Les Téléjournaux (9)  

La Conversion

Milton Alan Turner                  
Saint Ignatius High School                      Cleveland,         Ohio

Grades

11th Grade through 12th Grade

Subjects

Main Subject

Foreign Language

AP French IV, French IV

 

Secondary Subject

Foreign Language

French III

 

Other

Foreign Language

Spanish I

Overview

The students will produce a three to five-minute television new show and a one or two-page newspaper.  The shows will be videotaped and converted to the RealVideo format for streaming over the Internet and the newspapers will be converted into Adobe Acrobat PDF format for viewing over the World Wide Web.

Time Frame
One day

Objectives

In this lesson, students (or teacher) will:

·         convert VHS video to digital format (optional)

·         convert VHS or digital video file into RealMedia (RM) format

*       load files to web server running RealNetworks RealServer for streaming

Materials

*      VHS video camera or VCR

*      Pentium MMX 233Mhz computer with 64 MB RAM, 1GB HD, and video capture card

*      Web server with configurable MIME types running RealNetworks RealServer Basic

·        Microsoft® Software Used in this Lesson

 Microsoft® NT IIS                                           Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.01

 Microsoft® Word                                            Microsoft® Works 4.0

·        Other Software Used in this Lesson

RealNetworks Real Encoder 5.0 or higher or RealPublisher 5.0 or higher, RealNetworks RealServer Basic 5.0 or higher, RealNetworks RealPlayer 5.0 or higher, FrontPage Express (or similar HTML editor)

Procedure

If video editing facilities are available, the students (or teacher) should add any effects and edit the videotaped presentations before encoding.  If computerized video editing software is available, the videotape should first be converted to an acceptable video format and then edited.  (Consult “Help” files or documentation of video editing software program for complete details.)

The students (or teacher) will take edited videotape (or edited video file) to a computer with RealEncoder or RealProducer 5.0 or higher.  Upon launching the program, the user will be prompted for the input source (directly from video camera/VCR or from file).  The user will then be prompted to specify the type of connection the target audience will be using.  28.8 modem is recommended to reach the widest possible audience, but 56K modem provides the best results.  (The user can create a additional versions in the higher quality formats as done at http://www.ignatius.edu/turner/ and http://www.ignatius.edu/modlang/video.htm.)  The user will then be prompted to provide a file name (with an RealMedia (RM) extension and location.  It is recommended that the user specify the same folder in which the PDF files were saved (see Lesson 8).

A split screen window will appear showing the video input (tape or file) and the output quality.  The user may decide whether or not to allow the users of RealPlayer Plus to save the finished files to disk when viewing by selecting or deselecting the “Selective Recording” option.

When the tape (or file) is cued to the beginning of the presentation, the user will click on “Start” and begin recording.  When the end of the video has been reached, the user will click on “Stop.”  The user may now click on “Play” to launch RealPlayer and preview the video.  This procedure will be repeated for each video (or version of a video).

Once satisfied with the output, the user should now launch FrontPage Express (or similar HTML editor) and add hyperlinks to these videos on the “index.htm” file (see Lesson 8).  A special address (such as “pnm://” instead of “http://”) may be required. The “index.htm” file should be previewed in a web browser to test whether RealPlayer launches properly.  (The user may choose to use RealNetwork RealPublisher to simplify this process.)

The folder and files contained within it are now ready to be uploaded to the web server.  Contact your System Administrator for complete details.  The URL for this folder and the “index.htm” file should be entered into a web browser to test proper video streaming.

National Standards Addressed by this Lesson

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Standards for Foreign Language Learning

*       Standard 1.2 Written and Spoken Communication

*       Students listen to and edit news articles in the language

*       Standard 3.1 Furthering Connections

*       Students discuss news items on a variety of topics.

*       Standard 5.2 Life-long Learning

*       Students develop insights necessary for media and computer literacy

 

For additional relevant information, visit the following Web sites:

Saint Ignatius High School- Les Téléjournaux

http://www.ignatius.edu/turner/

Student television news videos (in RealVideo format) and newspapers (in Adobe Acrobat format).

 

Saint Ignatius High School- Annual Foreign Language Week Video Contest Winners

http://www.ignatius.edu/modlang/video.htm

Student videos in Spanish and French (in RealVideo format).

 

Author Contact Information

Name                         Milton Alan Turner

Mailing Address      Saint Ignatius High School

Street                         1911 West 30th Street

City, State/Province Postal Code or Zip Cleveland, Ohio      44113-3495  

Telephone                216-651-0222          

Fax                             216-651-6313

E-Mail Address MTurner@ignatius.edu or MAT@aol.com

School Home Page URL http://www.ignatius.edu/