Showing posts with label video editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video editing. Show all posts
Monday, September 23, 2024
Monday, April 3, 2023
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
"IT'S ALIVE!" Bringing Critical Thought to Life with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Victor was a learner. He had a passion for acquiring new information and using it to innovate and create. In Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Frankenstein, the title character, Victor Frankenstein, stated that “It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn...” In the story, Victor exposed an unchecked curiosity for learning as well as his own tragic flaw. Although learning is generally a positive process, understanding how acquisition of valuable information goes together with personal and societal ethics is something that a learner must fully grasp when encountering content, if they intend to apply it successfully. Through critical thinking and discourse, fostered by student choice and individualized learning opportunities, students are able to think differently about a text and draw conclusions about its relevance to their current world.
The type of critical thinking required to comprehend and analyze encountered information and its connection to real life areas of advancement is an absolute necessity that ninth grade ELA students experience as they encounter Shelley’s text in Pre-AP/GT English courses at Eaton High School. These students explore, consider, and discuss the “moral liability” of “knowledge” and “progress” as a part of a problem based learning opportunity that allows for student choice while also facilitating real world connections to the text. As part of this project, students in ninth grade Pre-AP/GT English are presented with the driving question of “Does knowledge or progress ever become a moral liability?” They are asked to utilize resources and processes of their choosing to explore both sides of an area of advancement and then choose varied platforms and tools in which to communicate their findings in ways that answer that driving question. The findings are curated into a “Live Binder” that is shared with peers and other school and community members.
Students are given a wide variety of options for how to present up to date research in ways that not only answer the given problem but also present both sides or an issue and advocate for a perspective that has been developed through meticulous research and and discussion. Some students choose to use WeVideo or YouTube to help create and edit videos in the format of interviews or commercials, while others use similar tools to create podcasts or radio shows. Some prefer approaching their topics through graphic design with visual advertisements in Canva, or written argument in journal or blog entries using Blogger or Smore. Whatever the platform, a truly beneficial part of this experience comes in when a student is given the freedom to choose a tool or resource that they are confident in using and that communicates their voice effectively while helping to share their knowledge with the community around them.
As students develop argumentation, research, and independent communication skills throughout this project, they are able to display those over the course of a week set aside for formally sharing findings with the school community. While presenting their inventive and relevant creations, these students confidently defend their research and conclusions in a dissertation style setting, which is not only challenging but truly impressive to witness. It is in a forum such as this where it becomes apparent that our students are not only being given the freedom to explore content and required texts but they are also being provided opportunities to develop their own viewpoints on critical societal issues while shaping an ethical compass of their own, all while being able to connect it to their reading.
Victor Frankenstein also said, “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” However, what Victor was lacking was a true understanding of what to do with that information, which students in our freshman Pre-AP/GT English classes are acquiring and applying through research into their own opinions, in-depth analysis, and critical discourse. These invaluable learning experiences are things that will help to not only develop lifelong learners but also facilitate learning that encourages an approach to new discoveries with a critical eye and solid ethical grounding.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Giving Students the "Keys" to Engage
Many adults
falsely assume that the current generation of students is lacking any sort of work
ethic, loyalty, or desire for learning independence. Some mistakenly stereotype an entire generation of students as full of apathy and an inability to think critically or engage
with a world outside of social media. What many fail to
see is that we are educating a generation of individuals who may have more
intrinsic motivation than we realize. The challenge we face is not how
to teach students these qualities but to find ways to bring them out in our
students and give them opportunities to apply the necessary thinking to content as
they learn to grow and develop the skills we desire to see.
In his first year at Eaton High School, Canaan, a
Business Management and Entrepreneurship Academy student, was brainstorming for a Junior Achievement Company idea and had a desire to do something that had a “real effect on the world” or solved a real-world problem.
He also happened to read an article about human sugar intake and how it was
linked to diabetes, cancer, and other health problems. As Canaan continued his research, he watched a documentary on the topic, which spurred him to begin
tracking his own sugar intake for about a week. He started tracking it on paper
and saw that his own sugar intake far exceeded the amount recommended. His
research supported that this was not uncommon and Canaan's very startling discovery
prompted him to think about how important is was for people to understand
and be aware of this issue. Through his research and continued tracking, Canaan’s
interest in this area grew and he wondered if there was an easier way for
people to track their own sugar intake. He found few apps and tools online to
help and even researched some of the major personal health trackers. While
looking at some of the more widely used digital trackers, he found that their primary function
was to count calories and fat and that most of them grossly underestimated
grams of sugar in foods he consumed. Canaan knew there must be a way to create something
to meet this increasing need and started looking for courses at school that would help
him pursue this new found interest.
Canaan
eventually signed up for William Gilbert’s web applications course where he
could acquire basic knowledge for coding and building apps on his own.
Mr. Gilbert recalled Canaan approaching him about one of the course assignments
and asking to incorporate his ideas for sugar tracking. Mr. Gilbert said that “He
changed the assignment when he came to me about his research and asked me to allow him to do
something different and more complicated.” Gilbert allowed Canaan the opportunity to pursue his area of interest and Canaan turned it into Bloom, an app for sugar intake tracking.
Canaan has since
continued to update and work on his app and has an entire notebook, or journal,
for ideas he plans to incorporate. He did say that he was a bit disappointed
that there were only so many courses he could fit into his schedule to advance
his desire to code and develop apps. However, Canaan continues to record suggestions
from classmates and gathers outside feedback to help him continue developing
ideas for evolving his app. He plans to develop this web based application that
can also be accessed from a computer or a smart phone and wants to incorporate
a variety of convenient features in the future to help with more accurate tracking of sugar intake.
Without the opportunity provided in our BME academy to creatively think about societal needs and possible business ventures and without the willingness of Mr. Gilbert to hand over the “keys” to learning to his students, Canaan’s idea would not have come to fruition. It’s his personal drive to make a difference and the willingness of Canaan's teachers to facilitate and open up this opportunity that drove Canaan to conceptualize his "passion project" while also learning useful and relevant academic skills.
Without the opportunity provided in our BME academy to creatively think about societal needs and possible business ventures and without the willingness of Mr. Gilbert to hand over the “keys” to learning to his students, Canaan’s idea would not have come to fruition. It’s his personal drive to make a difference and the willingness of Canaan's teachers to facilitate and open up this opportunity that drove Canaan to conceptualize his "passion project" while also learning useful and relevant academic skills.
Mr. Gilbert’s
web applications course also allowed three other innovative students an
opportunity to develop tools that not only met a course requirement, but also
addressed a need in the Eaton UIL community. Nate and two of his peers, Devon
and Nate, are part of the Eaton UIL computer science team. While at
competitions, they noticed that results were usually printed on a single 8½ x
11 sheet of paper and posted on a wall in the school cafeteria for a bunch of
students to crowd around and try to decipher. They felt that this method of
sharing competition results was much “more difficult than it should be” and they worked together to develop an app that works with current University InterscholasticLeague (UIL) event tabulation procedures for electronically communicating competition results.
The app was deployed at an Eaton UIL competition last year and worked
incredibly well for electronic dissemination of news updates and scores and
efficiently communicated rounds and results to all students and coaches. Nate
said that he liked how the app “alleviated a disconnect between scorers and competitors.”
It worked so well that these students decided to add in speech event tabulation
to the app for the 2018 Eaton UIL tournament. The feedback from their endeavor was all positive and noted how well these students served a legitimate need in the school community.
Another group of students who utilize passions and skills acquired through academic course study can be found in Eaton High School’s Book Club, sponsored by the EHS Library Media Center. Crystal and Jasmine are prominent book club members and say they joined book club because they school helped them to acquire a love for reading and they wanted to connect with friends who also loved to read. Jasmine, specifically, appreciated that Mrs. Sarah Thomasson took an interest in her, as a new student who was previously home-schooled, and showed her that she could reach out to others in the group by joining book club and getting involved with the YouTube channel, called "ISBN Thinking," produced by its members.
The channel was
started after members students, who had an interest in other online book reviews, realized that they had all the skills and resources necessary to produce something similar,
and according to Crystal, “We knew we could do it better.” The students worked
with Mrs. Thomasson to utilize library resources for recording of online book
talks and originally used a back room in the EHS library for producing and
editing of their videos, which they learned to do with the knowledge gained in
several of their classes and with the help of Mrs. Thomasson. The EHS Book Club meets during lunch shifts or Eagle Time to film and they have produced video reviews of books available through the Eaton High School Library.
These students also make an effort to cover all of the North Texas “Battle of the Books” texts and involve all twenty-two
members of book club in reviewing books and filming
talks.
The group is
currently not posting new videos because they are in need of a new location for filming
and hope to find a suitable and accessible location at EHS very soon
as they have plans to increase filming on a more regular basis and to organize the group with a set schedule and structure that they believe will provide added online and library traffic. These students love being able to share their own passions for reading, critical analysis, and video production through this very
relevant educational outlet that is meant to strike a love for
reading in other EHS students.
Obviously, there
are an innumerable amount of opportunities for students at NISD to find and
pursue individual passions through academic study. Allowing students to take
control of those opportunities and push themselves forward are what will empower
and motivate them to positively engage with and change their community. These students are part
of a generation described by many adjectives but apathetic, disengaged, and
lazy should not be part of them. This generation is motivated to go above and beyond in pursuit of things that are important to
improving the world around them if educators will only help them to engage in content
in ways that interest them. With an
amazing wealth of tools to help students access those opportunities and fuel the
desire to do more than consume technology and resources they can create in ways
that will permanently benefit the world.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Making Our First Debut via YouTube
When Tidwell MS students signed up for theater, they didn't realize that they'd also be video stars! On the first day of school, student's in Mr Savell's Theater Class were tasked with a challenge. After watching a short video of a young girl explaining how to do Elsa make up, groups of students were given the choice of creating a YouTube video or Wiki How page on a concept related to theater. Their target audience was sixth grade students who needed to know more about theater tips. Submissions ranged from theater make-up and hair dos to rules of theater and stage fights.
Mr. Savell wanted to assess student's prior knowledge with this activy, so created a few simple expectations. Students had to show:
- A clear understanding of what they already knew
- That they could teach others in a clear manner
- An organized and clear video
- A Peer Evaluation
The group wanted to make sure that they taught their audience in a clear, but fun way. "As nervous as we were to do the video, it felt really good when everyone laughed as they watched our tutorial. They weren't laughing at us, they were laughing because our video was informative and funny. When we saw other's react, we realized that we had accomplished our goal." This was also a great way for students to get to know each other. Karis and Trevor mentioned that they didn't know Mike before this project, but they had a lot of fun getting to work together.
Karis was the video editor of the group and added, "I had used iMovie a little before, but I didn't really know that I could zoom, switch music tracks, and voice over." She explored details within the app in order to make sure that their video portrayed the right message.
Mallory, Ashleigh, Kamille, and Madi created their video on how to create the Cinderella look. "I never thought I’d make a video in theater, but I loved it" commented Mallory. When asked what they learned through this process, Madi points out, "When we watched the YouTube video, it looked really simple, but when we started making one, we realized that we really had to think about the setting, props, and what we were going to say so that others would understand it."
All four girls had a different role in the video making process. Mallory did most of the editing and used iMovie on her iPhone. "I used iMovie so that I could mute out background noise and add voice over." Mallory mentioned that she has used iMovie with her friends before, but it was fun using it for an actual school project. "I also showed the video to my brother before turning it in to make sure that he could understand our steps," added Mallory.
Students filled out a peer evulation sheet that held everyone accountable to their video contributions. Kamille concluded, "Students should do this next year, because it was a great way to get to know each other, see what we had in common, and learn about communication."
Mallory, Madi, Kamille, and Ashleigh's Video
Karis, Trevor, and Mike's Video
Monday, May 23, 2016
Kid Created News
Teachers know the importance of communication from the classroom to the community. Our teacher challenged the class to come up with ideas of new ways to send out monthly newsletters to our parents. Getting students involved and to take charge of this classroom task was quite a challenge. Mrs. Degnan, 4th grade teacher, Nance Elementary had the students look at several options and once she picked her editors it became clear to use the subscription service called Smore.com.
The top editors were chosen by Mrs. Degnan and the class. Redd, McKenzi, and Lexi where honored with this position. All three students were chosen because of their leadership and their ability to get the job done. The team begun to hire other students for the different jobs: photographers and writers. Publications feature articles about each of our content area subjects, as well as the exciting happenings going on in 4th grade and around the building. Articles included, diagrams, fun facts, pictures and/or videos. We used the classroom iPads at first for our choice of device, but sometimes quality was an issue. We eventually hired a student who was a professional photographer/videographer who participated in the photography club at school. This made our pictures and videos much higher quality! We also borrowed laptops from 5th grade because they were more adept at meeting our needs and were easier to navigate than the ipads.
Over time we wanted to include student made video tutorials explaining how they did the problems in math (division, multiplication, etc.). We also added many science videos too. We had another great idea...interviews! It became our mission to feature all students in our classes. It was easy to feature kids that stand out, but we found that some of our reluctant or shy students have loved having the opportunity to be highlighted. Some of the students in our class were really good at interviewing people so we hired them. These students chose special people to interview and even formed their own questions. We interviewed people like Mrs. Chaney, the principal, PTA members, and teachers and they became part of our interactive newsletter. This exchange of information became a teaching/learning tool as well. Students that missed concepts or did not understand a concept would ask for videos to made for better understanding. Students led these informal tutoring sessions and parents were delighted to understand how their child was learning in school.
To engage our readers, we added an interesting piece called “Fun Facts”. Throughout the given school day students would walk around ask weird things like “How many teeth does a rhino have?” so we researched them and posted them on our newsletter. Our students here at Nance are extremely good writers so we have a section to showcase student work like essays and poems. A LOT OF POEMS! Again, student work became the highlight of our newsletter. We wanted to give all students a voice in our newsletter.
Our teacher nominated us to present our newsletters at TechnoExpo 2016. We had a blast preparing our presentation and as luck would have it, one of our editors came down with Pneumonia. McKenzi and Lexi brainstormed ways that Redd could still participate even though he had become very ill. We called our campus IT Coach and she suggested why not use the web conferencing tool called Zoom? With her help we ZOOMED Redd in and they presentation went as scheduled – the girls were at NHS and Redd was at home. We felt empowered and our presentation was great!
Our newsletter has sparked the interest of hundreds of followers around the world. We have been delighted in the response. Check us out! We really are fabulous!
The top editors were chosen by Mrs. Degnan and the class. Redd, McKenzi, and Lexi where honored with this position. All three students were chosen because of their leadership and their ability to get the job done. The team begun to hire other students for the different jobs: photographers and writers. Publications feature articles about each of our content area subjects, as well as the exciting happenings going on in 4th grade and around the building. Articles included, diagrams, fun facts, pictures and/or videos. We used the classroom iPads at first for our choice of device, but sometimes quality was an issue. We eventually hired a student who was a professional photographer/videographer who participated in the photography club at school. This made our pictures and videos much higher quality! We also borrowed laptops from 5th grade because they were more adept at meeting our needs and were easier to navigate than the ipads.
Over time we wanted to include student made video tutorials explaining how they did the problems in math (division, multiplication, etc.). We also added many science videos too. We had another great idea...interviews! It became our mission to feature all students in our classes. It was easy to feature kids that stand out, but we found that some of our reluctant or shy students have loved having the opportunity to be highlighted. Some of the students in our class were really good at interviewing people so we hired them. These students chose special people to interview and even formed their own questions. We interviewed people like Mrs. Chaney, the principal, PTA members, and teachers and they became part of our interactive newsletter. This exchange of information became a teaching/learning tool as well. Students that missed concepts or did not understand a concept would ask for videos to made for better understanding. Students led these informal tutoring sessions and parents were delighted to understand how their child was learning in school.
To engage our readers, we added an interesting piece called “Fun Facts”. Throughout the given school day students would walk around ask weird things like “How many teeth does a rhino have?” so we researched them and posted them on our newsletter. Our students here at Nance are extremely good writers so we have a section to showcase student work like essays and poems. A LOT OF POEMS! Again, student work became the highlight of our newsletter. We wanted to give all students a voice in our newsletter.
Our teacher nominated us to present our newsletters at TechnoExpo 2016. We had a blast preparing our presentation and as luck would have it, one of our editors came down with Pneumonia. McKenzi and Lexi brainstormed ways that Redd could still participate even though he had become very ill. We called our campus IT Coach and she suggested why not use the web conferencing tool called Zoom? With her help we ZOOMED Redd in and they presentation went as scheduled – the girls were at NHS and Redd was at home. We felt empowered and our presentation was great!
Our newsletter has sparked the interest of hundreds of followers around the world. We have been delighted in the response. Check us out! We really are fabulous!
We hope to inspire students all across the world to use technology to present and share their work to others.
This article was written by Redd, Lexi, and McKenzi in collaboration with Mrs. Egle
Click each image to view our newsletters
This article was written by Redd, Lexi, and McKenzi in collaboration with Mrs. Egle
Click each image to view our newsletters
Monday, March 30, 2015
Students create virtual backstage pass to "Cinderella" musical
If you had a virtual backstage pass to your favorite theatrical production where you could see the cast and crew preparing in the weeks leading up to the event, would you feel a deeper connection to the performance?
Northwest High School fine arts performed Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" last month. Students involved in the production collaborated together to produce and publish a series of videos as part of a backstage vlog (video blog) to connect the audience to the performers. Prior to the performance date, the students captured video footage of the cast and crew as they prepared for the event. Other students also contributed their backstage footage, so the vlog included many aspects of the massive preparation that goes into a musical, including set production, choral practice, choreography practice, short interviews with the cast and crew, and much more.
Each week, Emma and Kaylon, students who spearheaded the vlog, collected videos during the week and edited the videos over the weekend to post on YouTube. They posted five videos total, giving five weeks of backstage access, all the way up to three days before the performance began. To gain exposure, the videos were advertised on social media and included in the "Cinderella" playbill via QR Codes. According to Emma and Kaylon, the feedback they received from people about the videos was positive, especially since "most people don't realize how much work we actually do backstage, they just usually see the final product." This gave the audience a deeper connection to the performance by seeing all the hard work being done in preparation. Additionally, making the videos allowed the entire cast and crew to interact on a deeper level as well, giving a more meaningful experience as they worked together to produce "Cinderella".
Northwest High School fine arts performed Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" last month. Students involved in the production collaborated together to produce and publish a series of videos as part of a backstage vlog (video blog) to connect the audience to the performers. Prior to the performance date, the students captured video footage of the cast and crew as they prepared for the event. Other students also contributed their backstage footage, so the vlog included many aspects of the massive preparation that goes into a musical, including set production, choral practice, choreography practice, short interviews with the cast and crew, and much more.
Each week, Emma and Kaylon, students who spearheaded the vlog, collected videos during the week and edited the videos over the weekend to post on YouTube. They posted five videos total, giving five weeks of backstage access, all the way up to three days before the performance began. To gain exposure, the videos were advertised on social media and included in the "Cinderella" playbill via QR Codes. According to Emma and Kaylon, the feedback they received from people about the videos was positive, especially since "most people don't realize how much work we actually do backstage, they just usually see the final product." This gave the audience a deeper connection to the performance by seeing all the hard work being done in preparation. Additionally, making the videos allowed the entire cast and crew to interact on a deeper level as well, giving a more meaningful experience as they worked together to produce "Cinderella".
Click on the video below to see an example:
Link to all 5 videos: Cinderella NHS YouTube channel
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