Adding Video To Your Web Pages

HTML5 Video accepts 3 different file types mp4, webm and ogg. Not all file types are supported in all browsers except the Chrome 6+ browser will support all three file types. You can use Chrome to determine if your video is working before you test it for operation in other browsers. Order of the video source files is important. The order should be mp4, webm followed by ogg. This is because some tablets may hang if they do not see the mp4 file type first. Instead of adding a fall back text statement in case your video does not play in HTML 5 you can add a flash media player.  Adding a player can be accomplished using http://osmf.org/configurator/fmp/# to get html code for your page in three easy steps. A width of  "720" and height of  "480" is a good starting point for video players. Don't forget to add the attribute "control" so that users can click to start your video. New audio / video files require transcripts to be compliant with the WCAG 2.0 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Beta Site for Connecting Instructors with Technology

Instructors might be interested in a new site from Bill Gates connecting instructors with Education Technology. Here is the link :  http://mobile.thegatesnotes.com/Topics/Education/Graphite-Connecting-Teachers-with-Technology?WT.mc_id=06_27_2013_graphiteISTE_tw&WT.tsrc=Twitter ! Incorporating technology into courses can be done a little bit at a time. Technology changes can stimulate updates to your course keeping your content fresh for students and increasing Student Success !

Move your courses online!

Instructors I have a couple of ideas about getting your courses online for FREE !!! Coursesites from Blackboard offers instructors 5 course websites for free. I think each course size is still 300 Mb. Coursesites has a Grade Center and a testing tool. Not to mention Threaded Discussion! A second Course Management System ( CMS ) is Haiku where instructors are offered 5 free course sites at 200 Mb each. Haiku course websites are more oriented toward K-12. Both of these course management systems are easy to get started with, and provides an easy way to get your class online and using online tools.

Instructors wanting to create simple announcements for classes can use SnagIt from Tech Smith and upload to YouTube. Tech Smith offers SnagIt with a free trial period of 30 days. Tech Smith also has free online training, and many examples. Instructors do not have to show themselves online with SnagIt but a webcam can be used providing students a view of the instructor creating the video recording. SnagIt can be used for both short messages and long lectures. I recommend using shorter mp4 video files in the interest of keeping student interest. Short messages ( 10 Mb ) will upload to YouTube and render on student phones.