Gone are the days of the video tape...

An analysis of DIGITAL VIDEOS

Today I learnt how to use an extremely useful ICT tool- digital video. Here is the short digital video I created, which can also be found on the home page of my wiki site.

Although I enjoyed making my digital video I still do not feel extremely confident with the program and feel as though I need more time before I can be confident enough to teach students how to use the program.

What are digital videos?

Digital videos are video clips which can be made, uploaded and downloaded online. Video clips can be made using a variety of software but, for the purpose of experimenting for this course, I used Windows Movie Maker 2.6. That program allowed me to make my own images (in my case on PowerPoint), load the images and some music onto the program and then edit the movie so that the images coincided with the sound. It is an extremely clever program and I cannot wait to experiment some more with it, not only for educational purposes but also to create my own digital videos.

How can digital videos aid learning?

Digital videos are a fabulous form of multimedia with the ability to incorporate words, images, audio and motion media.

The ways in which I would incorporate digital videos in my teaching areas (English and legal studies) would vary according to the age of my students. This is because I think it would be difficult to teach younger students how to make digital videos. Therefore, for younger students I would most likely incorporate digital videos which I have downloaded from websites which are relevant to the units they are studying. I might also make some digital videos myself or as a whole class to assist with learning.

I would be more inclined to teach older students how to use Windows Movie Maker to make their own digital videos. This would allow for student-centred learning and possibly higher order thinking, if the activities are well scaffolded.