Quiet on the set!!
Digital Video Editing and creating is an area in Education where a teacher has to be savy about designing. Prior to implementing this innovative tool into lessons the design has to be well thought out. The constraints of time can turn this useful tool into a not so useful one. Luckily in my teaching culture our schedule has 90 minute blocks...plenty of time for an in-depth lesson to take place. Unfortunately though my students are not very capable to learn for 90 minutes at a time, due to their need for frequent breaks and rewards. Digitial Video Editing has seen small success with my students though...just last week we created a video using Movie Maker that was a movie trailer on a novel we had just finished reading in class. I decided to do this culminating activity to wrap up the unit versus a SMARTBoard interactive exam, per usual.
I was amazed at the results my students produced. Granted this final project took 3 class periods versus one but it was also 3 class periods that my students, who have severe intellectual disabilities, were able to be engaged for 60+ minutes at a time. They were creating, synthesizing, encoding and decoding information. It was a sight to behold. Lots of adult guidance and prompting was required but what was even more interesting was that several students truly took on a leadership role during this activity. These students were students who are typically more reserved and less engaged in class. I will certainly be using this tool again.
I know what you mean about the time constraints of assigning student-created videos. Even with 90-minute blocks, it takes at least 3 class periods to plan, create, and edit. I suppose the question we have to ask ourselves is, "is it worth it," and from reading your response, I would say, "yes." The amount of higher-level critical, complex, and creative thinking that the students were doing far outweighs the time it took to complete the project. I also love the fact that your students were pushing themselves outside their comfort zones, becoming leaders in their own way.
ReplyDeleteWhat a marvelous way to engage your students and to make them feel both competent and confident. And to be able to share their creations with other students and family and friends elsewhere! Talk about engaging them because all teens love videos - and probably love staring in them even more than watching them. Moreover if your students could gain some decent skills in video technologies, think of how that will help them when they seek to do something meaningful in their adult lives, or if they wish to continue to advocate for themselves when they are adults. Marvelous! While the 'worth it' value may be hard to justify when it takes 3 class periods to complete this kind of project (versus curriculum that needs to be covered), the value of enhancing their self esteem and life skills is invaluable! Kudos to you, Abby!!!
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