This piece from The Guardian is about producing YouTube videos. Go read it.
When Alex Day started keeping a video diary on YouTube, he wasn't sure how it would turn out. The teenager, from Hornchurch in Essex, admits that he was just looking for some frank feedback on his funny stories and songs.
The rise and rise of the YouTube generation, and how adults can help | Technology | The Guardian.
While the thrust of the article is about how adults should be helping kids in creating online persona that are appropriate, the significant point for me is that kids are learning by producing videos.
Think about that for a minute.
Now, as we consider the role of the learner, think about what “production as learning activity” really means.
Hat tip to Micheal Guhlin for the tweet-link.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I think that more”production” should be used in classrooms, whether it be in the form of blogs, videos, or podcasts. Too many teachers are afraid of the “evil” internet and do not want their students to be so involved online. There are so many child friendly sites now that this can no longer be used as an excuse. I let my students interview each other last year and we video taped it. I was amazed at how alive some of the quieter students became when the camera was on. They wanted to put on a show. Teachers need to incorporate things into their classrooms that students love. Technology is one of those things. Another activity that I have used with my students is to let them tape record their reading story for the week. They really enjoy it and it helps them to practice expression in their voice. To involve “production” as a learning activity does not have to be anything fancy.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I think the production part of it really engages the learner. The learner has a goal in mind and keeps them responsible for their learning. Production scares many teachers away, when they only have to use the technology available to help students produce original works. Production is a “learning activity” and the students become in charge of their learning experience.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
This is what we have been saying all semester; we, adults need to try to meet the students on their own grown and use their strengths to enhance their education. Since the students are already using outlets such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and blogs then why not use these technologies for educational purposes. YouTube can be used to post projects and educational videos while blogs can be used as discussion forums. and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There is another point to make when using these venues, publicity. I took some students for college visits on Friday and I ran across a brochure warning that sites like MySpace, Facebook & Friendster are not private. The brochure was good in that it did not condemn the use of these sites but instead reminded students to use the privacy precautions that are available on the sites. Also, students were warned not to put private information on these sites due to possible misuse by others. I like the fact that they didn’t try to deter students from using the sites; just utilize the built in safe guards.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Production of a videos help students create a process. We want students to be able to process information and create an outcome. A production of a video is a motivational and has students displaying knowledge in a new way. I have used Microsoft Movie Maker to take still photos of how to’s made by students and add narration. They loved it and I could see if they understood sequencing and comprehension. A production can be a portfolio piece, a page from a history book, or a science experiment. Blogging is another form of writing. I really thought the idea of adding the video and blogging tools to the curriculum was interesting. It is a great idea and blogging is a great way for students to reflect and write.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I think that a “production as a learning activity” on youtube or another technology is a great idea. Talk about catching the interest of our students!! If we actually begin to incorporate technologies such as youtube and blogging into our curriculum I think that the student response would be great. Many of them already know about these technologies and seeing them in the classroom would add more fun to their assignments.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I would kill for the opportunity to do work like was/is mentioned in the article again. I used to work for the hallmark channel and taught courses in video production at the college level, before moving to high school. my first year teaching I helped to develop a class where the students created their own video yearbook on DVD and sold it at the end of the year as a companion to the paper edition. learning through the production process is multidisciplinary and multifaceted. Not only are the students learning from multiple angles, they are actually walking away from the learning experience with a marketable skill.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Aside from the advantages of using production for learning in the classroom that everyone else has mentioned, it is our goal to prepare our students for the real world. It is becoming more odvious that many of the things we are teaching them are becoming obsolete. This type of technology is showing up in workplaces where these students will eventually need to be employed. I think we are doind students an injustice by not using more of this in the classroom.
October 11th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I think the production side of learning is more beneficial for some classes than others. Don’t get me wrong, I think it could be used is all classes in some form, but it works better in some classes. One example where production style learning is more beneficial is in a foreign language classroom. It is important for the students to use the language they are studying and being able to produce something is a great way of doing this. Some ideas I have witnessed are making commercials for products using the target language and making a video/movie in the target language. Things like these work great in foreign language classrooms.