I am such a text oriented person–if there’s text, I’ll read it even if it is the ingredient list on the cereal box. I am working on becoming more audio and video literate, but I need constant reminders to think outside my comfort zone. Today, students are using Audacity to practice making phone calls for our upcoming blood drive. They seem much more engaged than in years past when they would just pretend to call each other. The comments here have given me the push to include some of the audio on our wiki. http://gds2015.wikispaces.com/02+Getting+Ready+for+the+Blood+Drive Thank you all!

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I agree with much of what you said about the use of video in the digital age. I have actually been working on a video resume for my next job. It is going slowly, but I think it is a key ingredient in presenting yourself these days.

I sent a request to many of my former bosses asking for a quick video reference letter, and they responded as if I were crazy. Many were hesitant to go “live” online.

What I find fascinating though is that although you said, “Our schools need to re-evaluate how much time we spend on print alone and start broadening our focus…”

It appears that the Edtech world is still behind the times as well. I would like to see more non-textual content created by the Ed Tech community itself. I think Jim Groom does a great job of putting himself and his ideas out there via video and other media, but most Ed Tech blogs are still quiet text rich.

It is not much, but here is some work I have done in the field:

http://www.youtube.com/user/intrepidclassroom

Would love to see more from the community! How many teachers have a Youtube channel where they present their own work? What kind of work do they produce and share?

Great post, and great video, even for a Canadian.

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I’m a preservice teacher and recently, when planning a hypothetical unit plan, I wanted to include some video production by students. A few of the comments I received:

“You’ll never have time for that.”

“Schools don’t have money for cameras.”

“Good thing this is a hypothetical.”

I wish more people saw the importance of these sort of skills – I wish I had these skills!

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I enjoyed reading your post and couldn’t agree more that we need to address how often we are using print-based communication. With various tools now available to facilitate communication with one another, I think as educators we should take time to “tinker” with them more often.

I think a good starting place would be in our professional development workshops. I would like to see more facilitators come to conferences and schools to give teachers a safe place to try out these tools at their own comfort levels.

This post reminded me of when my grades 6/7 students created films using iMovie for their country projects. The movie I liked best of all was one that only consisted of images, music particular to the country they researched, and titles (i.e. culture, religion, education, etc.) The images used conveyed more than even the spoken or written word alone could have. I was moved by the music as they chose pieces that fit beautifully with the scenes. That experience made me realize how profound images and music alone can be to convey messages and share information.

I would make a clear distinction between the blogs, wikis, twitter examples because they are for the most part text based. That’s a much easier transition from our current curricula. The ability to tell a story visually requires much more practice and understandings than are currently present in most K-20 educations. Video is clearly a genre that needs purposeful instruction.

@Joe
We use Flips all the time. That story is news to me.

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I am scrambling to catch up on the technology (acquired a Flip Mino HD recently, for example) being up to now more confident in text and audio. One of the programmes I teach in at the college level, International Studies, has a final oral exam. I am advocating recording these (and a Flip is perfect, since it is unobtrusive) and will be using video recordings to help students prepare for the exam. Otherwise some programmes, such as Community Studies, make extensive use of video. But it is far from ubiquitous on campus and not (yet) seen as a medium in which we should aspire to at least basic literacy and fluency for all our students. Some students come to us with skills developed from making their own YouTube content in high school, but not many. I guess we’re all playing catch-up.

If we think the handshake is the deal closer, I think we are missing a very present reality out there right now. It’s not the future. It’s the present.

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Listened to a conversation about handwriting and penmanship the other day. Some lament the decline, others liken it to the inevitable march of technology and new tools for living our daily lives.

You’re right – producing a high quality multimedia project (like Anny’s wonderful video) is easier than ever. Tools like iMovie are easy enough to use. We really need educational leaders that see this and get it.

Obama – our first wired president – is giving a major speech on education today.