Reflection 3: Videos in the Classroom

Videos are another form of technology that can be useful in a classroom setting. They provide a platform to cater for various tasks and can be used for varying genres. Film could be used in an informative task such as an assessment piece or alternately for a fictional piece like a short film. The possibilities are endless! So too are their capabilities. With numerous different programs to create videos available their abilities vary slightly. Most, however, simply provide the user an interface to make their own videos. Users can add audio, pictures, and film and customize with effects. Whilst the platform doesn’t allow for multi-authored publication students could work in small groups to achieve the same effect. Creating a video is quite simple and doesn’t require much experience.

When putting technology into action in the classroom it important to consider its effects; its learning outcomes. Is this technology going to impact my classroom in an effective and positive way? Incorporating videos into a classroom could be highly successful. It provides students the ability to work with peers, enhance their ICT skills, as well as allow them to be creative!

The use of videos in a school context could be integrated at various levels in relation to the SAMR model. At the first stage, Substitution, students called film themselves ahead of time for a class presentation. This would be an alternative to the traditional speech in front of their peers. Next comes the Augmentation stage. This step in a hospitality class, for example, could be executed by getting students to create a short video featuring pictures of their food overlayed with audio. At the Modification level students could work in pairs and film each other preparing a dish. They then would edit, and add further features to their videos. And finally at the Redefinition stage students could film and create a movie of the whole process. Students could create lists of Mis En Place (within their films), film how to create the dish and how to present it, and finally as people to critique and rate their meal. Through the different levels of the SAMR model many, if not all levels of Blooms taxonomy are also being used! From simply having general knowledge and understanding of how to make videos to creating them!

In high-school one of my classes was Film and Television so I am familiar with using videos and their programs. Due to time constraints, however, the video I have as an example isn’t mind-blowing… maybe a little mind-numbing perhaps?! Below is a very short clip of how I have explored the platform. In this example I used Apples in-house video editing program iMovie.