+Vlogs, Vod-casts and Blogs: Providing Vocabulary and Content Support at Home to Increase Student Retention

ITHI Annual Conference PresentationMichelle Halvorsen, Texas School for the Deaf

Austin, TX

+Quick Biology Lesson… Transmission of Nerve Impulses:

Nerve cells are resting…more Na+ (that’s sodium) on the outside and more K+ (that’s potassium) on the inside…

Something stimulates your nervous system… Na+ rushes into the nerve cell and depolarizes

the membrane, this creates an “action potential”

This action potential is carried all the way down the length of the nerve cell (called the axon)

When it reaches the end, chemicals (called neurotransmitters) are released and the process begins again at the next nerve cell’s dendrites

Then, the membrane is repolarized, Na+ goes back out and K+ goes back in (all through the sodium potassium pump)

+

+What are Vlogs and Vod-Casts? Vlog or Vod-Cast

Video that can be uploaded to a website or downloaded to a student’s iPod or laptop for students to use a resource when reviewing vocabulary

Example video:

You can find more examples on my class blogs: http://halvorsenbiology.wordpress.com/review-videos/ http://halvorsenanatomy.wordpress.com/review-videos/

http://halvorsenbasicbiology.wordpress.com/review-videos/

+Why Use Teacher-Created Vlogs

or Vod-Casts?

Provides specific vocabulary and/or content support at home that directly relates to what has happened or is happening in your classroom

Increases student retention

Increases student participation and engagement

Increases parent awareness of topics covered in class

EASY to create and upload!

+How I First Used Vlogs: My

Action Research Project

Students were given a Pre-Test to assess key vocabulary

During the unit, I created and posted a video review each day that new material was presented

Students were required to view and respond to the review videos (graded component to encourage participation)

Students were given a Post-Test to re-asses key vocabulary and to determine progress

+Impact on Student Performance

(Pre-Test vs Post-Test Scores)

During my action research: All students (except one) who viewed four or more videos

showed at least a 7 point (25%) increase from their pre-test to their post-test

All students (except one) who viewed four or more videos received a passing score on the post-test

In contrast, the student who viewed only three out of seven videos showed a 15% point decrease from the pre-test to the post-test

Overall, this post-test had some of the highest scores of the year

Students who consistently viewed videos were also more engaged and participated more easily and freely during class discussions

+Other Uses of Vlogs and Vod-Casts Students create their own!

Use for review or final projects

Use to document labs or do a video lab report

Use for discussions of current events

+Another Student Example…

+Vlog/Vod-Cast Materials:

What Do You Need?

Computer

Web-cam, digital camera or video camera

iMovie (Mac), Movie-maker (PC) software or AVS Video Editor (free software)

+The A-B-Cs of Vlogs and Vod-

Casts

Decide how often you will create your videos Each day, once each week, towards the end of a unit, etc

Write a short script to follow while making your video

Record your video

Edit (if necessary) your video

Post your video to your class blog, email to students and parents, and/or download directly to student’s laptops or iPods

+Step by Step Video Creation Using iMovie Open iMovie

Click “Create a New Project”

Name your project

Click on Camera (“Built-in-iSight”)

When ready, click on “Record with iSight”

Film your movie, click again on “Record with iSight” to stop filming

Save

IF YOU HAVE NO WEBCAM—RECORD ON YOUR CAMERA, THEN DOWNLOAD AND IMPORT TO IMOVIE

+Step by Step Video Creation Using iMovie

Drag Clip to bottom area “Drag Clips here to Build Your Project”

Edit (view Tutorials online for more advanced editing)

Save

Get ready for uploading: To load to a Website or to Transfer to another laptop via USB

stick: Click “Share-Quick Time” and choose web-streaming and name your project

To student’s iPods: Click “Share-iPod” and then click share

Your movie is now ready for uploading, downloading or transferring to a student’s laptop or iPod

+If you are using AVS Editor or Movie Maker

See these websites for helpful tutorials: AVS Video Editor:

http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Editor.aspx?sct=aff&ct=regnow&cid=175028

Movie Maker Tutorials: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx

+Blogs

Very easy to set up

A place to upload your videos

Also great for announcements such as homework or test dates

Suggested FREE sites: wordpress.com (cannot directly upload videos, must link to

a site such as TeacherTube or YouTube) blogspot.com (can directly upload video files)

+More Helpful Links

iMovie Tutorials: http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie

Movie Maker Tutorials: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx

AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Editor.aspx?sct=aff&ct=regnow&cid=175028

Sites to upload your videos: http://youtube.com/ or http://teachertube.com/

+That’s a Wrap…

Access to this PPT is on my blog: http://halvorsenclasses.wordpress.com/ and should also be on your CD of all handouts

Feel free to contact me: michelle.halvorsen@tsd.state.tx.us at any time if you have additional questions or need more help!

Questions???

If you would like to stay and play more with the software to make your own Vlog, please feel free to stick around!

+Other COOL websites for projects

www.animoto.com (http://animoto.com/education for FREE FULL access) Example Student

Project on Biomes:

www.voicethread.com