Yo Yo Ma

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Alvin Trusty

I have always wanted to create a post with that subject and I finally have a topic that works.

Many of you probably watched the inauguration and heard “Air and Simple Gifts” performed by Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Itzhak Perlman (violin), Anthony McGill (clarinet), and Gabriela Montero (piano).  The piece was composed by John Williams famous for his Darth Vader march.

The piece was commissioned by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.  I think that means John Williams was acting as an agent of the federal government when he composed the work.  Does that make it automatically in the public domain?  Actually this is more complicated.  Williams used another source as inspiration for this work.  One of Obama’s favorite classical composers is Aaron Copland.  Copland’s 1944 ballet “Appalachian Spring” contains the source work, “Simple Gifts” with was written in 1848.  The copyright on the piece from the 1800’s has long expired, but it certainly has not for “Appalachian Spring.”

Here is something else that I find mind-blowing.  Take a look at the Wikipedia entry for Air and Simple Gifts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_and_Simple_Gifts

The article was created shortly after the piece was performed at the inauguration on Jan. 20.  Within 24 hours of “Air and Simple Gifts” original performance, dozens of people have collaborated to create an informative and well referenced article available to the whole world for free.  When “W” was sworn in as the 43rd President in 2000, Wikipedia had not been invented.  Imagine what the next eight years will bring us.

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Digital Camera First

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Alvin Trusty

Here is a digital first, and yet another way a digital camera can be used. This picture of Obama was taken with a digital camera and is the first “official portrait” of a president-elect to be taken with a digital camera.

It was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.  You can see all the settings here.

The picture is credited to Pete Souza, but should automatically be in the public domain because Souza is working for the federal government when taking the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Un-anonymize the heckler

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Alvin Trusty

High school sports fans can be brutal.  The bleachers can be inches from the field of play and some fans do not know when to stop.  Coming from a family of teachers, most of us have coached at one time or another.

The latest incident involved a fan sitting right behind the coach, about four rows up (just out of reach).  This guy was screaming at the top of his lungs at the coach.  He was not about to stop until someone on the bench took out a camera.

One of the assistants simply turned around and started snapping pictures.  When you do something like this, you want to make sure the flash is working.  It won’t make the picture better, but it will telegraph the fact that you are taking pictures.  After you have the heckler’s attention, pull out a video camera and tripod.  Point it right at the guy.  No one wants to be the next YouTube doofus feature.

People act differently when they know a camera is pointed at them.  Shots are more candid when the subject doesn’t know the camera is pointed in his/her direction.  Check out the “super-secret spy lens” for your SLR.  This could be just as much fun as filming the heckler.
 

 

 

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Get to know your class

Posted on January 9, 2009 by Alvin Trusty

On the first day of class I take a picture of every student.  I don’t have a nice plain wall to use as a background.  I pull the projector screen down in the front of the room and have each student stand in front of it.  It works well.

As I take each picture, I have the students write their names on a sheet of paper.  The camera saves the pictures as files with consecutive numbers at the end of the file names.   After class I rename each picture using the student’s name from the gradebook.  I use Irfanview‘s Thumbnail tool to create a contact sheet for each class (insert is pixelated to protect the identities of my students).  I use this to learn the names of the students.

After making the contact sheet, I resize all the pictures to 1024×768 and store them in the document area of Blackboard.  We use the pictures in several assignments during the semester.  We make several PowerPoint presentations using the pictures.  When we format Word documents, I have them place their own picture at the top of the document (makes it easy to know who the paper belongs to) and format text around it.  I use them in another lesson that requires the student to demonstrate knowledge of cropping.  In one assignment I have each student select a graphics program and add text over the picture.

The only thing I do not have them do is place the pictures on a public network, which is why I have pixelated the contact sheet in this post.  That leads to discussions on privacy and copyright.

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Taking Attendance

Posted on January 8, 2009 by Alvin Trusty

Normally it takes me about two minutes to take attendance in class.  I’m trying something different this semester.  Using my point-and-shoot I can snap four pictures covering everyone in class in about ten seconds.

Every day I post these pictures in Blackboard.  If someone misses class, he/she can easily see who was there and pick up the notes.  The pictures I post in Blackboard are full size (8 megapixel).  The resolution is high enough that it is easy to identify everyone.

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