Tools of the Trade:

Powerful New Educational Tools in Todays Classrooms

Some of the class stands by the Sundial at the Lighthouse on San Salvador, Bahamas. See other beautiful phenomena from the Bahamas.

R. Hays Cummins, Western Program, Miami University

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Welcome! It is 5:17:49 PM on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. This page has served 18693 surfers. Last Update: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Rationale:

This page is my humble attempt to illustrate the power and ease of use of multimedia in today's classrooms. I am not a professional photographer or videographer. I do the best I can in order to meet my professional teaching needs (I am getting better though!). It is extremely simple to acquire digital movies and slides. There are many reliable and suitable cameras available from manufacturers such as SONY, Pioneer, Canon, etc. These movies were taken mostly with a SONY TRV 900 digital movie camera. The slides were taken with a Canon D30 digital camera and a Nikon 990 CoolPix. While multiple computer platforms are suitable for multimedia work, my computer platform of choice is Apple's Unix based OS X on a Quicksilver Powermac. Most any Mac will do. Apple's Quicktime technology is nothing short of amazing and is available, for free, on Windows Computers. The movies were processed using Apple's free I-Movie or Final Cut Pro. The slides were organized into slide collections using Andrew Stone's Photo-to-Web I can now show students images and movies of nature that, only a few years ago, I was only able to talk about! It's a revolution!

Digital Slide Collection

Tropical Ecosystem Field Course Archived Images--13 years of the very best photos, images and movies

Be Sure to Visit (CLICK the Links Below)!

With the advent of less expensive digital cameras and more powerful and user friendly computers, the digital age is upon us. I literally take thousands of images on my tropical ecosystem field courses. Numerous other digital photo examples can be found on the image pages from two of my field courses Tropical Marine Ecology of the Bahamas and Florida Keys and Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica. These images are easy to offload from a digital camera and then later organize into photo ablums for use in the classroom. Apple's I-Photo makes this process even easier! Take a look and see for yourself!

  • Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica Digital Slides and Streaming Videos
  • Tropical Marine Ecology Digital Slides and Streaming Videos
    Other Interesting Slides!

    Digital Slides from the 2003 Rivers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective Course

    Quicktime Streaming

    Here is a collection of a few of my latest attempts at Quicktime Streaming. Sometimes the quality is not so hot. But, overall, the technology is extremely promising. These movies are streamed from a "Quicksilver" Power Mac using Apple's free, cross-platform Quicktime Streaming Server 4.0. I'll add new examples as I make them. This technology is incredibly useful in the classroom and has been succesively utilized in a wide variety of teaching settings.

    Interdisciplinary Studies Field Courses and Other Activities

  • Streaming Videos from the course Rivers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
  • The Fishbusters do their "thing" at Collins Run, Oxford, Ohio. These interdisciplinary studies students were studying the distribution of fish within local creek systems in SW Ohio.
  • A Quicktime Slideshow of our first fieldtrip to Bachelor Reserve and Harkers Run in SW Ohio (from the Interdisciplinary Studies "Rivers Course.")
  • A Quicktime Slideshow of our Little Miami River Field Trip Streaming Video near top of page
  • A potpourri of slides and Quicktime Slideshows of our Indian Creek Field Field Trip Streaming Video shown at top of page
  • Casey, Donna and Sam put together a quicktime streaming video of part of their work at Harkers Run in southwest Ohio.
  • A Quicktime streaming slideshow of the "Day After" an Ice Storm in SW Ohio. Beautiful Blue Skies!
  • A Quicktime streaming slideshow of an early Spring Nature Hike in the Western Woods of Miami University

    Louisiana Swamps

  • A Streaming Video of Jean Lafitte National Park and other great places. About 13 minutes long.
  • A Streaming Slideshow of Jean Lafitte National Park and other great places. Just a few minutes long.

    The Tropics

    Numerous other quicktime streaming examples can be found on the image pages from two of my field courses Tropical Marine Ecology of the Bahamas and Florida Keys and Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica. Take a Look!

  • A Streaming Video of Coral Reef Ecology in Curacao About 37 minutes long. Needs a wide pipe!
  • A Streaming Video of Coral Reef Ecology, specifically Mushroom Forest in Curacao Great turtle footage. Needs a wide pipe!
  • A Streaming Video of Coral Reef Ecology in Curacao About 37 minutes long. SLOWER STREAM
  • A Streaming Video of a beautiful shrimp seen during Coral Reef Ecology in Curacao About 3 minutes long.
  • A Streaming Video of Monterverde Preserve in Costa Rica About 10 minutes long. Needs a wide pipe!
  • A Quicktime MPEG-4 Video of a few "Magnificent Florida Birds" featuring pelicans, ospreys, and a bald eagle

    Streaming Videos from Tropical Marine Ecology

  • A Panoramic View of Grahams Harbor, San Salvador looking towards North Point. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING video of Grahams Harbor as seen from North Point! Or a regular Quicktime 4 mb video.
  • INCREDIBLE! Thickets of (A. cervicornis)fire coral "mesas," A. palmata Galleries! Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections! (TME 99)
  • More Gaulin Reef beauty and splendor Amazing amounts of Staghorn coral. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!(TME 99)
  • An Amazing Aquarium Menagerie of Fascinating Creatures (paddlefish, yellowhead jawfish, moray eels, sea turtles, ctenophores, jellyfish, and shrimp) Not for home use--Very LARGE Quicktime (21 mb)
  • Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower web connections!
  • A Potpourri of Organisms on the Night Dive including Grunts, lobster, a sea urchin (Meoma ventricosa),a sleeping parrot fish and a shrimp. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • More mangrove "chat" just prior to entering the water. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections! Students were in a state of shock because they would soon be observing with their masks and snorkel.
  • This Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) nearly swam between my legs as it sought shelter beneath coral heads on Molasses Reef. Here is a smaller Quicktime STREAMING (for modems) example!
  • Glassy Sweepers (Pempheris schomburgki)inhabit the "Swim Throughs" beneath the Huge Montastraea Coral Heads at French Reef. Note the large eyes so necessary for being awake at night Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • An Amazing Aquarium Menagerie of Fascinating Creatures from the New Orleans Aquarium of the Americas (paddlefish, sand tile fish, moray eels, sea turtles, ctenophores, jellyfish, and shrimp) Not for home use--Very LARGE Quicktime (21 mb) Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower web connections!
  • Parrotfish secrete a mucous layer on their skin when they sleep that helps protect them from predators. Here, a parrot fish "sleeps" lodged within the coral at the Sea Gardens Patch reef near Key Largo. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video (much smaller)!
  • A 'Potpourri" of Blackbar Soldier Fish (Myripristis jacobus),Cardinal Fish, a Spiny Lobster (Panularis argus), Elkhorn Coral and a Spanish Hogfish (Bodianus pulchellus)at French Reef. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • These movies are from my Costa Rica course. I thought you'd like to see them!! Off of Cano Island on the Pacific SW coast, we encountered a "Herd" of Manta Rays. Hundreds of them were jumping out of the water like "Flying Tortillas." Here are some of the views during a "rough" boat ride.
  • Black Durgons (Melichthys niger)get chased away by some pretty fiesty damsel fish (Pomacentrus planifrons?) Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • Can you identify the many fish and coral in this movie from beautiful Snapshot Reef? Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video (much smaller)! Players include Bluestriped Grunts (Haemulon sciurus),Squirrel Fish (Holocentrus adscensionis), Black Durgon (Melichthys niger),Sargeant Majors (Abudefduf saxatilis), Bluehead Wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), Blue Chromis (Chromis cyanea), Gray Snapper (Lutjanus griseus),
  • A view of Storr's Lake Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video (much smaller)!
  • A COMBO of the Everglade Alligator (shown above). Very Large! A Quicktime Streaming Movie of the "Gator Split." Much Smaller in Size!
  • Quicktime Movies!! While on the way to Costa Rica, we stopped and visited Jean Lafitte National Park. Here, we came across the tree that was loaded with Ichneumonid Wasps that were laying eggs in the tree. My, what long ovipositors you have. Absolutely Amazing!! Here is another Perspective! I had to add one more movie--these insects are amazing. Here is a modem Quicktime STREAMING Example! and a Fast ethernet STREAMING Example
  • Quicktime Movie!! A wonderful potpourri of animal life from Jean Lafitte National Park, 9/99. See the Dragonfly Slayer and the frog eating spider Nephilia! Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!

    Streaming Videos from Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica

  • Quicktime Movie! In '99, we didn't see any snakes in Costa Rica. But in Jean Lafitte National Park, we saw several snakes including a small water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus). These pit vipers are known for their willingness to hold their ground. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING video of the snake! Much smaller.
  • Some spiders, instead of being solitary except to mate, spend their entire lives in large cooperative groups. Here is a Whole Family of social spiders working together on a web. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING video for slower connections!
  • Sociality is quite common and highly developed among arthropods such as bees, termites and ants. In spiders, social communities and cooperation are quite rare. But,....Here are two movies of Social Spider communities. There were hundreds of individuals that were working on a somewhat disorganized web in SE Costa Rica! Here is a Quicktime STREAMING video for slower connections!
  • Quicktime Movie! A view of the activity at the "Stingless Beehive Entrance."(Trigona fulviventris fulviventris) Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • Quicktime Movies!! A wonderful potpourri of animal life from Jean Lafitte National Park, 9/99. See a frog eating spider! Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • A White-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus)troop moved through the Monteverde Preserve. Clouds and mist fill the air. One individual put on quite the show! Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Example for slower connections!
  • Quicktime Movies!! A wonderful potpourri of animal life from Jean Lafitte National Park, 9/99. See a frog eating orb-weaver spider! (Nephila clavipes) Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • Another movie of Strangler Figs and other enormous trees in Corcovado. Here is a Smaller Quicktime STREAMING Video!
  • A video of Cano Island, 20 km offshore of Drake Bay near Corcovado National Park. We look at light gaps, Strangler Figs (Ficus sp.),and Chico examines several stone spheres! A Quicktime STREAMING Example (For slower connections)
  • The Waterfall at Corcovado near the San Pedrillo entrance is amazing. Many of us climbed underneath the falls--what a trip! Note the Bare-throated Tiger heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum)) A Quicktime STREAMING Example (For slower connections)
  • In addition to huge trees in Corocvado, we encountered some strange mushrooms and we even heard the sound of a falling tree off in the distance! Wow! (View a Quicktime STREAMING Movie! or a 10 mb normal quicktime movie!)
  • A Quicktime streaming Garlic tree video (much smaller!)
  • Hummingbirds oftentimes feed on insects to supplement their sugar rich diet. Here, a hummingbird catches insects on an outdoor wall at Almonds and Corals in SE Costa Rica. (TREC 99)
  • The Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)is the crown jewel of Costa Rica. Here, we see a nesting pair frequent their nest (one at a time). Note the avocado in the male's mouth. This video shows two entrances to the nest!! I got the male (Pharomachrus mocinno)one more time from a different angle for his third visit to the nest! Here is a Smaller Quicktime STREAMING Movie! Monteverde Preserve
  • A beautiful Gray Fox? (Uroyon cinereoargenteus)made the scene near the entrance to Monteverde Preserve. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections!
  • The ride to Monteverde is "Unnerving." The amount of deforestation is nothing short of spectacular. This LARGE quicktime movie (~30mb) contrasts the deforestation and the splendor of Monteverde Preserve. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING video (much smaller)!
  • A "Mangrove Meander" through the unique mangrove Prop Root System. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections.
  • And, one more time. The wide flanged buttress mangroves are Pellicera rhizophorae, a mangrove endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. Here is a Quicktime STREAMING Video for slower connections.
  • Quicktime Streaming Movie!! The Garlic Tree COMBO Quicktime STREAMING Video!

    Tropical Field Ecology Organism Study Guides

  • A Web based guide to identifying Parrotfish, Family Scaridae

    Crawfish Festival

  • Streaming video content can be found on the "Crawfish Festival Webpage"
  • A Quicktime Streaming Video of the 10th Annual Louisiana-Ohio Crawfish Festival

    Family

  • Allison's homecoming photoshoot. She was a sophomore in high school. She's the cute one!
  • Here is a Quicktime Streaming Movie of My New York Visit. I had a great time with my daughter just days before the 9/11/01 WTC attack.
  • Allison and her Talawanda teammates take on Lakota East (01/19/02) Streaming Basketball!

    The World Trade Center

  • A Quicktime Streaming Movie of the second plane impacting the World Trade Center. Horrific
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    WEATHER & EARTH SCIENCE RESOURCES

    TROPICAL ECOSYSTEM FIELD COURSES

    Hays' Marine Ecology Images and Movies Ohio Bird Photo Collection | Tropical Bird Collection | Costa Rica Image Collection | Edge of the Farm Conservation Area | Hays' Tarantula Page | Local Watershed Fish Studies| Wildflowers, Arthropods, ETC in SW Ohio | Earth Science Resources | Astronomy Links | Global Change | Marine Ecology "Creature Study Guide" |

    OTHER ACADEMIC COURSES, STUDENT RESEARCH, OTHER STUFF

    | Educational Philosophy | Discovery Labs: Moon, Geologic Time, Sun, Taxonomy, Frisbee | Project Dragonfly | Vita |Field Course Postings | Student Research Postings | Nature/Science Autobiography | Environmental Programs at Miami University

    TEACHING TOOLS & OTHER STUFF

    Daily Necessities: Macintosh Resources |Search Engines | Library Resources|Server Stats| Family Album | View My Schedule | View Guestbook | Western College "Multimedia Potpourri"