New media tools

This is a list of technologies that are changing the nature of writing and publishing.  It is a full-motion document assembled for the Hollins Writers Conferences that take place each winter at Hollins University in Roanoke Va.   

———–    FIXING THE IDEA   ———-

Writing tools  Tired of MS Word?  Organizing a big project? Try:

  • Scribner — Aprox.  $40 / lots of flexibility, and far superior to MS Word. Highly recommended for professional writers. Free trial version available.
  • Celtx — Free, add-ons for sale, not as versatile as Scribner but slightly better for film scripts.
  • Open Office — Functions much like MS Office but available for free.

Collaborative platforms

  • Google Docs,  Hackpad , Etherpad and PrimaryPad

———–   IMAGING  ———–

  • Adobe Photoshop is the standard. It is essential for pre-press work for print publication (esp. color profile matching), but it is expensive.  Other imaging applications  for photo touch-up and web publication work just as well.
  • Gimp (image editor, free,  same basic processing as Photoshop)
  • Google NIK photo editor (free)
  • PhotoSphere iPhone (creates Panoramic 360 degree images)

———–   ANIMATION / STOP MOTION   ———–

  • DragonFrame  ($300) – Best stop motion animation application
  • MonkeyJam  – Free, not as many features as DragonFrame
  • StopMotionPro   ($185 or $18 / month)
  • AnimatorHD  ($66 non-commercial)
  • Adode Lightroom allows you to edit animations and time-lapse videos in bulk.

———  VIDEO & AUDIO  Streaming   ———–

———  AUDIO  EDITING   ———–

———  VIDEO  EDITING  ———–

  • Lightworks, versatile, complex free video editor (free version only exports YouTube-sized files)
  • Blender VSE, Videolan, other open source free video editors listed on Wikipedia.
  • Windows Movie Maker (MicroSoft, free, good but limited)
  • iMovie (poor quality, difficult interface, but free)
  • Adobe Premier – Fairly good quality digital editor, cheaper than…
  • Final Cut Pro – Pro-sumer high-end video editing

———–   MAPPING  ———–

———-   REPORTING & SOCIAL MEDIA   ———–

  • Social news channels 
    Reddit, Slashdot, Fark, Digg, Newsvine
  • Social media
    Tumblr,  Flickr,  Pinterest , Google+, Facebook, Twitter
  • Real time front channel
    Skype,  AOL, Google+
  • Real-time Backchannel
    Hotseat  —  parallel online discussion
    Tweckling with twitter
  • Confidential communication 
    WickR App
    protonmail.com

———  PRESENTATION & PUBLISHING ———–

  • Presentation 
    Prezi  –  www.prezi.com  zoomable powerpoint for web with hotspots
    Viologues – running text next to any video (eg YouTube)
    Stupeflix, Pixorial   – video production
    Voicethread – share dialog, documents, presentations etc through the  cloud
    For more formal & organized presentations than etc
  • New publishing 
    TED books — example Deep Water by Daniel Grossman
    videos, charts, interactive maps, photos and audio asides throughout the text – a  multimedia   adventure.
    Amazon books — Like other marketers reaching upstream
    Also Lulu, Xlibris, createSpace, AuthorHouse, BiblioBazaar, Kessinger Books, Zerobooks
    Atavist: www.atavist.com
    Byliner  —  Short non-fiction for sale via web   —
    Utellstory  — Elementary school storytelling collaborations
    Taz.de — Berlin based consumer co-op / writers co-op / Publishers reaching downstream
    Trove —  digitized Australian newspapers  recruited the public to help decipher difficult-to-read newspaper pages,
  • Funding Kickstarter,  UnglueIt

———  EDUCATION ————–

——– RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES  ——–

  • Learning rights for the digital age
    Right to access, Right to privacy.  Right to create public knowledge
    Right to own your own personal data and intellectual property
    Right to financial transparency, Right to quality and care
    Right to pedagogical transparency
    Right to have great teachers,  Right to be teachers
    ‘A Bill of Rights and Principles for Learning in the Digital Age’ Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2013
  • The ideal public sphere (Jurgen Habermas)
    Autonomy from state and economic power,
    Inclusion and equality,
    Open  exchange and critique of claims
    Reflexivity (re-consider yourself)
    Ideal role taking. (Considering others)
    Comprehensive and transparent  — Effort to make known all information, including their true intentions & interests

GREAT NON-FICTION USING NEW MEDIA TOOLS

EDUCATION IN NEW MEDIA