As educators, we always want an answer to the million dollar question, "How can I continuously engage my students during instruction?" As a result of this digital era, one way that educators can engage students when teaching is by incorporating educational videos during instructional time. In this Importance of Video Education in Schools Video, two teachers and their students discuss the effectiveness of using videos in the classroom in that it allows students a greater opportunity to comprehend the material being taught to them.
Importance of Video Education in Schools (YouTube Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnFPFUCr5SA&t=19s
Utilizing videos in the classroom opens doors to a plethora of opportunities, ideas, and new things for students to embark on that they would not have normally experiences with just using pen and paper. For example, in using digital video texts, students have the opportunity to not only watch these texts for knowledge, but also to create their own videos for application of what they have learned. According to Hicks (2013), "....videos can serve many purposes and that just as we teach students to 'read like a writer,' we need to help them 'view like a videographer." (Pg. 108). This simply reaffirms the fact that by students digesting and creating their own videos, they are developing even more skills that will help them grow in their other academic areas. For example, students creating their own videos causes them to become better writers due to the fact that students are able to use different genres of writing, informational, narrative, and argumentative writing, when creating their video texts. In my own classroom, I always like to make sure that I give my students an opportunity to be creative and to show off their talents to one another by experiencing new things because they need to be able to think and work outside of the norm so that they may better excel academically in and out of the classroom. According to Troy and Hicks (2017), "...giving people--children, adolescents, and adults--an opportunity to play with a video editing editing task in a low-stakes manner is often a good way to introduce bigger projects such as digital stories or public service announcements" (pg. 97) In saying this, one creating their own videos can lead to them embarking on other learning opportunities. Although it sometimes can seem difficult to change the routine of one's instruction, it is always beneficial to students if educators remain flexible in their teaching so that students may continue to grow academically. Incorporating video usage and creation into the classroom is vital to the exploration and technological skills for our students, especially with being in this increasingly digital era.
According to Using Video Content to Amplify Learning, "Video clips can be a great tool to assist students in gaining that deeper understanding of content. It's important to have a clear purpose for using that film, documentary, or news clip" (Alber, 2019, para. 2). Although the usage of videos in the classroom enhance and amplify our instruction, educators still have to make sure that the videos that we show are meaningful with a purpose. Incorporating technology should be thought of as an add-on to a lesson, but not the entire lesson, depending on the grade level that one is teaching. Using videos can definitely be an asset to students and teachers if used properly, but can also be considered a hindrance if not used properly for instruction.
At the beginning of the Spring semester, my classmates and I were assigned to create an introductory video of ourselves that gave information about who we are, where we're from, as well as our individual journeys in our teaching careers. When making my introductory video, I knew my audience would be my professor as well as my classmates, so I wanted to make sure that I incorporated and included information that appealed/interested them since they were my target audience. If I am being completely honest, I created my introductory video on an evening after a long work day with 50 5th graders and it definitely was not my absolute best work. To make my introductory video better, I think that I could include the quality of my video, possibly incorporate some music or pictures, and some animations to create a better flow of what I am narrating in the background. In the past, I have created numerous videos before for classes or just on social media, but I can not say that I had a true understanding of the terminology "digital video texts as mentor texts" especially when thinking about teaching my own groups of students. In Crafting Digital Writing, Author Hicks discusses "MAPS," an acronym that stands for "mode, media, audience, purpose, and situation" (Hicks, 2013). This acronym is a way to set the expectation for what digital video texts should incorporate if utilizing for instructional purposes. When examining my introductory video based on the MAPS acronym, I can truly see the areas that I need to improve on in order to have a better quality video.
To begin the revisions of my video, I went back to my original video and made a mental note on the different things that I could improve on, make better, or that I wanted to keep the same. I decided to keep my audio the same because I gave a lot of good information, but just needed to display my information in a better format. For my new video, I used iMovie on my Mac and added different images and transitions to better enhance the content being presented in my video. After completing this module and reading the information about audio/video, it is definitely more evident to me about the impact that a good video can have on how well someone comprehends something.
References:
Alber, R. (2019, March 18). Using Video Content to Amplify Learning. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-video-content-amplify-learning
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to
read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
To begin the revisions of my video, I went back to my original video and made a mental note on the different things that I could improve on, make better, or that I wanted to keep the same. I decided to keep my audio the same because I gave a lot of good information, but just needed to display my information in a better format. For my new video, I used iMovie on my Mac and added different images and transitions to better enhance the content being presented in my video. After completing this module and reading the information about audio/video, it is definitely more evident to me about the impact that a good video can have on how well someone comprehends something.
Revised ED-529 Introduction Video
References:
Alber, R. (2019, March 18). Using Video Content to Amplify Learning. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-video-content-amplify-learning
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to
read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I agree that we need to teach our students how to think like a videographer. Turner and Hicks (2017) state that "nearly everyone is familiar with the tropes of video" (p. 84). However, students are still learning what goes into making a video. They do not often realize that the producer does a lot of editing on each video before publishing it for everyone to view. It is our job to bring these video producing "tricks" to light for students and help them make sense of how it could affect what they are viewing. Also, I do agree that students need to be presented with an opportunity to be creative and make their video content. Once students learn about the "tricks" that video producers use, they should be given a chance to apply what they have learned in their video. Thus, allowing them the opportunity to become successful in this digital age.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to
read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I completely understand trying to find ways to have your students be more engaged in the learning process. Like you mentioned, students are so in tune with videos and digital media why not incorporate those resources into our lessons for them to enjoy. Hicks (2013) states" As we think about using visual literacy to craft digital texts, we have the opportunity to guide our students toward a systematic and imaginative uses of video in our digital writing workshops" (p.105). Creating meaningful visual literacy requires our students to think on a deeper level. They have to take into account what message they are trying to convey, who their audience for the video will be, different ways to make their videos visually pleasing, etc. Our goal is to guide our students "through the composing process, helping them make smart decisions about everything, from whether to make a live-action video or screen casting all the way through the final stages of adding narration and transitions" (Hicks, 2013, p.105). I do not think students really understand how much time and energy is put into making an effective video. This process would not only allow them to gain a better understanding of the video making process, but also hopefully help them gain a better respect for the video making process.
ReplyDeleteResources
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing text across media and genres. Portsmouth,N.H.: Heinemann.
When I looked at the picture of the students above, I couldn't help but see my students looking the same way in class, probably on Seesaw making a video or finishing up an activity that I assigned on Google Classroom. Hicks (2013) tells us that "many forms of media surround us, and in various ways, invite us to read, listen, view, click, as well as- with the advent of smart phones and tablets- tap and touch." (p. 104) And that exactly what we should expect. With the advent of smart phones, tablets, and computers, we don't have to sit side by side to assess our students or have them explain something face to face. All these things can take place on their device. In this way, they become more independent and tech-savvy.
ReplyDeleteResources
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing text across media and genres. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.
You are so right when you mentioned how many opportunities showing videos in the classroom provides. Not to mention students love videos! I myself love videos! I actually found myself with all of the news craziness watching more informational videos vs. reading the articles. Like Hicks (2013) mentioned, “we need to understand that anything they [students] watch, purposefully or incidentally, can be a mentor text” (p. 107). I connected some of the learning from this chapter to last month's chapter on infographics. It is so true that all of these forms of media are mentor texts for teaching how and why the forms of emdia are made. Miller and Bruce (2017) encourages teachers who “takes such a stance creates a learning space that allows students to have agency to compose with support, draw on their lives and understandings, translate between print and non-print, collaborate on design in the class and online, and publish their work for an authentic audience.” I can already see ways that I can use these media sources in my classroom to allow my students the opportunity to create this type of media.
ReplyDeleteHicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across
media and genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Miller, S., & Bruce, D. (2017). Welcome to the 21st century: New
literacies stances to support student learning
with digital video composing. English Journal, 106(3), 14.