Welcome to my week 4 blog.
This week I will be reflecting on audio/video ICTs. I
created a little sample video. It’s pretty simple, but a major step for me – in
that I’ve never used any video editing software before!!
4 minutes of video = 13MB....I wish I had the resizer functioning!
The upload is taking far too long, so I'm leaving the video out of this post.
I simply recorded myself talking and placed some picture up
to match the time I spoke about things relevant to the particular picture. At
the end of my talking, I spliced in a presenter discussing similar concepts.
All the content
(except my voice – which sounded about as excited as I could manage in a mining
camp, after 12hours down a hole breathing dust!) was sourced from www.mathsisfun.com. The spliced video is
also hosted on www.youtube.com, but also
presented on www.mathsisfun.com. The
content consisted of a description of some methods of addition we use.
The movie I created was using windows movie maker. I chose
this because I already had it on my laptop (and didn’t have to download it
using my 3g connection!).
I used a website (http://en.savefrom.net/)
that turns youtube clips into downloadable files. I also tried to resize my
movie using a free resize/format switcher. I could use that particular resizer for the youtube
clip I downloaded, but it wouldn’t work for my completed video. I checked the list of
file formats the resize would use, but still no good. I am guessing that the issue was
the particular (free) software I was using. I also noted there are installable
programs that take clips out of youtube for offline saving, but the online one
was convenient enough.
I suspect I’ll be saying this all term, but had I more time
to spend on this, I’d have done more! I would have recorded an interview (scripted,
and probably me with a
funny voice) with a cashier asking about how they actually go through the
maths to calculate change or something at my desk involving matchsticks, or a
ruler as a number line or find or create visual content that goes through the
addition rather than just showing a picture of it.
As I alluded to in the video, seeing the methods presented
can help people understand how to visualise addition. As such a basic concept, at
the very beginning of our understanding of maths, has so many different ways to
think about it, invariably so will the more advanced concepts. So this type of presentation may come in handy alot.
These types of instruction videos can be specialised to the
class. Say if I created a class set of data and used that data in the examples given,
to make them more relevant to the students.
Other techniques Gary spoke about included image resizing.
This one I’m not scared of, I have been doing that since I was young.
Another was the podcast. I had a look at instructions on how to, and decided this would
not be difficult once the content was first created. I feel confident that, should
I want to include podcasts in my pedagogy, I could with a little research. But
if there is one thing the foibles of resizing videos has taught me, it’s to test
the software well in advance!
Another Gary mentioned was the auto collage. This, along
with the wordle tool discussed in another blog post, are two quite powerful
tools I can use to come up with visually appealing content for whatever
purpose.
How can the main ICT discussed this week be used in my stream?
I think I’ve pretty well discussed the visual/mental pictures related
to maths. It takes a pretty esoteric form of maths to have a concept that can’t
be pictured (year 12 math C is the first time this happens I believe). So
learners really can be helped using visual cues. In science, broadly the same principle holds. There are many concepts that video beats still image by such a margin that not showing video is the same as not teaching. That’s all for teacher generated content.
For student generated content though, one benefit would be easier to mark while
cooking dinner! Below is a PMI on student generated audio/video:
Positives:
-
Students using similar techniques to produce
content, is definitely a valid way for students to show understanding.
-
If they
are a little excited about a different way of doing things and that makes them more
motivated, all the better!
-
On marking day, their work is already done, so students
get to see other student’s presentation without worrying about their own (like
during oral presentations) so they MAY ACTUALLY LISTEN AND LEARN while other
students present!
-
By making the presentation beforehand, nerves
may be less of an issue resulting in more exciting and engaging student
presentations (as opposed to oral/powerpoint)
Negatives:
-
The downsides could well include the time it
takes to get students to understand the process/technology involved.
-
The time it takes to set up and review prior to
showing it in class
-
The availability of technology resources and
support both in schools and at home
Interesting:
-
The students filming their own content may
generate the student discussion of schoolwork due to it’s slightly novel nature
The other consideration for student generated content is the safely/legally/ethically implications. The permissions required, the control of the sharing of the content, the use/abuse by students of the material/the storage of the material. Most of these issues involve the students being heard or seen in the content, but also include copyright issues.
Another early one tomorrow.
Goodnight folks!
Great work David, I love your idea of having the students review their peers work after completion of an activity. I agree they may be in a more settle mind frame to listen and learn. I know a lot of student may find filming and recording themselves way out of their comfort zone, and would find it impossible to concentrate while they are waiting to do theirs. Great ideas
ReplyDeleteCheers Cassie