We used a combination of tools to create are beautiful final project, such as, Windows Movie Maker, Camtasia, Jing/Screencaster, and YouTube, to upload and output the final product. Well, Jing was used to create the tutorial sections, that was the best idea that one of my group member’s wanted to go with so that we could show the actions of taking the tutorial live, instead of just screen caps. I used Camtasia, to edit, add, cut, and enhance the tutorial clips. Camtasia because the videos files from Jing are export out as .swf (Flash file), and so when I took it into one video editing software it did not do too well, and then I took it into Camtasia and the .swf was compatible. Finally, the use of Windows Movie Maker came very last minute, due to the non-compatibility of one of the group member’s audio files in Prezi. The end product was supposed to be in Prezi, which is what the group agreed on in the very beginning. But when the audio files did not convert as the Prezi blog said it would, an executive decision was made and was moved over to WMM. In the end, using WMM made out a lot better than using than using Prezi.
What I learned from the development process is that every member in the group has their roles and their strengths. I considered one member the leader of the group, she was the one that made sure things got done, and kept everyone on task, and probably was the most stressed. The other member was get it done guy, and that is what he did, he got the tutorials done, and did not need much more info. My role was the creative guy, I was the one that took all the parts and put them together, which then the leader put the final touches to the whole project. When knowing what you are supposed to be doing, it makes working as a group so much easier, especially when you have a group that has the same vision. Oh and as usual, if something can go wrong, it usually does, but quick thinking, is always good to counter act the situation.
I personally would not do anything differently, except from jump, decide to not do the presentation in Prezi. It is cool tool, but it very limited to when it comes to creativity and using outside media files. I learned in my 810 class about the PowerPoint Kiosk mode, and so I might have considered running the tutorial through there, so it would be a stand-alone interactive tutorial. Overall I am greatly pleased with our final product, and the work that the whole group put into.
