Unit 5 - Incorporating Video and Audio Production in Your Teaching

Objective

1. Participants will explore ways to incorporate audio and video production in their teaching/educating.

Introduction

Using video and audio in your teaching is more than just a trendy thing to do. This unit explores the benefits of multimedia use in education, provides examples of student and teacher created projects, and looks at some of the most current research on the topic. Learn ways to engage your students using video and audio projects to teach across content areas.

Read

Mini-course Reading

Benefits of using video and audio:

• Increase Engagement
• Deeper Learning
• Generates Excitement
• Promotes Media Literacy Skills
• Align with Common Core Technology Skills Media:ALBCommonCoreTechnology.pdf

Ways to incorporate video and audio into your curriculum:

Teacher Created:

One category of video for your classroom is the projects you create yourself. In this context, video provides you with a way to take your students with you (via video) to new places and ideas.

• How-to videos or screencasts
• Answer frequently asked questions
• Teach your class when you are absent. Record a lesson in advance for a substitute to play when you are gone.
• Flip a class. Create an online video of the lesson and use class time to offer feedback and work through activities.

Student Created:

Video can also be created by your students, creating the opportunity for peer-to-peer learning, greater student engagement, etc. Some of the typical student-driven projects include:

• Recording science experiments (slow-mo playback allows for more in depth analysis than would be possible with the naked eye)
• Documentary projects
• Record a poem or story
• Interview a community member
• Video Blogs (or Vlogs)
• Create a newscast for your subject
• Digital storytelling
• Record speaking in a foreign language
• Create tutorials for skills they are learning

Ways to use video and audio for reflection and assessment:

An often-overlooked use of video (and especially audio) is as a tool for reflection and assessment. You can use media both as a means to provide feedback to you students and as a tool for your own development:

• Screencast reviews of student work. Be sure to have notes ahead of time, and double check that using a screencast adds something beyond what a written evaluation would provide.
• Self-Reflection. Video lessons and watch your own teaching techniques.

Is this supported by research?

Yes, the current research generally supports the use of multimedia products in education and offers some helpful suggestions.

The most widely published author on the topic is Richard Mayer. His work examines multimedia in many different formats and applications. Much of his work builds on several prior theories including the dual coding theory of information processing which suggests that visual and verbal information is processed through separate channels in the brain, and cognitive load theory which explains the structure and formation of memory. Specifically, the concept of extraneous load (from cognitive load theory) relates directly to the creation and use of multimedia products in education. Extraneous load is the cognitive challenge of processing unnecessary and distracting information; in a video extraneous load could come from distracting visuals, sounds, or content.

Mayer's research has four major findings which are applicable to the design and selection of video or audio products:

1. Multimedia Effect - Students learn more deeply with pictures (or audio) and words than with just words.
2. Coherence Effect - When extraneous material is eliminated students learn more deeply.
3. Spatial Contiguity Effect - Words and pictures that are related need to be placed close together to yield deep learning.
4. Personalization Effect - A conversational rather than overly formal tone leads to deeper learning.

As designers and selectors of media, we are able to pick media that meet these criteria and therefore yield deeper learning than would be possible with more traditional text based approaches.

Linked Readings

• Pedagogical Benefits to Using Video in Teaching and Learning: http://uq.edu.au/tediteach/video-teach-learn/ped-benefits.html

• 'Video: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' by Holly Willis: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM09612.pdf

• Tools and Techniques for Using Spark in the Classroom by Spark In Education: http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/arts/programs/spark/video.pdf

  Includes the following sections:

  Using Video in the Classroom

  Critical Viewing

  Media Production Terms & Concepts

  Talking Points About Media Production

Watch

Video 1:

Please click this link to watch: 'Building Career Skills in Video Production Class (Tech2Learn Series)' by Edutopia

Video 2:

Please click this link to watch: 'Using Video to Reflect on Teaching & Learning' by TeachingChannel.org

Video 3:

Please click this link to watch: 'Using Video to Improve Practice: Do It Yourself!' by TeachingChannel.org

Learning Exercise

Now that you have experience making your own audio or video project, it's time to develop a lesson plan using the information from this mini-course.

Your plans will vary depending on who and what you teach.

• Begin by brainstorming ideas for a project that you could do with, or for your students. There are quite a few good resources available online for incorporating media production in the classroom, look at the additional resources section for more information.
• Once you have several ideas, narrow your selection down to one project, class, or use of video/audio.
• Write a short description of your idea. You'll use this to complete your lesson plan in the next section.

Make a Plan

Using the idea you generated in the Learning Exercise, write up a lesson plan that incorporates your new knowledge of media production with your existing knowledge of your content area.

If possible, create a link or upload a pdf of your lesson plan and share it in the discussion tab.

Additional Resources

• edutopia Blog Post 'Lights, Camera . . . Engagement! Three Great Tools for Classroom Video' by Ron Peck: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/using-video-in-classroom-ron-peck

• Sony Slide Show 'Engaging Students in Video Production and Movie Making in the Classroom': http://www.techlearning.com/uploadedFiles/TechLearning/Common/sony_slides_final.pdf

• PBS Learning Media 'Learning Through Video Production': http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/avd09.pd.tavidprod/learning-through-video-production/

• PBS Newshour Student Podcast Planning Worksheet: http://grayson.clarkson.schooldesk.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=EDQWPG-85zI%3D&tabid=11566&mid=17316

Reflection

Use the discussion tab at the top of this page to answer the following questions:

Instructions:

Select the 'Discussion' tab located next to 'Page' on the top left corner of this screen.

Select 'Edit' from the tabs on the right.

Type or Copy & Paste your reflection into the space provided

Questions:

1. How do you currently use audio or video in your teaching?
2. What ideas from this course will you incorporate into your teaching?

Next Steps

This is the final unit of the mini-course. Hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions or comments I can be reached at (andrea at abeukema.com)

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