Ian H.s last blog post..Voucher implosion

Sounds like a great project. If we can get them to distribute those that really focus on classrooms, that will be the key. Keep us posted. I’ll check out your site.

Sue,
You’ve addressed the key issues: time and quality and outsourcing. Most teachers do not have the first 2 and it’s unlikely they will even in the near future. The outsourcing part is the thing that I’m leaning towards. That’s why companies like Pearson can potentially help. Elearning Animators would also be an interesting concept.

Ian,
Great point about not seeing their own innovations. That’s very true. As Sue points out, being more deliberate and intentional about celebrating good work in schools is something we in education have been lacking. Most don’t see their work as worthy of attention. Again, that’s why this work is not likely done by the teacher themselves but by another party. Looking forward to the work you’ll be producing. Be sure to post it for us to see.

Dean Shareskis last blog post..I need more videos

Ian H.s last blog post..Feed reader & consequences thereof

A greater sharing of classroom video would provide a rich bed of content for elearning researchers. It ‘opens the doors ‘ for a real classroom-driven approach to research activity. Right now, how do researchers find out about innovation in the classroom? Is it mostly from studies that they themselves (or other researchers) have initiated? Yet, there is much happening at the grassroots level! More videos of what’s happening in classroom (not from the clinical perspective) would be a fresh approach.

Videos celebrating the classroom innovations that every teacher works out annually in their classrooms would be quite the rich resource! Such video would be an excellent source for teacher self-guided professional learning. It’s also a simple yet powerful way for teachers to be recognized, thanked, and encouraged by other teachers and beyond.

But how do we get the video without further burdening the teachers? Bring in, “E-Learning Animators’!! ‘– people who are focused on documenting ‘process’ and getting the word out about what great things teachers are doing in their classes! …. Okay, there doesn’t seem to be a line up to fill that position (and besides, we’d need to have Math Animators, Social Studies Animators, Literacy Animators, etc)…

Parents could provide the role of documenting the “hows and whys” of certain class projects, or shooting behind the scenes & organization steps could be a way to involve other community members in the school. Looking from within the classroom, I often give a ‘visual-process-documenting’ role to a member of the class.

The end product of such forays is usually very messy but the learning potential is massive…. It’s amazing what a little self-reflection on such raw work can do to teacher’s practice. By posting process videos on the web and inviting global discussions around the classroom processes, there could be powerful off-shoots!

One slight problem… If the captured process-video is going public, for it to be useful, it would still need to be edited to create tight, informative pieces like yours, Dean… We really do need “Elearning Animators”!

Sue

I’m a regular reader/viewer of your work. I teach english to adult refugees and migrants in Australia. We’ve formed a ‘Media Crew’ that creates video reports on issues/events in our local area. This has been a transformative experience for me as a teacher in so many, many ways. I’ve seen the confidence of my students soar, as they approach people for interviews, ask questions (sometimes unrehearsed), and learn how to film and edit reports. What’s important to realise here is that many of my students have had very little, and in some cases no experience with computers and other technologies. The learning curve has been steep.

My class has a social networking site that is protected but we allow teachers and other educators in to have a look and provide feedback to the students. We would love to have you, or your readers join us. Just provide us with some details when you log onto the site (www.cswe3werribee.ning.com)

Greg Currans last blog post..1

Thanks. I actually watched a video you and your students created about a plant project. Those are actually the type of videos that give us insights to effective teaching and learning practices.

Here is a video I produced to promote the class. I am not sure if it is what you are looking for as it does not focus on technology, but there are tech elements woven in. I hope it helps, looking forward to hearing from you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPriD1xM840

The paucity of video is definitely related to how difficult it is to create good video. And I think there’s another issue at work. Classrooms are still seen by many/most educators as cloistered environments. Video will be a lot easier to get if we can start to think of classrooms as public, open spaces.

Richard Schwiers last blog post..Media Awareness Network: new educational resources on media and global issues