Video Evaluation:
For class this week, we specifically focused on the video portion of online learning. I did a lot of Screencasting back in the spring, but never felt like I was really utilizing video to my fullest advantage for my class. Therefore, when I set out to complete our first task, I wanted to be very deliberate in choosing a video to analyze that was going to DIRECTLY tie to what I teach. I ended up choosing a YouTube video from TEDEd about the mummification process. Not only is the video engaging and well-made, but it also fits nicely with our Egypt unit when we discuss achievements. Although I ended up with a great tool for my Egpyt unit, it was not as easy as it seems.
When I started my search, I knew I wanted something for my Egpyt unit. Currently, it's my least "video" heavy unit, and I really wanted to search out some great materials. From there, I began looking on some of the more school-friendly sites, such as School Tube, for content about Egpyt. I searched the gods, their achievements, and even geography. Nothing struck my fancy, and everything felt either too "academic" for middle school or too "kiddish." I decided to brave YouTube, and I stumbled upon my mummification video (as seen here) in the first five minutes of searching. It checked all the boxes- educational, humourous, relevant, and engaging. I envisioned an entire world history lesson that utilized this video as a learning tool and a discussion piece. I am so excited to use it in the fall, and I am glad I took the time to properly find the best-fit video for my class.
Powtoon:
The second portion of this week's assignment was as equally challenging but in a different way. I knew going into my video design portion of the week that I would have to hold myself to the standards I set for the videos I looked at for my Egpyt unit. After all, if I am unwilling to use poorly made videos found on the internet in my class, then I have no right to make poorly made videos of my own. I, as I said before, have used screencasting tools a lot over the past six months, so I knew that although I was going to do some research and reconnaissance on these tools, I ultimately wanted to give myself a deeper challenge. This led me to Powtoon.
In the past, I have used uploaded Powtoons from YouTube. They work well for Social Studies classes because they are often to the point and informative. I decided to try my hand at making a Powtoon of my own. At first, I was a little confused. There is a HUGE learning curve for people who typically don't make their own videos. Eventually, I got the hang of it by thinking about it like one big Slides presentation. I actually really loved making my Powtoons, even though I took far too long on both videos because it allowed me to personalize my content in a fun video. Using the templates and scenes that are already pre-loaded to Powtoon helped a lot, and I was able to take the pre-loaded material and make it my own.
The biggest downside to Powtoon was the Pro versus Free content. I, luckily, had a 7 day trial for the Pro version, which meant that I had access to all the Pro props, scenes, and templates. However, once my Pro version is up, I know that the site is fairly limited in what it has to offer. I would look to look into finding funds to buy the Pro subscription for my department, but it's 19 dollars a month, and I know we do not have those kinds of funds this school year. This may keep me from using Powtoon in the upcoming months, rather than something like the time it takes to build a Powtoon. In fact, I really enjoyed doing it and love how my videos turned out, so I may try to make the free version work for me. Overall, Powtoon was a positive experience, and I have a great Welcome/Overview video that I can share with parents and students at the beginning of the year (a very basic video that you can view here that will just get the ball rolling). I also have a and an overview video for our biggest concept (GRAPES- see here) that I am incredibly proud of. I did upload both videos to YouTube publicly in hopes of helping out other teachers of the same content during these tenuous times. I also wanted the videos to be easily accessible to administration, parents, and students.
Concluding Thoughts:
To wrap it all up, I guess I'd like to take a look at my three biggest takeaways from this week's journey:
1. If I hold high standards for the videos I seek for my class, I need to hold high standards for the videos I make for my class.
2. Creating my own animation videos is not as scary as I made it out to be in my head.
3. I now get why kids fall into the rabbit hole that is known as Minecraft- being able to play with tools to build your own multimedia content (for me, a video, and for them, an entire world) is very empowering- I need to remember that when offering choices for projects.
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