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iStock Photo

August 19, 2008 in Featured, Media, Web with 0 Comments

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who are still not aware of this awesome resource. For a long time I was constantly envying the big-budget ministry across the street’s awesome t-shirts, logos, etc. and was convinced they had a top dollar graphics person on staff. I know it’s hard to believe, but I was breaking one of the commandments because of another ministry. Then I discovered iStock, and was delivered.

Maybe that is a little much, but after a couple of browses through their catalogue you begin to see how pervasive this is in the world of graphic design. For five bucks (or more for higher quality images) you get an amazing, professional image that you can throw your text on and call it a day, and with over three million images, it is practically impossible to not find something you can use.

The best thing you can do right now is go surf around the iStock collection and see how awesome their stuff really is. Hint: Sort results by downloads to pull the best images to the top.

Before you go, here’s a little sample of what 10 minutes of searching and a bit of text can do:

Free Phil Wickham CD

August 11, 2008 in Featured, Fun, Media, Web with 0 Comments

I just downloaded a great free CD from Phil Wickham. It’s called Singalong and was recorded live at a recent concert. I really like Phil’s music, and thought I would pass along the opportunity. Just head over to PhilWickham.com, you’ll need to give them an email address, and they’ll send you the link.

Enjoy.

Teens In Tech

August 4, 2008 in Featured, Media, Web with 0 Comments

It’s no secret that I like techy sites. I just read about this new one especially for teens, run by teens. It’s called TeensInTech.com. It’s a place for teens that are involved in new media (blogs, vlogs, podcasts). It’s in alpha and it definitely felt that way poking around, but it looks like a great place to send your teens that are helping with these in your ministry or just interested in the area.

WingClips.com

July 21, 2008 in Featured, Media, Web with 0 Comments

It’s summer and movie going season is in full swing. I’ve had some great conversations with students about some of the popular movies. I have been thinking about all the different angles you could take on a lesson about The Dark Knight, but one of the hard things about using a movie illustration in your talk is find the movie clip. Sure if it’s out on DVD you could always rent it and just show it off the DVD, but often times I want to use a clip from a film that not out on DVD yet. That’s where WingClips comes in. They have a ton of movie clips that you can download and use. The do offer subscriptions that give you higher quality clips and outlines, but I’ve used the free level and it’s been great. They also have a great search tool if you are looking for something on a specific topic. As a Youth Worker I’ve found it to be a great resource.

A bonus for me, they are featuring a few clips from The Dark Knight now, I just might have to use them.

Has anyone else used it? What are your thoughts?

Billy Graham on Faith and Technology

July 16, 2008 in Featured, Media with 0 Comments

Here’s another TED video that came across my twitter feed this morning. It’s 10 years old, but it was fascinating to listen to his thoughts about technology, faith, and human short comings.

Or download it Here.

Encouraging Creativity

July 15, 2008 in Featured, Media with 0 Comments

It has always been a passion of mine to encourage creativity in the students I work with. I love engaging a student in writing, painting, music, video, or what ever their gifts might be. Some parents have been grateful, and others just don’t get it. Sometimes in the busyness it’s difficult to take the time to do it. This talk from the TED conference was a great reminder to me about taking the time and encourage their God given gifts. Also for me as their teacher, to be willing to try to do things differently, and not rely on the same techniques I might have had success with over the years.

The talk is about the education sytem, but it’s totally transferable to the church. It’s definitely worth the 20 minutes to watch it, but if you don’t want to take the time now, you can download it here.

Take some time this summer and spend some time cultivating creativity in your students.

Review: Race This! 2

June 29, 2008 in Featured, Fun, Media, Software with 0 Comments

Race This Vol. 2: Physical


Have you ever been to a professional sporting event where they have a race on the Jumbotron where everyone can pick one of three objects to cheer for? That’s was Race This! is, dot races for your youth ministry. I don’t know how many of you used Race This! Vol 1, but it was really well done and all in flash, but on this new volume the quality is stepped up a bit because instead of using flash to generate the races they are all video. This allows for much better graphics and images in the races. That was the thing that stood out to me the most, was just how great it looked. Usually I’m a big proponent of downloadable products, but this is one where I think it might be worth it to get the physical version instead. The way it’s setup is if you have the physical version you can play the races directly off the disk through a DVD player. This makes it super easy even just to play on a TV if are in a small room without a video projector. You can still load the video files up in your presentation software and play everything through the computer if you want also.

If you would like to try it out, you can download one of the games free here: Rhino Race.

You might also want to check out Race This! Vol 1 or get both Race This! Vol. 1-2.

Links: Race This! Vol 2

Learn to Podcast in 12 Minutes

June 26, 2008 in Featured, Mac, Media with 0 Comments

The folks over at Apple have posted a new set on of online seminars. I’ve taken part in a number of their seminars in the past, they have always been well done.

A question I often get is “How can I start podcasting?,” and this should be a great introduction. It was fairly basic, but it covers all everything you need to get started. And it’s FREE. It does require you to register in their seminar system, but then you can get email about future seminars.

Sorry PC friends, but it only covers tools on the Mac, but you may still find it interesting.

Link: Start Podcasting in 12 Minutes or visit the complete listing of seminars

Free on iTunes

June 25, 2008 in Media, Web with 0 Comments

One thing I hope to do on this site is let everyone out now about other sites that I’ve found useful or entertaining. One of those is FreeiTunesDownloads. It is a blog that posts all the free content that’s available on iTunes, it includes the single of the week, but also other songs that they are offering, tv shows, and other videos. Like any collection of free things, you’ll get some good and some bad, but it’s definitely worth watching.

Link: FreeiTunesDownloads

Favorite Presentation Software

June 23, 2008 in Mac, Media, Software with 0 Comments

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