Ready, Set, Action!

Using video is a great way to encourage students to amp up their efforts on output by establishing meaningful goals and culminating classwork in a tangible product. Through planning, rehearsal and presentation,  students get lots of repetitive practice with language, take risks, and have fun doing so! This past few weeks in three different classes we completed projects that incorporated video.

1. The Village of 100: I have posted about this project before here, but to recap this project takes place over about four weeks in a global engineering presentation class. The students are shown a few different YouTube videos based on the concept of understanding world statistics by imagining the world as a village of 100 people. For a quick overview I recommend checking out The Miniature Earth Project. Students each choose a couple of statistics on one topic and create two PowerPoint slides (adhering to discussed design principles: one powerful photo and one simple graph) to add to a collaborative whole class presentation. Then, I compile all the slides in one file and students practice and deliver a cohesive choreographed presentation for the camera. (Video coming soon)

• Manga Character Talk Show Interviews: I have shared this project in the past. This year conducted nine interviews on "Dream Talk Live". I learned how to edit video using green screen in Windows Movie Maker.  I downloaded the Movie Maker plug-in ShaderTFX to get the green screen transitions in Movie Maker. Using the green screen allowed me to add my own custom background to the students' video interviews. Now that I've got the hang of it, I see lots of potential for using this technique in the future. The videos below were shared with permission from the students.

• Kamishibai Storytelling: Kamishibai is a traditional Japanese oral storytelling technique that uses pictures, snapshots from the story, to aid in its telling. Kamishibai performers are known for their dramatization of stories. Inspired by Garr Reynold's mention of kamishibai in its connection to Japan's rich creative and engaging cultural heritage, I created a unit on kamishibai storytelling. Students watch both Garr Reynold's Simple Presentation DVD, where he references kamishibai and makes a case for presentations that tell stories, and some examples of kamishibai in English and Japanese. Then, students work in pairs to find a folktale that resonates with them, complete a story map (many of them really enjoyed this as they'd never mapped out a story before), develop the visuals in two stages, create a loose script, rehearse, and finally perform on camera for a live audience. This year, the students exceeded expectations, fully engaging in every step of the process, but especially pushing themselves to add emotion and drama to their storytelling. Despite the fact that folktales may be associated with younger children, these adolescent learners gained valuable insights and in-depth review of basic grammar structures through this project. Some examples can be viewed below (with permission from students). In the next project, a perfect follow-up, students will learn how products are often sold through stories, and re-purpose their storytelling skills to pitch a ordinary object from their daily lives.