Take Two!

Whether it is a movie, Youtube video, reel on social media, or Tiktok video, people of all ages are creating things for people to watch online today. It is easier than ever to compose a quick video of something you are doing and post it online, and you might even become famous for it! Kids and adults can spend hours watching video after video on their devices. A research study done by Common Sense Media found that "The percentage of young people who say they watch online videos "every day" has gone from 24% to 56% among 8-12 year olds, and from 34% to 69% among 13-18 year olds" (Baig, 2019). 

What Now? 
Like with all things in a digital format, there is are right and wrong ways to go about doing it. Since students are so immersed in technology today, creating videos is a big component of how they could share their learning in school as well as an activity they are most likely watching or creating at home for tiktok or other social media pages. This provides educators the important task of teaching the correct ways to create a video that effectively depicts an argument for their audience and shares digital text. As stated in Crafting Digital Writing, "the most difficult part of crafting a video/multimedia text- as with crafting a print-based text- is knowing not only what to put in but what to leave out” (Hicks, 2013, p.110). This sets up process of video creation and editing- what is put into the video and what can be replaced or taken out. 

I am not an experienced film creator so this assignment was a great way for me to not only understand more about the video editing process, but also see how I could teach this to my students in the future. Using my introduction video where it is just me speaking without any special effects or edits made, I can see how adding in some of those could improve the overall video quality and expression. When reading Chapter 6 in Crafting Digital Writing, they suggest that “we use media elements judiciously, asking whether we are merely decorating our story, illustrating a concept, or illuminating our viewers through the combination of media elements” (Hicks, 2013, p.111). It would be easy to just go in and add any elements here and there, but this quote brings up a good point of whether those things are adding to the video or if they are even really necessary for your video. Using all the "bells and whistles" is not the goal when making a video, but rather making one that is actually effective in capturing the audience. 

Taking all of this into consideration and the video craft elements found in Argument in the Real World, I made necessary revisions to my original video. The craft elements are still images, text in written form: titles and captions, text in oral form: voice-over, transitions and filters, and audio: music and sound effect (Turner & Hicks, 2017). The revisions include starting the video by adding an introduction image and title as well as music and transition slides. I shortened my original introduction video and added another part of the video on using and creating videos in the classroom which I used a voiceover for. These elements that I added help make the video text complete and overall a more captivating video to watch. 

Also check out this article which gave more ways students can create their own videos! 

Resources: 
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the Real World: Teaching adolescents to read                   and write digital texts. Heinemann. 

Hicks, T., & Lehman, C. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Heinemann.

Baig, E. C. (2019, October 30). Too much youtube? online video usage among teens is going through the roof, survey says. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/10/29/youtube-screen-time-overload-among-teens-and-tweens/2490553001/ 

Sears, C. (2018, September 6). Student-created videos in the classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/student-created-videos-classroom 


Comments

  1. Lee PastorJune 22, 2022 at 12:28 PM

    Grace,
    Bravo on the video! I think the media elements you added were spot on, and I need to take a lesson from you on how to do that! I struggled a great bit using Animoto. What tool did you use to create your video, and how do you upload it to YouTube? It ended up being too big for me to embed in my post, so I would love to know your specific process.

    I think the point you made about what to leave in or out when editing is poignant when creating a video; there are so many effects that you can add that it can make it too busy and unappealing. Hicks (2013) noted that we should "use media elements judiciously, asking whether we are merely decorating our story, illustrating a concept or illuminating our viewers through the combination of media elements (p.110)

    Another bonus to teaching students to create videos is to provide the students a created product about which they can reflect. Calandra et al. (2009) conducted a study of preservice teachers which compared the quality of written reflections on teaching a lesson between a group who had a post-lesson consultation with their supervising teacher or a group who instead watched a video of themselves teaching only. They found the reflections and depth of learning were much more detailed and impactful. While this is an example of adults, the same principle can apply to our students; the use of creating a video and then being about to watch it an reflect on it is incredibly valuable and helpful.

    References
    Calandra, B., Brantley-Dias, L., Lee, J.K., & Fox, D.L. (2009). Using video editing to cultivate novice teachers' practice. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 42(1). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ856934.pdf

    Hicks, T., & Lehman, C. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Heinemann.

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