What's up with all these graphics?

I must say almost everything we learned in class about Photoshop was new to me. I had never worked with Photoshop before so it was a new experience to me. To be honest, I do not really like working with graphics a whole lot and just like to put pictures into a powerpoint and use them as a plain visual aid.

However, I do think it is important to learn. I can now certainly add to my web page in the future and enhance the visual stimuli for students to learn from. I believe  that it is important that I know how to use these skills. It is cool to be able to take a simple image and transform it into something that looks really neat and comprehensive. I can certainly make my website more appealing visually now because I have these skills.


I do not really think this should be taught in schools because I don't think outside of a possible computer science class it is very relevant. It is also very expensive to purchase the programs and there are schools who cannot necessarily afford them. It is important but I think it is advanced for students even in high school to learn and sometimes difficult to explain things. As a social studies teacher, I do not see the value for this in my curriculum. However, that is my opinion and if I was asked to instruct students on these skills, I would certainly explore it.

Copyright: It's Everywhere!

 Copyright for teachers is something all teachers must be aware of. We cannot just show things in class without proper permission or notifying the correct people. One may say: "Who's going to catch me?" However, I just would rather not take that chance at all. I learned that I need to have the rights to a video in order to show it and if I do not have an Elmo, cannot just copy pages as freely as I please out of a book. I knew copyright laws were strict but it did surprise me a little bit at how strict they actually were. Teachers really cannot freely do things as they please with regards to copyrighted works. No matter whether it is a small video clip or a full length movie, teachers need to make sure they follow all the copyright rules.

I have seen people in schools show things that I knew they did not have permission to do and even play music that they probably downloaded illegally. Out of school, illegal downloading happens all the time and I know that people have been caught before. Copyright violations are a serious issue that people do not take lightly at all. 

For my students, I will try and teach them what copyright is. I would like to do hands on activities where they are given a scenario and need to tell me whether it is copyright infringement or not. I think it is important that they know so they may protect themselves in the future. It is not always hard to not break copyright law but it is important that all aware of what they can and cannot do.

Lights, Camera, Action

What an experience it was to create a video for Ed Tech last week. My partner and I decided to make one about "How to Register Your Car on Campus." We used the Office of Public Safety to aid our message to new students as well as some good practical ingenuity to make a pretty nice video.

Several things worked well on this project. 1. We had a real clear idea as to what we were trying to accomplish and how we planned to accomplish it. 2. We understood how to use the equipment (after a short time) and did not have many technical difficulties with it. 3. We were able to focus and not lose any valuable time being distracted or anything like.

Some things I would change though in the future. I would certainly make sure that we used our first day to get a lot of footage rather than plan out the video. Additionally, I would make sure we did not have to cut most of the middle just to stay within our time limits. I would decide before going out to film what our definite plan was for the video rather than changing how we would introduce ourselves or even close it out once or twice. However, in spite of all of that, we put together a pretty nice video and I am going to take some skills away from it. I am proud of what I accomplished with Windows Movie Maker and the audio software. I feel I am proficient with both and can make my own movies now. I am not the biggest fan of videos but would possibly assign them in the future to a class.


Sample Video Project Lesson Plan

Grade Level: Grade 10
Course: American History
Content Area: 20th Century Events


Project Objectives: 
SW be able to identify the basic context of a specific significant event in the 20th Century U.S. History
SW analyze the causes and effects of each of the following events: World War I, World War II, The March on Washington, the Stock Market Crash and the Vietnam War
SW collaborate in groups to produce digital videos on a specific topic listed by the instructor



Preparation for teacher:
1. Reserve video equipment such as cameras, chargers, tapes and media lab to edit video
2. Practice video editing software techniques
3. Create handout for students for the project to follow with specific instructions and guidelines on how to use software, equipment and overall be successful on the project

Timeline
Monday
  -discuss project and assign students to group-Groups will pick a topic and write up a preliminary proposal on how they plan to portray the topic
Tuesday
   -Groups write out storyboard for project and submit to instructor for approval
Wednesday
   -Lab time to go over how Movie Maker and the other software needed works
Thursday
   -Begin filming and answer any final questions about software
Friday
   -Continue filming, editing and all of the above

Monday-Week 2
  -Finalize filming, editing and post to Youtube
  -Explain in class how to post and create Youtube accounts

Tuesday-Week 2
   -Show videos in class and discuss them
   -have students evaluate project

Checklist for Students
1. Does your video answer all of the questions in the packet?
2. Does your video fall within the time limit established by the instructor?
3. Does your video use transitions, sound and other techniques discussed in class?
4. Did you have fun with your video?

Challenges for the Project
1. Students having problems with AV equipment
2. Students not fully understanding directions-I need to make my guidelines as clear as possible

I think the project will work out well but I know it will be a lot of work on my part to make sure it is successful. That's all Folks!!