I have to admit I am not well-versed in video editing tools, so I was happy to get some experience using some audio recording & editing programs (mainly Audacity) as well as video editing programs such as OpenShot, which this multimedia newbie found very easy to use. However, my ultimate favorite so far is the even easier to use Photo Story 3. Simply upload pictures, tweak the motion, transitions, effects, add titles and music, and SHAZAM you have given birth to an adorable little video in a minimum amount of time. But don't think that just because it's fast that it doesn't have some decent features; my perfectionist tendencies were still very satisfied using Photo Story 3, with enough options to keep my left hemisphere adjusting and finalizing for hours on end. However, if you're looking for a powerful video editor that has more features than I have shoes, then Photo Story 3 isn't what you're looking for.
If you'd like to see the results of my adjusting, finalizing, and tweaking, check out the video I made below using Photo Story 3. (Just be forewarned that this is one of my first attempts at video creation and editing; view at your own risk!) It is a "getting started" piece; a video that is designed to be shown at the start of an ecology unit to get students thinking about the bigger picture before learning all the details. Each image is tied to a group of essential concepts and details in our unit objectives. This way, students will have what I call "visual prior knowledge" on which to hang and connect the ecology details and concepts they'll learn. I plan on having a discussion after showing the video about what the images are and what they mean (to put them in context; the image of the 1991 Kuwait oil fires is before their time), and then address the quotation and question in groups and as a class. I am hoping this discussion will show me a few things:
1) What prior knowledge, conceptions, and misconceptions they have about these ecological issues,
2) If anyone will be brave enough to suggest the idea that they have nothing to apologize for, and start a discussion with other students who feel differently, and
3) What I need to do throughout the unit to help them answer that last question in the video as part of their summative assessment.
As far as using videos in the classroom, I am currently envisioning the following uses for this school year:
- Have students create a video at the end of a unit to form coherent and comprehensive answers to essential questions, but without using words (in order to show synthesis of ideas).
- Students could create videos as the visual answer to a RAFT assignment rather than using words (Prezi can be used for this as well).
- As part of my students' ePortfolios, videos could be created as either a reassessment opportunity, or as additional evidence of understanding.
- Students could create these as a way to present their lab data and conclusions to each other after performing their self-designed experiments.
- Create a video of my syllabus to present the key points in about 5 minutes. I can't tell you how many years I have wasted valuable instructional time reading my syllabus to students on the first day of school--not anymore. I am going to prepare a multimedia presentation of my syllabus for the first day, so I can have students view it, discuss any questions they may have, and move on to doing some learning. I am going to post this video later in the week in another blog post.