I won’t lie…this week I was somewhat intimidated by our latest topic of Web 2.0 as we were asked to learn about video sharing! You’d think I would have been more excited considering my revelations and enthusiasm for photo sharing but I’ve always felt a little more uncomfortable behind a video camera. Luckily, digital cameras are equipped to take short video clips too thus giving me a sense of familiarity and reassurance that I can do this!
So I began my research of video sharing by going on to the most popular sites used by teachers such as Youtube, Schooltube and Teachertube to see what videos for educational purposes (or NOT!) were out there and being shared right now. Of course I came across everything from teachers videotaping lessons in various core subject areas, students who’d created short video stories, lectures of a more serious nature on technology in education and hilarious parodies of librarians (I loved the Cookie monster in the library video!)
With a little more insight into what all these videos were like, I decided to begin some reading on video sharing opinions and ideas by “educators” on the net. I also visited Joanne’s trailfire suggestions for video sharing. Needless to say, I was blown away by the lecture on Youtube by the anthropologist, Michael Wesch on An Introduction to the Anthropology of Youtube. Some of the statistics he stated “9000 hours of video are uploaded to Youtube everyday and 88% of it is new or original material” made me realize how much video (and video sharing) is a part of the culture of our digital learners. It only makes sense to make it part of their education and teach them how to use this tool in an effective way to learn, share, collaborate and more! My favorite term that Professor Wesch used in his video was “participant observation”. Since I’ve begun this course learning about Web 2.0 tools I have been somewhat “forced” out of my comfort zone into becoming a “participant observer”. (Don’t get me wrong…I’m loving it and learning sooooo much!) I truly believe the only way to learn about all these Web 2.0 tools is by participating in them, experimenting with them and observing what they are like “by doing” not just by reading about them. All of the aforementioned being how we want our own students to learn…which brings me back to video sharing in education!
In my quest for learning about video sharing as a means to increase our students learning potential and “engage them”, I’ve sorted it into two categories:
a) by viewing the amazing archive of incredible video footage out in the world wide web (analyze it, respond to it, share it, etc.) AND
b) by creating the video clips and movies to share with others (practice what they’ve learned, create, collaborate, etc.)
Although this division of “categories” helped to sort my thinking, I quickly came to realize that they are really one in the same when it comes to the concept of video sharing. When you are using such sites as Youtube, Teachertube, Schooltube, or Classroom 2.0 students have the ability to be using that service to both watch, analyze, create, comment on and share. Another interesting blog I read entitled A Teacher’s Tour of Youtube written by Chris O’Neal, reinforced my belief that there was definitely a place for video sharing in the classroom. Lessons could be taught in critical thinking and analyzing about authenticity, appropriateness and copyright infringement.
So I wanted to begin examining videosharing sites more closely and wondered what else was out there for students, which brought me to a blog posting entitled “The Ultimate Comparison Guide to Online Video Sharing”. I realized at once that there was no way I could possibly examine all the possibilities for the students and would have to rely on colleagues in the technology field, my fellow TL classmates and the more popular video sharing sites as my starting points. So Youtube, Schooltube, Teachertube and Classroom 2.0 became my sites of choice (for now!).
However as I began to explore these sites more closely, I came across many of the hurdles that were mentioned in an article I read entitled “Teachers tap Video-sharing in the Classroom” written by Joseph DeAvila. I found “weeding through the clips to make sure they are relevant for my class was very time consuming” even with tags and related videos to help you. It takes time to sit and watch them all for quality and relevance. (Although when you find that profoundly moving video, it feels like time well spent!) Another hurdle I encountered (not surprisingly) was the fact that Youtube and Schooltube (that was a surprise!) were blocked by my school divisions server. I was especially disappointed by this when I wanted to share a video with my staff that was on Youtube. (Thank you Darren for finding the video, “A Vision of K-12 Students Today”) With a little investigation I soon discovered that it was possible to download videos onto CD or save it to a memory stick using a service called KeepVid. The video was an effective tool for my staff, who are very reticent to make technology a priority in our school. The blocking of Schooltube was particularly surprising considering what I’d read about it on Barry S. Brit’s Myspace post entitled “Using video and social networking as tools within education”. According to Brit, Schooltube videos must be approved by registered teachers, follow school guidelines and adhere to the STN code of ethics. When I accessed Schooltube at home, I realized a school must become a member (FREE!) but I wonder if that is even an option for our school division. Something I’ll need to further pursue.
However, Teachertube was accessible as well as Classroom 2.0. I was really pumped to try a video with my class and work through an upload onto one of the sites but simply ran out of time so I thought I’d try my own webcam video blog at home and discovered our computer is not hooked up with a microphone (a hurdle I have to overcome with my husband as we discuss upgrades to our system…wish me luck!). One site that I could play with was animoto.com. At first I considered this more of a photosharing site as you use pictures from your digital camera and then upload them into the program, at which time they are turned into a video with music you have picked out from their library. Animoto is not a free service ($25.00/year subscription) but my husband and I loved it and signed on with videos produced for our family and friends to enjoy! I posted one below (nervously, as these are photos of my beautiful girls at the lake this summer) but a proud mom with growing faith in the world of social networking and security settings. Couldn’t you see the students in your classroom going crazy for this style of videosharing?
With my new found knowledge (although far from an expert as I still feel the need “to participate” and create), I began to consider the possibilities for my classroom. I discovered a few ideas from another posting by Barrie Brit entitled “Video Use in the Core Curriculum”.
Some of the ideas I thought I could see myself using were:
-video taping a T.U.S.C. meeting (The Ultimate Speaking Club)
-a news report on current events
-“Be the Science Teacher” and the students teach the class an experiment
-Oral Book reports or literature circle discussions
-Poetry readings
-French presentations
-Advertising…making book commercials, etc
-Exploring videos of students in another country
-Videotaping myself teaching a lesson and sharing it on my blog for parents or practice for students have difficulty learning a certain concept
-And the list goes on…
As a final thought on video sharing, I still share and understand the concern and angst of parents as they worry about their children being videotaped or photographed and shared on the internet (particularly as a teacher in the elementary setting). As the educator excited about implementing these new tools in my teaching it is critical I address these issues when introducing photo or video sharing opportunities to ensure I’ve received written permission and have performed a careful examination of the privacy settings to restrict our audiences to only those that the parents have approved. With that being said, in the words of Barry S. Brit, “…we can not let fear make us miss the boat. Your discussion on a certain topic will come to life as students are able to blog their comment, post pictures and create and share videos that take your discussion beyond the classroom and become links in a never-ending chain of learning, research, exploration and communication”.
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