Video making- the frustations, the discovery and the progress..

When finishing the video, some of the things that kept bothering my mind, is how to make the video not only fits with the students and their lesson, but also interesting enough for them to be able to stay focused in the video for the full 4 minutes. When I created the video, I learn how to manipulate the software that I use to create transitions and effects that could 'wow' the students ^^. I learn how to mix audios with video clips and how to insert my own voice over the video.

It had been a frustating experience when I had to do and redo many of my plans when I outlined my video. The main problem had been in how to make a video that suits the curriculum specifications and at the same time, has enough resources on that theme for me to manipulate into a video.

The problem is not that there is limited materials on the net. NO. To be exact, it is the total opposite. There are soo many materialss, too much, that THAT actually became the problem.
The problem is, how do I choose the best materials? How do I know where to edit and where to use? Interesting questions that I had discussed in my previous entry. So, in the process of planning and choosing, the time consumed had been more than the time I had spend in making it. I believe in PLANNING. To me, everything starts with a plan. You cannot just go with an idea and create something. The plan must be clear and precise for me to be able to move on to the other progress. And when the plan is set, my work will shot forward in a proud speed and quality that I consider good enough to be levelled as a-good-job-well-done.

After the planning and collecting process was over, I move on to creating the video. I had, as I said earlier, learn to use so many types of softwares that had helped me to finish my final work. I had learn along the way to experience a lot of trial-and-error with many different programs. The end product is that I know what to look for whenever I saw a new tool and I learn what the advantages and disadvantages that I need to know in choosing my tool.

The progress so far had been good.

Softwares for videos!

MY question!
What softwares do you use for your videos?
As i said before, I had had a basic knowledge in video making, but just some basic knowledge, but when finishing this assignment, I found even more softwares that i can use to create an even better video!

Some of the softwares are:
Audio editing software: Audacity, Sound Forge, Soundbooth, magixmusicmaker <3
Video editing software: mediamovie maker, power director, etc.

In our process of finishing the task, I learn to discover for myself the many available softwares and applications with limitless abilities that I can use. I learn to go through trial and error to try out different kinds of application. Now I know what to look for, and how to choose the best among all of the available software on the net. Reflecting back on the process in which I had go through to familiarise myself and in order to choose the best material, I found that there had been some certain stages that I had had gone through:

1. Survey
I went through the process of surveying where I look at the description and functions of the application first, and based on my need at the time, I list out the suitable applications that I can use. I also look at the requirements of the application to see whether they were compatible with my notebook.

2. Collect
I then collect all of the applications that I had considered to be suitable to my task. I basically use the Orbit downloader to download everything, so the process is pretty much an easy stage.

3. Trial and Error
In this stage, I try out all of the application. This stage is the most interesting and fun stage where I can play around all of the application and see the maximum of their ability.

4. Compare and Contrast
I didnt plan this stage at first, but now I realise, that I had, and looking back at that, I realise that this is an important stage! I evaluate and compare between all of the applications and choose the best from them. I choose the one with the best functions, user friendly and most interesting ones!

5. Use
And finally, I start using the application and so the assignment began!!

2nd Assignment..

This is just our first week and we are already moving very fast in starting the course.. The theme of the assignment is to create and design an interesting educational video.

Video making/editing is one of my hobbies, and I do enjoy doing so. Because I am a fan of Kpop (Korean pop) music, there has been a few videos that I made for fun. My youtube channel can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/user/dbsgdecXXX - tho I doubt any of you would be interested in any of the videos unless you are a Xiah Junsu fan (korean singer)... which I highly doubt. You can listen to his music tho, in my imeem playlist ^^

So when I read that for our second assignment, we are to do a video, I was excited and happy.

But that was short-lived, because the real deal of creating a video for educational purposes is greatly different than videos for entertainment purposes. The content, the design, the layout and the presentation style should be made to suit the interest of the young learners besides having to comply to the curriculum specifications.

I've had had some hard times in figuring what videos I would like to create. I wonder if any of you also feels the same way?

To trigger some ideas, I've had visited some of the teacher's online forums like: The ESL Cafe
where I view some of the videos that they share. Some had helped me in getting the ideas across, but I am sad to say, some are veryvery dissappointing. Some of the videos in teaching English nouns only shows a word slides of a noun in themes. For me, in order to teach English to young pupils, videos should be - colurful, enjoyful and should be accompanied with moving pictures/animations. Pupils definitely would learn better if they view something that can assist their understanding of the words!

Anyway, I finally decided to make a video about different types of occupations. Strangly enough, I didn't get the idea from the readings and research that I did, but the idea came to me when I watch the commercial for 'House' on the television. I think it would be great for me to create a video that would teach pupils about the occupations and what the people in those field do. I would like to create a video that would enable the teacher to manipulate the video to teach different topics, for example, the teacher might use the video to teach nouns(name of occupations) to a grade 1 pupils, and then, also use the video to teach 'Wh' questions (what,where,who) to the 3rd grade pupils.

For now, I just need to think of how I plan to create it.. I am still in the thinking process..
I wonder if any of you had already started or at least had a clear idea on what you are about to do.

Students and Teachers of the 21st Century.. [Task 1]

After more than 10 years of studying, I have to be honest and say that only when I step into the world of University do I get to use technology as my tool for learning. Technology, had always been an unknown territory that I was always curious to explore but never got the chance to do it.

But time has changed everything now. Today's young learners however tends to take these opportunity for granted. While we were used to the thirst for technological use in our learning before, they can easily access to its use as the central of their educational purposes, communications and daily needs. The questions now, is how we as teachers should guide the students to make use of the available technology around them to the max!

Changes in Students' Learning

Learning is no longer bordered by the four walls of the classroom, but borderless and unlimited. Students becoming active learners who initiates learning and play a role in active thinking about informations and knowledge that they are to learn.

With the access to the internet, students can gather just about any informations right on their very fingertips. Students will become more and more a teacher of their own learning. Learning is no longer the traditional - teachers as input, learners as receiver -. Access to informations enables students to conduct their own researches and discovery learning. Indeed, now students can have a choice on what they want to learn, how the intend their learning to take place and how much informations they want to generate.

The wide and broad access to the outside world provide students the communication medium where interactions and collaborations among students from around the world can take place. Students can share informations and learnings with each other. Discussions and debates could took place online where students would be able to allow themselves to be exposed to different perspectives of different views of the people around the world. Malaysian students would no longer be oxtracised by the world community, as we are no longer constricted to the limited traditional perspective.

The available technology also enables students to accomplish a more difficult and complex tasks. For example, students can represent their learning in high-quality colourful graphs and able to examine and understand the deeper levels of the graphs. In Science for example, students can learn about the human body thoroughly inside and out. Experiments can be done online without the unnecessary lack of tools to hinder learning to take place.

In term of motivation, students' willingness to participate in learning has greatly improved compared to us previously. The enjoyment of learning using technology motivate students to learn and take useful advantage of it. Students would be more aware of the relationship of their learning with the real world, creating a sense of need to gain knowledge in order to survive.

Changes in Teachers' Role and Responsibility

With the available softwares and applications, teachers would be able to employ the variety of recources to create different and much more interesting teaching lessons. Now it would not only be chalks, textbooks and papers, but videos, musics, coursewares and all the other things that technology has in store for us.

As the guider and facilitator who enables such impressive changes as I have discussed before to take place, we as teachers has the responsibility to enhance our skills in the techological field. We should know how to differentiate a good resources from the many available to us. Our skill to manipulate these technology is important as we should be able to make use of the technology not only to encourage students to be independent learners, but also to teach them on how to be smart researchers. Below this is a youtube video that I had come across that discuss on the importance and methods to be "cybersmart" in selecting the internet resources smartly in classrooms.



I agree with what Joyce Valenza (Library information Specialist Consultant and Author) from the video. She sad that the available informations would only be useful if the students knows how to search it well and if teachers are able to compile the information to make them accessible to the students.

And what Gary Price (Library information Specialist Consultant and Author) said on the video has left a great impression on me. He said, I quote "Just because somebody puts together content on a webpage doesn't mean that its an information". I agree as I also think that there can be many unreliable sources on the net and the teachers who are unaware might put too much reliance on them resulting in misleading lessons. He also said that both teachers and students need to analyse the resources available to them and also think about the motivational advantages that they would be able to gain.

Thus I think that teachers (us) nowadays should have the skills to choose the most appropriate informations and share this skills and knowledge with the students - as the specialists said on the video, its even more important for students to know these research skills as they would be the one who will choose what they want to learn from. This video is quite informative and I think should be viewed by our friends as this topic is relatively very close to what we are learning now - Technology in Primary Classroom.

In conclusions, it is the students role to make wise choices and take advantage of what technology can bring to their learning and for teachers, it is their role to sharpen their skills in the technology area so that they can be the best guide and facilitator that enable the best learning to take place.

sources:
1.
EDReformStudies
2. Webquest
3.
Next Generation Learning
4.
EDUCAUSE
5.
cybersmart @ youtube
The first time stepping into the classroom of PKEY3101 classroom, excitement and nervousness (of the nature of the course) sets me to a determined start that I had injected with the motivation to do well in the course to keep up with the pointer that I had gained from our previous college - Maktab Perguruan Ilmu Khas.

May I introduce you to my class in our beloved Maktab Perguruan Ilmu Khas

*We are a close family. We might sometimes be a bit of a rebellious bunch when we feel the need to be so.. but we really are, unbiasly; creative, hardworking, and enigmatic students that has contributed a lot to the college. We are a happy, close family that looks out for each other ^^

My first impression on our class is that the class holds the probabilities for a fun and enjoyable year. Our lecturer, Puan Foziah, who seems very approachable (I found out that we shared the same interest - asian music and drama, which made some of us to feel close to her), explain to us the expectations that awaits us. There will be many interesting things that we shall do and many new knowledge that we shall learn. I am very motivated to do well in the class and on a side note, make a personal reminder to enjoy the lesson along the way.

When I first look at the name of this subject, I immediately thought that we are going to be making and creating all of the materials in many different forms throughout the semester. My prediction did not come too far from the truth as it turns out to be. I was however, merely suprised to see that we are only going to learn on how to choose and manage resources that are technologically-based only. For me, internet and technology is only one of the many sources for learning. And we simply cannot just depends on them as a whole, because, like it or not, I think technology can bring a more disasterous effects than any other sources. Nevertheless, I had think about this throughoutly and I beginning to understand why exactly we have to learn about this. My next post will explain why, but simply put, it is because, the world is changing and we cannot be left behind. As much as technology can bring disasterous effect, it can also bring such advantages to our students as long as we know how to manipulate the resources.



















PKEY3101 Briefing - "expectations"

The title says it all... The reason why I choose my blog name as such is my way of saying - "I'm on my way!" to all the expectations required of us. When Prof positively explained to us about the course and what we are supposed to do, I can't help but feeling the sense of doubts and fear among us.. hehe (true isn't it?)

We are expected to be our own initiator. Different from what we had faced in our previous college where in most classes, we were almost fully guided. In a good way, I am feeling the anticipations and the dread. Anticipating this as the course promises us the enjoyment in a PLEaSE-ing environtment... and dreading it because I am unsure whether I can reach the high goals..

However, I will try to do my best in order that I can make myself a master of the use of Technology in our learning and future teaching. I am on my way.

Take a break ^^ These are some of the funniest commercials I've ever watch!