Videos

I usually begin the first day of the new school year with a partner activity. Students who do not know each other pair up and draw pictures of each other. Then they spend some time talking and later share their pictures and the information they have learned with the rest of the class. Instead of using the typical first-day activity, I thought it would be neat for the students to do videos to share the information. We can upload some digital photographs of the students and they can add clipart, sounds, or other additional features to explain what they have learned.
This could be an extremely challenging task since I will not know the students. I won’t know their prior experience with technology and specifically the different software programs that can be used to create a video. This would be a great pre-assessment to see what students can and cannot do on the computers, but it may also turn in to a management nightmare. Because the level of exposure students receive is vastly different depending on exposure, culture, and their parent’s comfort level with technology, the students will be needing various levels of guidance. The decision to pair students might have to be based on who understands the technological expectations and who does not.
By using the videos, students be required to organize the information they have collected in a meaningful way. This activity gives students the opportunity to practice their listening skills, writing skills, and speaking skills. Making videos supports a balanced literacy program. Constructing a video also requires a higher level of analysis because students have to decide what information is best to include and how much time should be spent on each point. When used in this way, the videos can provide an outlet for students to create summaries of books they have read. They have to identify the main idea and a few supporting details that convey the message of the story the most. In addition to showing the students’ ability to comprehend the material, videos can be used to assess whether students can sequence the events of a story correctly.
There are many uses for videos in the classroom and in “Team up with digital video and iMovie for Social Studies excitement, Howard (2001) explains how photo albums, interviews, and virtual field trips can add to students’ understanding when opportunities to experience places and meet people are not possible. Armed with a camcorder or a digital camera, teachers can bring an active world into the classroom for students to experience.
The ease with which videos can be made is dependent upon the software and technology the teacher has available. Howard discusses how easy it is to use iMovie, but many school do not have Macintosh computers. With some programs, it is very difficult or impossible to edit video, but in others it is very easy. It may be best to introduce video making using still images that are put into a slideshow with music and narration as opposed to trying to edit video at the very beginning.