News from the Institute for Learning and Research Technology http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/ http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/ http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/images/logo_very_small.jpg 2010/03/18 09:30:25 GMT: There’s a very interesting article in Creative COW about the Canon 5D Mk II, a very advanced digital SLR (or HDSLR) that the author has been using to shoot video with.I was particularly interested in the video clips. A sequence in a night club was remarkable for being shot without any additional lighting (although some artefacts were visible) and the quality of another sequence shot in a shopping mall was remarkable, particularly since it used absolutely top-class still photography lenses. Love that bokeh! http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21291&newsyear=2008 2010-03-18T00:00:00Z 2010/03/17 08:30:58 GMT: Our latest advice documents look at the most useful sites for finding digital media resources online.Photo by alexkerhead on Flickr - used under a Creative Commons licence The first - Finding Video, Audio and Images Online - looks at tools and strategies for finding digital resources, and highlights some of the general sources you can use to find images, video and audio to use in teaching, learning and research. The second - Finding Subject-Specific Digital Media Resources - provides advice and pointers on where to look for particular tyoes of still images, moving images and sound files. We have divided the guide into the following categories: art and architecture; news and current events; history; maps; and science, technology and medicine. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21289&newsyear=2008 2010-03-17T00:00:00Z 2010/03/12 16:49:00 GMT: I recently attended the JISC Developer Days (also know as Dev8D) in London. The event is a little difficult to describe since it isn't a conference, but it also isn't an unconference or barcamp. To quote the organisers, Dev8D is '4 days of 100% pure software developer heaven.' The event was an eclectic but stimulating [...] http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21287&newsyear=2008 2010-03-12T00:00:00Z 2010/03/11 08:05:52 GMT: Our new advice document Creating an Audio Ident provides information on what an ident is, desiging an ident, and how-to create an ident using Audacity software. Photo by robinfeder on Flickr - used under a Creative Commons licence http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21286&newsyear=2008 2010-03-11T00:00:00Z 2010/03/08 16:10:41 GMT: Bipolar Emotional Response Tests (BERTs) Design provokes an emotional response. The positive we remember -  the Mini, the iPhone, the London Underground Map - the negative we try to forget. Websites are no different. While all aspects of design are subjective it is possible to plan for the emotional response you want from your website. It is [...] http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21288&newsyear=2008 2010-03-08T00:00:00Z 2010/03/08 16:10:41 GMT: Bipolar Emotional Response Tests (BERTs) Design provokes an emotional response. The positive we remember -  the Mini, the iPhone, the London Underground Map - the negative we try to forget. Websites are no different. While all aspects of design are subjective it is possible to plan for the emotional response you want from your website. It is [...] http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21290&newsyear=2008 2010-03-08T00:00:00Z 2010/03/08 15:20:20 GMT: Our clients are all really busy, and few of them are full-time website managers. One of the most common complaints I hear is that they don’t have the time to produce enough new, high quality content, and are concerned that parts of their sites may be out of date. On top of this, they are [...] http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21285&newsyear=2008 2010-03-08T00:00:00Z 2010/03/05 13:12:02 GMT: For anyone who’s ever wondered what the grooves on a vinly recording really look like, here’s your answer.Remarkable photos that, amongst other things, illustrate the importance of getting the dust off before you play the recording. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21284&newsyear=2008 2010-03-05T00:00:00Z 2010/03/03 13:36:07 GMT: We have just published a new advice document on scanning and photography.The document is called How Do I Digitise Difficult Objects? and it shows some simple ways to photograph or scan one-off atypical objects including glass plate negatives, small reflective objects and scans from magazines or books. Axial lighting set up used to photograph coins or medals http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21282&newsyear=2008 2010-03-03T00:00:00Z 2010/03/03 09:00:29 GMT: Some quick tips on what to include when asking for help with a problem on your website http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21283&newsyear=2008 2010-03-03T00:00:00Z 2010/03/02 11:04:59 GMT: Google has acquired Picnik an online photo editing site.Photo edited using Picnik by Sandy Redding on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons licence Picnik is a web-based application that allows users to crop, resize and add effects to their images - all through their existing web browser without the need for additional software. Picnik has also been available to users of Yahoo-owned photo sharing site Flickr for a couple of years - it will be interesting to see how Google and Yahoo get on with this new partnership. The official Google Blog announcement does not mention Yahoo, but states “we’d like to continue supporting all existing Picnik partners”. Picnik is one of many options for editing photos - see our Image Editing Software for more information. Online photo editing is likely to become more and more popular - there’s already an online version of Photoshop. Have you used Picnik, Photoshop.com or any other online image editors? Would you be tempted to in the future? http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21281&newsyear=2008 2010-03-02T00:00:00Z 2010/02/19 10:54:48 GMT: The Economics Network is pleased to invite nominations from the economics community for its annual Learning and Teaching Awards scheme. The Awards are open to UK-based academics who have demonstrated excellent commitment, enthusiasm and effectiveness in their teaching practices. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21280&newsyear=2008 2010-02-19T00:00:00Z 2010/02/18 08:00:15 GMT: We have just published a new advice document titled Copyright and Other Rights for Creating Time-based Media. The document aims to provide an introduction to what rights exist, how they are allocated, and how they need to be attained when creating time-based media such as audio or video productions. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21279&newsyear=2008 2010-02-18T00:00:00Z 2010/02/17 11:46:37 GMT: In June, the JISC Regional Support Centre in the south West will be hosting a conference titled “Challenges, Choices and Change in the Age of Enterprise and Engagement” The conference aims to celebrate and showcase the work of our regional learning and skills providers in meeting the business and community engagement agenda http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21278&newsyear=2008 2010-02-17T00:00:00Z 2010/02/16 08:00:48 GMT: A new advice document covering Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), an audio compression method designed to replace MP3.AAC improves on the file compression technology behind MP3 and marries it with the flexible MPEG-4 standard to deliver audio in a package designed to offer users the widest range of delivery and playback tools. Our new advice document AAC Audio and the MP4 Media Format explains the benefits of using AAC in teaching and learning, and how AAC relates to video and other enhanced learning resources. We also look at compatibility and the software which you or your users need to work with AAC audio, and some of the features it can offer. The MPEG-4 standard, of which AAC is a part, is a large and potentially confusing collection of standards and formats, so we try also to cherry-pick some of the most salient features to enable those working with AAC audio in MP4 or M4A format to understand the place of AAC in the wider MPEG-4 family. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21277&newsyear=2008 2010-02-16T00:00:00Z 2010/02/15 08:00:05 GMT: The last 6 months or so has seen a rise in interest from the web developer world with HTML5 (most of the web is built with HTML), as smart folk start to build examples of its new progressive features.So why should we care? Those of us who are horizon scanning will be particularly interested in one of its powerful new features: the ability to play video without a plugin. Past and present, we rely on various plugins to watch video on the web, which can cause headaches if the final user’s computer does not have the correct plugin. HTML5 will help us provide video unrestricted by plugin. Below we link to a demo page that has an example of a HTML5 video player in action. At present this will only work in the latest versions of browsers for Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. My favourite feature is the ability to jump anywhere in the video and have it start immediately. Visit the SublimeVideo player demo site for full details on this exciting development. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21276&newsyear=2008 2010-02-15T00:00:00Z 2010/02/12 12:12:27 GMT: Google takes action to address copyright infringement on Blogger.In a draconian move, Google has recently removed several music blogs from its Blogger and Blogspot services. Citing complaints about the legality of music posted by bloggers as the reason behind their actions, some well known and sometimes longstanding music blogs have been summarily deleted. The owners of the blogs concerned had apparently already been politely but firmly informed that they were in violation of Google’s terms of use, and receiving no adequate explanation, Google has pulled the plug. The bloggers themselves are widely outraged, claiming that much of the audio they post is sanctioned or even supplied by the record companies concerned. However, mostly legal is not completely legal. Complaints of uncleared use of audio in these blogs, in violation of the USA’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, have highlighted some grey areas and assumptions in the use of copyrighted audio, which some bloggers have allegedly failed to address or clarify when asked to do so. Some of this material may of course have been used perfectly legally, but the failure to follow Google’s procedure has led to shutdown. Currently this all centres around American copyright law, but it also starkly demonstrates the importance of gaining permission to use copyrighted material, lest you spoil your ship for a ha’pworth of tar. As always, if you’re not sure, don’t use it! If you want some guidance on audiovisual copyright for your own resources you may want to take a look at our advice documents Copyright: an Overview and Audiovisual Copyright Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21275&newsyear=2008 2010-02-12T00:00:00Z 2010/02/10 15:35:57 GMT: We’ve just published a new advice document covering uncompressed audio file formats.This short guide to Uncompressed Audio File Formats summarises the essential features of common uncompressed digital audio formats, focussing particularly on the WAV family. Suitable for archiving and working with high quality audio, uncompressed files are the best quality medium for digital audio, and figure prominently in the audio workflowat many stages. Here we examine their comparative strengths and how they have evolved to fill different needs, and take a look at the latest developments, including Multichannel Broadcast Wave Format and iXML metadata. Watch this space - further advice on the AAC audio and the MP4 media format will be published shortly! http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21274&newsyear=2008 2010-02-10T00:00:00Z 2010/02/09 08:00:40 GMT: Today JISC Digital Media celebrates its first Birthday! Although the service, previously known as TASI, has been in existence for more than ten years, the team re-branded last year to reflect the growth in the service offering increased support and advice to the FE and HE sector. JISC Digital Media - a JISC Advance service - provides advice, training and guidance on the creation and use of digital media collections (still images, moving images and sound) and their use in learning, teaching and research within the UK FE and HE communities. From help with finding and using the right media, to advice on creating and delivering digital formats or consultancy on managing a digitisation project, the team promotes good practice, technical expertise, the use of appropriate standards and the sharing of knowledge within education. The achievements of the last 12 months have also given the team added cause for celebration - in addition to developing new advice documents and training courses for all media (audio, still image and moving image), the increase in team numbers has given us the opportunity to attend and participate in a wide range of both education and media specific conferences and exhibitions. We gained the platform at many events, promoting the JISC Digital Media team’s expertise and services. In June 2009 the JISC funded project Video Assist was launched by the team. To date, four institutions have been successful in their bids for Video Assist and have benefited from the team’s film expertise. A final call for the third and final round of entries closes on 26 February 2010 - go to the Video Assist page for further details. September saw two launches: firstly, our fortnightly on-line surgery - a one-hour online help and support session, with themes ranging from Basic Microphone Technique and Placement to Using Flickr as a Source of Free-to-Use Images. Secondly, the launch of the service’s first newsletter Intermedia - a quarterly update on the work undertaken by the service and happenings in the world of digital media. Happy Birthday JISC Digital Media! If you would like JISC Digital Media to attend or present at your event or require any further information please contact Karla Youngs, Director on 0117 331 4380; email info@jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk or call 0117 331 4447. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21273&newsyear=2008 2010-02-09T00:00:00Z 2010/02/05 13:47:13 GMT: The Economics Network is seeking a student placement to work at its office in central Bristol in a full-time post during the 2010/11 academic year. Among other responsibilities, the placement will be responsible for the WhyStudyEconomics.ac.uk and StudyingEconomics.ac.uk web sites. Further details are available on StudyingEconomics. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21271&newsyear=2008 2010-02-05T00:00:00Z 2010/02/05 12:31:01 GMT: The Economics Network's annual Student Essay Competition is now open. Anyone studying for an Economics degree in the UKis invited to submit a 1000 word essay, or a short video, to answer the question "How is your economics degree preparing you for life?" The deadline is 21 April 2010 and prizes of up to one thousand pounds are available. Further details are available on our student-focused web site StudyingEconomics.ac.uk . http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21272&newsyear=2008 2010-02-05T00:00:00Z 2010/02/03 13:47:38 GMT: We have just published three new advice documents on copyright and digital media.Meadows in Imperial Valley, California. Photo from Oregon State University Archives on Flickr: The Commons. No known copyright restrictions The first is Copyright: An Overview which provides a broad introduction to the subject: What is copyright? How long does it last? What are the exceptions that allow use of copyrighted works? We also have Audiovisual Copyright: Frequently Asked Questions which answers the most common enquiries we receive through our helpdesk. Finally there’s Copyright and Still Images: Frequently Asked Questions - these too are based on helpdesk questions. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21270&newsyear=2008 2010-02-03T00:00:00Z 2010/02/02 15:33:46 GMT: In recent years, digital cameras have become much cheaper and more widely available. This, coupled with faster Internet connections and the increase in the use of websites such as Flickr and Facebook, has made it far easier for people to create, share, access and use digital images on their websites. Using them legally is not [...] http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21267&newsyear=2008 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z 2010/02/02 15:30:13 GMT: Paul is a Senior Technical Officer with the Internet Development (ID) Group, having joined the ILRT in March 2000. Previously, Paul worked for over four years as Senior Technical Support Engineer and Web Systems Engineer with an Internet software/hardware distribution company supporting a range of web server and statistics packages and networking applications. He has [...] http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21268&newsyear=2008 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z 2010/02/02 11:02:00 GMT: Another great selection of images is now available for all to use without restriction via Flickr.Approaching Logan Airport. 05/1973. Photo from U.S. National Archives on Flickr: The Commons. No known copyright restrictions. The U.S. National Archives is the latest organisation to make some of its vast collection available to the public through The Commons on photo sharing site Flickr. As with all the collections on The Commons, the images are available to use with no known copyright restrictions. Among the gems, you’ll find over 200 landscapes by Ansel Adams and a selection of photos from the Documerica Project - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)‘s document of environmental problems, EPA activities and everyday life in the 1970s. There are many other historical photographs and documents - it’s well worth a look. “Top Women” at U.S. Steel’s Gary, Indiana, Works, 1940-1945. Photo from U.S. National Archives on Flickr: The Commons. No known copyright restrictions. More information is available on the Flickr blog and from the U.S. National Archives. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21269&newsyear=2008 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z 2010/01/29 11:25:15 GMT: Local usability consultancy Cx partners have a thought provoking take on the power of photos to enhance your resources. Take a few minutes to explore 10 ways you can use photos to influence the userexperience Credit: Ant Theobald http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21266&newsyear=2008 2010-01-29T00:00:00Z 2010/01/27 13:27:19 GMT: We have just released a new advice document looking at the different materials used to make film for stills and moving images.A lot of historic film footage was captured on stock which is highly unstable and may not be around much longer. Some collections are potentially explosive and so this document - Analogue Film Types Used for Still and Moving Images - is aimed at helping users identify older film negatives in their collection. The iconic image of the ‘Migrant Mother’ by Dorothea Lange, 1936. Photo from The Library of Congress on Flickr: The Commons - No known copyright restrictions This picture was initially photographed on highly unstable nitrate film. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21265&newsyear=2008 2010-01-27T00:00:00Z 2010/01/26 12:38:26 GMT: The Economics Network has just published a case study from Margaret Giles of Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. It describes how she encouraged her students to make a detailed timeline of the Global Financial Crisis. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21264&newsyear=2008 2010-01-26T00:00:00Z 2010/01/21 14:44:21 GMT: In a recent series of short case studies published by the Economics Network, lecturers report on using the outputs of the Economics FDTL projects in their teaching, reporting the benefits and obstacles. Three deal with the METAL resources for mathematics: METAL resources review; Applying METAL resources in a Level 1 module; Using METAL resources to teach Economics. http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21263&newsyear=2008 2010-01-21T00:00:00Z 2010/01/20 15:37:47 GMT: A new advice document looking at use and management of the popular MP3 audio format. From its suitability for use delivering audio in teaching and learning, to how to use ID3 tags to identify, catalogue and manage your MP3 resources, we look at all aspects of this most well known of sound file types.If you use digital audio in any way at all, you have probably come across MP3s. Home and office computers, mobile phones, iPods, media players… even car stereos and games consoles all now offer facilities for playing back MP3 audio, as well as viewing cover art, lyrics and the myriad other tags which can accompany them. But while most people are at least familiar with what an MP3 is, many don’t know how MP3 works, and which of its many options to choose to get the best from it. Our new User Guide to MP3 aims to explain the essentials of MP3 in an accessible way, as well as exploring its more esoteric audio options and extended capabilities for encapsulating rich metadata. There is a huge range of tools for encoding, decoding and editing MP3, so as well as technical background we cover some common tasks and processes, and include links to resources to enable you to become an MP3 power user! http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/news/news_story?newsid=21262&newsyear=2008 2010-01-20T00:00:00Z