we present and label them accordingly. Let’s consider these labels and tag posts in the same way. Do we need more or fewer designations? Let me know.

• News: Fact-based material with a time element. This label will include small stories or briefs (often called “updates”) that you can expand on in later posts. The News label will also apply to larger fact-based projects, including those that occupy the featured position at your Bear Claw page or at the home page.
• Profile: An examination of a person, place or issue that does not have an urgent time element. If you are concerned about over-selling a non-urgent fact-based piece by labeling it news, call it a profile.
• Analysis: A fact-based piece in which the author assesses, evaluates, interprets or draws conclusions of her/his own, beyond statements from sources.
• Opinion: A piece that goes beyond fact to present constructive criticism, policy recommendations, judgments based on the author’s point of view, and other forms of personal expression.

CLASS 1: creating your speciality

Suggestions for creating your specialty

Basic needs
Whatever you decide, you need to define a field that will allow you to succeed in the course in the following ways:

• Provide you with an ongoing source of stories, photos and sound.
• Provide you with interactive opportunities.
• Provide an online audience with compelling material.

Here is an article about interacting with an online audience

Here are some suggestions for brainstorming

• Sense of urgency: If find yourself thinking, At this moment, on this campus, X is the most important issue we face, create a specialty based on X.
• Magazine angle: The Bear Claw is an online magazine, not the Web presence of a daily newspaper. Stake out a specialty based on an issue or point of view in the manner of magazine contributors. Examples: James Surowieki’s “The Financial Page” at The New Yorker; Christopher Buckley’s blog at thedailybeast.com
• Multimedia angle: If you are aware of an exciting subject for visual and aural presentation, go for it.
• Interactive angle: If you have reported for The Standard or for journalism classes and found your progress blocked by uncooperative institutional sources, consider a specialty built around crowdsourcing and distributive reporting. In this manner, you might accomplish a great deal without ever dialing the number of the uncooperative institutional source.
• Online angle: If you belong to an online community that lends itself to practicing journalism, consider crafting a specialty from those relationships.
• Your passion: Are you obsessed (in a healthy way) with some issue or group? If you can make your obsession appealing to a broader online audience, you might be able to create a specialty.
• Other people’s passions: Are you aware of under-reported groups who are thirsting for coverage? Consider such a group if you feel it is worthy. Examples are wide-ranging: hospice providers, roller-derby competitors.
• “Reality show”: Track the activities of an individual or small group of people, well-known or obscure. Of course, your hyper-local focus must have a broader appeal. You’ll need sources to provide context, the “big picture.”
• Newsworthiness: Look around and evaluate the possibilities using the tried and true factors of news judgment: significance, timeliness, proximity, prominence, uniqueness, human interest.

ASSIGNMENTS: Due Wed., 1/14

Links at a glance

“Journalism 2.0” online textbook

Poynter Eyetrack07 Study

OJR review of Eyetrack07 findings

Eyetrack III study

Mindy McAdams tips on writing for the Web

Mindy McAdams page on chunks

New Media Bytes, How Web and Print Headlines Differ

Here is an article about interacting with an online audience


Blog: Write a blog post that will include several photos and link to a Web site.

Write an introductory note about yourself that will become the post. Possible topics:

• Brief bio
• Your educational / career goals
• Your expectations for this class
• An anecdote or humorous note that reveals your character in a roundabout way
• Whatever you’re thinking about at the moment

Shoot six photos of people, places and/or things that support your note.

• Choose a main and secondary photo for your blog post.
• The other photos will become a photo album.

Write captions for the four photos that will be in the album.

Find a link to a Web site or blog that is important to you, or that you would like to share in the context of the note your are writing.

Make sure your note refers to the photos and the Web site or blog.

• Mention your main photo in the first paragraph.
• Mention your secondary photo later in your note.
• For the Web site or blog, don’t type the actual hyperlink; just discuss the site and mention it by name.

Post your note to your blog at The Bear Claw.

Bring to class:

• Your camera including memory card with the photos.
• Your card reader. If you don’t have one yet, I’ll provide.
• Your captions on your flash drive or in an e-mail to yourself.
• 
  

Reading: In addition to the previous links, read these sections in Briggs:

• 47-51: Crowdsourcing and open-source reporting,
• 57-60: Blogging mechanics and comments
• 62-68: Chapter 6, reporting for the Web
• 80-88: Chapter 8, shooting and managing digital photos
• 115-120: Chapter 11, scripts and voice-overs

ASSIGNMENTS: working ahead

• By Wednesday, 1/21: Early indication of what your specialty will be. E-mail me a note on where you stand.

• By Monday, 1/26: Report on your specialty

• State the topic in the form of a plan that you’ll carry out
• Describe the resources that you will explore and cultivate: • audience • issues • sources • institutions
• Describe opportunities for multimedia and interaction
• Suggest why a campus audience would be interested in your specialty.

• For Feb 2-7, we’ll need six volunteers for inaugural Bear Claw centerpieces.

SYLLABUS: overview

Essentials

• Instructor: Ed Peaco
• E-mail: epeaco@missouristate.edu Home phone: 417-882-5749
• Office hours: By arrangement. Call or e-mail me, and we’ll find a time
• within 1-2 days, and a place that is convenient and appropriate.
• Class meets: 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., MW, in Craig 338
• Final exam: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, May 11

Links

• The Bear Claw: Online magazine created for this course.
• JRN300 Resources: Blog with course documents and assignments. You are reading it now!
  

About this course

Objectives

• Understand the writing techniques that work best on the Web.
• Learn multimedia skills that writers use today at newspapers and magazines.
• Attempt to create an interactive environment that will pose challenges more meaningful than mastering any device or software.

Format: Each student becomes a staff writer at The Bear Claw, an online-only magazine created for the course. Classes are lab sessions.

Learning activities

• Use journalistic values to make sound decisions about how to craft stories online. Use the right tools for each job.
• Become a versatile writer, creating stories, updates and opinion posts.
• Report a story using interactive resources that exist only online.
• Shoot photos with a digital camera. Edit with Photoshop and iPhoto.
• Add photos to blog posts. Create photo galleries.
• Gather audio with a digital recorder. Edit in Audacity. Create clips and podcasts.
• Combine photos and sound using iMovie. Create audio slideshows.

This course offers special opportunities

• Create your own niche for digital storytelling throughout the semester.
• Experience a collegial atmosphere among contributors to The Bear Claw.
• If you discover something, share it. Others will prosper; you’ll lose nothing.

SYLLABUS: materials

Assigned resources

Writing

Journalism 2.0 By Mark Briggs, (c) 2007, J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park

• Selections noted in course schedule

mindymcadams.com by Mindy McAdams, U. of Florida Knight Chair in Journalism

• Tips for Writing for the Web
• Chunks: Writing for the Web

Audio

How To Podcast, a Web site by Jason Van Ordan

• Audacity tutorial

Audio slideshows

Mastering Multimedia, a blog by Colin Mulvany, multimedia producer at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash.

• How to make your audio slideshows better

mindymcadams.com

• My Favorite Soundslides Examples

Equipment you must supply

• Digital camera with flash memory card. No cell phone cameras, please.
• Multi-card flash memory reader: Must accept your camera’s card and compact flash (CF) card for MJF’s digital audio recorder. USB cord to connect reader to Mac.
• Flash drive with 2G capacity.
• Ear buds for listening to your work in class.

SYLLABUS: how the class will operate

How the class will operate

First three weeks: A fairly intense immersion in 1) concepts of digital storytelling,
2) mechanics of multimedia equipment and software, and 3) creating your specialty.

Remaining weeks

• Regular contributions: You will proceed, in a mostly self-directed manner, to make two content contributions per week to the online magazine. Between larger projects, you may make smaller-scale contributions such as updates (short stories or briefs) and opinion pieces.
• Centerpieces: The Bear Claw needs a new centerpiece every day.You will prepare four or five multimedia projects that will appear in the featured position on the site for a daily cycle. We will set up a rotation and assess it weekly at a staff meeting during Wednesday’s class session. We will revise the rotation to accommodate the usual uncertainties of the publishing routine, then we will set a schedule for the next week.
• A note about work flow: You will present a centerpiece every 2-3 weeks. Between these larger, more time-consuming projects, you should try to add multimedia to some of your smaller contributions so that your learning curve will accelerate. If you are dedicated in this way, the quality of your work will improve over the semester.
• Editing help: You will be called upon occasionally to copy-edit materials before they appear online. We must work hard to correct our mistakes before they are published!

Attendance: This is a lab class. Class sessions provide you with 150 minutes per week of dedicated computer time and access to the instructor. If you miss class, you will have to replace these resources on your own. These factors will lead to self-directed choices about attendance. I won’t take roll or make attendance a part of your grade. However, I will be aware of who attends and who doesn’t; don’t depend on me to meet you outside of class as an alternative to attending class.

SYLLABUS: grading notes

Grading notes

Consistency, 400 of 1,000 points
This component measures your dedication over time to The Bear Claw as a publication. As noted earlier, you must make as least two contributions per week. That’s not an average; it’s a weekly requirement. If you meet the requirement, you get full credit. If not, you get no credit.
Calculating the grade: There are 16 weeks in the semester. Each week is worth 25 points. During the first three weeks, you will not be contributing to the site, but you will be doing assignments. Those assignments will be graded in the all-or- nothing manner described above.

Portfolio, 500 points: This component measures the quality of your work. At the end of the semester, assemble a portfolio of your best work.

• Break down all of your projects into these elements (point values noted):

• 50 points each: • story • audio slideshow • podcast • interactive effort
• 25 points each: • audio clip • photo gallery • update • opinion piece

• Select one of each element. This portion will total 300 points.

• Select other work with a total value of 200 points.

• In this way, your portfolio will total 500 possible points, which I will grade on the typical qualitative scale (see below).

Final exam, 100 points: Format to be announced.

Centerpiece deadlines are inflexible.
When it’s your turn, you must post.The only acceptable excuses will be: serious illness; serious accident; and family emergency. If you know that you will miss a deadline, notify me 24 hours in advance. Notification will slightly reduce the penalty for missing a deadline.

• Penalty for unexcused missed deadline without notification -100
• Penalty for unexcused missed deadline with notification -75

Percentage scale for all components and the overall grade:
90-100 A • 80-89 B • 70-79 C • 60-69 D • below 60 F

SYLLABUS: statements

University policy statements

Statement of nondiscrimination
Missouri State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, it is your right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to the Office for Equity and Diversity, Park Central Office Building, 117 Park Central Square, Suite 111, (417) 836-4252. Other types of concerns (i.e., concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly with your instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your instructor’s Department Head. Please visit the OED Web site.

Statement on disability accommodation
To request academic accommodations for a disability, contact the Director of Disability Services, Plaster Student Union, Suite 405, (417) 836-4192 or (417) 836-6792 (TTY), or visit the disability Web site. Students are required to provide documentation of disability to Disability Services prior to receiving accommodations. Disability Services refers some types of accommodation requests to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, which also provides diagnostic testing for learning and psychological disabilities. For information about testing, contact the Director of the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, (417) 836-4787.

Statement on academic dishonesty
Missouri State University is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and following the university’s student honor code, Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures, available online as a PDF and also available at the Reserves Desk in Meyer Library.

Dropping a class
It is your responsibility to understand the University’s procedure for dropping a class. If you stop attending this class but do not follow proper procedure for dropping the class, you will receive a failing grade and will also be financially obligated to pay for the class. For information about dropping a class or withdrawing from the university, contact the Office of the Registrar at 836-5520. See Academic Calendars (www.missouristate.edu/registrar/acad_cal.html) for deadlines.

Emergency response
Students who require assistance during an emergency evacuation must discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Services. If you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. For additional information students should contact the Office of Disability Services, 836-4192 (PSU 405), or Larry Combs, Interim Assistant Director of Public Safety and Transportation at 836-6576. For further information, go online and view Missouri State University’s Emergency Response Plan.