Digital Videos in the Classroom

I was so excited to read this section in the book, because I use videos in my classroom on a regular basis in numerous ways. 

One way I use these daily is to kick-off a new lesson in math. The digital curriculum our system uses is Pearson. Pearson's enVision math provides teachers and students with daily videos that help introduce the mathematical concept of the day. An example of one of these introductory videos can be found here. 3rd Grade Pearson Introduction Video

Another way I use videos in my classroom is by having students create videos. They LOVE these projects!! I was so worried that I would have to take a lot of time to teach my students how to create and edit videos, but I was wrong. Since they are digital natives, they practically know all the basics in creating and editing videos. I was impressed. A majority of them knew even more than I did! They really enjoy being able to use their creativity for a classroom project. As stated in the book, though, "The most difficult part f crafting a video/multimedia text is knowing not only what to put in but what to leave out...Digital writers should ask themselves whether the media they are choosing are being used simply because they can or whether there is a rhetorical purpose for that use. You can put in transitions, sound effects, and captions, for instance, but are these the best media elements to help tell your story?" (Hicks, 2013). This is always the biggest issue I have when my students are creating videos. They want to use all of the special effects they can possibly include in one video. They sometimes go overload and it takes away from the content of the video. That is why I always include an editing process into video making before I allow my students to publish their projects.

A few projects I have done using video making are student-taught math lessons and a "Collaborate Alabama" project. 

"The CCSS require students to 'use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others'" (Hicks, 2013).  In order to accomplish this, my students contacted teachers and students from every county in the state. Using the digital programs Padlet and Today's Meet, students shared files and "talked" with other students about various characteristics of that students' home county. My students then used video creators and editors to create informational videos about the counties in Alabama. 

With the student-taught math lessons, students filmed themselves teaching a math lesson that they were struggling the most with. (This project was done at the end of the year once all of the lessons had been taught.) The best way to learn something is to teach someone else! After they videoed themselves, they were able to replay the video, see what they were confusing (if there was anything), and then edit the video to make any necessary adjustments. An example of an unedited student-taught lesson can be found below.  

In my original video, I included narration and transitions. I did not want to stare into a video camera for 2-3 minutes talking about myself, so I used PowerPoint to create a slideshow, instead. Then I added voice to each of the slides in the PowerPoint. This can be done within PowerPoint itself. After the narration was complete, I used the QuickTime software installed on my Mac to record a screenshot of my computer. This program recorded the PowerPoint as it played through. Finally, I uploaded the video onto YouTube!

When editing my introduction video, I simply used the editing tools available on YouTube since that is where my video was originally uploaded. I edited the film affects by adjusting the coloring of the video. Also, I added captions and text throughout the video. This could be beneficial to highlight important words and information in a video. The edited version of my video can be found here. I hope you enjoy! Edited Introduction Video of Jessica Williams