Technology lessons, guides, rubrics and DVD yearbook how-to’s for grades K-8 by David Hall
What is a Browser Based Mixed Media DVD Yearbook? A “Browser Based Mixed Media DVD Yearbook” is NOT a movie. The DVD yearbook is essentially a website that has been burned to a DVD. Webpages, movie clips and slideshows are viewed with a web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. It can be viewed directly from a computer DVD drive or the contents may be copied to a hard drive for faster access. Why Can’t I View it on My TV? I’ve been asked this question many times. The answer is you wouldn’t want to. The first example of a Browser Based Mixed Media DVD Yearbook contained over 100 movies, slideshows, animations and presentations totaling over nine hours in length. It contained over 500 webpages including a page about every student in the school. Also included were nearly 200 short audio files. Much like an old fashion paper-bound yearbook, a Browser Based Mixed Media DVD Yearbook is not a beginning to end story. Yearbooks are meant to be viewed differently by every reader; we surf through yearbooks. Hardly anyone reads an entire yearbook, but most people read certain parts again and again. Yearbooks are also meant to be resource materials and keepsakes. Years or decades after graduating owners will dig out their yearbooks to look up a specific old friend or classmate. Browser Based Mixed Media DVD Yearbooks are very flexible and allow users to go directly to specific information just as they would with a paper yearbook. What makes it Better? Nearly everything. Search for someone in their paper-bound yearbook and you will find them in a handful of team and club pictures and perhaps a candid or two as well as their portrait. Although technology has made the production of paper bound annuals more efficient over the years, practical pricing will always limit the number of pages and the use of color. A page limit limits the size and number of pictures and text. A “Browser Based Mixed Media DVD Yearbook” is very inexpensive; we have been able to sell our DVD yearbooks at $5. The only real expense is the cost of a DVD, label, jewel case and duplication fees should it be hired out. Every student in the school can have their own personalized page with: a large high quality color portrait, family and personal photos, an autobiography of any length, copies of their outstanding school work and even an mp3 audio recording to capture the student’s voice. School clubs and sports teams can have their own pages, movies or slideshows commemorating their school year. School concerts, variety shows, assemblies, graduations all can be preserved in their entirety on a DVD yearbook.
More: How to install the DVD Yearbook on your computer - for students and parents How to make webpages, movies and slideshows - for students and parents Copy the DVD Yearbook from the DVD disk to your computer (movie) - for students and parents How to plan, organize, and assemble a DVD yearbook - for yearbook administrators