Thank You Teachers (Teacher Appreciation Week Message)

Yesterday after much waiting and deliberation, I purchased a Kodak Play-Touch flash-based camcorder at Best Buy for $78. This was a substantial discount, and this sale may be available at your own local Best Buy as well this week. Since I also purchased an 8 GB EyeFi SD card (which is an amazingly cool wifi-capable accessory) the $99 sale price was discounted a further 20%. This made the camcorder an exceptional deal yesterday.

Last night my 5th grade daughter recorded me sharing a short “Thank You” to teachers message, which I’d like to share this week for Teacher Appreciation Week. The lighting for this video isn’t great, it was hand-held by a 10 year old, but I hope if you watch it you’ll hear my heart-felt thanks to you as a teacher, an educator, and a caretaker of our collective future: The children in our classrooms, homes and churches!

These are all the accessories which came with the Kodak Play-Touch camera. The 8 GB Eye-Fi card and LowePro case were extra. Total cost of all items at Best Buy yesterday: $175.

I was very enthused a HDMI cable was included along with an AC-USB charger and normal AV cable. (The HDMI cable only works when playing back 1080P video.) This particular model is GREAT, in my view, since it accepts an external microphone. The built in mic is acceptable, but external mics are a necessity if you want really high quality videos. I like how the camera lets you adjust the mic gain as well. This is a rare feature in flash-based (“Flip” style) camcorders. Back in October 2009 I recommended the Kodak Zi-8 Camcorder, thanks to its external mic capability and the fact that it’s MP4 video file format is very Mac friendly. (Unlike Flip video’s format.) The Kodak Zi8 camera has now been discontinued, and the Play-Touch model is its replacement. Marco Torres originally recommended the Zi8 camera in October of 2009 at ACTEM and shared these insights about external mic capabilities and “Mac friendliness” and flash camera video formats.

If you are a teacher or have been a teacher (or are in the process of training to become a teacher) I say – THANK YOU for what you do each day!

For another example of a Kodak Play-Touch recorded video, check out my video from today, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” I’m loving this Play-Touch camera!

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