Videotechnology+and+Multimedia+Reflections

Honestly, when starting the course, I did not know what to expect. Based on the title and the syllabus, I was very sure that I had gotten in over my head. I do not know much about software that is outside of the Microsoft Office realm (which we primarily use in our district)and I have never attempted any kind of video production or editing. I envisioned learning how to create videos from editing clips together and possibly learning how to add music to the background, but this was the extent of what I thought I would learn. However, I acheived all this and much more that I never would have imagined. The actual outcome of the course far exceeded what I thought I would do and what I thought could even be done, especially in an online setting. The course included much more than just editing clips; I learned to edit together pictures, add text overlays, and include titles and credits to videos. Also, the amount of sound editing went beyond music to include self-made narration. And, the biggest accomplishment of all was learning how to work in a group with people who are not even in the same zip-code! I never would have imaginedbeing able to complete a group project with members of an exclusively online group!

I think that there are definitely aspects of what I have learned in this class that I will be able to take to my school and share with the teachers that I work with. The digital storytelling project is one that I cannot wait for the teachers in my school to implement! There are ways to implement video production into each and every classroom, regardless of curriculum content or grade level. I would love for my science teachers to implement video production into their classrooms to allow students another venue for them to create lab reports. What an amazing project for them to take digital photos of their experiments and edit them together using the Photo Story 3 software. History can also come to life if students are allowed to create videos from the photos of great battles and historical figures. This would allow the students in my school to express what they have learned in a way that may be more relevant to many of them than a typical written lab or report would be.

I do like the knowledge of how to use the Windows Movie Maker; however, I think that this will be much more difficult to implement in my school's everyday classrooms. First of all, there is the need for something that records video if the students are to create their own movie. The digital cameras that my school owns do record video; however, they record in a format that is not recognized by Movie Maker. This would then require a converter that would possibly have to be bought and would definitely need to be downloaded onto the individual computers. Again, this becomes a problem due to the amount of IT money and support we have. As an administrator, I have pushed for an increase in technological funding; unfortunately, it is not there. I think that this would be an amazing tool, but may not be feasible or logical for my particular school.

Although I feel much more knowledgable in the various video softwares that were used in this course, I did not get to work as much with the audio aspect of the productions as I would have liked to. There are several reasons that I did not acheive, what I would consider, a status of proficiency in this aspect of the course. For one, the only projects that I personally added any audio to were the digital storytelling and individual video projects. Adding the audio using Photo Story 3 was incredibly easy since the software walked you through each step as you went. Also, the only audio I added to the individual project was some music in the background since I used the dialog that was available in the clips.

The most audio work was done in the group project and two of my group members did an excellent job adding this piece of our PSA puzzle. However, I would have liked to have hade more practical use with the Audacity software (which I still downloaded and "played" with but didn't use for practical purposes). This would be one are where I would have liked to have done and contributed more. I would also wish to have more practice with this software before presenting it to the teachers on my campus.

I feel that I was very successful in both the individual and the group projects for this course. There were definitely many obstacles along the way, but I feel that I did a good job of overcoming those obstacles and creating products that were professional and well-done. In the first project, I used some amazing pictures from my trip to Europe to create a project that, I felt, could make the viewer experience a little piece of Europe on their home computer. Overall, the video was fluid, calming, and presented my idea of what makes the world so truly remarkable - the people who inhabit it.

In the individual video project, I produced a public service announcement about heart disease in women to try to convey the importance of being aware of the signs and symptoms and what you can do to lessen your risk of the disease. This video went well and incorporated problems and solutions to the problem; however, the Movie Maker software does not allow for the detailed editing that I desired on this piece. When trimming clips, it is difficult to get the software to edit a clip to the exact length that you desire. I would have liked to have been able to type in the end time on the clips so that I could have ended the clips on the exact fraction of a second that I desired.

In the group project, I was incredibly pleased with how my group worked in a collaborative, not just cooperative way. We made sure to utilize each others' strengths and commented and made suggestions constantly for improvement. I am planning to incorporate a video production project into the inservice days that our district has us plan for the week before school starts. I believe that this would be an excellent way for the new and returning teachers to bond and to become familiar with the software tha I will expect them to use in the next year.

I think that one of the major things I learned about myself was that I doubt my ability to learn technology too much. I realized that much of the technology today has built-in instructions that make it simple to learn how to utilize the various softwares and resources as you work. There is no need to fear technology any longer; instructions and search bars are always available if you have a question.

I also realized that I worked well a group of my peers, which, as an administrator of a small school, I don't get much chance to do. I am also able to work collaboratively with people who I have never met in person and who I do not have in-person contact with. I truly doubted that this type of project would even be possible when I first started this class. However, my group (and myself) proved me wrong! This was an amazing learning opportunity and I have bonded with people who I would have otherwise never known. I have total faith that I can bring this learning to my campus now because of my knowledge and ability to work with others!