I am not currently a classroom teacher, so all of my ideas on connecting to students is hypothetical at this point, but the assignment actually did inspire me in my real life.
I am one of two board members for my daughter's school's PTO and so we also run the Facebook page and I decided to reach out to parents on there to send me video clips that I could put together into a longer video thanking our teachers, telling them we miss them, and to show them that students are still learning and growing at home. I am planning on finishing it in time for National Teacher's Day, so I will let you all know how that turns out. Also, if anyone knows of a good video creation tool that will allow me to put together clips and do voiceovers, I am taking recommendations because I have not done anything like this. I am just assuming I will figure it out as I go.
Back to my hypothetical classroom, to connect to students, I would probably try to do it with humor. My focus would be to encourage them to take advantage of being stuck at home (more than I am) and to try a new hobby, make something creative, start a project, learn a new TikTok dance (my focus is middle and high school, so that's something almost all students do), walk a dog, etc. And, if I had another adult home with me, I would probably try to actually film it and show it to you guys, but I do not and I don't think I can figure out a way to record this on my own in a few days. But, I might put an example together or do it later on and I will share it then.
For my screencastify example, I actually chose to use Flipgrid. I actually had some technical issues accessing a Flipgrid another professor put together and I felt that it also tied in well to keeping connected because it could be used an assignment for students to share some part of their lives or, at the very least, to actually see them and hear their voices when they answer a question. I decided to start with making a video that is addressed to students that includes clips of the things I have done since the stay-at-home order went into affect to pass the time. Then, it would invite others to add their own videos. The link to this would be posted in Google classroom along with a screencastify video explaining exactly what to do for anyone who has not used Flipgrid before. A big challenge I have found with using resources that require audio, but especially audio and video, is that I have a very loud household so I have a limited amount of time to actually record them (meaning when children and pets are in bed).
Once I got started, it turned out the most difficult part of this whole assignment was just trying to record a response on the Flipgrid that I created. I ended up taking 5 videos. I was using the Flipgrid app because those tend to be easier, work better, and be more streamlined. Not today. I would hit the green arrow to submit the video and it would just disappear. It was incredibly frustrating. I finally ended up downloading the video, emailing it to myself, and then opening and submitting it on the Flipgrid site using my computer. It worked. Once I was able to get my response recorded it was time to record the tutorial.
I had previously downloaded the Screencastify add on for Chrome. I figured the best way to learn it was to use it. Luckily, it worked out well. I only had to stop and re-record once. That was because I found out when you switch tabs, which happened when logging into Flipgrid because it automatically opens a new tab, your video does not follow you, so I had to figure out how to get my video to follow. Turns out, you just click on the Screencastify icon at the top of the Chrome browser when in the new tab and it moves your video over.
Despite my frustration with Flipgrid, I actually feel that both it and Screencastify are really good resources, especially during this quarantine. I could see using Screencastify to create video directions when students have issues with certain assignments. Flipgrid would be great to have students to record their responses to certain questions or to create a Jigsaw sort of assignment where students each learn one certain topic and explain it to their peers.
I am one of two board members for my daughter's school's PTO and so we also run the Facebook page and I decided to reach out to parents on there to send me video clips that I could put together into a longer video thanking our teachers, telling them we miss them, and to show them that students are still learning and growing at home. I am planning on finishing it in time for National Teacher's Day, so I will let you all know how that turns out. Also, if anyone knows of a good video creation tool that will allow me to put together clips and do voiceovers, I am taking recommendations because I have not done anything like this. I am just assuming I will figure it out as I go.
Back to my hypothetical classroom, to connect to students, I would probably try to do it with humor. My focus would be to encourage them to take advantage of being stuck at home (more than I am) and to try a new hobby, make something creative, start a project, learn a new TikTok dance (my focus is middle and high school, so that's something almost all students do), walk a dog, etc. And, if I had another adult home with me, I would probably try to actually film it and show it to you guys, but I do not and I don't think I can figure out a way to record this on my own in a few days. But, I might put an example together or do it later on and I will share it then.
For my screencastify example, I actually chose to use Flipgrid. I actually had some technical issues accessing a Flipgrid another professor put together and I felt that it also tied in well to keeping connected because it could be used an assignment for students to share some part of their lives or, at the very least, to actually see them and hear their voices when they answer a question. I decided to start with making a video that is addressed to students that includes clips of the things I have done since the stay-at-home order went into affect to pass the time. Then, it would invite others to add their own videos. The link to this would be posted in Google classroom along with a screencastify video explaining exactly what to do for anyone who has not used Flipgrid before. A big challenge I have found with using resources that require audio, but especially audio and video, is that I have a very loud household so I have a limited amount of time to actually record them (meaning when children and pets are in bed).Once I got started, it turned out the most difficult part of this whole assignment was just trying to record a response on the Flipgrid that I created. I ended up taking 5 videos. I was using the Flipgrid app because those tend to be easier, work better, and be more streamlined. Not today. I would hit the green arrow to submit the video and it would just disappear. It was incredibly frustrating. I finally ended up downloading the video, emailing it to myself, and then opening and submitting it on the Flipgrid site using my computer. It worked. Once I was able to get my response recorded it was time to record the tutorial.
I had previously downloaded the Screencastify add on for Chrome. I figured the best way to learn it was to use it. Luckily, it worked out well. I only had to stop and re-record once. That was because I found out when you switch tabs, which happened when logging into Flipgrid because it automatically opens a new tab, your video does not follow you, so I had to figure out how to get my video to follow. Turns out, you just click on the Screencastify icon at the top of the Chrome browser when in the new tab and it moves your video over.
Despite my frustration with Flipgrid, I actually feel that both it and Screencastify are really good resources, especially during this quarantine. I could see using Screencastify to create video directions when students have issues with certain assignments. Flipgrid would be great to have students to record their responses to certain questions or to create a Jigsaw sort of assignment where students each learn one certain topic and explain it to their peers.
I liked trying out Flipgrid, it is pretty cool! I found the whiteboard tool on it and played with that during my video, it was easy and fun to use!
ReplyDeleteYou might want to revisit AdobeSpark for your project. It will allow for uploading video and for recording a voice over.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your perseverance when things did not go well when using the app on your phone. I also applaud your problem solving skills.
You accomplished a lot of video tool exploration this week!