This is an education-related blog written by Mrs. Leah Obach @LeahO77. Leah is currently working as the Literacy with ICT Teacher Leader for Park West School Division, working with K-12 students and teachers to help them use technology for teaching and learning. She has taught at the early years, middle years and high school levels.
Student work, teacher reflection, resources and samples from classrooms around PWSD are included in this blog.
Showing posts with label video production. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video production. Show all posts
Congratulations to the Decker Colony School students in Mr. Elias Wipf's ELA class for winning the Next Vista for Learning Service via Video contest! Their wining video, Cookies for Tanzania, tells the story of how their school has been supporting projects in Tanzania through their fundraising efforts over the past few years. This contest was created to encourage young people to "tell stories of people serving their communities" through video creation.
The Cookies for Tanzania fundraiser sales were put on hold this year due to COVID, but this group of students found a way to continue contributing to the cause by raising awareness with their video. Four students collaboratively planned and created the video, including sourcing images, writing a script and narrating the video to tell their story. They also worked with students, parents and community members to obtain the permissions required for people appearing in the video. The resulting video is a great showcase for this service learning project -- be sure to watch it below!
Along with some other classes from around PWSD, the Rossburn Elementary School Grade 5/6 class has joined me in creating book trailers for some of their favourite books this year! Similar to the process we've used with other classes taking part in this project, this group of students viewed sample book trailers, set criteria, made a plan for their video and then started designing with Powtoon.
Here are the videos released by RES Grade 5/6:
Where the Red Fern Grows book trailer by Deegan
Hockey Superstars book trailer by Reid
Bridge to Terabithia book trailer by Anna
Patches book trailer by Faith
Front Desk book trailer by Tatum
Where the Red Fern Grows book trailer by Jackson
The Maze of Bones book trailer by Natalie
See more trailers by Park West School Division students
One of the projects I have done with students this year is creating Book Trailers. The latest book trailer releases come to us from the Decker Colony School Grades 7 & 9 class. This group of students began by planning their trailers with a graphic organizer. We viewed some sample book trailers (both professionally-created and student-created) and set criteria for their work. Next, students had an overview tutorial of WeVideo. We reviewed the basics of how to use this video creation tool, which we are currently accessing as part of our Edwin pilot. Students eagerly got started with this video creation project.
When I returned to visit this classroom last week, it was evident that students had worked diligently to create book trailers which convey the mood and message of their chosen novels. I was impressed by their video design skills, including their choice of music, images and fonts to enhance their trailers. These book trailers sure do the job of hooking a viewer - I want to read them all now that I've watched these!
Check out their awesome work below:
Camp Blackeagle by Sigmund Brouwer Book trailer by Matthias
Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan Book trailer by Alex
The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman (39 Clues) Book trailer by Gabriel
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen Book trailer by Daniel
The Night They Stole the Stanley Cup by Roy MacGregor Book trailer by Jesse
The Grade 6 class at MPS continues to work on producing book trailers featuring some of their favourite books. To see previous releases, check out this post.
Once students have their trailer ready in Powtoon, we've been watching them in small groups to give feedback based on the criteria we set at the start of the project. Students then have the opportunity to make revisions before exporting their video. Here are the latest trailers from this talented group of young video producers!
Sisters by Raina Telgimar Book Trailer by Kimy
Secrets and Scones by Laurel Remington Book trailer by Tara
I Survived the Children's Blizzard 1888 by Lauren Tarshis Book trailer by Owen
The Junction of Sunshine & Lucky by Holly Schindler Book trailer by Chloe
Middle School: Just My Rotten Luck by James Patterson Book trailer by Evan
Too Much Drama by Laurie Freidman Book trailer by Alexis
One of the exciting learning activities that my grade 6 class worked on this semester was their human rights project. They studied the human rights in their social studies class and had the idea to create videos to explain each of the 30 rights. Since their social studies teacher only has 30 minute classes, we decided to make this an interdisciplinary project and use our ELA class to explore video creation.
The students learned to plan videos, write scripts, film scenes and edit videos. In creating their first "batch" of videos, most groups chose to act out scenes. When students reflected on the process, they felt strongly that making their videos was harder than they anticipated. They weren't sure they wanted to continue creating videos. We gave it some time and then I proposed that we try a different method for creating videos. Instead of filming their own clips, the students used video clips, photos and characters available in Powtoon to create their videos. This was a different creative process for the students and, based on their feedback, they felt more successful in creating videos this way.
The students built a website with Google Sites to showcase their work and I'm pleased to say that all videos are now uploaded! Please check out their work here.
I was invited to help out with a video production project in Miss Wallace's grade six class. They had been learning about television and it seemed fitting that they should produce some "television" of their own. Before I joined them, Miss. Wallace and her class were working to better understanding what makes television and commercials interesting to us. They branding, personalities, images, audience and more. As a concluding activity, Miss. Wallace tasked her class with creating commercials for a fictional product. The class worked in small groups to plan, film and edit their commercials.
Phases of Creating Commercials
Preparing a Plan - Groups of students met to decide on a "product" and then plan their video, including target audience, roles to cast, crew member assignments and more
Writing a Script - Each group used a shared document to draft and revise their scripts using a two-column script template.
Filming - With the cast selected and the scripts ready, students shot their video using an iPad. Editing - Students brought together their video clips, added sound effects and titles using iMovie.
Sharing - Miss. Wallace helped her class upload their videos to a class YouTube channel. Their finished products are shared below:
Thank you to Miss. Wallace and her class for sharing their work!
One way for students to demonstrate their understanding is through video production. In my role as LwICT Teacher Leader, I was privileged to work with Mrs. Facey and her awesome group of Grade 8s on a video production project this term. The grade 8 class was working on a "Power of Media" theme along with Project 11 activities on self-esteem. Mrs. Facey gave her students the opportunity to produce videos as part of their learning. Not only did the class create some powerful videos to share, they also engaged in deep, meaningful learning.
Although I was not in the classroom every day of this project, it was evident during my classroom visits that the grade 8s were learning a lot. Their project included a wide variety of learning activities/assignments, such as:
research on self-esteem
viewing and analyzing existing media related to self-esteem
planning: students identified their target audience and intended message, they planned a style/format for their video and identified setting, actors etc.
script writing: students learned to use a two column script to plan for audio and visual aspects of their videos
revising and editing: students worked hard to make their work high quality, which involved revising based on peer feedback and teacher feedback
videography: students filmed, edited and shared their videos
When students completed their scripts, they were grouped into video production teams. The team then had to review each team member's script and decide which video(s) to produce. When I met with a team at this stage of the project, I was so impressed with the collaboration, negotiation and discussion taking place. Once a script was selected by the team, they undertook further revisions and planned their set, props and costumes. Next, the groups assigned roles such as director, assistant director, videographer and editor. They selected actors to fill each role. Once their plans were in place, students used the school's available video equipment and filmed footage on an iPad. Upon completing filming, editors worked in iMovie. The final products were shared on the class YouTube channel in hopes of reaching their target audiences. Students started sharing their work and made a plan to reach their targeted audiences.
The final videos are very well done and very powerful. I would encourage you to watch them below. However, the final videos can only begin to show the meaningful learning that these students engaged in throughout the project. I'm sure that my short description above cannot fully convey all of the learning that took place, but from meeting with this class, I know that they gained valuable knowledge and developed important skills through this project.
Why I Think This Project is Awesome
Yes, the videos are excellent and that definitely makes this project awesome, but behind those videos was a lot of learning that make this kind of project so worthwhile. As a teacher, I saw a lot of good things happening with this project.
Purpose for Learning: I've written before about students doing "work that matters" and I think this is an excellent example. Students created these videos because they wanted to share an important message and have an impact with their work. Some groups focused on educating others about self-esteem while other groups shared messages to encourage and uplift others. Regardless of the message, students were writing, revising, editing, filming and sharing for a purpose. They had a reason to read, write, view, analyze and discuss.
Authentic Audience: Students identified an audience that they wanted to reach and actually shared their videos in places where those people could access them. I love when audiences outside of the classroom get to see the great work that students are doing!
Building Skills: The variety of learning activities involved in completing this project provided opportunities for students to develop skills in collaboration, communication, problem solving and critical thinking.
