In March I began a collaborative project with Devon O'Keefe, the Animal Behavior and Training teacher and Agri-Science Instructional Leader. She wanted her students to record their progress throughout the semester as they trained one of the animals on our school campus. (I blogged about "Part 1" here.)
I am super proud of the work they did both training their animals and their willingness to learn a new tool that was both fun and (occasionally) frustrating.
I am super proud of the work they did both training their animals and their willingness to learn a new tool that was both fun and (occasionally) frustrating.
The students knew they were our test group as we tried out WeVideo to see if it was worth purchasing for the school. There were some frustrations - like WeVideo not linking to their Google accounts. The help desk at WeVideo tried to assist me but with the recent Chrome update it seemed to be a Google problem which eventually was fixed.
Because we worked on it all semester, students were constantly tweaking their videos. Both their teacher and I had access to their works-in-progress, we periodically watched videos in class, giving peers and teachers to offer suggestions and ideas. The ability to view students' videos throughout was an excellent tool that allowed their work to be graded along the way.
This process also taught me things that, as a teacher, I can do to better prepare students to create videos. I have added them (and continue to add) on to my WeVideo Planning Guide HyperDoc.
Here are a few of the tips I have added:
Because we worked on it all semester, students were constantly tweaking their videos. Both their teacher and I had access to their works-in-progress, we periodically watched videos in class, giving peers and teachers to offer suggestions and ideas. The ability to view students' videos throughout was an excellent tool that allowed their work to be graded along the way.
This process also taught me things that, as a teacher, I can do to better prepare students to create videos. I have added them (and continue to add) on to my WeVideo Planning Guide HyperDoc.
Here are a few of the tips I have added:
FILM HORIZONTALLY - this is a big one! It seems more natural to hold your phone portrait style but videos should be shot in landscape!
Pay attention to your backgrounds (a dumpster can ruin a great shot).
Pay attention to your backgrounds (a dumpster can ruin a great shot).
Green Screen:
- make sure there is no light behind
- minimize wrinkles
- when filming, make sure entire screen captures the green
Cohesiveness of Video:
- choose a color scheme for text/graphics
- choose text with background behind if it is hard to see (especially with video and images behind text)
- speak clearly and make sure you project your voice.
- adjust music levels when there are voice-overs or dialogue to ensure they can be heard
Students in French, Civics and U.S. History classes also used WeVideo for their end of year projects. . This was a collaborative project. We liked the ability to create and share videos for group projects.
Students in French, Civics and U.S. History classes also used WeVideo for their end of year projects. . This was a collaborative project. We liked the ability to create and share videos for group projects.
Both students in teachers who used WeVideo overwhelmingly agreed it is a great tool to use to create videos. While I would love to have a district or school account, it is expensive so I will be purchasing 300 seats that I will manage as needed...and I think we will be needing them a lot next year. I am very excited to keep learning and creating with our students!
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