Global newsgathering network the Associated Press and live video broadcasting service Bambuser announced today an arrangement to provide Bambuser users with the opportunity to share newsworthy video via the AP.

"Our cooperation with AP is significant to us and a natural step to take,” said Bambuser Executive Chairman Hans Eriksson. “For the first time, the work of any Bambuser user can be shared and acknowledged in potentially all major media outlets. This is a real breakthrough for content providers as they can contribute to the wider story with their unique footage."

Around the world unprecedented numbers of people are broadcasting live video to the web. The probability of someone being at the scene with a smartphone when news breaks is increasing by the day. More and more Bambuser users are utilizing their handheld devices to capture news stories to share on their blogs, on Twitter and Facebook and on other social media. Starting today, Bambuser users also have the opportunity to share their content with a global audience through AP's worldwide network of news organisations.

Packt is delighted to announce Moodle 2.0 Multimedia Cookbook, which aims at helping users learn how to add photographs, videos, animations, and much more to make their Moodle course even more interactive without the need to read through long tutorials. Written by Silvina P. Hillar, the book provides a plethora of recipes showing how to manage, link, and embed different multimedia resources into a Moodle course.

I've used Moodle for about four years, and in that time I've found it to be an exceptionally useful, high-functioning and user-friendly learning management system (LMS). In my view, the one deficiency in its suite of resources is that it is less than intuitive in the way it enables  administrators, teachers, and learners to create, integrate, manage, and deliver images, audio, video, animations and other media types.

Enter Packt Publishing's Moodle 1.9 Multimedia by João Pedro Soares Fernandes.

I opened my copy of the text with a high expectation that it would be an informative and practical reference text. Why? Packt Publishing have been providing Moodle reference books for some time now, and their texts are usually either very good or excellent.

Now read on...

Moodle has evolved from an academic project to the world's most popular virtual learning environment. It is designed to help educators create online courses with opportunities for rich interaction. Its open source license and modular design means that people can develop additional functionality.

Moodle 1.9 Multimedia is a new book from Packt that helps Moodle users integrate multimedia elements effectively. With this book, written by Joao Pedro Soares Fernandes, readers will create instructional materials and utilize Moodle resources and cutting-edge tools to interact with their audience.

Moodle 1.9 Multimedia provides complete information about the integration of multimedia elements such as audio clips, links to pages off-site, YouTube videos, and animations to an e- learning course. Users will learn how to create and edit images, drawings, and screenshots, which can be blended into their e-learning courses. Basic procedures to create and convert various learning video formats or download and publish videos from online video-sharing services will be explained.

With this book, users will create multimedia elements such as interactive floor planners, online maps, and timelines using Web 2.0 tools. Multimedia elements can be integrated in quizzes and lessons to make e-learning courses more interactive. They will also learn how to use software such as HotPotatoes and JClic to assess interactive exercises that are created and blended in the Moodle course. Real-time applications such as the Online Phone service and Desktop Sharing will help students interact on a common Moodle platform.