EDLD+5363+Multimedia+and+Video+Technology

The outcome I had envisioned for a course named Multimedia Video Technology was to create videos using different software. The actual outcomes were greater than first envisioned as I learned to plan, design, produce, and edit a video project, as well as evaluate various editing software. Through this course, I became more familiar with software, such as Audacity, Photostory, Windows Movie Maker, and Adobe Premier Pro. Although I had used each of these programs previously, I was able to experiment with new features and techniques. I realized how effortless it is to produce a video when it has been well planned and designed. This course also taught me that working collaboratively with my peers made creating a video easier. We were able to use a wiki that we had created for another course to communicate effectively and share data with each other. I am thrilled to share what I have learned in this course with my teachers and students. I already had a fourth grade, gifted and talented teacher approach me about enrichment activities for those students that complete their writing assignments early. She showed me books that her students had created using paper. I explained how her students could create a digital story with the stories they are writing. I shared the importance of planning before producing. I gave her a storyboard that was included with one of our readings, and her students have now begun the pre-production of their digital stories. I will then work with the teacher and students to teach them how easy it is to create a story using either Photostory or Windows Movie Maker. Our district holds an annual Media Fair in which one of the new categories is Digital Stories. I am encouraging the fourth grade teachers to work on creating digital stories since fourth grade students write narratives on a daily basis. Seeing as I achieved more outcomes that I had first envisioned, there isn’t much I did not achieve from this course. The only thing that comes to mind is not having the opportunity to write or record the narration since we collaborated with other team members and distributed the duties based on our strengths and interests. I would have enjoyed taking control of the camera when filming, but I do realize it was a group effort. I enjoyed editing both the narration and video as I realized it takes a lot of time and effort to produce a 60 second clip. I was successful at completing the course assignments because they are directly related to my job, as an Instructional Technology Specialist. I had previous experience using the various programs we were directed to use. Coincidentally, I had used Adobe Premiere Pro for the first time the week prior to comparing two editing programs when the Physical education teacher asked me to play a video of her students doing a dance they had been practicing during P.E. I had to edit the sound since she spoke during part of the recording, and the sound was barely audible. I clipped parts of the video, deleted the original audio, and inserted the music. Aligning the video to the sound caused me the most problem when completing this project, as well as our final project, but it was accomplished. I had a difficult time adjusting to the idea that the final project would have to be done collaboratively. I am accustomed to working on my own. I felt I was capable of completing the project on my own. Of course, it would take one individual longer to complete the assignment. I took leadership in this project because of my experience and access to technology. When assigning roles, we were able to distribute the jobs based on our abilities and strengths. Martha, for example, enjoys expressing herself through speaking and writing. Therefore, she wrote our script and narration based on the ideas I envisioned. I could not have expressed my vision with words as well as she did. Although the ideas took a different turn as we produced the film and later edited it, collaborating and decision making throughout the whole process made the final product worthwhile.