Audio and Video Texts and Introductions...Take Two
While reading chapters 5 and 6 I was worried I might be in over my head. Audio and Video editing are not my strongest areas. Add to that the thought of revisiting my own video of myself talking on camera. Well, lets just say there was a little voice in the background the whole time I was reading. While I love using instructional audio and video texts in my classroom and do so quite often, the thought of making my own is not very appealing. As the reading progressed, however, I did become more comfortable thinking about the editing process as we began talking once again about the MAPS heuristic and how it applies to both audio and video texts. Whether we are crafting written, audio, digital or video, we always have to consider these four points (mode, media, audience, point, and situation) and Hicks (2013) frames them in reference to video on page 111, which is where I started the editing process for my video.
I chose not to recreate my video from scratch, because I was happy with the content as far as the composition of my speaking part, but I did want to enhance it and add some things using the MAPS heuristic for evaluation. The first thing I addressed was the mode. The mode of this assignment was informational, to inform my classmates about who I am, which I felt was covered with the content of the original video. The next element of MAPS is media. I chose to stick with my original media which was a video of me talking directly to the camera. I felt the point of this video was to introduce myself to my classmates and this was taking the place of an actual face to face class but I wanted to recreate that feel. The next thing I had to consider was my audience. Who would be viewing my video? My classmates, while all in education, all have different subject areas and backgrounds so I wanted to share some of what makes my experience and what I bring the to class unique. Lastly, for situation and context, I wanted the video to feel relaxed and have a conversational feel while incorporating some pictures to add to what I was saying as well.
After all the consideration, I began working on the editing process. I was in complete agreement with Hicks(2013, p115) that “a challenge in any writing situation is getting started.” I started out using a free service called wevideo. WeVideo Introduction I do think would this would be a good starter video editing tool for my students. I think when I tackle the video projects with my students this is what I will start them with because it has the introductory video and gives a little more instruction than imovie. However, I already had my idea of what changes I wanted to make while keeping the original audio and I could not do that with the free version of wevideo. So, I made the decision to tackle imovie. While a little frustrating at first, after several youtube video tutorials and a little trial and error, I ended up with a finished product pretty close to what I had pictured in my mind. Overall, even though I was a little stressed about the project itself, I did enjoy the reading and the process once I got started. Here is the finished product.
I added Captions and text at the beginning to reiterate my name and what the purpose of the video was. I added pictures of myself, my family, and my classroom to give a feel of my environment and family. I also added screenshots of common technology tools I use in the classroom in case those watching the video were not familiar with them. Overall, this experience wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I learned a lot in the process. I now feel like I would be much more comfortable making and editing a video for my class, and I feel like I would be better equipped to help my students do the same thing.
Resources:
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
IMovie In Under Five Minutes. (2011). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J79_0h3ozS0&feature=youtu.be
Make and share amazing videos online. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from https://www.wevideo.com/overview
Hicks remarks on p. 115 of the text that students can be overwhelmed by the technical choices. Consider me that student! I get lost in video production and find that I am losing valuable time that could be spent on other endeavors, such as grading papers and preparing handouts and notes for class. Perhaps if I were more practiced in the art of video production, I would use more of my own videos. However, having experienced the process for myself for this class, I can help students create their own.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important for teachers to struggle through the process of learning often, so we can understand what it is like to be a student. Hicks states, "while all writing involves a process that is recursive and often messy, composing digital video has the potential to be even more so" (p. 105). I like that you were open about the frustration of learning a new tool and discovering the limitations of easier tools.
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