Video Technology in the Classroom-Week 5 June 20

The decision-making process for creating a lesson integrating multimedia technology begins with choosing a topic or lesson that students need a detailed explanation of directions or procedures as well as modeling. Math is a great example of subject in which model and detailed procedures are very common. When planning for this integration, I also want to remain aware of time constraints. In order to prepare a video for a lesson, I have to know how much time I can spend and the amount of modeling my class will need. With what is known about student attention rates, I also have to plan these lessons with guidelines to differentiate students from sitting, speaking with one another, and transitioning. I know that I have to structure my lessons with the appropriate amount of instructional time, discussion time, collaboration time, and independent work time. Technology is not 100% reliable so I have to always have a back up plan too!

The cost of technology may present a reason to hesitate in diving head-first into this technology integration. In order to create a video lesson, you’d have to have some type of video equipment. This can range from digital recorders to video cameras. FLIP cameras, a common handheld video recorder sells for about $130 according to Amazon.com. Many cameras also have a video option. Videos on a normal camera can really consume space on your memory card though. FLIP cameras and most video cameras record sound along with the video so finding a microphone should not be a concern.

I’ve went back and forth when determining if integrating multimedia into my lessons is something that would be come a “favorite” of mine. I’m still half-and-half! I can see the many advantages of it, yet I can also see the time-consuming aspect of it as well. I consider myself a camera shy person so that of course is another reason why I have a hard time with this. Even with that said, I really like the idea of recording the directions to center activities. This would be ideal if students could access the videos while at their centers to receive instructions on what to do while my attention is on a small group. I also would use this for our Prime Time instruction. At my school, Prime Time is an instructional focus on math and reading indicators during the first 35 minutes of school. Classified and non-classroom teachers are paired with certified teachers to have small groups. This can be a challenge because sometimes non-classroom teachers or classified staff have a tough time knowing exactly how to teach a concept they are unfamiliar with. At this point, we have a time during the previous week to walk them through the lessons and show them examples. Using a video for the instruction would decrease the chance of teacher error when delivering instruction. For example, a Title 1 reading aide was assigned to our grade level for Prime Time. Though she works mainly with reading, she is still expected to teach 2nd grade math concepts during Prime Time. She has expressed many times that she feels uncomfortable and worries that she is not teaching them the way we do! I completely understand her concerns. We could prepare specific instruction on a video so that all 2nd grade students were receiving the same instructions on steps to solve math problems or reading questions.