VIDEOSHARING ON THE BEACH

The birds are singing in the background as I lay in my hammock soaking up the sun and watching the gentle lapping of the ocean waves. Suddenly I realize that I am only watching a video – I could have sworn I was right there. Isn’t videosharing fabulous.

REFLECTION ON VIDEOSHARING

My past experience with videosharing has been downloading videos. I have downloaded videos sent to me by e-mail. Some of the videos have been hilarious and provided me with a much needed belly laugh, some have been thought provoking and caused me to contemplate the state of the world and some have been tear jerkers that have made me want to put on my cape and save the world.

I have surfed YouTube and TeacherTube looking for video clips to augment a lesson, I have embedded video clips in Powerpoints for PD sessions and now I have embedded videos into my blog. My next challenge was to create a video. The technology of producing a video intrigued me but I am not brave or vain enough to star in a video (my life is not that interesting), so I decided to STAR my favorite subject, my new grand-daughter.

However, creating a video is not simple. It takes a great deal of thought and planning before any actual shooting (Will Richardson, 2009). I began this process with nervous excitement. I first spent time making a storyboard, picking backdrops and choosing costuming (playing dress up with my grand-daughter – all that pink). I then shot and re-shot the segments for the video (Why can’t six week olds do things on command?). The last step was the most challenging and it was to edit the footage into one seamless video complete with text, sound and transitions. The whole process was at the same time frustrating yet rewarding. It was frustrating to see just how much time it takes to create a very short video, even though programs like MovieMaker make the editing process easy to understand, as long as you, complete the tutorial, read carefully and follow directions. It was also very rewarding to see the final product that can be enjoyed now, and later at special occasions, like her wedding.

I am now confident and inspired to capture many memories on video and share them with my friends and family.

PERSONAL LEARNING - VIDEOSHARING

Videosharing has many facets – observing video, commenting on video and video creation (Davies and Merchant, 2009). Observing video can inform, provoke thought or just provide a good laugh; which is good for a person’s health. Finding videos, downloading and sharing them is simple once you have been shown the steps. I think I picked this up sitting in a hospitality room looking at a ridiculously funny video of a man just laughing and snorting. I wanted to share this video with my friends; funny where we get our incentive from.

Commenting on other’s videos requires motivation and the skill of being concise with words; something I will struggle with. I have the motivation to comment on videos of personal importance, that are sent to me or that I have sought out to use in my personal or professional life, but no desire to sit and seek out videos for the sake of commenting on them. I will leave this to people with a cinematography flair.

Creating videos is yet another facet of videosharing. I see how creating videos to capture moments in time to share with family and friends is appealing. It allows people to stay connected, share memories and grow closer together. For me it could be videotaping my grand-daughter as she grows and changes, then sharing these precious moments with friends and family or keeping them as a video journal of her life. It could also be videotaping a unique holiday to share with friends and family who have never experienced the place that we are fortunate enough to visit. It could be videotaping and sharing an event that my ailing parents who could not attend. After all memories are stronger if they are shared.

I can also see how creating a thought provoking video about a real issue can enlighten an audience, raise awareness of an issue or cause others to examine their practices and potentially help to make the world a better place. I can not however, at this point in my life, see myself creating videos to increase awareness of social issues. But no one knows what challenges or opportunities lie in their future.

What I don’t understand is posting a video to a public site such as YouTube that is ridiculous or boring and serves no purpose other than to satisfy a person’s own ego. Marco Torres said these videos “should have wings” and be made for real audiences with real purposes (Davies and Merchant, 2009). I realize that not everyone shares the same sense of purpose. Some people’s purpose might be to be “discovered” or to market their product. But if it really is for a small group to share, post it on your Facebook page, don’t clog up the air waves with your self-satisfying countless numbers of videos. OK, now that that is out of my system.

Another technology that intrigues me is the ability to take a video that you have produced and make it into a video podcast or MP4 file. This technology further enhances the producer’s ability to share the video with even more people and “thicken existing social relations” (Davies and Merchant, 2009).

So many things to do and I am always in such a hurry to get them done. I need to slow down and go back to the beach.


MY PROFESSIONAL LEARNING - VIDEOSHARING

Snelson (2008) says that there are three reasons for using video in a school. They are cognitive value, experiential value and nurturing value. In the past at school I have used videos in my school for all three reasons. I have used videos to share inspiration or humor with my staff during professional development sessions. In my classes I have used videos to stimulate thought at the beginning of a lesson, to demonstrate a technique, to provide information or to create appreciation of another person’s reality.

Now, I would like to increase the opportunities for students to comment on other student’s videos and create videos of their own. Commenting on videos will not only expose students to a topic but will motivate them to further enhance their skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Students can comment on videos produced by unknown people and then once they create their own videos students can comment on each others. The process of commenting can serve as a source for constructive criticism as well as a source for the provocation of thought about an issue.

Having students create videos stretches their intellects and provides them with the opportunity to use higher level thinking skills. Teachers just need to be aware that if students are truly going to learn higher level thinking skills they must let the students be creative and not be so prescriptive in the assignment that it just becomes a follow my recipe lesson. For example there is a huge difference between asking students to videotape someone at home making supper and filming someone at home doing something that displays a positive caring emotion without touching.

Teaching higher level thinking is addressed by David Warlick in his blog 2Cents. He feels that if teachers are merely teaching a process, then targeting comprehension and knowledge skills is fine, but such pedagogy is not going to build the skills necessary for real 21st Century life. Teachers need to teach students to solve problems and be creative because this is what is going to be demanded of them in their new jobs.

Another skill necessary for 21st Century learners is to view content critically. YouTube is similar to anything on the Internet, it has not gone through editors and therefore it’s truthfulness and accuracy is not tested. Students need to be taught how to check its accuracy and not just accept everything they read or see. The only way to do this is through exposure. Again it becomes a matter of, if it is not done at the school level where will it be done? Are we doing a huge disservice to our students by not providing them with the opportunity to critically evaluate things on the Internet?

Exposing students and staff to realities beyond their world is also made possible through live video streaming. The use of the video suite at our school has made it possible to visit museums, speak with experts and share ideas with other colleagues that otherwise would not be logistically or financially possible. The use of the technology of live video streaming is in its infancy stage in our school jurisdiction but has provided very valuable experiences for staff professional development, Distance Education for small schools who can not afford specialty teachers and virtual tours of novel places.

The largest stumbling block to using videosharing in school is the questionable content of sites like YouTube. Davies and Merchant (2009) explore the need to teach students to navigate around controversial sites. I agree it is paramount for students to learn this skill and as with most skills, the one place we can be assured that it is taught, is in school. Students are going to be faced with questionable content whether it is at school or at home. We must be proactive and teach them how to handle this content in a mature fashion because if we do not they may never have an adult who does. Sites like YouTube are supposedly “user regulated” ( Davies and Marchant, 2009) however, the acceptability of the content becomes a “freedom of speech” debate. I see the debate over content as more of a continuum or slippery slope, not cut and dry. The issues of voice and creativity give rise to the fact that students are going to be faced with controversial content. It is how they handle the situation that counts. Handling the situation positively can be modeled and taught.

Another concern is the amount of video that breaches copyrights. I understand, from my extensive research with quasi-experts, my children, that the best way to see if something is pirated is to wait for a week. If it is not pulled within a few days of being posted then it is probably okay. YouTube and TeacherTube are “user regulated” so anything that is pirated is usually found within 24 hours of being posted and then removed.

What about schools and students that do not have the required tools? Will they fall behind? For some schools it may be financial constraints or the lack of pioneers in their technology departments. For some students it may be the intellectual capacity, maturity and creativity to use these technologies. In the Web 2.0 world what happens to the struggling student who is not very creative. How does the use of this technology enhance or defeat his efficacy? (This would be an interesting study as I could not find any information in this area.)

It seems as though I end with more questions than answers but is this really negative? I believe we grow by asking questions and seeking answers. For now, where is that beach?


REFERENCES

Davies, Julia. Merchant, Guy. (2009) Web 2.0 for Schools: Learning and Social Participation. New York, NY: Peter Lang

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Ten Video Sharing Services Compared. As retrieved Sept. 24, 2009 http://www.dvguru.com/2006/04/07/ten-video-sharing-services-compared/

Snelson, Chareen. (2008). Web Based Video in Education: Possibilities and Pitfalls. As retrieved Sept. 24, 2009 from http://etec.hawaii.edu/proceedings/2008/Snelson2008.pdf

Warlick, David. (2009). Reasoning Our Way In. As retrieved Sept. 24, 2009 from http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/