Which digital camera to buy

Hello all

2 things

1
I have been charged with finding 10 video cameras for classroom use in my school which also take still images. I need something that will record in a format that Windows Movie Maker can use. I was considering the Flip but evidently it records in .avi which i've heard is a hassle with WMM. I've also heard that getting stills out of the Flip can be a chore.

I'm curious to hear about what you all are using - there are a ton out there but I'm wondering what you have found to be:
durable
easy to use
light on driver software (nothing that tries to force you to use their video editing or file management)

2

Is it possible to use a video camera as a web cam? Particularly with Skype or Gmail's video chat?
Is there a particular model well suited for this?

Thank you

mrg