Video Reflection

For EDCI-5825 - Final Video Project

• 1) What would you do differently if you could do it all over again? Are these changes based on feedback that you may have received from friends, peers, family members, etc?
  
  There were a few moments when the voices were too quiet, despite reducing the background music and enhancing the video volume. If I were to do it again, it might have been easier to simply re-tape these moments. As it was, pretty much everything in the video was shot in one take.
  
  In addition, I knew I wanted my movie to take the form of a trailer, which in and of itself would leave some ambiguity as to the 'plot' of the story. When my parents watched my video project, they thought it was cool, but were unsure as to the 'point' of it all. If I were to do it again, I might make the video longer so as to present a more story-like form, like Terence's video was.
  
  2) What is your reaction to the video recording/editing process? Please discuss any positive and negative reactions. 
• 
  I've done video filming and editing projects before (on iMovie), so I knew my way around the program well enough to complete this project. I don't actually have any negatives to state - considering iMovie is a free software program, and considering how much one can do with it, I see no reason to complain. One of my group members said they would have liked to put a cartoon pirate hat and a mustache on me. I'm not sure if iMovie has these capabilities (I know expensive programs like FinalCutPro do) - I would have liked to explore this option a little more, given more time.
  
  
• 3) Do you think it would be possible to have students in your current/future classroom create a movie? Do you (will you) have the resources, time, and skills necessary to include such a project in your classroom? Please explain.
  
  Yes, I think it's possible. Of course, explicit instruction would have to be given to students who are unfamiliar with the program. For example, I felt as though the majority of our class did not take full advantage of the Ducking feature or audio-enhancing feature, making audio too soft or overshadowed by any background music used (which is actually a pet peeve of mine when it comes to watching videos)...perhaps because of the fact that we only went over it quickly, and only once.
  
  I feel as though I am technologically apt enough to be able to effectively and efficiently use iMovie (or Windows Movie Maker) resources as part of a cumulative assessment in my own classroom.
  
  
• 4) Did you learn anything new from the video editing/recording process? Please explain. 
  I learned about a lot of new features that I had never used in iMovie before, such as the ducking feature, or splitting the audio from the video and using a detached voice over another video clip. It was a fun process, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. :) 
  

Final Teaching Presentation Reflection

Oops! Forgot to publish this. It was a draft until today. T_T

1) Brief description of the lesson presented

My lesson plan was based on the following objective: "Students will be able to understand how gravitational attraction and the inertia of objects in the solar system keep them on a predictable elliptical pathway through an online simulation activity."
Using the SmartBoard presentation as the lesson guideline, the lesson initiation included an overview of the objective, and an embedded Bill Nye video (within the Notebook) which explained how gravitational forces affects the orbit of the planets around the sun.
The main lesson activity was an online simulation (in fact, it was a simulator that I used as a student myself when I was learning about the solar system!) with a worksheet that someone else had created online. In this part, my Notebook presentation had links to all the relevant and required websites and documents.
The final part included an assessment, both evaluating teacher and student performance, as well as homework meaningful to the objective presented in the lesson. Reminders about a performance rubric and other guidelines were also given.

2) Personal thoughts regarding how the lesson went (including evidence where appropriate)

I thought my lesson went well, as evidenced by the fact that Professor Hale had me submit my Final Teaching Presentation DURING my presentation (talk about your stressors!). Please see "What Would You Do Differently" for additional comments.

3) Surprises (if any, both positive and negative)

I was surprised that my Teaching Presentation required no additional work, and that it went as smoothly as it did, considering I had about zero hours of sleep the night before (and I didn't even practice it in front of a mirror)...after my mini-teaching lesson with Cory on Monday, I feel as though my enthusiasm carries confidence a long way, even if I feel underprepared.

4) What would you do the same? What would you do differently? Please explain.

One thing I would do differently is that I noticed other students made the SmartBoard activities more interactive, i.e., having students come up and 'fill-in-the-blanks'. I would definitely have taken this into consideration had we time to revise or create an additional technology lesson. Otherwise, I feel as though I would keep most everything else (forgoing any small editing I would have to do for an actual real-life lesson).

Solar System Online Quiz/Assessment

(To help satisfy the Blog Project requirements for EDCI-5825)

Solar System Quiz/Assessment

This would be used in conjunction with my unit on the Solar System, probably as a pre-assessment due to its simplicity and ease.


:)

(Faux) Tech and Teaching Philosophies

Note: I did NOT write the following document. I copied the text from HERE, and used it as a faux Google Doc/Tech Philosophy to satisfy the Blogger requirement for EDCI-5825.

Teaching and Tech Philosophy (MOCK) - Google Doc


:)

Orbital Simulation Online Worksheet (Faux)

This is a simulation/activity worksheet from my Final Teaching Project for EDCI-5825.

Online Orbital Simulation Worksheet

Note: I do not own this worksheet...someone else made it so others could use it. :)


:)

Mock Survey (Using SurveyMonkey)

This is the same survey used in my Final Teaching Presentation for EDCI-5825.

June 26th, 2012 Student Evaluation (Mock)


:)

Embedded Video - Bill Nye

(This is the same video used in my Final Teaching Presentation for EDCI-5825)
Bill Nye the Science Guy : The Planets