Using Video in the Content Area Classroom
The Point-and-Shoot or “Flip” video camera is the size of an I Pod yet can film 60 minutes of video. Made by Pure Digital, the camera uses a USB drive to transfer video to your computer, thus getting around most school firewalls. Two double AA batteries can supply up to 4 hours of taping. The Flip, as seen on Oprah, costs between $100 (1GB) and $180 (2GB). You can find out more about the Flip at http://www.theflip.com/index.shtml. Hint: You can find lower prices at such sites as www.Zappos.com.
Digital Book Talks™
Dr. Robert Kenny and Dr. Glenda Gunter at the University of Central Florida in Orlando conceived of using video book trailers to motivate reluctant readers to read books. Students make a “movie preview trailer” of a book they’ve read to entice other readers. For more information about this wonderful program at UCF, go to http://videobooktrailer.com
Chris Roberts, a teacher at Lakeview Middle School in Winter Garden, Florida, implemented the UCF program with her students. She has kindly allowed me to include a few samples of her students’ work. Chris requires her students to script out their movies in Story Boards before they are allowed to begin filming. Note that she has expanded the use of video by having her students make commercials, as seen in “The Hoverboard,” in order to learn propaganda techniques. Chris’s students began transferring their video skills to other classes. Be sure to watch “Confucius Boy,” a film a sixth grader made for Geography. It’s a reminder of why we love middle school kids.
Videos
The Husband
The Lightning Thief
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Hoverboard
Confucius Boy
After one of my workshops on Using Video in the Classroom, teacher Jomel Villamil at Franklin High School in Los Angeles implemented the Flip camera in his Environmental Science classroom. His students made films about such topics as Poverty, HIV-AIDS, and Alternative Fuels. Here is one of his students’ films on Global Warming. PS-note who catches the blame at the end!
