One of the questions teachers frequently ask me when I run courses is “How do you….?” usually followed by some variation of video, audio, downloading editing and making useful in the classroom. Thinking about this allowed me to realize that I have come across lots of discussions online which celebrate the many resources available online for teachers. Sadly however, for many teachers the unpredictability and eccentricities of school networks together with a lack of time and installation permissions can put these resources tantalizingly out of reach. Hence the question.

In fact this discussion neatly matches one of the themes emerging from my recently completed fieldwork (yey!). I have discovered that one of the most significant issues facing any exploration of digital technologies (or in fact music) in a composing context (for the students in my study at least) is translating, converting, adapting, transposing or moving ideas between different locations be they spatial, temporal or modal. I think this is a critical issue which may get lost amongst the flotsam and jetsom of educhatter; perhaps because it is part of composing processes but not in a ‘frequently mentioned aspects of established models of creativity’ sort of way?

So, unapologetically jumping back to conversion resources, I would like to offer the following as my current ‘navigators toolbox’ that helps me get from A to B with as few casualties as possible. Some really obvious, some not so much.

Quickstart (converting to digital):

1. Google – if in doubt….(preview the new version by doing this NB make sure you start at google.com and not .co.uk)
2. Google reader – Allows me to view RSS feeds from websites I visit often without all the clicking and waiting.
3. Google calendar – Keeps me sane
4. Google tasks – the last of my silver bullets. I save so much paper by writing my lists here.
5. Bonus Google…Picasa – My quick picture converter

Firefox section (converting from and on ‘the web’):

1. Zotero – database plugin that allows me to bookmark articles, web pages and notes
2. Download helper – download plugin that helps me to download video content (yes it does do YouTube)
3. Speeddial – another plugin that gives me 25 (number is set in preferences) web pages on my homepage meaning I can go quickly where I want to go.
4. Greasemonkey – plugin that makes the handling of RSS feeds quicker and easier
5. Remember to try right click (even on a mac)!

Web authoring (converting my thoughts into something visible to others):

1. Filezilla – Allows me to upload and download quickly and easily
2. WordPress – Great blogging tool. Easy to set up and use.
3. Drupal – My favourite CMS…can’t wait for version 7
4. Stockxchng – my number 1 source for pictures
5. Feedburner – OK maybe I coudl have put this in the Google category. Still I use feedburner on my website to convert my Google reader RSS feed into something I can put nicely on my website.

Social (converting my office):

1. Facebook: – helps me to feel like I’m not alone at home working when in actual fact I am at home alone working
2. Twitter: – Just getting into it. I need to learn to say things more succinctly
3. Twine – I use this via an RSS feed in google reader but often come across interesting things here.

Audio editing and notation (Converting my music):

1. Logic – Yes sorry this one costs money and I know it’s a sequencer but at the moment I am using it for everything. A free alternative is of course Audacity for Mac, PC and Linux.  NOTE: You need to install the lame encoder to export mp3s
2. I have also used wavelab (not free) for mastering as this is what was available at the time. Pretty easy to pick up and some killer plugins available.
3. Audio CD ripper – I use iTunes
4. Audio CD burner – I use iTunes
5. Magic ISO – burn and manage CDs DVDs and disk images
6. Notation – Sibelius – Sorry another one that costs money but very good. Transferring MIDI between logic and Sibelius is possible through MIDI file export/import. Transferring BETWEEN versions of Sibelius is also possible in reverse – newer to older – via MIDI file (although a complete pain because you may loose all of the formatting).
7. MIDI to text – converts MIDI files to a list of text data that can be imported into a spreadsheet or word processor.
8. Switch – audio converter for quick jobs

Printing (Converting to paper – or not)

1. Printconductor – batch print your files without having to open.
2. Primo pdf – not a problem for mac users but on a PC it’s really useful.
3. Pdf to image – converts pdf files to jpeg files.

Video tools (converting my movies):

1. Video screen recorder – camtasia – £60 but good. Debut is a free option for PC.
2. Video editor – I am using imovie at the moment (Mac) but have used moviemaker (PC) and Adobe Premier which is stunning but not very cheap. I have used all three programs at some stage to convert video (VHS) and DV tapes to digital format along with a nice little gadget that converts from composite to USB. See also videopad.
3. Any video converter free – converts video from one format into another. Pro version give you more options. Also allows batch conversion. See also Prism AVI
4. Klcodec – seriously helps with video playback. Basically a big set of codecs in one fell swoop.
5. FFDshow - allows you to choose which codec you use to playback you video files. Great when you need to trick your computer into allowing you to play almost any kind of video.

Between computers (Converting from Mac to PC to Linux – the ultimate inconvenience):

1. Parallels desktop: – stunning timesaver . I can now jump between XP, windows 7, Ubuntu and OSX 10.6 without logging off or on. I can also try out programs without fear of corrupting my whole system. If it hangs I just make a new copy of an image file. NB you still have to buy all of the operating systems you install (if they are not free & legal downloads)
2. Remote desktop: simple, straight to the point, built into windows and for mac it’s here

Others (converting between my disorganized and overloaded office and a haven of peace, tranquility and paper free space – well almost):

1. Endnote – My reference database lifeline.
2. A bit more technical – R-Studio – from a broken hard disk and further hair loss to the promised land. Costs…but less than paying someone to do it for you.
3. Stylewriter – helpful program that helps me convert my bad writing into something that can be understood by others (plugin available for word).
4. Mac3Tag – mp3 tag editor that’s Java based, simple and straight to the point (Convert to digital and be organized at the same time). See tagscanner for something more powerful & complex
5. Driveimage – converts my disks to an image for backup

Can’t find what your looking for? Try here:

1. http://www.nchsoftware.com/software/index.html
2. http://sourceforge.net/

Hope some of this is useful to you.This is how I do it anyway.

Please feel free to post an comment and share any utilities or programs you find useful for converting

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