create introduction videos, which
would give students experience creating autobiographies (a state standard
for their grade level). Plus, the video
storytelling aspect would teach video
literacy as well!
We had been blogging about
sugar consumption, so the idea of
a You Tube-powered debate was a
natural next step. We took the structured format of debates and turned
them into individual video segments
that we uploaded and played each
morning in class. After watching the
videos from the other class, my students constructed and filmed their
rebuttals and then uploaded them
to our channel for the other class to
watch the next day.
I saw students writing and rewriting
like never before as they created interesting and authentic persuasive pieces. The shared video pieces opened
Then came time for the part the students had been waiting for all week—
recording! One of us used an iPad to
record each of the groups out in the
hallway to cut down on the classroom
noise. We greatly simplified filming and editing with a free app called
VidEditorFree that allowed us to film
each shot separately, decide whether
to use or retake it, and then hit Save to
have all the shots merged together into
one video. One advantage of filming
this way was that the students didn’t
need to memorize all their lines for the
entire video, which would have been
challenging for first graders.
The final day of this weeklong project
was Premiere Day, which was the last
day of school. Traditionally, the final
week of school is filled with watching
videos. Our students, however, had cre-
ated their own videos, so we all felt a
great sense of accomplishment.
Give Yourself Plenty of Time
When we do this project again, we
will change some things. For example,
we will plan on more time for filming.
We started in midafternoon, and because of last-minute changes of plans
and the multiple takes required to get
things just right, filming was still going on when the dismissal bell rang.
And, in general, we will give the students more freedom in creating their
videos, such as by offering fewer suggestions about what would make good
problems in their stories. First graders
are more creative than we sometimes
give them credit for.
Overall, the project was a great success that could easily be adapted for
other grade levels. Not only did it address the ISTE Standards for creativity
and collaboration, it also met a variety
of math and language arts standards
and represented best practices that all
teachers should strive to achieve: persistence, project-based learning, and
real-world connections.
Who would have thought that short
videos created by first graders could
pack in so much good stuff!
—Richard Schaen is a first grade teacher in
the Wyoming City School District in suburban
Cincinnati, Ohio. Learn more about his classroom at www.elmgradeone.weebly.com.
—Janet Mannheimer Zydney is an associate
professor at the University of Cincinnati. She
teaches instructional design and technology.
Problem: Your students really want
to collaborate via Skype or Google
Hangouts with a class on the other
side of the world, but time zones
are making it nearly impossible.
Here’s a solution: You Tube to the
rescue! My seventh grade students in
San Diego, California, had been blogging with kids in New Zealand and
Australia, and they were eager to set
up a Skype call with their new far-flung
friends. While trying to work out the
logistics of such a meetup, I realized
that it would mean my students would
have to come back to school in the
evening to make it happen. While I
knew that most kids would be excited
to return to meet the other class, the
students who could not attend due to
family schedules would be disappointed. Then it hit me! Why don’t we send
each other videos instead? We could
Tip
Have a tip to share? Email it to dfingal@iste.org.
Beat Time Zone Delays by Collaborating with Classes on YouTube!
their eyes to what life is like outside of
their own communities. It turned out
to be an enormously motivating experience as students worked on their
projects with all the dedication and
focus that I had always hoped to see
coming from students.
If You Tube is blocked at your
school, try uploading to Teacher Tube
or Vimeo or just sending the videos
in an email. My students liked having
the videos accessible on our classroom You Tube channel so they could
watch them over and over and comment on each other’s videos.
Holly Clark is a technology
and innovation specialist in
San Diego, California. She
has overseen 1: 1 iPad and
Chromebook pilots and helps
schools implement digital
literacy programs.
