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Sustaining Productivity Presentation at LUC Tech Day 2014

By • On • In Presentations, Self-Teaching

Using Evernote to embrace digital notetaking

There are a myriad of notetaking solutions available now, but Alma found Evernote first. Alma presented about Evernote and how it shortens the time between scribble and recycle. She can digitize, photograph, clip, crop, speak-to-text and embed with Evernote to save just about anything she needs to take note of. Then once the note is in the cloud, it can be organized by notebooks and tags. Alma can search the full text or OCR and even set a reminder. All of the above in any combination or permutation needed to get things done.

View the complete presentation from TechDay here (link uses Adobe Connect).

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Chad & Jeremy Collaboration

By • On • In Client Work, Design and Web, Photos and Videos, Productions

Chad & Jeremy, British Invasion Duo known for their Billboard hits Yesterday’s Gone, Summer Song, Distant Shores, Before and After, and more, reunited in 2004 and have toured since then, also appearing on several television and radio specials and PBS appearances.

Alma joined their team as official photographer and videographer in late 2013, touring with them in 2013 and 2014.

Alma’s main accomplishments since beginning this collaboration are:

Continue Reading →

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CCUMC Presentation- Computer Labs: Typing to Digital Media Powerhouses

By • On • In Presentations, Teams and Groups

Alma presented this with her Digital Media Services colleagues at the CCUMC (Consortium of College and University Media Centers) Conference in Oak Brook, Illinois in October 2013.

The presentation focuses on the evolution of on-campus computer labs throughout the past decades, from the time when personal computers were prohibitively expensive and dial-up internet created issues for family houses to now. The ubiquity of mobile computing and cloud software has placed a very different set of demands on computing spaces, including fast access to printing or kiosks, high-power creative and statistical software, and access to protected databases.

The presentation is available for review here.

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Video Competencies Online Courses

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Productions, Teams and Groups

October 2012 – May 2013, as Digital Media Specialist at Loyola University Chicago

Alma planned, developed and created a multi-tiered curriculum on Video Production. Using Articulate Studio 8, the short tutorials were made of powerpoints combined with narrative media and multimedia interactions and short assessments. Alma did have the assistance of several part-time staff, one was dedicated to the project for 10 hours per week for three months. A large part of the curriculum development involved teaching those who assisted with the development of the training media.

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Snell Wedding videos and DVD

By • On • In Client Work, Design and Web, Productions, Volunteering

Snell Wedding DVD Cover (Mockup)Alma had never shot video at a wedding before, so to be asked by her two close friends Courtney and Andy not only set a precedent, but it set goals at a very high level. Alma was present for much of their relationship, and she wanted to use this opportunity to show them how much they meant to her.

Alma used the video camera they received as a shower gift, so they could watch the footage and continue adding footage while on their honeymoon. This added an additional need for some speedy transferring of video during the reception, but Alma was able to give them the wonderful surprise of two short (snapshot) videos and a full DVD. Alma designed the DVD case to look like a feature film, complete with a plot, guided by the story of how they met and fell in love.

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Video Short Courses

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations

The series of video production short courses Alma developed for Loyola University Chicago included basic concepts in three different areas: preparation, production software, and special effects.

The workshop on preparation includes the different styles of pre-production documents, breaking them down and including what special needs they meet depending on workflow. Alma’s presentation on production software, or the Non-Linear Editor, is a mixture of background knowledge and workflow. This ties closely to Alma’s educational values, she has always felt that knowing why something is the way it is factors largely in how it is understood. The last presentation, on the Green Screen special effect covers how the effect works, and how it can be used.

With the increased access to high caliber video production tools, these presentations were supposed to entice the Loyola community to use video, and teach a little more about why things work (or don’t work) the way they do.

For more details on the specific topics of these presentations:

Continue Reading →

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Photoshop Short Courses

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations, Projects

One of the series of short courses Alma developed, as Digital Media Specialist at Loyola University Chicago was on Adobe Photoshop. The courses covered topics from Adobe’s desire to eradicate the use of “photoshop” as a verb and common photo retouching actions as well as some tools for photo manipulation. Some of the features that were highlighted are:

  • Content Aware Fill
  • Adjustment Layers and Masks
  • Dodge and Burn Tools
  • Puppet Warp
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DMS Short Courses

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations, Projects, Teams and Groups

In an effort to promote Digital Media Services support services and wider use of digital media on campus, Alma and one of her colleagues developed an structure to deliver short courses in six different tracks. These tracks included Computer Solutions, Web Apps, Media Theory, and Mobile Computing as well as a track that focuses on equipment and software available through Digital Media Services and a Contest Track.

The tracks were developed to tie course topics together and enable students to become “certified” in an area, with the exception of the contest track. The contest track intended to tie together short courses that would benefit students interested in entering one of the planned monthly contests.

All short courses were developed to be 60 minutes long and be conducted within the Digital Media Lab at one of Loyola University Chicago’s Lakeside campuses. Continue Reading →

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Oakton Community College Tutor Training Development

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations, Teams and Groups

In developing annual tutor training with her colleagues, Alma sought out different resources and even non-academic approaches for inspiration. Many tutors in attendance would have had multiple years of training, so adding some variety to the training repertoire would be worthwhile.

Tutors must build a rapport and constantly read the comprehension level of those they’re working with. Comics must, similarly, know and adapt to their audiences while maintaining a quality of performance. Why not apply some advice from stand-up-comedians to tutoring situations?

Some topics may include: Continue Reading →

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Twelve Tech Tips, Sixty Minutes

By • On • In Presentations, Teams and Groups

This presentation was to be delivered at a start of school faculty and staff mini-conference. The slides pick twelve simple technology tools that can change the way you present ideas, save ideas, quiz yourself, and enrich yourself. Alma had highlighted each tool previously in a weekly Tech Tip email she sent to her department in order to foster more interest in technology and comfort with technology.

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