Regardless of how you get your raw footage, here are some things to keep in mind.


1. Break longer material into smaller sections a. 5 – 10 minutes is manageable for most students


b. This allows students to focus on certain areas of the lesson


2. Give instructions to pause the video and replay sections when they are to work on their own


a. Doing so allows students to work at their own pace and resume the lesson when they are ready to move on


b. This will also allow them the ability to replay any section that they are unsure of


3. Emphasize important material by zooming or with added callouts


a. By zooming into a section, it directs focus on more important details


b. Key words and ideas may be emphasized by adding additional graphics and text boxes


c. Many software packages include an auto-zoom option. Use it when you can, but be aware that it is guessing what you want to emphasize


4. Limit the movement of the mouse


a. Many auto-zoom features rely on the mouse as its source


b. Move the mouse to the area of focus, and leave it


c. Zoom to gain focus, rather than waving the mouse around an area


5. File management and naming will be a key factor on the usefulness of these lessons


a. As the size of your lesson library increases, it will be necessary to have a standard naming and filing system in place


6. Use nested folders to creates groups of lessons for each class, each area or chapter of study. For a lengthy lesson, create a folder to store the multiple sections of the lesson


MAkiNg THE LESSoNS AVAiLABLE The hardest question that has no direct answer is how to make the videos available to students. Every school district has a different network setup and there is no one right way to make these files available.


If shared network folders are available, it may give students access from school, but probably not from home. Creating web pages for each lesson may be an option, but becomes very time consuming. There are many CMS (Content Management


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Systems) available for use, some at no cost, others will require additional cost.


Michigan’s MI Learning on iTunes U site is available for all Michigan educators to post audio, video, and screencast collections free of charge (www.macul.org/milearning). Other options may be the use of a simple free web or blog website to setup lessons, and using video services like YouTube, TeacherTube, and Viddler to embed the uploaded videos into a web or blog site.


If your school was fortunate enough to receive part of the $2 million TechSmith grant in Michigan, then your best choice could be the use of Screencast.com. This option remains available at a cost of under $100 per year.


Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com) has a good list of software packages that are available for a variety of operating systems. The link to that list is: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ screencasting_software


With the increased availability of these solutions, the question may soon become, why not record?


References


Bos, K., & Ruijters, A. (1992). Absenteeism in secondary education. British Educational Research Journal, 18(4), 381. Retrieved on February 13, 2010, from Education Research Complete database.


Colorado State University (2010). Planning for student absences. Colorado State University Student Learning. Retrieved February 13, 2010, from http://tilt.colostate.edu/flu/students.cfm.


Doyle, R. (2008, May). Development of portable multimedia content for secondary at-risk learning: The handheld lecture. www.rondoylewrites.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010, from http://www.rondoylewrites.com/2008/05/ development-of-portable-multimedia-content-for-secondary-at-risk- learning-the-handheld-lecture-may-2008/


Keane, J. (2008). Missing lectures: A psychoanalytical perspective. International Journal of Learning, 15(6), 95-101. Retrieved February 13, 2010, from Education Research Complete database.


Massingham, P. (2006). Does attendance matter? An examination of student attitudes, participation, performance and attendance. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, v3,i2. Retrieved on February 13, 2010 from http://jutlp.uow.edu.au/2006_ v03_i02/massingham008.html.


Williams, L. (2002). Applying interventions to prevent or reduce excessive absences in a high school setting: An action research study. Valdosta State University. Retrieved on March 16, 2010, from http:// teach.valdosta.edu/are/Artmanscrpt/vol1no1/williams_am.pdf


US Department of Education (2006). Student absenteeism. Condition of Education 2006, 61,161-162. Retrieved February 13, 2010, from Education Research Complete database.


Dave Nelson teaches technology and mathematics at Montabella Jr/Sr High School. For over 30 years he has been using various forms of technology in the classroom. He recently obtained a Master’s Degree in Education Media Design and Technology from Full Sail University.


Winter 2010/11


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MACULJOURNAL


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