using PSP as a 'blackboard'

[ldecola]

i'm interested techniques for using PSP in the classroom as a 'blackboard,' whereby the user can place a graphic in a layer and use the pen tool to mark it up, highlight features in the image, etc.

i'd think that a video on this might be popular among educators...

Lee De Cola
DATA to Insight.

[LeviFiction]

Hmmm....sounds like an interesting idea. Though I would have to see a video on it. XD

Right now in place of an actual smart-board (stupid high price-tags) I'm looking into using Microsoft's Mouse Mischief with PowerPoint to allow students to interact with, draw on, and answer questions in my powerpoints. But adding a tool like PSP to my list of technologies I can utilize for various lessons would be awesome.

[df]

Cheap alternative if you already have a projector. I haven't tried this yet, but thanks for reminding me. I may try it out soon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ
PSP works with my Wacom tablet pretty well, so I'd assume that a whiteboard/blackboard application would work as well.

[ldecola]

the wiimote idea looks neat, but goes beyond what i want.

the advantage of PSP is that i'll have a record of my comments on the image... so i guess that's all there is to my idea:

1. a background image that supports layers,
2. a vector (raster) layer for pen (brush) comments and highlights,
3. another opaque layer for the 'blackboard'
4. a final layer for overall comments.

this means i don't have to have yet another copy of the image in powerpoint...

i don't (yet) have the ability to make a video.

Lee De Cola.

[LeviFiction]

If you have a computer you have the ability to make a video. I make them all the time, of course I use all free software for it.

Well when you make your own video I hope you'll share a link. I'm a bit slow when it comes to things like this. Really struggled in college because I didn't get the hands on training until my senior year. Definitely more of a kinesthetic & visual learner than anything else.

[ldecola]

ok, i'll try to make a video - based on what goes in on the screen, plus sound. what software do you recommend?

Lee De Cola.

[LeviFiction]

Like all OpenSource geeks I recommend CamStudio. Though I can't guarantee it's quality on your computer people have reported varying success with it.

http://camstudio.org/

Just go ahead and scroll down the page until you see this portion, just download camStudio2.0 and the lossless codec 1.4. The others are experimental beta only.



After you have everything installed go ahead and run CamStudio and it should look like the picture below. And we're going to quickly edit the settings. Select "Options" from the menu bar and select Video Options from there.



If you installed the lossless codec like I advised then in the video options dialog make sure that that codec is selected in the top drop-down menu.

In America the traditional frame-rate is 30 fps, well 2.999 fps, but CamStudio can't do decimals for its frame rates. So the recommended settings are 25 frames per second at a new keyframe every 25 frames, getting a new frame every 40 milliseconds. See image below for the settings I use for best quality.



Adjust the quality as needed, do a few tests to match quality and accuracy.

Turn off Auto-Adjust at the bottom, this does more harm than good. And you can see how those settings are set-up.

And then hit okay and you should be ready to start recording. Just hit the record button and you're good to go. Hit stop to close it and it should ask you for the filename to save the new video as. Save it out, it'll do some post processing, and you should have your video.

[ldecola]

Thanks, LeviFiction...i'll give it a try; maybe you need to make a video on how to run camtasia (interesting that THEY use a whiteboard to sell the app!)?

Lee.