An innovative educational activity

by Keith Strachan - Cecil Rhodes School

The Grade 4 students of Cecil Rhodes and Stanley Knowles have just finished up a project entitled “Pottermania”.  This project was a celebration of the new and exciting books authored by J.K. Rowlings. This project involved many activities that incorporated art, literature, writing and technology.  

At the outset we were trying to create a technology related activity that would tie in with a magical theme.  It was during this search that we stumbled across WinMorph! WinMorph is a slick freeware tool for morphing images, and it's extremely easy to use. By following a simple three-step process, you can warp and morph a pair of images in minutes. Perform morphing sequences of bitmap or JPEG images on your hard drive. The program can automatically resize images so that they fit together. Further, WinMorph lets you rotate or twist your images. Add a series of "control lines" as reference points for warping, and initiate the morphing process with a click.

WinMorph features a great preview feature, which lets you check out your generated morph in just a couple of minutes. Once finished, you can save your morph as either an AVI or MPEG file. Options include the ability to specify number of frames, range and the duration of a clip. If you plan to publish or distribute the clip on the Internet, you'll want to take advantage of WinMorph's compression features. Depending on the output format, you can configure the file's data rate, compression quality and key frames.  

What is morphing? The 3D Graphics/Virtual Reality web site defines "morph" as follows:   "Morph is an expression used to describe the transformation of one shape into another. Made famous by a Michael Jackson video where he morphs human to animal and back." http://3dgraphics.about.com/compute/3dgraphics/library/glossary/bldef-morph.htm

You can view your new creation with WinMorph's built-in AVI video player. This freeware program will be a nice addition to anyone's graphic design toolbox.  

Specifications:  

So how did this great freeware program fit into out Potter project? Quite simply, it allowed us to hold our own version of a Transformation Class! We decided that we’d show our students how to transform themselves into an animal of their choosing!

We started off following the tutorial at the link listed previously to get an idea how this program worked. Then through a process of trail and error, we discovered a number of tricks that ensured the morphing process went as smoothly as possible and that the final results were quality, eye-pleasing morphs!

Preparing for the Morphing Process:  

• Create a directory for each student somewhere on the server. This directory will hold the source and output files for that student. By default, WinMorph saves the final morph as well as the morph project in the same directory as the two source images each student needs. This directory structure will keep things organized.

• Take super high quality digital pictures of the students against a neutral background for one of the source images.

• Full facial shots work best. Both source files should be full front face on shots. Crop the images so that just the face is showing. This gives students just the important parts of the image to work with. It also produces the best final results.

The Morphing Process:

• The WinMorph program likes a display setting of Thousands of colours or better, and a screen resolution of 800 X 600.

• After selecting the start and final images for the morph, set the Zoom setting to 200% or better. This makes adding morph points far easier.

• We asked students to place all the key points and lines on their photo first before reshaping and resizing them on the final animal image. This makes the process of determining what key points go with what body parts far easier.

• The idea was to map enough key points on the student's picture to the final animal picture so that the morph looked smooth and realistic. We discovered that mapping the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, head, and chin are all that are needed.

Generating Output:

• While producing an MPEG file does work and generally created files about 50 KB in size, not all MPEG players handled running the final morphs. 

• RealPlayer is one player that seemed to produce weird results - VERY Fast animations (if you blinked, you would miss the morph transition). We selected the AVI file type for two reasons... 1) we could preview the file with WinMorph's built in AVI player and 2) Most, if not all, video players available can successfully play AVI files. If RealPlayer is your default media player for MPEG files you may have problems viewing the final results.

The results of our efforts will be posted shortly to the Cecil Rhodes Internet page, so you may wish to head over to the site and have a look. We hope that you will find WinMorph as enjoyable a tool to work with as we have. We have also used WinMorph to enhance Aboriginal Legends. We had students morph into the animal described in their Legend. Happy Morphing!  

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"Freeware Favourites" - The N.E.W.S. Review (Version 2) 

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

In the February 2001 issue of "Bits and Bytes", I wrote an article called "The N.E.W.S. Review - A navigational 'freebie'" which described an educational activity that I designed using the Game Maker software. Originally I designed "The N.E.W.S. Review" activity to supplement the "Treasure Hunt, Internet 'n' Kids" (T.H.I.N.K.) project that has been running successfully in our Division over the past three years. Educators that downloaded and installed "The N.E.W.S. Review" freeware found that their students had an opportunity to reinforce basic compass directions.  By pressing the N, E, W and S keys, students turned their vehicle in the directions of North, East, West and South respectively as they navigated through four island mazes. In order to provide a challenge, students were unable to travel to adjacent islands until they drove their vehicle over hidden "cross-switches" which, in turn, activated the hidden connecting bridges.

Feedback from educators indicated that although the first version of "The N.E.W.S. Review" did provide an opportunity for students to reinforce their basic compass directions, there needed to be more challenges. It seemed that once a student knew where the hidden "cross-switches" were located, s/he shared this knowledge with others in the class. Unfortunately since these hidden "cross-switches" were at the same maze location for all users, students were no longer motivated to the same degree.

Taking this constructive feedback into account, I upgraded "The N.E.W.S. Review". In the new version 2, students are challenged at two levels as indicated by the initial screen below. Students should begin by selecting "Level 1" where the cross-switches that activate the bridges are located in fixed locations. However, when a student has successfully navigated "Level 1" by the most efficient route and entered his/her name with the highest points, s/he should then attempt "Level 2" where the "cross-switches" are randomly positioned. Students can play "Level 2" repeatedly since each tour of the four islands is unique and challenging. Those wishing to acquire this freeware may click on the link following this initial screen image to download this new, and improved, educational activity.

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Food for Thought - The Truly Important People 

from http://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/truly.important.html 

Take this quiz:

• Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
• Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
• Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
• Name five people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
• Name the last five Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
• Name the last five World Series winners.

How did you do?

Now try a different quiz:

• Name five teachers who aided your journey through school.
• Name five friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
• Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
• Name five people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
• Name five people you enjoy spending time with.
• Name five heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Was that easier?

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"Bits and Bytes" Newsletter Index 2000-2001 -- Vol. 17

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Once again our June issue provides a mechanism by which our readers can find those relevant topics and search out the "gems" from more than 100 pages that have been published during the present school year. As more and more educators become involved using computers, it becomes more difficult to write articles which are immediately applicable to all, as this larger group lacks the homogeneity it once had when all were neophytes with respect to computers and technology. Educators need to reach a certain "readiness level" before they can change or adopt a new technique. For some that are at this critical level, certain articles may immediately influence them when they first encounter the information presented in each monthly issue. However, the vast majority, will remember that "something was written about it in 'Bits and Bytes'" and hopefully they will be able to search for it when the need arises. For example, you may be looking for a classroom activity on how to use a spreadsheet as a problem solving tool or what steps you might take to combat the "Love Bug" virus at home. You have an immediate need and the June index provides you with a "hard copy" search mechanism to find articles which may be of benefit.

This year, in addition to our regular "Contact" teachers, "Bits and Bytes" was sent to all "alternate" contacts, "Internet" contacts and P.D. Chairpersons. Furthermore, a copy of each issue was included in the Library Media Service's "Inklings" which are retained on file in each school library. As well for the sixth year, "Bits and Bytes" has also been provided as a web resource off our Divisional home page at: http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/ This year, Brian Metcalfe has sent an e-mail message out to a growing number of readers which provides them with an overview of each monthly issue and advises them when the issue goes "live" on the Internet. Those wishing to be added to this "Bits and Bytes" notification list, should send an e-mail message to Brian at: bitsandbytes@wsd1.org specifying that you wish to be kept informed in this manner.

If you need to search out a certain article, I trust one of these sources will be available following our recommendations of keeping back issues on file. Feedback from educators has indicated that the cross-referenced index provided each June, together with the monthly directory which is printed on the first page of each issue, are extremely useful in locating information.

However, as more educators gain access to the world wide web, it is important that they learn specific search techniques to make retrieving information more efficient. Rather than looking at various June indexes, it will be much faster for the user to utilize the "Search the WSD1 website: WSD1 Search engine" found off our "Search" link on the Divisional web page at http://www.wsd1.org/search/. This search engine will search our entire server including all school web sites indexed to provide relevant links.

If one wishes to narrow one's search to only those topics covered in a "Bits and Bytes" newsletter, published on the web, it would be most efficient to use the "built-in" search process that can be found on the initial "Bits and Bytes" web page at:

http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/

I have re-designed this initial web page to adopt, more closely, the web page standards that are evolving for our school division. Users will now find this "Bits and Bytes" search button near the bottom of the left-hand border. When one clicks on this search button, only the web-based articles of "Bits and Bytes" will be searched. For example, when I used the "WSD1 Search Engine" link off the top of our Divisional "Search" web page and searched for the term "privacy", the search engine found 66 "hits". On the other hand, when I clicked on the "Bits and Bytes" magnifying glass icon and searched on the "privacy" string of characters only 15 references in "Bits and Bytes" issues were selected. No doubt these 15 references would point a teacher to articles related to protecting one's privacy whereas the 66 documents may simply be privacy or Internet acceptable use policies which may be selected from school web pages in our Division. Knowing which search tool to use, and when, will help users search for information in a more efficient manner.  

Regardless of how you search for information, be it the traditional "hard-copy" index or the more powerful search tool off our Divisional web page and the new search button on my "Bits and Bytes" web page, it is my hope that the information presented in "Bits and Bytes" will continue to meet your needs.

The following convention has been maintained. If the entry appears in CAPITAL OR UPPER CASE LETTERS it indicates that this is the exact TITLE of the article. If, on the other hand, the entry appears in small or lower case letters, it describes the contents of the article. This method will provide readers with more than one way to access the information contained in "Bits and Bytes" - Volume 17.