Notes on Making a Video

It is always interesting to me how I understand assignments so differently from others. The creative side of me, I think, tries to change assignments to make them creative and meaningful for me, and luckily this has always been received rather well from my professors at SUNY Empire.

My first and only You Tube videos were music videos of songs that I wrote and sang. They are really pretty bad, considering all I knew when I produced them was how to add photos to the song. My music videos can be viewed at When I'm Able and also Detached and Broken. The first song is about being broke after my 18 year marriage ended, and the second is about the heartbreak of feeling lost and alone in the world. The thing is, I can't seem to create anything without it becoming extremely personal, including my You Tube learning video. It's embarrassing sometimes, when peers seem to effortlessly stick to the professional and my life is splattered all over the web. I continue to be an enigma to myself.

The members of our class created many excellent videos, and it was clear that some peers have been creating videos for some time. It was nice to see the different focus of each video, and how some used music, photo inlays, captions and narration to convey information.

Depending on audience, it is important to note the cuteness factor of an educational video. Videos can be timely and engaging if they keep the target audience in mind throughout the content--I'm fairly certain that this will prevent videos from becoming too cute.

During a video training exercise, it might be helpful to have printable handouts of important information or video notes available. This will be helpful for those who need to have paper and pen handy to learn best. Also, in video, lists with bullets can be extremely helpful as long as there is not too much information on one page. Captions and narration are other options that will appeal to most types of learners.

Videos can be created that will appeal to and engage the different intelligences. First off, visual and auditory learners will be automatically engaged by video with sound, and most learners are good visual and auditory learners.  For information on how to incorporate other intelligences into an education video, this chart by Giles, Pitre, & Womack, (2014) is an exceptional resource for educators.

Intelligence Area	Strengths	Preferences	Learns best through	Needs
Verbal / Linguistic	Writing, reading, memorizing dates, thinking in words, telling stories	Write, read, tell stories, talk, memorize, work at solving puzzles	Hearing and seeing words, speaking, reading, writing, discussing and debating	Books, tapes, paper diaries, writing tools, dialogue, discussion, debated, stories, etc.
Mathematical/ Logical	Math, logic, problem-solving, reasoning, patterns	Question, work with numbers, experiment, solve problems	Working with relationships and patterns, classifying, categorizing, working with the abstract	Things to think about and explore, science materials, manipulative, trips to the planetarium and science museum, etc.
Visual / Spatial	Maps, reading charts, drawing, mazes, puzzles, imagining things, visualization	Draw, build, design, create, daydream, look at pictures	Working with pictures and colors, visualizing, using the mind's eye, drawing	LEGOs, video, movies, slides, art, imagination games, mazes, puzzles, illustrated book, trips to art museums, etc.
Bodily / Kinesthetic	Athletics, dancing, crafts, using tools, acting	Move around, touch and talk, body language	Touching, moving, knowledge through bodily sensations, processing	Role-play, drama, things to build, movement, sports and physical games, tactile experiences, hands-on learning, etc.
Musical	Picking up sounds, remembering melodies, rhythms, singing	Sing, play an instrument, listen to music, hum	Rhythm, singing, melody, listening to music and melodies	Sing-along time, trips to concerts, music playing at home and school, musical instruments, etc.
Interpersonal	Leading, organizing, understanding people, communicating, resolving conflicts, selling	Talk to people, have friends, join groups	Comparing, relating, sharing, interviewing, cooperating	Friends, group games, social gatherings, community events, clubs, mentors/ apprenticeships, etc.
Intrapersonal	Recognizing strengths and weaknesses, setting goals, understanding self	Work alone, reflect pursue interests	Working alone, having space, reflecting, doing self-paced projects	Secret places, time alone, self-paced projects, choices, etc.
Naturalistic	Understanding nature, making distinctions, identifying flora and fauna	Be involved with nature, make distinctions	Working in nature, exploring living things, learning about plants and natural events	Order, same/different, connections to real life and science issues, patterns

Reference

Giles, E., Pitre, S., & Womack, S. (2014, September 8). Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles - Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Multiple_Intelligences_and_Learning_Styles

Under Pressure

When our private lives interfere with work, school and personal relationships it is time to stop and take a deep breath, or two, or three, or twenty-thousand. That's how I've been spending my time this last two weeks. Just breathing, and trying to make sense of the world around me.

While I may not be present online, and while my blog assignment may be late, I am always thinking. Thinking about new ways of expressing myself, new ways of trying to sort through old problems, and to confront new issues. By the time I can sit down and attend to my work I am usually ready, willing and able. Getting to this point for me is sometimes difficult.

Our website assignment really threw me off, because it's not a difficult assignment, and yet I've been looking at it as if I have to recreate the wheel. I forget to keep things simple, and this is where I get into trouble. What I need to do is focus on providing my audience with good references that will help them to achieve their goals. I can do this. I will do this, hopefully today.

Meanwhile, I am getting more comfortable in Second Life (I keep wanting to call it Second World, lol), but I have not resolved my headset issues. Good ones are expensive and I have to wait to get another pair. Even though I am not getting the full experience, I can see so many implications for educational use that would blow my student's minds. It's so exciting to learn about new technologies, and to find creative ways to use them in an educational setting that is engaging and original. Prezi and slide share are also new to me, and I am glad to have found out about them. This course is giving me a toolbox filled with different ways of reaching my future students, and I am really excited to learn more.