A Lesson for the Teachers

I had some questions come up based on my previous lesson plans about how to actually get the photos uploaded from the camera to the computer in order to use them in programs such as MS Word, editing programs, and email. So for my Video Capture assignment I actually made a movie about how to do this. The program I used for this assignment, Camtasia Studio 5, was amazing. It was very user friendly and has EXCELLENT video tutorials (trust me, I think I watched them all!!) on how to actually make your recording. I am choosing it as one of my resources for this week, because I think both teachers and students could use this in the classroom. It would be a wonderful resource for teachers to make for students. For example, if you wanted your students to edit a photo, you could do a recording of some basic steps, that way you would only have to do the process once and the students could refer to it as many times as they needed in order to complete the assignment. This would leave you free to spend time on the actual content, instead of procedural reminders. I really encourage you to click on the hyperlink above to download a free trial. :o)

Now to actually getting the photos to the computer. The first step may be a little different depending on your camera/memory device.

• If your camera records to a CD, you can insert that directly into your CD-Rom drive and it should bring up the same screen that shows up in the video.
  
• If your camera records to a Memory Card there are two general options:
1. Take the memory card out and insert it into your computer's memory card reader. These readers are standard on most new computers. Just read under the openings (slots) to see which one corresponds to the name/type of memory card your camera uses.
2. Use the cord that came with your camera to connect it to the computer. One end will only fit into the AV /OUT opening on your camera and the other end will only fit into the USB drive on your computer.

• Once you have completed either of those steps it should bring up the screen you will see on the video.
  
• An important point from the video is that you MUST KNOW where you saved your pictures. I usually save mine in the Pictures file and tag (or name) the folder with a "hint" of what the pictures are. This makes it really easy to find them when browsing the list from another program.
  
• The video goes on to show you the steps of how to email photos, because that was another request I had.
• I hope this helps!

Happy Snapping! ~Sabrina