Free Access to Lynda.com via Libraries

What is Lynda.com?
Lynda.com offers well organized tutorials on all kinds of software such as the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite, various other multimedia programs, professional development topics, project management, programing languages, and more. To be clear, I don’t work for Lynda.com nor do I get a kickback for endorsing them here. It’s just a really great product, and I’ve gained a lot of advanced expertise all on my own using the tutorials available. You can see all the topics and courses available without logging in, so take a look to see what I mean. You can even watch some of the videos, just not entire courses.

Inside of Thompson Library at OSU. Photo features a staircase overlooking a main floor and several stories of the building with glass walls.

Thompson Library

First, get your library card:
You’ll need a free Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) membership to get free access to Lynda.com. Bring your BuckID to Thompson Library to sign up for a CML membership. Fill out the form listing an Ohio address, which should ideally be your home, but could also be your office, dorm or department. After completing the form, you’ll receive your CML card and PIN. Alternatively, you can sign up for a membership at one of the many CML branch locations around Columbus or online. If you choose the online option, you may have to wait up to 10 days for your library card to arrive in the mail.

Then, log in for free:
Don’t go to Lynda.com and click on the Sign In button like a normal paying user. Instead, visit go.osu.edu/lyndacml, to be prompted Continue reading

Remove Background Noise in Your Video

Research suggests that audio is actually more important than visuals when perceiving the overall quality of your movie. Unfortunately, even when recording in a proper video studio, low levels of background noise will sneak into your recording. It’s usually caused by things we tune out in our daily lives, such as air conditioning or the hum of a computer fan.

screenshot showing where to click to reduce background noise of a video clip

Fortunately, most video editing programs have an audio filter to reduce background noise. Let’s take iMovie for instance, the video editing program that comes standard on all Mac computers. Once you’ve dragged your clip down into the timeline, click on it to make sure Continue reading

Compress Video Before Upload

Once you’ve finished editing your video, you’ll likely export it as a high quality mov, avi, or mp4 file ready to share with the world. It’s done and it’s beautiful, but the file size is HUGE or perhaps you need to have it specifically in mp4 format. Never fear, MPEG Streamclip is here!

This free program does a great job of converting your mov or avi file into an mp4, which makes it compatible with just about any software such as Powerpoint or streaming service such as YouTube. Even if the file is already Continue reading

Save or Transfer an iMovie Project

Although iMovie makes it easy for beginners to create a movie, saving a copy of the project to keep with you or open on a different computer isn’t exactly intuitive. This tutorial is specific to using iMovie on a computer, and does not apply to iMovie for iPhone or iPad. Instructions were written based on the assumption that the project is being saved to box.osu.edu OR a USB drive. However, steps are the same whether you use box.osu.edu or other cloud storage such as Google Drive, and whether you use a USB drive or other physical storage such as a portable hard drive.

Create your movie as usual. Follow the steps below to save a copy of your project. This allows you to open the project on other Macs and continue working on it next time. Continue reading

Easy Screen Recording on Mac

Screen recording window w/ red record buttonDespite the misnomer, Quicktime Player actually does a lot more than play videos. You can use it to make screen recordings, and it’s oh so easy! Here’s the method I recommend, which involves recording and saving your video using Quicktime, then compressing to an mp4 of reasonable file size using MPEG Streamclip.

Install this software to record from your computer OR reserve time to use the Digital Union recording studio, where we have all the software, hardware, and staff assistance to help you get the job done. Either way, here’s what you’ll need to do. Continue reading

Why Use U.OSU?

closely cropped Image of OSU seal with the words "What is U.osu?" superimposed over imageFor me, U.osu has been nothing short of empowering. Whatever your job is, I’d be willing to bet it probably involves organizing information in some way. Do you have to evaluate proposals? Collaboratively review information and provide feedback? Provide your team with updates? Have a central repository for documents, photos, information, or links? Outline processes, policies, procedures, or instructions? Delegate tasks to a team? Share updates and provide access to departmental forms? Continue reading

Learn Photoshop Fast

Image open in Photoshop window. Image is of a mature couple laughing and holding each other at a beach with white sands fading into green water and sunny blue sky.Photoshop CS6 Essential Training is one of many complete video tutorial courses offered on Lynda.com. Need Photoshop Creative Cloud training? That’s offered now too! You can access the tutorials for free one of three ways, then choose to watch only the videos that apply to you. No more hunting around on Youtube to find out exactly how to do what you need. All the Continue reading

Free OSU Stock Photos

Orton Hall tower against a dramatic, purple twilight sky. Crescent moon in the background.OSU Communications’ website provides a great selection of photos we can download and use for free for our daily work. I use a lot of the images to breath life into my presentations, flyers, videos, and internal staff site. Click through the gallery to see if you can find what you need, or even submit your own photos! Tip: Once you click on a gallery, scroll down; the images load underneath the list of galleries.

University Communications’ signature gallery offers Ohio State photos for university use. Continue reading

Record Your Lecture with Mediasite

Video camera set up in the back of a lecture hall, recording the lecture.Mediasite is OSU’s free, supported lecture capture solution. It allows you to easily make a video of your lecture, including the content on your computer screen, as well as video of yourself lecturing. There are two flavors of Mediasite: the Desktop Recorder is free software you can download to use from your computer. The Hardware Recorder, installed in large classrooms around campus, will automatically record your lecture by request. Here are three ways Continue reading

Show All Extensions on Mac

Screenshot of Finder window showing a the checkbox to show all filename extensionsSometimes you just have to slow down and take care of those little things in life…the stuff that’s not hard to do, but you just have to take the 30 seconds to Google the answer, and make it happen. For me, that was finally figuring out how to make my Mac show the extensions in my file names. Sure my desktop looks cleaner without them, but it does get confusing when I start having different versions Continue reading