Behold the power of iSquint!

I am SO impressed with the compression ratio and high quality achieved by iSquint, which is free software for Macs that compresses and converts QuickTime files into iPod compatible mp4 files. One of our presentations for K12Online07 today was 339.6 MB in size when it was given to conveners. After running the file through iSquint (which took 30 minutes) the file size is 36.2 MB! What a difference! Most importantly, the quality is good and the file is iPod compatible.

The free Jodix iPod file converter for Windows computers works well too, and converts WMV files to iPod compatible QuickTime files. I have used it a bit, but not as much as iSquint. Because of time/deadline issues and the sheer number of files, conveners have not been able to compress all the submitted files this year. If an mp3 audio version of a video presentation was not provided, we have created and compressed those files. We’ve received some requests to combine the multi-part video presentations yesterday, which play fine in iTunes or QuickTime player but apparently (in some cases) don’t transfer over to an iPod. Conveners may be able to meet this request, but be aware that YOU can use iTunes to convert these videos to iPod compatible formats for yourself on your computer. The compression ratio achieved with this method is not comparable to iSquint or the Jodix converter, but it DOES work. In iTunes:

1. Click on the video file you want to convert in iTunes.
2. On the ADVANCED menu click CONVERT SELECTION FOR IPOD.

I know it is better when the original file you download in iTunes from the podcast channel is iPod compatible and you don’t need to do a manual conversion yourself, but I wanted to share this in case people really want to move these files over to their iPod now.

Links to both these tools, and others for file compression and compatibility, are available on the file conversion wiki page for K12Online07 presenters.

If you are considering applying for FREE professional development credit for your participation in the conference this year, consider using the reflection rubric created by the professional development committee to author a reflection about each presentation you watch. A link to the professional development reflection tracking database will be posted on Saturday, October 20th with more details. I posted some examples (here and here) that I created with Gabcast yesterday, recording and immediately publishing the audio recording to the web from my cell phone. (Thanks Liz.) We should have more examples for people to see by Saturday, and will link them in the post on the main blog.

Also, please plan to join in the week 1 Fireside Chat with presenters and participants at 1:00 PM Saturday, October 20 GMT. (For me in U.S. Central time is 8 am Saturday morning.) Check the conference schedule or live events schedule page for more details, and the Elluminate link to use to actually join the Fireside Chat.

I was AMAZED by the conference conversations yesterday, especially the responsiveness of many presenters to questions and comments posted by participants. K12Online really is a remarkable conference and professional learning opportunity!

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