RSS Feed for the unit Teaching using digital video in secondary schools

Introduction

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

This unit explores the role of digital media as a teaching tool, focussing on video in particular. We will examine the process of how you can start to use digital video in the classroom, and how to manage your project from objective setting, through story boards and filming, to assessing the success of the final result.

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Learning outcomes

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

The learning outcomes for this unit are:

Develop an appreciation of the impact digital video has on learning and teaching;
Assess what hardware and software you need to deploy DV in your classroom;
Become familiar with filming and editing techniques;
Plan and deliver a project that uses DV as a teaching tool.

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1 Lights – can DV illuminate teaching?

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

TV, mobiles, gaming consoles – students interact with digital media every day. Indeed, inbuilt digital cameras on mobiles have become increasingly popular with a generation that demands the freedom to interact with digital imagery any time, anywhere. If this need can be harnessed, digital media has an important and powerful role to play in education.

Do you want to engage students in a lesson that will encourage the development skills listed below:

Creativity
Self-reflection
Communications skills
Time management skills
Team work

And much more?

If the answer is yes, digital video (DV) offers an opportunity to not only enrich your lessons but also to explore teaching and learning with a new dimension.

‘What are the benefits of this to learning and how will it enrich my lesson?’ are the first questions a teacher always asks when introduced to a new technology.

A pilot scheme by BECTA in 2002 found that the integration of DV into classroom practice has the potential to enhance learning across all curriculum areas. In particular, DV:

increases pupil engagement with the curriculum;
promotes and develops a range of learning styles;
motivates and engages a wider range of pupils than traditional teaching methods, so providing greater access to the curriculum.

DV is a very creative activity that encourages discussion and planning, as well as communication, technical and ICT skills, and the development of ideas. It also instils the ability to discriminate and to evaluate. BECTA reported that students develop the ability to be self-critical of their work and are constantly motivated to tweak and refine what they produce.

BECTA sounds a word of caution, though. The integration of DV technologies into subject teaching does not automatically improve the quality of work or standards of attainment. High-quality teaching and a well-designed project focus remain key factors in raising achievement.

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2 Starting to use DV

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

DV, therefore, is a learning and teaching tool that has a lot to offer and one we cannot afford to ignore. Increasingly, DV will become an essential part of the teacher's ‘toolbox’, but it is one whose use has to be planned, in order for it to be effective.

Click on the following link to view the BFI Evaluation Report; for background information click on BECTA DV Pilot Project.

This unit aims to familiarise you with the techniques and concepts of DV and to help you consider how to incorporate it into lessons. The activities and resources are suitable for use on your own or with a group of colleagues who would like to explore the technology, and they could also be useful when you are ready to introduce DV into your classroom.

Click on 'View document' to read 'What digital video has to offer'.

View document

Now turn to Activity 1.

Activity 1

Consider the pedagogical value and rationale of using DV in your classroom. Read the document What digital video has to offer available by clicking on ‘view document’ (above), which provides an overview of DV's key benefits.

If possible, discuss what outcomes you hope to achieve with colleagues who will be teaching DV or have an interest in the medium. Use this discussion as the basis for drawing up a list of areas in which DV could add value.

Ask yourself:

Why and when would you want to use DV?
What are the benefits of using it?
How will you incorporate it into your teaching?
What learning outcomes do you want to achieve?

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3 Direction – find your inspiration

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

Bringing history to life, filming field trips, creating a video montage of class – the ways in which you can incorporate DV into your lessons are endless and limited only by your imagination.

Your project must have clear objectives and outcomes. Start by asking yourself: ‘Is the use of video going to enhance the lesson or is it just going to transform what could be a good lesson into a technical disaster?’ This question will be driven by the learning outcomes and objectives of the lesson, as discussed at the start of this unit.

There are endless ways in which you can bring DV into lessons, from history projects that use DV to explore past events, to filming swimming practice so that swimmers can observe their technique. Other examples include:

School projects: field trips; filming assemblies or sporting events; a video tour of your school is a great thing to show new students and parents.
Class activities: filming participation in projects; collages to show at open house.
Class projects: make video an option for some of your more involved class projects. Let students create their own video to show important learning and skills.
Extra-curricular activities: such as making videos for other years or classes, the school choir or sports teams; demonstrating how to learn a skill, such as play an instrument.

When choosing a project to do in class, ask for the input of students so that they have a sense of ownership and feel part of the decision-making process.

Now look at Activity 2.

Click on 'View document' to open the case study used in Activity 2 (below).

View document

Click on 'View document' to open the Video analysis worksheet you will be using in the activity below.

View document

Activity 2

Compile a small selection of videos that explore a range of film-making techniques. You may find the Case study examples, available by clicking on the ‘view document’ link above, a useful starting point to collect together up to six examples. Use the Video analysis worksheet, available under the second ‘view document’ link above, to analyse each film. If you are working with colleagues, take time to discuss each video.

Next, referring to the subject areas you identified in Activity 1, draw up a shortlist of project ideas to discuss with colleagues. This provides you with the opportunity to explore a variety of options before choosing the most appropriate project to focus on.

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4 Cameras – what resources do I need?

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

The key to success of any lesson is good preparation – and this is never truer than when incorporating a new technology.

Incorporating DV into your lessons can be a simple and enjoyable experience, but it requires a clear understanding of all the technological requirements. There are a number of areas to consider in the first instance:

Hardware, software and other equipment, such as peripherals.
Your classroom – what space do you have for filming and editing, and where will the filming happen?
Knowledge base – how experienced are you or colleagues in using DV equipment or discussing DV/film terminology?

On a practical note, consider how much computer storage space is available to you to download the movie and then edit it. Storing and editing movies are very ‘memory hungry’ processes, so it is important to ensure that you have access to a high specification computer. The BECTA advice sheet ‘digital video technologies’ provides some helpful guidance.

There are several video editing software programs, each with different capabilities to allow you to sequence events (via the use of a timeline), add effects such as title, transitions between clips, colours, sounds etc.

Once you have edited the movie on the timeline, the software enables you to render it – create a new file with all the effects superimposed on the original clips – and this stage can take upwards of ten minutes, depending on the complexity of editing. The faster the computer, the faster the rendering time. The new rendered file will be large, so a computer with a bare minimum of ten gigabytes of hard disk space would be needed for a project (a larger hard disk would be desirable).

Now look at Activity 3.

Click on 'View document' to open the hardware checklist used in Activity 3.

View document

Click on 'View document' to open the software review used in Activity 3.

View document

Activity 3

Read the two BECTA reports available via the link here then use the hardware checklist and software review (under the ‘view document’ links above) to draw up your own requirements. Compare your wish list with an audit of your school's DV resources to ascertain what equipment you will need to buy.

Make sure you give yourself time to master the new equipment and software. If you are a novice, consider investigating what local technology training opportunities exist, or whether there are colleagues, for example in your media department, with expertise you can draw on to help you get started.

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5 Plotlines – what's your story?

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

Planning is important not only to the success of a lesson but also to the final outcome. Without a clear idea of ‘what, who, why and how’, your project might lose the plot!

Storyboarding is an essential part of film-making. At this planning stage, it is important to examine your initial idea in detail.

What ideas do you want to communicate?
Who is your audience?
Why: what response do you want to achieve?
How: which techniques will be most effective?

It is traditionally done using a sketch pad, but, with the increased availability of cheap digital cameras, you might like to consider creating a storyboard using digital still images accompanied by annotations. This activity could also be used in class to add another dimension to motivate students. If you would like additional guidance, click on the storyboarding guide.

Filming may seem a daunting task, so keep it simple. Once you have mastered the basics, you can become more adventurous in future projects. For practical advice on filming techniques, read the text document Getting Started, below (click on ‘view document’). Exploring the web links in the document will also familiarise you with the concepts and terminology of the moving image. This will help you make more effective use of the medium and guide your students better.

Click on 'View document' to open 'Getting started'.

View document

Now turn to Activity 4.

Activity 4

Draw a storyboard for your project. A Storyboard example, is available under the ‘view document’ link below. Sketch or use a digital camera to take shots of what you would like to appear on camera, printing off digital pictures and pasting the images on to a sheet of paper. Alternatively, compile an electronic storyboard using digital images. Add comments, such as your choice of wordings and timings.

Now, get the camera rolling! When you have finished filming and editing, involve another colleague (from your ICT department, perhaps) to critique your finished film, using the analysis sheet from Activity 2.

If you do this activity with students, consider editing the video yourself before asking them to analyse it using the worksheet from Activity 2.

To unleash the full creative potential of this project, give students your edited video and ask them to resequence the clips and apply different effects to improve the final product. You could then show the re-edited videos to the whole class for further analysis.

Click on 'View document' to open 'Storyboard example'.

View document

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6 And action!

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

Getting the cameras rolling is just the beginning – there are endless possibilities you can explore.

As a visual medium, DV lends itself to the creative expression of ideas, feelings and information, but it is harder to define what constitutes creativity.

It's easy to equate a creative medium with a lack of constraints – an ‘anything goes’ attitude. In BECTA's pilot study, however, teachers reported that placing clear constraints on pupils’ coursework generated the best work. Constraints, however, do not mean a rigid set of rules and no further involvement by the teacher. It is important that you develop a good understanding of when to intervene and when to let your students follow and develop a strand of thinking.

So, how do you measure the success of any project? When you come to introduce DV into your classroom, you will need to define clear parameters to measure outcomes. Activity 5 will help you develop assessment criteria.

You now have all the basic skills required to produce a good video project – but don't stop there! Many of the resources in this unit could be translated into classroom activities. And there are endless ways that you can expand and develop DV as a teaching resource and in a variety of curriculum areas. Practise makes perfect and the more video projects you get involved in, the more confident you will become.

Lights, camera and action… good luck!

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Next steps

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

After completing this unit you may wish to study another OpenLearn Study Unit or find out more about this topic. Here are some suggestions:

If you wish to study formally at The Open University, you may wish to explore the courses we offer in this curriculum area:

Education

Or find out about studying and developing your skills with The Open University:

Or you might like to:

Post a message to the unit forum, to share your thoughts about the unit or talk to other OpenLearners
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References

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

BECTA (2002) BFI Evaluation Report of the BECTA DV Pilot Project. Available to download here .

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence

Acknowledgements

The Open University — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:08:06 GMT

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence

Author details

This unit was written by Baldev Singh on behalf of the Specialist Schools Trust.

Other acknowledgements

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material within this unit:

Photos, eye and compact disc: © Getty Images; Various texts and storyboard illustrations: Courtesy of Baldev Singh Photo; Film reels: © morgueFile

Unit image: courtesy of Εduard / Eduard Székesi at Flickr.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

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RSS Feed for the unit Teaching using digital video in secondary schools

Introduction

Learning outcomes

1 Lights – can DV illuminate teaching?

2 Starting to use DV

Activity 1

3 Direction – find your inspiration

Activity 2

4 Cameras – what resources do I need?

Activity 3

5 Plotlines – what's your story?

Activity 4

6 And action!

Further reading

Activity 5

Next steps

References

Acknowledgements

Author details

Other acknowledgements

Don't miss out