Technology Instruction Coordinator

EZ-Braider 3000 from Pascal Marcelin on Vimeo.

Advisory 10-2 (The Fon Nation) has completed part 1 of their year long exploration in entrepreneurship. They filmed a commercial for the EZ-Braider 3000. I conducted a number of workshops with them in order to complete this portion of the project. They used Photoshop for the logo design and advertisements, iMovie for video editing and GarageBand for audio editing. The next phase is the construction and completion of the business plan and the web page layout.

I want to commend the students from M. Isis' class for their ability to learn so quickly. I instructed them in Photoshop basics so that they could begin the process of designing their logos and advertisements for their project. They took the basics and ran with it. The designs are all original and creative. Check them out in the collage above.They also went to work on the layout and composites of their advertisements using the 3D modeled car that they designed in 3dsMax8. Check them out at work above. I will try to post some finished composites once I get them.

Today I assisted M. Michelle's class and showed them how to film the scenes for their commercial. The script needed some revision to accommodate the fact that they need to shoot within the school building. The script writers quickly came up with a new scenario and they shot the first half of their film today. Caleb acted as director and David was the boom operator. Angelic and Kiasha were the principle actors for the shoot. After a few run-throughs, the film crew was up and running independently. Next phase...Editing.

Congratulations to Nydrea G., a senior at NMTCS, who recently completed work on an 8 month long, Documentary History Project for Youth through Scribe Video Center. Nydrea has been involved in this program since February and the group worked through the summer to complete it. I attended the screening of the film and it was excellent. If you are interested in the Documentary History Project for Youth click here to apply. The application deadline is December 21, 2007.

Here is the Powerpoint presentation that I used in todays 9th grade seminars. This is a basic introduction to Windows MovieMaker. When you create your projects, remember to save all your pictures, sounds, videos and your project in the same folder!! If you forgot anything from my seminar, you can download this Powerpoint here. Happy Editing!I uploaded this via MyPlick.

Wouldn't it be nice to have your own video channel for free? Well, there are many ways to make it happen via the internet. One of the easiest is Vimeo. Vimeo allows you to upload video clips and then create a channel of your own where all of your video clips can be stored. You can create more than one channel on your page and customize the look and feel of each channel. Viewers can comment on your videos and subscribe to your channel. Vimeo allows your channel to be public or private which allows you to choose your audience if you wish. Check out my channel which includes an NMTCS channel HERE.

Today was the first day in our new initiative to work with students as teachers. Three NMTCS students (2 Seniors, 1 Junior) were selected to conduct a GarageBand workshop for 9th grade students. I attended the first half of the workshop and was very impressed with the way the students handled themselves and conducted the instruction. I had an opportunity to talk with some of the 9th grade students afterward and they were excited to do it again. We will be bringing students in as associate advisors on a regular basis to give some basic instruction to staff and students, all while earning multimedia credit for the workshop. Thanks to Derrick D., Michael W., and James F. for you great work.

Sample PSA from Pascal Marcelin on Vimeo.

I 've created a sample PSA to demonstrate the basics of Windows MovieMaker to all 11th grade students. Thanks to Ira E. for the voice-over, even though he was sick. I demonstrated how it was put together using MovieMaker, Photoshop and Zamzar. I've finally given the MovieMaker seminar to the entire 11th grade and their PSA's are starting to come together. It was made using Windows MovieMaker (editing), Photoshop (title) and Garage Band (voice-over & music). Hopefully, I can see some creative PSA'a that show ADVANCED use of MovieMaker. (i.e.- video clips, still pictures, narration, etc.)

Today, I began the 11th grade Windows MovieMaker Seminars. The 11th grade students had an opportunity to work in Windows MovieMaker and edit movie clips. They viewed and critiqued sample Public Service Announcements which included still pictures and motion video. They learned how to use Zamzar to convert online video clips into mpeg files for use their PSA's. MovieMaker allows them to splice the video and use only the segment that they need. Advisors had the opportunity to sit in and learn as well. I can't wait to see some of the finished work.

Labels: 11th Grade, MovieMaker, Zamzar

As of today there have been nearly 300 students who have taken and completed the Multimedia test. According to Mothuri Nmuta, the test developer, there are a number of students who have requested to learn Garage Band. I had the opportunity to pull students for testing last week and I was surprised at the level of proficiency in certain areas. The students are coming with a broad range of skill levels and seem interested in learning more about multimedia in general. Seminars should be in fulll swing once the data is sorted by proficiency level.

Labels: Multimedia, Testing

Students in the 10th grade had an opportunity to come into the Mac lab for a intensive introduction to Adobe Photoshop. Students used PhotoBooth to take their portraits and learned basic photoshop tools and skills including but not limeted to, making paths, creating layers, applying layer effects, cutting and pasting, adding text, using gradient fills and opacity adjusment. Some interesting designs came out of the seminar. Some students even created a poster for Mothuri Angola's Soccer Club. I will post some student samples.

Labels: 10th Grade, Adobe, Photoshop

On September 20, 2007 New Media Tech students and staff rallied in support of the brothers known as the Jena 6. The community poured out their support in the form of "drive by honking" and participation in our chants. It was a site to behold and the students were "fired up" when they witnessed the support from the community. Check out the video that I created about the events of the day.

Jena 6 Rally NMTCS from Pascal Marcelin on Vimeo.

Labels: Jena 6, Rally