I am more and more convinced of the potential of mini-movies to differentiate instruction by providing a variety of small mobile resources for learners to use when they need them.
As posted previously, I’m experimenting with screencasting as a way to support professional development. I’ve created a series of mini-movies on various aspects of podcasting, including recording and editing audio, creating videos, and screencasting. Here is an example of one (WMV) or here for QuickTime. (One of the problems with video is that there is not a real “standard” format.)
I did my first podcasting workshop yesterday with a CD full of these movies. It was with a small group, which was a nice way to do a test run of this. Here’s how it went. There was one person who was very tech savvy and already had some experience with audio and video editing. She wanted to jump right in to making podcasting without much instruction from me, and so she did.
There were a couple other people who were very motivated to begin creating podcasts but didn’t have much previous experience. They wanted more explanation. These were the people I worked closest with in the face-to-face workshop.
There was another person who was a more methodical learner who was not as comfortable with technology and learned best with lots of step-by-step instructions. For him, the movies on the CD were great. He sat and watched them all start to finish, and that made him feel comfortable with starting to produce audio and video.
There was another participant who wasn’t able to attend most of the workshop, because of a last minute situation that demanded her time elsewhere. For her, the movies would serve as a replacement for the workshop.
I see so many uses for using these kinds of movies with kids. In the workshop yesterday, one participant created a movie about using context clues in a book to predict. Another made a movie from a PowerPoint she already had about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Another teacher made a movie about the metric system and math. These movies will be resources that students can use in the way that meets their learning styles. Some may watch them over several times to gain an understanding of difficult concepts. Others may watch them as a quick review before a test. Still other may choose to create their own movies about the content to extend their learning even deeper.
Whether audio and movie clips like these are used with teachers to provide professional development or with students to supplement or deliver core instruction, they are a powerful tool.