Videoshop - Nice addition to iOS apps for simple publishing

According to its iTunes entry, Videoshop has the following attributes.

Videoshop is an easy video editor with fast editing tools, filters and many other effects for personalizing your videos.

FEATURES
1. Music: Integrate songs from your iPod to your videos.
2. Trim: Cut out any unwanted moments.
3. Slow motion: Adjust video speed to slow or fast.
4. Combiner: Merge multiple clips into one.
5. Text: Type your own text with color or various fonts.
6. Voice overs: Record your own voice over the video.
7. Sound effects: Choose from animals noises, farts, explosions, laughter, and more.
8. Animated titles: Introduce your videos with animated titles.
9. Filters: Select from several Instagram-inspired filters to enhance your videos.
10. Transitions: Choose from 10 transitions to animate between video clips.
11. Photos: Create slideshows easily.
13. Stop Motion: Create Vine videos with stop motion recording.
14. iTunes store: Access and purchase music directly from the app.
15. Reverse: Playback videos in reverse.
16. Copy: Create duplicate video clips.
17. High resolution videos: Supports up to 720p.
18. Share on Vine, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or by E-mail.

Now - what Videoshop does is the usual video composition stuff - it takes your pictures and existing video from your camera roll, but using all of the functionality above you get some cool results.... all very quickly.

Here are a few screen shots and a finished 40 second video. All took about 5 minutes this morning between classes. Really easy, really quick!  I got this app when it was free on the App Store though its regular price is around $2.50.

Apply effects and themes

Sharing options

Start screen

Original images

Original images

And the finished video using "vintage effect".

DimDim for Videoconferencing

Have been on the lookout for a desktop videoconferencing tool to use for groups of 10 - 15 teachers scattered around the country. I have known of DimDim for a few months now, and though I have recommended that some of my students check out it's feature set as part of their project on emerging technologies, to be honest I hadn't taken the time to check it out myself. Until last night, that is.

At first glance, DimDim looks just what I am looking for. It's free for up to 20 users, and has plenty of low cost alternatives if you need to go further than that. It is entirely web-based, so no downloads and the like. Last night I shared a 12 page PDF file with my test buddy, and even without using a headset and microphone, communication was OK - though I'll use them next time.

DimDim looks to have all of the usual features (whiteboard, chat, desktop, web and slide options), so at this stage I'm reasonably impressed. We'll give it another once over from school next week, but at this stage it looks like it could be a goer for our application. If you are on the lookout for a videoconferencing tool, check it out.

Netbook vs Notebook Part 1

We run a 1:1 program (I actually hate that term - we really run a learning program) at our school. So I've been watching the development of the netbook closely, as no doubt have a number of our parents.

I have a Dell Latitude E4300 (same as this year's student intake) and an HP Mini 2140 with 2 GB Ram and 160 GB hard drive. At a superficial level they have similar specs, and to be honest until last night at the basic stuff I was pretty happy with the performance of the HP Mini. Apart from the 576 pixels vertically, I could cope. Google Earth kind of runs, browsing is fine.

But last night I had the occasion to upload 7 x 3 minute videos from my Flip Ultra to Voicethread. And here was my first real negative. 49 minutes to prepare the files for uploading on the HP Mini, 11 minutes on the Latitude E4300. So, for me, while this is not necessarily a show stopper, it certainly supports the notion that a Netbook may have a significant achilles heel in our environment. My next test will need to look at video editting on the two - just some simple stuff, but our students do a lot of this stuff, so we need to know!

By the way, Flip cameras are awesome, I've had an Ultra for 8 months now - love it!