Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Promoting Positive Video Content in the Classroom

Video by: Common Sense Education

In this digital era, every student has watched at least one video online, frequently from YouTube. However, how often might students consider the content of the viewed video. In this day and era, one can never be sure what students are storing information while they are browsing the wide variety of videos offered online. Is the information correct or a misconception? Is it a fact or an opinion? Is it positive or negative? These are a few questions students are not considering when viewing online videos. As an educator, it is a scary thought to know that students are not paying attention to the content of the video, but instead are only interested in how "cool" it is. According to Hicks (2013), "we need to understand that anything they watch, purposefully or incidentally, can be a mentor text" (p. 107). This simple quote should make any educator stop and think about the videos they have shown to their students. As a teacher, I tend to preview any video I show beforehand. This is one way I monitor the information they are absorbing from online videos. I make a conscious effort only to promote positive content to my students, but what if we as educators take it a step further? After all, students should not merely watch a video; instead "they should also have something to say about it" (Higgin, 2018, par. 3). So, why not utilize the videos offered online to discuss how videos can construct a digital argument? Turner and Hicks(2017) state that "It is not that they are making a video; they are using the medium of video to make an argument" (p.84).  Perhaps if students understand that videos are a form of digital arguments, they may view each videos' content differently. Then students might move away from the mindset that a video's content should be "cool" and instead start to consider the overall message of the content. Once students realize that it is the message in the content that makes a video memorable, they will begin to contribute positively through their video productions. Of course, as educators, we must model this process ourselves.
laptop computer girl play floor boy sitting child education children toddler learning collaboration human positions
Students watching videos on computers
By: Pxhere.com

At the beginning of this course, I recorded a short introduction video in my classroom containing information about myself. Before recording the video, I drafted out a few key points of information about myself that I wanted to include. However, I did not put the information in any particular order. In addition, the video was recorded during my break, which led me to rush the process of recording my video. Instead of allowing myself an unlimited amount of recordings, I only gave myself two chances to get the desired footage. When creating or viewing any digital argument, Hicks (2013) proposes using the acronym "MAPS"(p. 106). Hicks (2013) uses "MAPS" to stands for "mode, media, audience, purpose, and situation" (p. 106). Utilizing this acronym to review my video, I can say that there is room for improvement.

When recording the initial introductory video, I knew that the audience was going to be my classmates and the purpose was to introduce myself to them. Therefore I did not give much thought towards the professionalism displayed in the content past my appearance. While I was in my teacher's dress and recording in my classroom, the angle of the camera and how I presented the information I was providing about myself did not promote a professional appearance. For I was holding the camera myself at an awkward angle, and despite having an outline on what information I wanted to provide about myself, my thoughts were jumbled and led me to ramble throughout. Thus not making this video ideal to utilize to introduce myself to the parents of my students.

While the revision video displayed below is still not perfect, I do believe that it is a better model for how a digital argument should look. For this recording, I paid more attention to the overall quality of the video. I kept the audience in mind and created a better drawn out script as opposed to the notes I utilized in my initial introduction video. In addition, I provided myself with enough time to record the video as many times as needed to get the desired result. These small changes made a big difference in the overall appearance of the video. Thus, this experience has provided me with the background knowledge I need so that I can be of better service to my students when it comes to creating digital arguments with videos.



References
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth, 
      NH: Heinemann.

 Higgin, T. (2018, August 16). Using video effectively in the classroom. Common Sense 
      Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/using-video-effectively-in-the-
      classroom

Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to 
      read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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4 comments:

  1. Ms. Smiley's ReflectionsMarch 15, 2020 at 5:10 PM

    I too show a lot of videos to my students. They are way more engaged in a video than they are in other different forms of lesson delivery. Hicks (2013) states, " Today, many forms of media surround us and, in various ways, invite us to read, listen, view, click, as well as-with the advent of smart phones and tablets- tap and touch"(p. 104). Since media is so prevalent, it is our job as educators to ensure "a cautious, even skeptical approach to the types of media we consume"(Hicks,2013,p.104). I also tend to view videos before I show them in the classroom to ensure the content is what I want my students to be viewing and goes along with the lesson I am teaching. I think it would be a great idea for students to be able to view really great mentor videos in order to fully grasp the concept of arguments in the video world. I really enjoyed watching your new introduction video! I too realized I needed to make many changes to my video after reading the sections about video mentor texts.

    References
    Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing text across media
    and genres. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 15, 2020 at 5:52 PM

    Hi Elizabeth! While I can't see your re-introduction, I love your intro video to this post. I agree that the students don't just need to absorb the information, but they need to react to it and even try to argue back with it. Turner and Hicks (2017) quote another team of authors who said that "everything's an argument" (p.84). Since this is the case, a student could very easily play devil's advocate with any video mentor text you give them. I know, of course, we aren't picking these mentor texts to always be debating or having daily arguments, but we also want our students thinking past the learning target or essential question. This video definitely gives us the drive to push our students to take ownership of their learning and to ask some hard questions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mrs. HuntMarch 15, 2020 at 7:25 PM

    Elizabeth,
    I couldn't see your new video, but I too feel like I had a completely different approach this time than last time. I show my students videos often and I have never took the time to see if it has all three of Hicks (2013) "video text considerations: content, technique, and process." Finding good and bad videos to teach our student digital literacy and craft is a great idea to put in the classroom. Miller and Bruce (2017) argued that "video is a multi-modal literacy expressed and used by adolescents and others in the digital world and that place in the ELA curriculum continues to be critically examined." The video you attached to your blog would be a great video to show the writing process of a video; similarly to the writing process of writing a paper.

    Miller, S., & Bruce, D. (2017). Welcome to the 21st century: New
    literacies stances to support student learning with digital video
    composing. English Journal, 106(3), 14.

    Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching
    adolescents to read and write digital texts Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JBurdenMarch 15, 2020 at 7:30 PM

    I believe that we all can agree that after reading and learning about the "MAPS" acronym, we were all far better enlightened about the process of creating and sharing a good video with a group of people! I definitely agree with you that it is unbelievably scary to know that our kids literally have the internet at their fingertips to where they can just go and look up any type of video without a care in the world....that's insane to me! This reason alone is why, "...we need to understand that anything they watch, purposefully or incidentally, can be a mentor text..." (Hicks, 2013, pg. 107). As teachers, we have to be purposeful and intentional about the types of content that we show and put in front of our kids. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with utilizing technology or videos in the classroom, but it must be utilized the correct way in order to make an impact.

    References:
    Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

    ReplyDelete

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