EDLD+5363+Week+5+Course+Reflection

 =Reflections on Video Technology and Multimedia by Kathy Payne =



When I begin the course with the self evaluation, I wasn't quite sure of what to expect. As I had experience with scrapbooking and putting photo albums together, I was thrilled to find out we would be editing, recording, and creating video products using the latest technology. I had trepidations about working in a group, and some of the technology I looked at was very expensive. I appreciated being able to view many options and being allowed to choose the ones to use. This course exceeded my expectations. We were expected to video plan, design, produce, edit and evaluate multimedia hardware and software tools by building digital stories. I have actually produced or help produce three videos. Scorecese suggested that w ith the onslaught of visual images in today’s world and the need for students to analyze those images understanding different point of views (Cruickshank, 2008). Each point of view has a different meaning and conveys a different message to get a particula r reaction.

Being able to evaluate software and hardware for a school and having experience with the products will allow me to make recommendations on them instead of just listening to sales people who have the sale in mind instead of what would benefit the campus the most. The open source software experienced in this class such as Photostory 3, Audacity, and Google documents are as good as, if not better than some of the more costly software. Photostory 3 is extremely user friendly as is Google documents if you have experience with Microsoft word. Working with elementary students and inexperienced teachers, user friendly is definitely a plus! Using storyboarding in the curriculum will allow students to understand the process of video making much more. I will use this tool in order to facilitate better writing and planning as we make our products. Video production really leads into science and technology. Students can make videos of experiments, public service announcements, and projects within the class such as formation of rocks. Once the teachers and students see some projects, their input will bring many more ways to use video technology as a teaching tool. Having experience manipulating and not knowing all the answers also gave me the opportunity to explore and be able to explain how to use online help sections of the products to differentiate instruction for the students who need it. 

The most difficult part of the class was getting a group together. Even though the reading discussion board allows us the opportunity to interact, it is a formal setting and doesn’t lend itself to getting to know people. I found that the synchronized web conferences were very helpful in allowing you to see whom you are talking too and putting a face to a name really helps. I really like Google chat because of the ability to see who you are chatting with and being able to conference chat. It is also open source and available to all. Once the group was together, it still took about a week and a half before we felt comfortable with the group as a whole. Chatting doesn’t allow for reading of people to gage what they are thinking or their reactions. A lot of misunderstandings can occur through the typed word. This didn’t happen in my group but could have.

Erin Cobb, Mellonie Dalton, Michelle Barber and I were team members in the Public Service Announcement. Erin Cobb was in charge of copyright and videoing the shots, Michelle Barber was in charge of editing the final product, Mellonie Dalton was in charge of the shark production and narration, and I was in producer/director and was in charge of organizing the meetings, format, and group chats and reviewing the products to ensure we had fulfilled all requirements. Each of us contributed in development, editing, revising, and the overall theme of the PSA. We used many different formats in planning, developing, and implementing the video. The team worked very well together and I hope we can work together in the future. The planning began on a wiki for brainstorming ideas which then led to a powerpoint slide show with each member adding/editing ideas. We used less than 10 seconds of the songs, and Erin has permission for the use of Discovery Education for educational purposes, so the copyright was given for "Surfin Safari" by the Beach Boys and the "Jaws Theme Song", and Discovery Education for use of video clips. Michelle developed a table using Google documents where all members could edit (each showed up as a different color) and chat as we viewed the screne. After viewing the examples of PSA found and using the chart, I was able to see a clearer picture of the final PSA we were going to develop. We used the chart to record all the shots, what types, narration, sound, copyright information, and even justifications. We used the several types of programs as our storyboard, and settled with the chart. I made a moch up of the video for our editor to follow. Michelle did a great job editing. There were parts like the narration compression and shark narration that I would like to have worked on further. But time constraints did not allow for that.

I believe I was successful in completing all course assignments, even though I traveled on vacation, conducted Web Conferencing while on the road (that was fun), and experienced some family crisis. The online forum and ability to conduct chat sessions allowed me the opportunity to complete this class. If I had been enrolled in a traditional class, I would have had to drop in the first week. 

Through this course I learned that I am not as scared of new technology as I thought. There are plenty of help links on whatever technology that you are using to help you through any tight spots. And when working with technology, you do not have to know everything in order to begin. The best learning is hands on and figuring out what works for you and what does not.

I found that I like to lead in a team and do not mind others input and guidance. Planning, setting dates to meet online, assigning tasks and determining when those tasks should be finished to be reviewed are among just a few things I was able to accomplish within the realm of this class. I also discovered that I don’t mind allowing others to decide what they want to do first and then claiming the jobs left.

In the last online reading assignment, Nelson suggested when you view someone else’s work not to judge it, find a way to “plus it” (2008). This class has allowed me to become more collaborative enabling me to find the positive in everyone’s work and build on that for the betterment of the project and not judge. Not everyone will have the same vision as you, but it is the journey you go on that is the learning experience.

Cruickshank, D. (2008). Martin Scoresese: Teaching visual literacy. //Edutopia.// Retrieved June 6, 2009, from []

Nelson, R. (2008). Learning and working in the collaborative age: A new model for the workplace. // Edutopia //. Retrieved July 3, 2009, from []

