Digital Video in the Classroom

Creating digital video can be an excellent addition to student-directed instruction. You can use videos to archive science experiments, to create student-produced documentary projects or dramatic works, to make student news projects, or to archive key lessons for student review. There are also a wide variety of video-based materials on sites such as Google Video that can be used for multimedia learning.

Inexpensive camcorders are making this technology available to an ever-widening audience. Webcams, which connect directly to the computer, are also relatively inexpensive. A camcorder can found for as little as $100 (the DXG-305V MPEG-4, for example), and a webcam costs around $70 (the Logitech QuickCam Pro). If you are looking to spend a little more, the Sony DCR-HC21 has good image stabilization and picture quality, and sells for about $360.

Shooting Digital Video

The following are some factors to keep in mind while shooting your videos:

• Minimize fast movements or sharp panning. This requires planned choreography and should play a role in selecting low-budget projects.
• Avoid built-in digital effects.
• Natural lighting on cloudy days is the easiest way to get great video quality.
• Make sure your subject is lit from above of from behind the camera, not from the back.
• Add an external microphone when sound is important.

These variables not only improve the video you shoot, but also the size of the final files, which influence how easily it will stream, and thus how many people would really want to watch it.

Producing Digital Video

Windows MovieMaker is a free program for PCs that can piece together simple video. Mac users have it better: The new iLife suite, which includes iMovie, far and away is the best basic digital editing program on the market, sells for $79. If you want to spend a little money, you can get a home-user edition of Adobe Premiere called Adobe Premiere Elements for $100. To prepare your finished video for uploading to Google Video, it must be output in AVI, ASF, QuickTime, Windows Media, or MPEG format.

Streaming With Google Video

Anyone can upload video materials to Google for conversion and posting to the internet free of charge. To upload a video, visit Google’s video site (see the Resources section for a link). Click the link that says “Upload and share your own videos,” located to the right of the search bar. You will be prompted to enter your Google account e-mail and password. If you do not have an e-mail account with Google, then you may sign up for one for free. Once you are signed in, enter all required information, and click Upload Video.

As of this writing, Google Video is in beta mode, and many new features may soon be added. Currently, once you have submitted your video, there is a verification period that can take up to three days before the content is posted to Google Video. There is also no notification given when content is posted; you will just need to check for your content periodically until you see it. Google Video can be viewed on the Google Video website or downloaded and played on the free Google Video Player; many free videos can also be embedded in blog and wiki pages using the HTML code the site provides.

Resources

Google Video http://video.google.com

Video Podcasting Tutorial http://tinyurl.com/qrd4w

TiltTV Teacher Technology Blog http://tilttv.blogspot.com