... well, actually a bit more than that. Today I brought my new toy into work, and just had to show it off to the media specialist. She liked what she saw, and liked the price tag (only $220!) even more.Just then, our Principal walked in with a smile on her face. She was in a good mood.
Long story short, the Media Specialist and myself convinced our Principal to buy a digital video camera and a digital still camera for each grade level. (I also agreed to help the Principal out with her own personal digital camera provided she brings it in. Should I be worried about what I've gotten myself into? ... nah!)
This is all really good news. (Even the helping the Principal bit - I'm looking forward to the opportunity.) One of the biggest hurdles I've encountered with tech is finding room for it in the budget, and we have it. Now, we'll have to move onto the next big problem.
Convincing the staff that the cameras should not only be used, but that it's easy to use them.
I've a few ideas concerning what I could do, but I'd like to hear your ideas. If you had only 15 minutes to show other teachers a cool digital camcorder activity, what would you do?
7 comments:
Nice buy there Aaron!!!
I would say the first thing I would teach them is how easy it would be to immerse their students in the subjects they teach. The first thing that comes to mind is the GREEN SCREEN example that Hall Davidson shows in his presentations. How easy would it be to have students act out how they thought the signing of the Declaration of Independence went, act out a scene in King Lear or the like. That's what I would show my teachers.
I would show them the two videos I took today (on my old digital camera) showing the students working on polaroid transfers. I plan to turn them into a video podcast. I would also point them to our online gallery, a good solution since we have no display space at our school. Students love to see their work online and when they realize that their artist statements will be posted they work so much harder on them.
These are both good ideas, but I think the first thing I'll do is show them clips from video projects that worked. (No offense, Tom. I think I want my teachers to take baby steps first.)
Michelle, I love your website! I can't wait to see your video podcast.
Get them to wander round the school taking shots of their favourite bulletin boards and, if they want to use the video, asking the pupils what they think of them. Then I'd get them to upload them to the Classroom Displays Wikispace. But I might be biased! LOL :-)
Seriously though - well done! We use our cheap and cheerful ones all the time. The digital stills ones are great for the kids to use. Ours use them with Photostory - free & easy enough for even Year 1 to use.
Thanks, Linda! When I show them how to use the still cameras I'll be sure to point them to your Wiki. :)
Hey big guy! I've just written a plan that incorporates MovieMaker. I've created a template for a lesson on multiplication and the teachers just drop pics into certain spots to document student learning. It's very non-threatening and shows how one teacher could create a lesson that everyone at the grade level can use.
Sweet! Is it viewable online?
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