Hi Brian. I was wondering if you and your students would be interested in participating in a nationwide SAT Vocab Video Contest @ MIT university. If not, perhaps you have some educator contacts you could direct me to. We'd really like to get students involved from Wisconsin!

You can view contest details at BrainyFlix.com Please let me know. Thanks!

Hi Brian,

With your interest in Web 2.0 and Ed Tech, I recommend you take a look at Wiziq's virtual classroom and authorstream's power point presentation platform. Both are web based platforms, have a bunch of features and free basic service.

Hi Brian,

I do have some experience with teaching a video production class, and would be happy to share ideas. The first step for you is to decide whether it is more an art class about film or more of a technology class about using video as a communications tool. If art, there is a load of resources at www.afi.com. If technology, I could point you to some material we used starting the program at our school in California. Let me know!

Take care,
Rushton

Brian,

It's clear you've put some serious thought, time and resources into your course.

Let me see what I can contribute.

Possible project ideas....

Tutorial video- I ask students to teach a concept that someone else can then use a learning tool. I did have it open to in school and community groups but you have to scrutinize the concept idea pretty closely sometimes (no "how to make a paper airplane videos). Students have to meet with the "client" (most cases it's a teacher) and figure out a skill set they want taught. Students have to plan out the steps, consider their audience and then consider how to make the content understandable and appealing.

Voiceless Video- I do this project which requires students to create a story (beginning, middle and end) and tell it without relying on any spoken word or narrative. They have to consider how to tell the story visually and through sound effects and background music. This causes them to think about how things like camera angles, transitions and effects.

Project ideas I've been thinking of, but haven't completely done...

PSA/Ads for local businesses (client connections are evident there).

"Video" game creation- I'm pumped about this but didn't have time in my semester class to make this happen yet (I'll try again next semester). Students design a non-linear power point in which the player must make choices to interact with the game. The game would involve interactive sounds, photos, and video clips. This takes a lot of planning but surprisingly not a lot of technology skill. I give the students an example (though very high end and not done in PPT at www.cdx-thegame.com from the BBC). I think this could have some real potential.

Bobby Norman's 2nd Graders- Bobby Norman, a teacher I've connected with in Arizona, has asked the online world for short videos for his class (Room 46). He's looking for real life math videos and some people to share their favorite books http://www.youtube.com/theteacherslife Worth checking out.

Stop motion animation videos are a good planning model as well. Let me know if you want more information on these.

Also www.nextvista.org is a great educational place for a video audience.

I'll pick your brain later.

I don't really have student work online to view yet. Still a work in progress in year two of this program.

I did plan to have students do video segments in the middle of the power point. If you check out you'll see they switch between interactive flash and video segments. Intriguing game, but a little bloody sometimes. Good problem solving though.

Do you have a digital home for your video projects? If so, how do you manage the privacy issues and storage space?

Wow, sounds like a great set up. How big is your school? How many in your class?

We've got a pretty basic setup. We use iMovie HD for editing. Our school is 1:1 with Apple iBooks and we are proposing an upgrade to Macbooks in the budget with iLife 08 or 09 on them but with layoffs at the mill I'm not holding my breath. I have 7 Desktop Macs that get used often because of higher performance and one has Final Cut Studio on it (I haven't had time to learn it yet).

We have 6 video cameras in various states of disrepair. Some camera batteries have to be recharged in other cameras because of damaged charging ports. They are all tape-based digital cameras (some mini DV tape, some Hi8). We did order some nice memory card based Sonys but they USB and not firewire so they don't work with this version of iMovie. If we get the new laptops they will work so I'm hoping for that.

I have about 17 students in that class and we share equipment and do groupwork/partners to lighten the load. I do have some peripheral things like a DVD burner external drive, 40 GB external hard drive and some lights used by the photography class. I also have a USB snowball microphone.

Hey Brian--finished your In. T. Masters in 2007--I'm so envious. I have two years to go.

Hey Brian - I just added you as a viewer on a VP planning doc, and followed with an e-mail from my nextvista.org address. Let me know if one of them doesn't make it to you.

Brain,

I'm glad you liked the show. My co-host is a guy named Dan Ryder. We've known each other since college and have been best friends ever since. He's a High School English Teacher like me and he's involved in many other things as well.

I'll have to follow up with you later on what's happening in Maine. Too loaded a question.

hey brian, nice to meet you.