“I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything, and by using fear as the basic motivation. Fear of getting failing grades, fear of not staying with your class, etc. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker.” Stanley Kubric

For the past couple of years, Nikos Theodosakis‘ The Director in the Classroom has been my top recommendation to teachers wanting to venture into filmmaking as part of their curriculum. In addition to tips and wonderful graphic organizers, Nikos also lays out a compelling argument (on behalf on his own children - and all children) for why filmmaking belongs in the classroom, starting with Part 1:

• Learning in a world of change
• Living and learning in a visual world
• How filmmaking develops higher order thinking skills
• How filmmaking develops personal and social skills
• How filmmaking raises awareness

I have a new favorite: Reading in the Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom, by John Golden. I found this gem while attending the July National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Institute for 21st Century Learning. What a great resource for secondary teachers - and probably upper elementary too. “Even though this book deals with cinematic technique and film study, it is ultimately a book about using film to help students improve their reading and analytical skills.”

Golden includes over 30 films, ranging from E.T. The Extraterrestrial to Life Is Beautiful , and provides strategies for viewing each, including reading strategies (e.g., predicting, responding, questioning, and storyboarding), textual analysis (e.g., characterization, point of view, iron, and connections/comparisons between authors’ and directors’ choices) and classroom tested suggestions for developing units. Tons of powerful images pulled from films, along with thought-provoking “Questions to Consider.”

I’m working on a presentation right now for our Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium’s upcoming Video in the Classroom event.  I’ll be sharing both books during my session - and am seeking a third to add to the list.

I’m sitting in a very packed room with Rushton Hurley (I’m actually hiding from the fire code folks up front where they can’t see that I’m exceeding the room limit). Low Tech Advice:

• time limits
• violence and martial arts (think high school boys)
• podcasts and slideshows - ask the students “Is this what you want other people to hear.” Ease kids into projects so they care about a quality produce
• alone or with others - helps kids who don’t have the equipment
• alternatives - you can give students non-video options such as posters (but they’ll want to do video!)

Resources: These resouces can be used as long as you cite them:

• www.partnersinrhyme.com
• www.podsafeaudio.com
• www.jamendo.com
• audacity.sourceforge.net/

Titles and Screenshots:

• using save-as in PowerPoint (use save as > save as type > save as jpg option)
• screenshots
  • Google Earth or Sketch Up
  • PicLens - plug in for your browser - perfect fix for those with “iPhone envy.” Great tool for teaching vocabulary, for instance.

Free Photos:

• CreativeCommons.com- KIds need to read the attribution requirements; otherwise, they’ll go to Google and not only violate copyright but also pick something that will pixalate like crazy.
• Morguefile.com (newspaper term) - Huge file sizes, which are good for video.

Motion Experience:

• Motion should ahve a purpose (pans, faces, eyes)
• What to do if you’re on PC? Use PhotoStory3 - great, great tool and free! Import pictures > customize motion option > save. If you’re using panning, you want the motion to be different all the time (which is shortcoming with default panning (Ken Burns effect). Oh, and you can create music in Photostory. A bit “elevatorish,” but you have options. Tip: don’t use a favorite pop song because that’s what your listeners will concentrate on — not your movie.

Moving Beyond Freebies

• Macs - Final Cut Express
• PCs Adobe Premiere Elements - $99 (BHphoto.com) - It’s a memory hog, so you’ll need a good video card with lots of RAM. Remember to render often, not just save. Big advantage of having multiple tracks. Key frames feature is cool, allowing you to add great effects., such as translucent text floating across an image. Want a good mic for camera: lavalier mic.

Why do we do video?

• another way to show learning
• good for ELL, LD kiddos
• impact (”favorite thing”)
• audience - we need to expand the audience so that kids really stretch

Good news… You can contact Rushton via www.NextVista.org or rh@nextvista.org. Fabulous session!

Following on the heels of my trip to the CUE Conference, last Wednesday I headed over to our Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium (SECC) to help judge the SEVAs (Students Educational Video Awards). As I sat with a team of teacher reviewers scoring middle school entries, I kept thinking about Mathew Needleman’s second graders’ amazing going-beyond-Open Court productions , such as as Camouflage Jones - Private Investigator. Making an award-winning film requires more than a well-designed storyline and storyboard. A bit of background in basic camera shots can make all the difference in grabbing and keeping an audience’s attention (and scoring judges points)!

As part of my district’s DOLCHE project, we provided participating teachers with a copy of Niko Theodosakis’s The Director in the Classroom. As engaging and comprehensive as this resource is, it does not include a section on basic shots. Fortunately, to complement Nikos’s book and videoconferencing trainings, my talented DOLCHE partner Krishna Harrison-Munoz jumped in with both a teacher workshop and a student workshop on basic shoots, much of which is included in her Roadmap for the New Video Producer and her Roadmap for the Student Video Producer.* Combine this handout with Mathew’s Kinds of Shots Tutorial, and even I (Queen of Bad Photography) feel confident about taking digital storytelling to the next level.

*Note: This was my first time using the K12HSN’s edZone to upload a document. Very easy! And I love having all that free space for uploading!

Thanks to Kevin H for posting about Mathew Needleman’s re-launching of his Video in the Classroom site. I am always in search of good models of filmmaking in the classroom to share with elementary teachers and their students. I also want to recognize Mathew for his Open Court Resources.com site, “which aligns units of the basal reading series, Open Court Reading, with integrating technology activities and is visited by thousands of teachers across the country daily.”

I also like many of the video tips for students posted by the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium website on their Student DV page. The SECC team members are local heroes in supporting teachers’ efforts and journeys into filmmaking in the classroom, starting with DV Loaner Starter Kits and culminating every spring with the SEVAs (another great site for finding great K-12 video projects!).

Since lighting can enhance or hinder a quality project, I especially like Center High School’s Vernon Bisho’s Outdoor Lighting Tips:

Download

Even higher on the New Year’s resolutions list than weight loss is my wish to improve my photography skills. In a nutshell, I suck at taking both stills and video. The more I watch well crafted digital stories, the more I recognize the need for some major video tips and tricks! I am therefore very glad to have access to the three resources in particular:

1. Kodak’s site boils it down to 10 tips, with an accompanying animated visual for each tip. I wonder if anyone else needed Tip 6’s simple explanation on how to lock down a shot as much as I did!? A very kid-friendly approach - perfect for me :-). The interactive demos are great too (although it took me five attempts to master the rule of thirds tutorial).

2. Atomic Learning also comes to the rescue of the camera challenged with their Video Storytelling Guide. Although a fee-based program, for those who want to sample before committing, you can have a 15-day free trial, during which you could walk your students through the video tutorials that cover everything from basic shots to basic and/or more sophisticated lighting techniques - and after which, you will probably want to become an Atomic Learning member! Tons of great tutorials including many freebies, such as the online storyboard.

3. I hope during the New Year to share more tips and tricks from the wonderful Krishna Harrison-Munoz, the videographer I have the privilege to work with in the DOLCHE project. As soon as she thinks through some copyright issues on how to best make available parts of her original Roadmap for the New Video Producer materials, I will post some sample tutorials, including my favorite: How to make a video that stars a talking dog.