My original intent in being at the workshop yesterday and today was simply to help a friend, lend a hand when I could, be there for any support needed. Instead, a video grew. Working through the process in a short amount of time clarified a few things. It helped me see the importance of process from a different angle, (video, as opposed to writing). The same rules apply, the exact same rules. Those are the rules I need to emphasize in the classroom.
Here are fourty-eight seconds on just one of the many reasons…
Why I Like Teaching
Lessons: record the video in a room by myself because emphasis, tone, volume, and emotion are almost all lacking (recording in an otherwise quiet room with others is pretty embarrassing), write/record the song myself, likely not use any still images, and spend a bit more time on the script.
I used Audacity for the audio, Photo Story for the images at the beginning, and Movie Maker to piece both of those together with what I filmed using a Flip Video camera. Keeping everything in sync was the biggest issue.
All that said, I saw my time constraints, so this is what I could reasonably produce in that time — about four hours yesterday and three hours today, and only about one of those hours was something other than editing. Factoring in the learning curve of working with video, that’s not a horribly long stretch of time to go from nothing to finished product. In miniature, I went through the entire process of video making. It was the planning at the beginning that made my life easier at the end, where that audio sync wasn’t anywhere near the disaster it could have been if I hadn’t been paying attention from the get go.
I’ve gone through the process of writing so much that it’s ingrained, second nature, what I do without even considering it. That makes it much harder to teach. This video reminded me of what a struggle it can be and anytime I’m reminded of that I feel like I’m closer to being the teacher I want to be. I will do this more and I will do it better.
1. George Mayo says:
[8/13/2008 - 9:01 am]
Hi Todd,
I recently found your blog through reading Dan Meyer’s blog. I’m also an English teacher, and I’ve been experimenting with having students create videos the last two years. I agree with you that the process of making a video is very similar to writing a cohesive essay. I’ve found that the students who do the most planning in the beginning often have the best videos at the end.
Another good point you made in your post is the reality of time restraints. This is very true in the classroom, where it’s tough finding the time to do these more out of the box type of projects. Time is a big barrier whenever I’ve tried making movies with students. You really have to push the students to work efficiently, and often I have students come in after school if they’re motivated, and they often are.
Lastly, it’s cool that you are trying this out yourself first. You learn a lot about the process by going through it before you try it out in the classroom. I have lots of examples of movies my middle schoolers have made the last two years if you’re interested. Glad I’ve found your blog, I’ll be back! :) George