Plug Ins are applications that allow Netscape to view special animated graphics, audio, video, and other effects.

Some common types of plugins of use to teachers are:

Audio Players- such as winamp 2.65, Read audio
Video Viewers- such as Microsoft Media Player, Quicktime, Schockwave
Image Editors- such as Paintshop Pro, Photo Wizard
Decompression Tools - such as winzip, aladdin Expander 5.1
PDF Readers - Adobe Acrobat Reader

Some popular sites for evaluation and downloading of  helper applications -freeware and shareware are found at:

• A good site for getting these plugins for Netscape is at http://netscape.com/plugins/

A site for programmers or serious enthusiasts is at  http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/communicator/plugin/index.htm

MICROSOFT MEDIA PLAYER http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/default.asp

streaming media from the Internet or an intranet. Supported file types include NetShow ASF, MPEG, RealAudio, RealVideo, QuickTime, MIDI, .avi, .au, .snd, .mp3, and .wav. This new version of Media Player can now seamlessly switch and play any of the supported media types without pausing between the files.

A Free highly rated Movie Viewer QUICKTIME http://www.apple.com/quicktime/-makes video, sound, music, 3D and virtual reality come alive for Macintosh and Windows.

ADOBE ACROBAT READER at http://www.adobe.comwill allow you to view any document, spreadsheet, etc. that has been saved as a .pdf file even if you don't have the software or fonts to view it. For example the New York Times crossword puzzle can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat reader. The advantage of a pdf file is that anyone on the Web can view the file as originally formatted without having any special software except for the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

SHOCKWAVE by MACROMEDIA

Shockwave is used for delivering and experiencing quality interactive multimedia, graphics, and streaming audio. Companies like CNN, Capitol Records, Warner Brothers Records, Sony, Paramount, and Virgin utilize Shockwave as an integral part of their Web sites. You can experiencestreaming high-resolution images and vector graphics that allow you to zoom and pan up to 25,000% without losing any image quality.

HYPERSTUDIO by ROGER WAGNER PUBLISHING

With the HyperStudio plug-in, anyone using Netscape Navigator can view HyperStudio multimedia projects published over the Internet, complete with images captured digitally, tracks from audio CDs, sound, scrolling text in any font, animation, movies, visual transitions, and links to other Web pages or sites. Hyperstudio can be used either with its own Export WebPage function or in conjunction with HTML authoring packages such as Netscape Navigator Gold. The result is either a Hyperstudio window embedded in a Web page, or simply the complete HyperStudio-created display as the entire Internet document. Download the HyperStudio plug-in to view sample stacks.

REALPLAYER 7 Basic (free) : http://www.real.com/player/index.html?src=404

Better audio and video quality. Hi-fi audio display with graphic EQ. Control picture quality like a TV Preset and scan live audio and video

VDOLIVE PLAYER, http://www.clubvdo.net/store/products/vdonet/vdolive_player.asp

- a free, full-featured viewer, allows Internet users to see all VDO content, whether live or on-demand, from their web browsers. More VDOLive Players have been distributed than any other video viewer application, thus guaranteeing the largest audience for Internet video content. The VDOLive Player provides real-time playback over the Internet and Intranets at modem connection rates and higher. Web designers can create HTML pages to play VDOLive content using the Player as a helper application, as a Netscape Navigator Plug-In, or as an ActiveX control for Internet Explorer.

 Installing a Plugin

1. Decide which videos you wish to see
2. Determine which plug ins applications you need to download in order to see the clip
3. Go to the download or FTP site and click on the site - Since we are using Netscape, this site would be a good place to start http://netscape.com/plugins/
4. Save to a download or zip directory on your hard drive, where you plan to download all of your files.
5. To set up the application program, click on the file downloaded if it is a self extracting file (.exe), or use a decompressing program such as Winzip (also downloadable from sources mentioned at the end of this lesson) to install the program into its own directory. Follow the instructions on the screen until setup is completed.
6. Then launch the video clip you wish to see and the plugin will then jump into action.
7. Check if it has been mapped to the proper file format:
   Go to Edit ® Preferences in the Communicator screen ®  Navigator ® Applications ® Check to see if the helper application has already been mapped  to the proper file type ® you can edit the ones that are there ® if not go to New Type ® Description: The name or file type of the helper program® File extension: last 3 letters of files handled by this program such as xls ® MIME (multipurpose Internet Mail Extension): type/subtype, such as image/gif ® Application to use: directory path and filename such c:\winzip\winzip.exe. ® OK.

1. Educational Multimedia Video Collection available and which needs a viewer to see them at: Annenberg / CPB Learner Online http://www.learner.org/

A teacher may preview the videos online in the Video preview Room http://www.learner.org/channel/previews/ , These can be seen using VDOlive, Realplayer, or Netshow. You need to download and install one of these viewers.

2. PBS Then order them by mail or tape them when they are broadcast on Public Television.

You can subscribe to a weekly preview and schedule sent to you via e-mail on PBS http://www.pbs.org/

 also has teacher lesson plans and resources at http://www.pbs.org/learn/

3. The Discovery Channel has program listings under subject and grade levels at http://school.discovery.com/ontv/tlc.html
This is a wonderful site to get previews and airing times of movies you can order for your classes. You need a real player to see the previews and there is a free download of Real Player G2 provided