Friday 20 April 2012

Is it a video? Is it a picture? No, it's a gif...Kinotopic

I took the long way round to get to work this morning, as I wanted to have a peep at the cherry blossom before the massive crowds rock along to the castle this weekend - and before the rain due this afternoon.

I also wanted to try out a new app I found for my iPhone (no, not instamatic!). The app is called Kinotopic (details here) and what it essentially does is freeze a short 2-3 second video clip. Why bother? Good question...what the app then enables you to do is 'unfreeze' a portion or portions of the frame with a swipe of your finger, where a repetitive motion is then looped into the otherwise static picture. You can add other effects (as here, a grainy sepia effort - I really couldn't see very well, editing in the bright sunshine so it was potluck).

What do you think - would you like to try out Kinotopic?

Sunday 15 April 2012

Luna's 2012 Ohanami BBQ

Dad hard at workIn the shadeHappy familySupervisor KaiTime warpKids' assault course!
Kyo-chan & mumRin gets hand upJump!Kai & mumOn the slopesWhere are the kids?
Are you a native speaker?Luna's patchPicnic urchinsChilling outLet's play!Coco-chan
BBQ babesLuna's bbqPracticing to be a princessSnackingYukari, Kat & AnnaMore meat?
Luna's 2012 Ohanami BBQ, a set on Flickr.
Well, I had a great time (until the hay fever attacked me). It was so good to see so many students past and present come and join us for a lazy afternnon by the river!

I was delighted Soichi could drop by & say hi - I used to teach him back in 1990! Anna-chan I taught when she was in elementary school, now asking about mummy & kids classes with her little sisters! Do I feel old?!

Yuki-chan couldn't eat anything because everyone wanted to catch up with her - meantime all the children ran themselves into the ground exploring river & rocks...one or two grazed knees!

Yet again we were blessed with lovely weather, a mountain of food and a small lake of ale. I hope everyone had enough?

Thank you all for coming, for sharing a great day out with us and for making it feel like spring has finally arrived :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ppTu2UEMM&feature=youtube_gdata

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Slideshow on the fly - Animoto via iPhone




My class needed some extra practice with the dreaded drilling; they really do not produce any 'extended' language unless I use a taser. No, we don't have one, but...

When we used a teacher's book resource lately we had an absentee, so I joined and made one myself (OK! I like a quick colouring in as well!). This week the retrieval system the children use = half a dozen knackered, ripped, squashed, battered and lost artifacts. Hmm.

Have already made the flashcards available on Quizlet (click here)for the unit we are doing (but I don't think the mums bother, which is a pity - especially as they ask vaguely "how come there does not appear to be a great deal of progress being made"). So, in between classes I quickly photographed the surviving artwork on my iPhone, and then opened up the (new) Animoto app. Imported the pictures, changed the muzak, added a title & left it to cook. Whole process took less than 5 minutes (the colouring took longer!) & I had a nice 'job done' email by the end of my next lesson.




Now the free version of Animoto only gives you 30 seconds, and a limited choice of music. For more flexibility I like Stupeflix, and am happy with the paid up version as good value for money. For this,very much on the fly, a free 30 second cobble-job better than a poke in the eye I say.

What are your experiences with making slideshows in a hurry?

Monday 2 April 2012

March slideshow - Luna warmth

As you can see, there was no shortage of happy faces around the school in March, and lots of activity - important as it was still cold out & frequently trying to snow!

Check out the fun - press play!