I must say I have been very disappointed in my experimentation with video technologies. The Year 3 students in my EPL class have been doing a science experiment about growing a plant from seed. This inspired me to create a stop-motion movie about the process.
After taking about 300 photos, uploading them to Windows Movie Maker and playing around with the functions, disaster struck. It seems my computer does not have the necessary 'grunt' for movie editing. Every time I tried to change the transitions, the program froze and the one time I did get to the point of saving the movie file, the whole computer crashed.
Unfortunately I can't share the movie with you which is very frustrating to say the least! The upshot is that I have, however, been able to create a very short stop-motion movie using just a few photos that I had on file.
Not to worry. I will take this as a timely reminder that an important part of using ICTs for learning is having something up my sleeve for the times when it all goes pear-shaped (and experience shows it does, from time to time!). What I will do instead is reflect on digital movies generally and their potential for enhancing learning.
As noted by Schwartz and Hartman (n.d., p. 2) video can be a powerful tool for learning. Videos encourage creative fluency and interpretive facility (The New Media Consortium, 2005). Video has long been a fantastic tool for opening up new worlds and making meaning from images and aural modes. The advent of digital video makes the whole process much more accessible and communal. Instead of requiring expensive video recording and editing equipment, digital videos can be captured on mobile phones, digital cameras, ipads, etc., uploaded to computers either automatically or almost instantly (using free software), and shared in many different ways. Most students will already be very familiar with video sharing platforms like YouTube and many will have experience in recording videos.
The TED and TeacherTube websites contain some fantastic videos. This teacher's rap below goes to show that even some of the most unlikely subjects can be taught using video.
Kearney and Shuck (2006) indicate that digital video is commonly used in schools for communciation, observation, analysis
and reflection. Using these key areas, I've come up with some ideas for using video in education:
- Communication - provide real-life examples as a way of communicating ideas to students (e.g. for an activity on persuasive texts, students could watch Martin Luther King Jnr's 'I Have a Dream Speech'). Groups could film themselves acting out a book.
- Observation - students could collect and share video footage to expand on classroom learning (e.g. for a unit on minibeasts students could film insects and the different ways they move, their habitats etc.).
- Analysis - students could examine advertising techniques then write and film their own commercial to sell a product.
- Reflection - students could create reflective responses to content covered in class (e.g. form small groups to film a contrived TV show that reviews texts or movies).
The range of learning outcomes made possible by digitial video is indicated in the below diagram.
Source: Schwartz and Hartman (n.d., p. 7)
Activities involving video should be strongly linked to the curriculum. Students should be reminded about the importance of audience, both in terms of creating effective movies and the flow-on implications for privacy, online safety etc.
Fasso (2012) suggests that the outcomes of student video
production include affective, metacognitive, higher order thinking,
communication and presentation, literacy, organisational and teamwork and
moviemaking skill development.
Fasso, W. (2012). EDED20491: ICTs for Learning Design (Term 1, 2012). Retrieved from
CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=19580
Schwartz, D. & Hartman, K. (n.d.). It is not television anymore: designing digital video for learning and assessment, April 9. Retrieved from http://aaalab.stanford.edu/papers/Designed_Video_for_Learning.pdf
The New Media Consortium (2005). A global imperative: the report of the 21st century literacy summit.
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