Video Production - A Powerful Learning Tool

Video production is a powerful learning tool that is inherently motivating to students. It can be utilized with all grade levels and in all subject areas. The challenge I am facing is how to motivate more teachers to use it regularly in their classrooms. When I first started using video in the classroom more than 10 years ago, it required excessive time editing with analog equipment and final products were often not very polished. Despite the technology shortcomings of that time, the process of creating videos was always interesting to my students and engaged them in exploring issues in order to effectively communicate information. Because video production also requires collaboration, planning, communication skills and problem solving, it supports curriculum standards in multiple subject areas. Over the past several years, advances in technology have made video production tools powerful, inexpensive and much less time consuming. Certainly the explosion of home video sharing on the web bears witness to the continued interest that youth have in video and it makes sense that we spend time teaching students how to communicate effectively using this medium. Tools like Visual Communicator 3 (formerly sold by Serious Magic and now owned by Adobe) have made it possible to create videos using only a computer and webcam. Despite the ease with which video production can now be accomplished, I still can only get a handful of teachers to use it as a regular learning tool in their classrooms. One of the problems is professional development time and competing with administrator’s requirement to use PD time on issues related to system wide testing and issues such as NCLB. Regrettably, at the end of the day, PD time for enhancing education through the use of technology is simply not a priority. This week my students and I are doing our first live video webcast of an important district event. I am hoping the increased exposure of the value of video with both district leadership and parents will help increase the time and resources provided for supporting video production as a valuable tool that can enhance student learning.