| Return to VISUAL AND ACTIVE page Visual and Active Portfolio Method lookvisual Copyright 2003, 2006 by S. McCrea |
| Return to VISUAL AND ACTIVE page Visual and Active Portfolio Method lookvisual Copyright 2003, 2006 by S. McCrea |
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| Video in the classroom can be matched with videos made OUTSIDE the classroom... |
| Suggested procedures for using a camera Based on the Optura by Canon Headaches and remedies for using a video in a classroom Teachers don’t need to know much about a camera. They can trust a student to set the camera correctly and use the camera reliably. Or the teacher can be SURE and can check the following areas of concern: AREAS OF CONCERN (using the Canon Optura model) What can go wrong? Remedy in italics Funny color Check the mode dial (it might be on CANDLE or MOON and the colors are not natural) Wrong recording speed Go into the MENU and find the TAPE SPEED. Select the speed that you require. Recording onto the memory card instead of the tape (or tape instead of the card) Some cameras have a switch. The Optura by Canon has a switch on top of the camera called the TAPE/CARD switch. Out of tape or out of memory on a memory card Keep tape handy. Keep enough memory cards available or find a procedure to transfer movies to a laptop computer for later retrieval. The recording setting is too small or too big TAPE: VCR Setup > REC MODE > SP or LP Canon Optura offers 320 and 160 modes. Turn camera on, set to CAMERA, press FUNC button, scroll down with the SET wheel to 320 or 160, select the size you want and press FUNC to set the selection. 640 will fill a TV screen. 160 will give a smaller view, about 1/9th or 10% of the size of 640. Translation: 640 might give 2 minutes of recording on a 32 meg chip. 160 will give 20 minutes. Find the recording setting on the camera. 320 mode is 2 times larger than 160 mode. The Still pictures are too “high quality” I can get only 25 pictures on the small 16 meg card Get a bigger memory card or reduce the intensity of the card. Page 89 and 90 of the manual for the Optura. FUNC > scroll down using the SET wheel to the last icon, adjust the Fine or Normal setting and the density 640 x 480 is fine for photos sent by email. How do I take a photo? Photo button on top of the camera. It works with tape or the memory card. How do I put a movie on the card? Select the CARD (button next to the view finder). Hit the RECORD button (for movie on tape or on card) How do I erase a photo or movie from the card? Hit FUNC and then look for the TRASH icon. Where is the memory card? Under the camera. Zoom in or zoom out Look for W (wide) and T (toward or telephoto) How do I change the tape cassette? Look for the EJECT button How do I transfer the image to a computer? Use a card reader or the USB cable (the connection is below the camera lens in the front of the camera) The alternative remedy is to find an inquisitive student who wants to practice written English and you can ask the student to find the answer using the manual… copyright 2006 by S. McCrea Materials described in Visual And Active Portfolio Method for teaching language is copyright 2003, 2006. www.visualandactive.com This description of these guidelines is available for license from S. McCrea. Guidelines for Teachers who want to use video in the classroom Reasons for Video in the Classroom 1. There’s no need to take notes – the video can capture the words more accurately. 2. The student performance can be collected in class and evaluation and later feedback can be given after class (allowing for more activities in class) 3. Students can carry away (at the end of the course) a portfolio of performance (before and after). Even 6 months later, the memory of the course can be heightened and recalled just by looking at a short clip. 4. Students’ sense of value is extended. “That course was worth it – I got this free CD with a lecture about pronunciation on it. I just have to listen to it and practice.” 5. Elements of real learning can be documented using video. The work of Howard Gardner and others (such as Lois Hetland) look to creating a portfolio of performances of understanding as the best way to teach for understanding. See references below. Reasons against Video 1. the camera is sometimes disruptive or distracting. 2. students at a lower level sometimes don’t want to be put on tape or video (“Wait until I know more English”) 3. because everyone knows that the video is available, notes might not be as accurate and most students will NOT check the video before the next test or as a way of reviewing material. (Remedy: teachers can make a summary of notes and pass those notes around with the CD or DVD). 4. “bad hair day” or not enough make up. Students sometimes are worried about their appearance, even after being assured that we are looking for audio performance. Remedy: keep the camera available for the student to perform another day. Or keep the lens covered during the video recording. 5. Extra work. There’s no doubt about it. Videos create extra work for teachers. Since most teachers are paid for hours in a classroom, the handling time for videos will involve time contributed by the teacher, resources contributed by the teacher and equipment (laptop or recording equipment) provided by the teacher. The real losers are the spouses or companions of the teachers, since editing and burning time for the CDs takes time away from the home life. Videos in the classroom have reduced time spent on chores in the home for at least one teacher who uses these techniques. Remedy: teachers who use video in the classroom can be reimbursed for the value that they deliver. Since a typical video CD takes at least 60 minutes to compile and burn, plus distribute, the teacher could be compensated for that time. Teachers who use video tape and camcorder in the classroom will have 60 minutes or 90 minutes of video images available. The tape can be edited more easily than a typical short movie made on a digital camera. The quality of the image and the size of the image on videotape is usually superior to the image size and quality of videos on digital cameras (usually stored on flash memory cards). Some organizations might be tempted to set up a sophisticated recording studio for teachers to use...The typical “Authoring of DVDs” procedure will produce a consistent product, but … a) the product will need to be kept in at least two formats (depending on the region of the world where the DVD will be played) b) the production of the DVDs will be limited to those who have access to the equipment listed in the “Authoring” memo. A suggested alternative: video onto CD. Smaller format videos are easier to handle since the recording goes to a format that is read on computers worldwide. The difficulty with DVD’s current regional nature can be avoided. CDs are cheaper (30 cents or less) compared to DVDs (90 to 110 cents each) and the volume of the empty space on the disk is less stressful. (“Here’s your video. Too bad I had nothing else to put on the DVD – it’s just two minutes long.”) A suggested procedure Suggestions on how to collect individual performances 1. practice a speech with a partner. I asked everyone to talk with a partner about the weekend. “What did you do?” After checking verb forms (this was a lower intermediate class and some past forms were missing! “Last weekend I go to Miami and I saw many thing. I visit a shop with many pink birds. I did buy one.” It was a fabulous opportunity to capture mistakes.) 2. ask each student to go outside the classroom (talk in the hall) 3. ask another student to hold the camera. 4. Before the class ends, ask “Is it okay if we put all the videos on one CD?” It will be a souvenir, you can assure the students. 5. THE NEXT DAY, hand out the performances on CD. Before you hand out the CDs, make sure each student agrees to appearing on the CD with others. Once the CD is burned, it can’t be altered. 6. Keep a copy in the office. Two months later, repeat the procedure and then the students have a record of progress. 7. For teachers who don’t like using video, a student in the class can be given the task of collecting student performances. Alternative: hire a teacher who comes in specifically to “pull out” students for recordings. Difficulties 1. Less mature students might not take a reliable video (“hey, you are upside down now, Koichi!”). Remedy: do the video yourself, or ask a reliable student to hold the camera. 2. Video image is shaky. Remedy: put the camera on a tripod. 3. sound quality is poor. Remedy: increase the quality to 640 (from 160) and find a way to empty the memory card Multiple uses of video 1. feedback to the student (allow the student to critique himself) 2. feedback from other students (student can hear what others say, and can avoid such contact 3. individual feedback from the teacher (teacher can make notes on a performance rubric or checklist, giving details of the student’s pronunciation and pointing to strong points and areas that need work). 4. Long-term progress can be monitored of individual students. 5. AVOID using these student performances for promotional purposes, since some students might think, “Oh, no! I might end upon the web site!” Challenges 1. It is tempting to try to capture spontaneous performance in the classroom. This works if the student is the only person talking. If there is pair work, the camera needs to get VERY close to the student to get the audio clear enough above the din of the multiple pair-talking. 2. When students take over the camera, they sometimes don’t know when the camera is working. REMEDY: make sure the REC (red light) is visible when the recording takes place. Practice using the video, making tests to ensure performance. 3. students want to video their performance NOW. REMEDY: explain that the class needs to move on and that other students need a chance to talk. 4. A loquacious student might use up your memory stick. REMEDY: bigger memory card. You can also suggest to the student that a video on tape might be better for that person or a session after class is available. 5. the quality of the video is lower than possible. Usually I record small performances in 640 mode instead of 160 mode. The 160 allows for 20 minutes on a 32 meg stick. 640 might be less than 2 minutes. Ouch! REMEDY: bigger memory card and more memory cards 6. I don’t have an extra memory card. REMEDY: find a computer that accepts files (many computers in a language school are restricted from taking in files for fear of viruses, so many teachers assume that it’s difficult to get a place to “park” files – a laptop reserved especially for photos is a potential solution, since the copying can be made in class…) Dump the contents of the memory card onto the laptop and then erase the card, then the videoing can continue. 7. Other challenges appear on www.visualandactive.com but the essence is “think flexibly.” 8. How about the extra space on the CD? A typical student performance might be 5 meg or less and the CD holds 700 meg. REMEDY: The teacher can make a video ahead of time to practice pronunciation. The teacher’s video can be added to the group performances of the class (assuming that all students want to see each other’s performances and allow their images to be shared around). Additional Suggestions A video-on-CD or Videos on DVD program can hold greater allure and can build a measure of respect if teachers and students are introduced to the concept of using the video as part of a “portfolio building” exercise. Within the context of a portfolio, the video gains added importance: The video is not just a tool to remember one particular lesson The video is not just a gimmick to give a souvenir of a particular course or visit. The video is not just a way of selling a school’s effort to “offer something extra.” Within a context of a teaching method, i.e., building a portfolio of performances by the student, the video is an important record of student growth. The student can view the video to identify errors (gaining self-awareness and building the skill of listening to oneself). The student gains a feeling that the teacher really takes time for each individual in the class. (A student without a video gets a clear message that the teacher doesn’t keep track of each individual – thus, when a student receives his/her own video on CD, the student gets the message that “you are important and I’m watching your progress.”) HOW TO ORGANIZE THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE VIDEOS It would be easier if every student decided that it would be cool to have a copy of the performances of other students. Then the teacher can make one CD and give a copy to each student. It is necessary to build a sense of camaraderie and trust. In the example of the classroom where I first used digital movies to capture student performance, I had to assure each student that nobody else would see their video to get some students to open up. This made the process of making copies difficult for two of the students. The rest of the class did not need the assurance of privacy, so making copies for them was easy: I put the 8 students on one CD and made 10 copies (for the 8 cooperative students and for the 2 students who did not want to be videotaped). I suggest a policy of “everyone gets a copy of the videos” even for the students who don’t participate. The non-participants can benefit from hearing the accents of non-native speakers (and they will enjoy looking at the video two years later… “Oh, yeah, I remember that guy. He was funny when he said THIS and THAT and BREATHE.”). References Any institution that adds video as a part of a commitment to building portfolios of student performances will build value in the program by quoting from the work of Howard Gardner and people like Lois Hetland (who work with Gardner) who discuss “teaching for understanding.” The video is the most reliable way of capturing evidence that the student understands new material. Written tests are reliable for a portion of students, but can often capture only a portion of the possible ways of using new information. We all can think of someone who does well on tests but freezes when asked to give a summary of two or three important points. “If I just could write down my thoughts” is a common excuse or justification for non-performance under stress. There is a collection of schools called Big Picture Schools (a movement founded by Dennis Littky, Providence, RI) that bases its students’ work on exhibitions. Imagine a school where there are no tests, just a stand-up public demonstration (“test by exhibition”) of what you learned in the past eight or nine weeks. The procedures given in this memo are based on the work of Howard Gardner (multiple intelligences and the description of performances of understanding) and others (Lois Hetland for suggestions on portfolio assessment and rubrics for evaluating student performances). The bibliography at www.VisualandActive.com gives additional references for a method that I compiled for use in middle school, high school and adult classes in language school. Currently, the one additional reference that is missing is www.BreaththroughCollaborative.org (which is important to ensure that students of higher ability are mixed with lower achievers or younger children so that the higher achievers have experience with teaching what they learned). Training in the use of video in the classroom can be extensive and teachers using video in the classroom are cautioned to read more into the work of Howard Gardner. To find a better method of assessment, Gardner tells us, we must be prepared to invest more than we currently spend (in time and other resources) on assessment. Video may provide a way to more effectively assess student performance. Particularly helpful quotes from Gardner (potentially helpful, if the teacher invests time in learning the multiple uses of video) ============================================ Multiple Intelligences is most usefully invoked in the service of two educational goals. The first is to help students achieve certain valued adult roles or end-states. If one wants everyone to be able to engage in artistic activities, it makes sense to develop linguistic intelligence for the poet, spatial intelligence for the graphic artist and sculptor, movement intelligence for the dancer and musical intelligence for the composer. If we want everyone to be civil, then it is important to develop the personal intelligences. The second goal is to help students master certain curricular materials. Students might be encouraged to take a course in biology so as to better understand the development of the living world. If individuals indeed have different kinds of minds, with varied strengths, interests and strategies, then it is worth considering whether pivotal curricular materials like biology could be taught AND ASSESSED in a variety of ways. Gardner, Intelligence Reframed, p. 167 Other references (taken from VisualAndActive.com) Jared Diamond, synthesis and story telling Daniel Golden, Emotional Intelligence Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences and learning styles Dawn Elrad, parking spaces, the shopping mall Ms. Bacallao, Hispanic Unity, parking spaces Lois Hedland, Teaching for Understanding (portfolios) Dennis Littky, the Three "R"s, mentoring, respect students by asking them to do "real work." Royal Society of Arts RSA CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults) Huetinck, Teaching methods for Secondary School Math Pat Harris, application of standard principles in family therapy and counseling, particularly "reframing" Marshall Thurber, frequency of contact, memorization of poetry Lee Brower, Positive Focus Luia Forbes, tutoring methods Dan Pink, new perspectives on right and left brain (A Whole New Mind) and entrepreneuring (Free Agent Nation, which is really about "how to apply what you learned in and out of school") Robert Ornstein, Whack on the Side of the Head (and other works) Rob Becker, perspectives of the cave man Dr. Nancy Snyderman, ABC TV special about "the Brain Game" Mrs. Z., HACC, the importance of portfolios SAT Tutoring systems (how to organize a tutoring session) FreeVocabulary.com, for the list approach Alison Gopnik, Berkeley, the teacher as bseball coach (see the Jan. 2005 article) Marc Greenblum, use of video and digital cameras in the classroom Paul Wagner, video pioneer, former president of Rollins College, use of film cameras on campus Dennis Yuzenas, visual and active methods Beakman, active methods Bill Nye (the Science Guy), visual methods Dr. Robert McAlister, how to run a science fair KnowYourType.com, Briggs Myers approach Brooks Emeny, People to People initiatives US Coast Guard, its boating course Dr. Michael Merzenich, therapies based on "brain plasticity," Brain Gym, positscience.com alz.org, Maintain Your Brain Madeleine Hunter, the MH Lesson Plan BreakthroughCollaborative.org (a way of getting students to teach other students.) Some of the work connected with the Visual and Active Portfolio Method(tm) appears on these web sites (developed by S. McCrea) MentorsOnVideos.com LookForPatterns.com TeachersToTeachers.com MathForArtists.com (learning styles) Copyright 2003, 2006 S. McCrea ===================================== A performance rubric for pronunciation Student name ________________________________ Date of performance _______________ Feedback from teacher ______________________ Smile, you are on digital video! Pronunciation Vowels Hate break cat hat Pete seat pet pen head Bite alive driver bit fish sit give river Hope through hop stop pot Cute you moon sun cut up money Monday enough Foot could push pull House south loud Dog Saw Bought taught talk Boy oil toy Car four for turn person Consonants Bathe bath Breathe breath that this those these Think thing Notice that “ou” can have six ways to be pronounced. Words that need practice _________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Does the student sound like a river (flowing) or like stop-and-go traffic? Does the student look at the audience? Does the student use hands now and then to support the talk? Check one: ___ You made a good effort! Bravo! ___ Next time, don’t be scared! It’s okay! |
| Teaching Gifted ChildrenRenzulli, Joseph S. (2000). The Multiple menu model: a practical guide for developing ... Teaching young gifted children in the regular classroom. ...
creativeteaching.org/ teaching_gifted_ children.htm |