Getting Started
Introduction | Getting Started | Suggested Activities
Video Production and Editing Tips | Standards Connections

This section guides you through the basics of using the "Car of the Future" Open Content Web site.

Materials

• computer with high-speed Internet connection

• QuickTime or Windows Media Player, for previewing clips

• hard drive storage for clip downloads (clips range in size from about about 2 MB to 12 MB)

Procedure

1. You can find clips four ways from the "Car of the Future" Open Content Web site homepage:

   • By Scene: This links you to an index of 30 scene clips, commonly referred to as B-roll.

   • By Topic: Choose from among 13 topics (or choose all) to get a listing of interviews and scenes on that topic.

   • By Interview: Choose from among nine topics (or choose all) to get a listing of interviews on that topic.

   • By Keyword: Type in your own keyword to find interviews and scenes that contain your keyword.

2. Click on a clip title from the search results to select it. From the clip page, you can preview and/or download the clip. (To view clips online, you will need to have QuickTime or Windows Media Player installed on your computer.) When downloading clips, be sure students have individual project folders into which they can save the clips they wish to use. If you have limited class time, a slow Internet connection, and/or a limited number of computers, consider downloading clips that you want students to use before assigning an activity.

3. Download several clips and guide students through the process of how to make a video using a video-editing tool. The Open Content Web site does not include a video-editing tool. If you wish students to edit video clips from the site, you will need software such as iMovie (for Macs) or Movie Maker (for PCs). If you or your students are not familiar with the available software, you may want to edit together a simple "video" from two or three clips first before proceeding with more involved activities. The Video Production and Editing Tips section in this Teachers section contains tips on making videos and links to guides on how to use iMovie and Movie Maker.

4. Help students find a place to post their videos. File hosting is not currently available on the Open Content Web site. However, if you post completed videos on another site, such as YouTube, you can include the link to your video in the Comments section on the Share Your Videos page, or submit the link to NOVA using the Feedback form on that page. NOVA will spotlight selected videos.