nex·us
A means of connection; a link or tie

(www.thefreedictionary.com)

The notion of connection is intrinsic to every aspect of humanity. So vital, in fact, that our very lives depend upon it as every breath, every thought and every action is preceded by millions of synapses connecting, transmitting and communicating important information.

This network of thought-and-action-determining connections don't stop inside the confines of skin and bone. In a mysterious way they link up to a greater network where, in some instances, our thought-processes are absorbed into the minds of others, while, in other instances, we take on the thoughts of others and somehow allow it to shape our own internal matrix.

This is the wonder of communication and learning.

With the advent of the internet, we've been provided with what could almost be described as a visual representation of the "human internet" - that macro-network where the ebb and flow of thought and action in society at large shapes the individual's downloads and uploads, learnings and expressions.

From an educator's perspective, that, of course, changes everything. Learners no longer have to rely on teachers to be their only source of "information downloads" , but can now access a world which offers thoughts, ideas and perspectives far beyond their own or even that of their teachers.
The role of the teacher is then to provide learners with opportunities to partake in this macro-network - to guide their "uploads and downloads" in ways that would best benefit their futures.

This blog investigates websites, applications and internet functions that can serve as powerful "connection-points", or tools for transfomative learning in the classroom.

Monday, August 30, 2010

How to kill the radio and more

So we've established in an earlier post that video killed more than just the radio star. Now we will have a brief look at how to make those killer video's, and how that applies to the classroom setting.

To start with, there are a few very basic video editing programs available for common use:
- Windows Movie Maker
- Mac iMovie

All of the above ones are very simple to operate and can easily be used in the classroom. Perhaps the simplest of the three would be MovieMasher, which is a downloadable open source video editing application. This is handy for primary school learners, and they would be able to find their way around the interface rather intuitively. It can be used for stitching together a nice slide show, or editing digital video. Because these programs have a visual time-line, it's a great way of introducing or reinforcing the concept of sequence in story lines. Groups of learners could be given some pictures, and they then have to order them as they think it should go. After doing that on the editing program, they need to narrate it and synchronise their audio track to the visual track.

For those who have access to Sony Vegas or Apple Final Cut Pro, I would strongly suggest those over any of the above mentioned programs when it comes to teacher-made videos. If teachers want to make impressive, engaging videos for their classes, for the parents or for their communities, then Vegas or FCP would offer much more versatility. I have worked a little bit with Vegas and I love the creative expression that it allows you to have. Mastering the basics is fairly easy and online tutorials are always available on YouTube, like this one for instance.

Below is a video that I made more than a year ago for EDCU 11021, where I had to depict various stages of my "personal journey" in terms of the arts. I uploaded it to Vimeo - a great site for displaying and viewing vlog type videos.




Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)