DE Oracle @ UMUC

TVnima Best Practices

Towanda Jones

Instructional Support Specialist

Center for Support of Instruction

Published: January-February 2010

Category: » Online-pedagogy » Emerging-technologies

Introduction

TVnima is a Web-based application that allows you to create a 3D avatar with human-like elements such as a headshot and voice. The avatar is used to present PowerPoint slides with narration. You can also upload images, audio, and video, and you can customize camera angles, presenter's gestures, and backgrounds to create a more interesting and dynamic presentation for your online classroom. 

TVnima is a free beta service offered by Dassault Systemes. Online tutorials on using TVnima are listed under Additional Resources at the end of this information sheet. This handout expands on the tutorials by introducing guidelines and best practices to help you create a successful presentation.

TVnima offers faculty and students creative methods for delivering content, and it engages a variety of learning and teaching styles. The tool provides new ideas for using multimedia technologies in an online environment. The following topics are discussed below:

• Where to store your TVnima project
• How to prepare PowerPoint slides and narration
• What devices to use when creating an avatar
• How to import video
• How to capture internal sound from your computer

Storing TVnima Projects

Before you begin your project in TVnima, consider how you will need to access your TVnima project in the future. Although TVnima is a Web-based application, the content files can be stored only on a hard drive. You cannot access your project remotely without going through extra steps to capture the finished animation. Therefore, if you need to access your project remotely, it is best to store your content files on a laptop, CD-ROM, or flash drive. Keep in mind that flash drives can be a little tricky because TVnima's application "hard maps" your file location-it sees your files as being located on, for example, Drive E instead of on your flash drive. This hard-mapping can cause problems if you switch computers because a different computer may assign your flash drive to a different drive letter.

Preparing PowerPoint Slides and Audio Narration

TVnima does not import the .ppt format, so you will need to export your PowerPoint slides as a .jpg file. You should then export the audio narration for each slide separately. If you are recording your audio narration with another audio program such as Audacity, record the narration separately for each slide. When the audio for each slide is separated instead of continuous, it is much easier to sync the slides on the timeline in TVnima with the audio, camera angle, gestures, etc.

TVnima supports .jpg, .png, .tif and .bmp files but not .gif files.

Creating a 3D Avatar

Although a webcam provides an easy way to create a 3D avatar, you will have better results in creating your avatar if you use a photo taken from a digital camera. To build an optimized, high-quality avatar, follow these photo-taking tips:

• Make sure all of your hair is pulled back or pinned up so that your ears show.
• Keep your neck clear.
• Do not smile.
• Do not wear glasses.
• Use a solid color background.
• Take the photo in natural light, with no flash.

Importing Video

TVnima video support is limited to the codecs—programs that encode and decode digital data in various formats—that you have installed on your computer. This means that the more codecs you have on your computer, the more files you will be able to import into TVnima's application. If you can play a video file through Window Media Player, then you will be able to import that video in TVnima. If you find that you are unable to import a particular video format, it may be because your computer does not support that specific codec.

TVnima does not support .swf or .mp4 files.

Capturing Internal Sound

All computers are able to capture external sound from a microphone, but capturing internal sound from your computer is a little different. To capture internal sound, an internal sound card that records audio is required. Pay close attention to your operating system's control panel audio input settings, and be sure your recording device points to the sound card itself and not to a microphone or other external source.

Sound cards can play sound or record sound, but they cannot do both at at once.

Internal sound is set to "stereo mix."

TVnima’s screen capture size is 1024 x 768 pixels. Use compression software to reduce the resolution.

Summary

TVnima is an easy and fun tool to use, and it provides faculty with an opportunity to engage in the creative process for developing and delivering course content. Once you produce your multimedia presentation in TVnima, you will need to take a video screen capture of your presentation (because TVnima does not have an internal publishing feature) and then publish that screen capture in your online classroom. It's that simple! For tips on how to perform a video screen capture, please see Video Screen Capture Best Practices.

Additional Resources

Examples of TVnima Presentations

• EDCP 100 – Principles and Strategies of Successful Learning TVnima Demo
• Cool Hunting
• Hilltop Kite Festival

Related Articles

• UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2009 Conference
  (see section at the end titled "Presentation: Virtual Presentations Using TVnima")
• Why Use Multimedia in Your Online Classroom?
• Best Practices for High-Quality Audio

TVnima Tutorials/Documentation

• TVnima.com
• TVnima Video Tutorials
• TVnima Tutorial
• TVnima Documentation