October 25, 2010

By: kathy m. from kalamazoo, MI
Comments: 39

Posted By: kathy murphy
On: 6/2/2007 10:27:38 PM

After a lesson using design thinking I video taped each of my students describing what they had designed. It was great on a few levels. I enjoyed seeing the students who don't normally share with me express themselves and show a side of themselves that I hadn't seen. Second It was good for them to prepare what they were going to say and for them to watch themselves afterwards to see how they communicate their ideas.

Posted By: sudha singh
On: 6/6/2007 9:56:15 PM

Kathy,I tried something similar in the oral presentation class project. My objective behind this specific design of work was to have the learners do a self appraisal and assessment based on the oral presentation rubric we asa group had created for the project. This is meant to empower thelearners and review their own style and make changes accordingly. It worked well as they could revisit their work and add the missing links/parts .They were allowed to let a peer /peers reflect with them for added opinions. I have found this to be a useful redesigning tool of learning.

Posted By: Franc Leo
On: 6/7/2007 3:05:40 PM

I use oral presentations based on two basic types of written compositions. The first one is called "Descriptive Memory", which is the detailed description of the project and the second one is the "Design Composition", which is the detailed description of the design process. These two written presentationsare generally used in architecture. We architects write extensive and detailed records of our design projects and our ideas are explained this way to anyone that is interested in our designs and want to follow our reasoning, to have a better understanding of the solution or proposal that is being viewed. By having the students read these compositions to the class, the presentations have structure and personal design logic is exposed for everyone to understand. Unique points of view have a solid foundation by taking the Design Process Chart and adding the composition and presentation to it. When the presentations are done, I take photos and video, so that the students can see how they are perceived and how their design projection is in reality. It is lots of fun and we all can't seem to get enough of it, when watching "reruns" of our works!!

Posted By: Kathleen Lee
On: 6/11/2007 1:48:39 PM

Using oral presentations and cameras is all we do here for the most part. Our learners are experts at doing this.

Posted By: kathy murphy
On: 6/21/2007 3:18:50 PM

I forgot to say that we ran this on the tv in the entry of the school while parents were waiting for their conferences. I think everyone enjoyed watching.

Posted By: Dorothy Ahoklui
On: 6/22/2007 12:10:05 AM

This is a great learning tool for the students because it allows them to correct and critique themselves and it also prepares them for public speaking.

Posted By: Susan Miller
On: 6/22/2007 6:07:22 PM

What ages do you teach? I think that it would be difficult for me to introduce the idea in the early elementary grades. But using media is a great tool for the entire school community. I take my fourth graders on a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the masks, and this year I put together a short film/slide show of the masks and the kids drawing. The parents loved it. You can see it at www.Heschel.org

Posted By: Louis Mazza
On: 6/23/2007 3:11:11 PM

Whether you use a camera or not, I think that presentation and public speaking skills are one of the most valuable skills a student can learn. And the earlier the better. A confident and clear presenter is valuable on so many levels. In job interviews, in meetings, in social gatherings, there are so many ways that clear, confident communication is crucial to your success as an adult.

Posted By: Alberto Romero
On: 7/9/2007 3:23:41 PM

I shied away from using video this year. It’s a brand new school and there was so much going on, that I didn’t want to overload my students or myself. However, next school year I am certainly getting myself a video camera. This will be useful for both my kids and myself. I mean, have you ever seen yourself teach? Do you know how many times you say, ‘um’ or ‘ok’ or all those other fillers? Have you ever noticed how fast you talk? I know I try to squeeze in as much as I can in my limited time. So think about it, if recording your class can be helpful for you, imagine how beneficial it would be for the students. I can imagine recording presentations, and then using a follow-up class to provide peer feedback. Or I can take the tapes home for grading, or create a montage of the best work to share with students on the following year. The possibilities are endless. I would love to hear how other educators are utilizing video recording in the class rooms, pitfalls, legal issues, warming up the class and so on. Hope to hear from you.

Posted By: Barbara Nikoomanesh
On: 7/10/2007 10:39:01 AM

I agree with you Louis, public speaking skills are extremely important in all walks of life. Our students present every project they complete. Sometimes they present to the class, and if it is a "Real World" problem, they present to a committee, or outside person. Students may be reluctant at first to present in front of a group, but become more comfortable the more they practice their presentation skills. We have not done a lot of recording, but I would also like to start doing more of that this year. I do think there are legal issues to deal with, as Alberto mentioned, so I will talk to school officials before we use any video on our website. It would be great however, for students to be able to critique their own presentation.

Posted By: susanne donahoe
On: 10/8/2008 12:54:12 PM

Most students enjoy being filmed and one of the best ways to do this is to put them into social situations where they are willingly participating. Replaying their interractions with commentaries by each of students involved is quite interesting and communication between social groups is sure to follow. susanne

Posted By: Debra Buchan
On: 12/30/2008 6:24:32 PM

Using video recording during neighborhood explorations with your students is also a great way to capture their immediate responses to their environment. It is useful to have some guiding questions, such as "what do you see when you look up?" or "what changes would you make to this space to make it more inviting to children?" or "do you think this block makes a sensible transition from the last block we were on?" Viewing these videos back in the classroom is a good jumping off point for creative writing, debate on neighborhood issues, problem-defining, etc.

Posted By: Daniel Nelson
On: 2/23/2009 6:56:30 PM

From a design stand point, communicating the solution, "selling your idea", is essential. Every opportunity to involve students in planning and presenting is important. I try to make my design projects based on solutions that will be used in the school or community. Some projects have involved meetings with the "customer" to obtain the desired criteria. Students then present their solutions and need to specify how their design meets the criteria. Video taping of the presentations, if possible, would be great way for student self evaluation.

Posted By: Kevan Nitzberg
On: 2/23/2009 8:52:31 PM

My video computer art class students work in teams to come up with a final video around the concept of 'A Curious Mind', which was a topic that was suggested by a former student teacher of mine. The point of the project is to have each group decide on a concept which is currently unprovable / unsolvable that they would like to try and create a video around. Topics such as 'is there intelligent life in outer space', 'how was Stonehenge built', 'are dreams doorways into other realities', 'is there life after death', are a few that these groups have tried to portray in their videos (which typically run about 3-4 minutes). The students need to come to an agreement about their idea, decide how they want to go about presenting it as a video, storyboard the steps indicating the types of shots they will be using (the shooting of the video is primarily done in school), use of effects that will be incorporated (we use iMovie HD), as well as use of stills, sound track and text. To be successful, the videos need to successfully pose the group's premise in regards to the question being addressed and make the film visually interesting to watch (as well as appropriate to the audience and setting - a caveat that I find necessary to have them be mindful of on a regular basis). We have had some pretty interesting results over the past years.