Entries tagged as ‘TeacherTube’
Wildish Mountain Kids
Technology is a magical dragon all flight and fire. We the users are often left running along on the ground far behind the beast trying to catch up with it.
As an elementary school teacher I try to incorporate multimedia into the curriculum. It gives voice to student’s work and shares it with a wide audience. To that end we have been successful. Cayoosh Kidz, our website, has just passed the 100 000 mark with visits and viewings. Not bad for a bunch of wildish mountain kids. Sometime next week we will have a party to celebrate that success, and set our new goals, but back to the dragon.
Video is the heart of new media. Its growth on the web has been exponential! When Cayoosh Kidz started a couple of years ago there were only a handful of places where a video could be posted. Six months after we started there were hundreds, now there are thousands.
This growth of the video phenomenon is not without problems. For every good video clip there are hundreds of bad ones. These are bad for many reasons: sexism, drugs, violence, or just ill-conceived worthless content. Some days Youtube feels like the Wild West, not a place you would like to bring children. TeacherTube is a much safer bet.
As a teacher, creating worthwhile content is a huge challenge. However, there are resources we can learn from to improve the work that we produce. I was delighted with the instructional videos found at B&H this week. B&H is the international candy store of multimedia. You might call it the dragon’s layer. You won’t be wasting time looking at the online resource Teaching Online Journalism either.
We are in a time of incredible transformation of video technology. Everything is changing and will continue to change for several years. Video cameras are recording in formats that the editing software can’t yet decode. And editing software is making power demands on computers that they weren’t designed for. This creates headaches and frustration at every level, and the solutions are usually expensive. It takes several thousand, if not tens of thousands of dollars to be able to shoot and edit in true HD (high definition) video. This is an amount far beyond what the average school budget can afford. HD video editing can be done, but you are really running to catch that dragon. The practical solution is to shoot and edit in the more compact SD (standard definition) video format.
And what about Cayoosh Kidz’ next goal? We have been tossing around one million hits by the end of next year. It’s got a nice ring to it. Over the next few posts I will discuss how we intend to reach that goal. Hey, did you see which way that dragon went?
Categories: video
Tagged: cameras, editing, file formats, student video, TeacherTube
Classroom teachers don’t have time to mess around with technology that doesn’t work. If multimedia is going to become a powerful learning tool in our classrooms we need to use the tools and techniques that will provide fast and efficient work flow.
Tip #1 Dump the Tapes
Shoot with a camera or camcorder that uses flash memory. Dump the tapes and mini-disks! You will save hours of time and headaches. Flash memory can be directly transferred to your computer and moved into an editing program. Besides time, you will also save money by not buying consumable recording media.
Tip #2 Shoot Smart – No editing
Digital editing is creative, but it sucks time out of your busy life! Try to capture video in one long take – no editing required. While there is no question that editing improves the quality of a video, what you really want to do is share creative content. You will be able to do more of that if you don’t have to take the time to edit.
Tip #3 Storyboard Your Shooting Sequences
If you are going to edit, carefully plan your shots. Take the time to create a storyboard and plan a logical shooting sequence. You will save a ton of time editing your work later.
Tip #4 Buy Software That Works
While it is possible to produce impressive projects with free software, there is usually a reason that it is free. If you are serious about producing regular multimedia content then purchase industry standard software that efficiently does the job. If you are using a PC try Adobe Premiere Elements or on a Mac look at Final Cut Express. These programs work, have lots of great features and provide a stepping stone to more advanced tools.
Tip #5 Use a Powerful PC
Video editing takes computing power! You will need a newer machine with enough ram memory. Nothing frustrates the creative impulse as much as a constantly crashing computer when you are trying to piece together your video masterpiece.
Tip #6 Come Prepared
Plan before you shoot. Time is always limited, so when you do get your 30 minute period to produce a video make sure you have all the materials that you need.
Tip #7 TeacherTube
Avoid using your own website to host the video. Mount your video on a site like TeacherTube or Vimeo then put a link on your own website or blog. This saves both time and money as you will be charged extra if your site’s traffic exceeds the specified limit.
Telling multimedia stories is about creating efficient work flow. You want to focus your energy on telling stories and sharing content, not getting bogged down with inefficient tools and techniques.
Categories: video making
Tagged: camcorder, cameras, New Media, student video, TeacherTube, video, Webpage
Team Work
Cayoosh Kidz News #16
We are up to number 16 in our newscast series, and while they are not as popular as ‘feature’ productions they usually garner three to four hundred hits over the space of a year. The purpose of the newscasts is to let the community know what’s going on at the school. More importantly they give kids a chance to produce a show that will hone video, writing and public speaking skills. Cayoosh Kidz News #16 was written and filmed during a 50 minute period with a team of 7 kids. We have a shooting formula that begins with a news desk then cuts out to various reporters and then back to the news desk. By maintaining a set sequence editing can be substantially simplified. This formulaic approach is especially important when cycling through new groups of kids every session. You, the teacher, at least will know what is going on.
For this newscast we began with a brainstorming session where we matched stories to individuals. Students then spent five to ten minutes writing brief notes about what they were going to say and practicing their lines with a partner. We now have 40 minutes left and no video! Just before filming we finalize what needs to be said in the take. Students adlib their lines as we don’t really have time for memorization and it is less stressful for all concerned. We practice once and then tape; usually the kids nail it in the first or second take.
Next we go outside for the weather report, then back to the anchor desk. We continue to bounce around the school recording the news and then come back to the anchor desk for a follow-up, and an introduction to the next feature. To finish we record the whole group saying goodbye.
At home I drop the clips into Adobe Premiere Elements and toss away the outtakes. Next the title and credits are put in place and some transitions inserted between clips. This is also the time I might put in a music sound track or add student narration. However, for #16 it wasn’t necessary.
To publish to the web the video is saved as a flash file. I usually upload this to TeacherTube, but sometimes we host the video on our own server space. The last thing to do is update the Cayoosh Kidz website and the student’s vlog. Now the community can start watching. From start to finish the video took about 50 minutes of class time and 25 minutes at home. Later in the year the kids will edit their own work. The following day we evaluate the newscast and discuss what we liked about it and how we can make the next one better.
Categories: making video
Tagged: Cayoosh Kidz, TeacherTube, video
Video has been the most successful and rewarding media we have explored. The majority of our website’s visitors have been people watching videos. We use video across the curriculum. While we have made over 50 videos we have only just scratched the surface of what we would like to do.
Where do you do it?
Good quality videos can be captured with an inexpensive digital camera. The file can be stored on your website, however this is an awkward and time consuming option when compared to using a free video hosting site. With the latter you put a link on your website that connects to the video stored on the hosting site.
TeacherTube
The internet is the easiest vehicle for sharing and gives the widest audience. TeacherTube http://www.teachertube.com/login.php is one of the best for student work. It is carefully monitored for safe content and is easy to use. You sign up and begin uploading videos, following the clear instructions.
How to begin?
Keep your projects short, use a simple digital camera and do the minimum of editing.
Storyboards
A story board is the road map of where you plan to go with your story. Making a Storyboard .
Reading Power is a strategy developed by Adrienne Gear to promote reading comprehension.
Reading Power was designed primarily to promote reading comprehension, but it is also a pragmatic framework to understand all media. After learning about Reading Power students are able to understand the needs of their audience and then create videos that audiences engage with.
Reading Power: Teaching Students to Think While They Read
By Adrienne Gear
What to shoot?
The sky is the limit! However some styles do work better than others on the Internet. Your films need to be iconic in nature with a strong story line; this is because of the small screen and the short length (running time) of the video. The video resolution doesn’t need to be high to be visually powerful on a small screen. Video length needs to be only a few minutes due to technical limitations. On the positive side this means that productions are easy to piece together and edit. Be warned; it can easily take a motivated five-student team a week to plan, film and edit a two minute video.
Digital Storytelling
Here are some examples of video genres we have produced.
Comedy The World’s Greatest Teacher
Drama Massacre in the Bookroom
Environmental When Good Bears Go Bad
Drug Awareness When Sorry Isn’t Enough
Anti Racism Green People Are The Best
Documentary Residential School Experience
PE Chinese Skipping
DIY How to Make Tin Can Stilts
Video Editing
Without editing, videos usually look awful. The good news is that with a bit of work you can easily add titles, arrange the sequences, cut out mistakes, use transitions, and finish your production with credits.
Windows Video Maker or the Mac iMovie are free and simple to use. There are many more options if you purchase an editing suite such as Adobe Premier Elements which we use at Cayoosh Kidz.
Links
http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://www.videomaker.com/learn/
http://www.youtube.com/video_toolbox
http://kidsvid.altec.org/index.html
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Categories: Rural Schools
Tagged: Reading Power, TeacherTube, video
