Te Video Dilemma Denise Lewis
A few questions to consider when you are mak- ing your own plans plus a few extra ideas for organizing substitute materials.
We all have done this from time to time. No voice but no sub? Pull a DVD from the tub! It is a necessary option when you’re stuck at school too sick to teach or have the endless chain of non-music substitutes. But we’ve also heard horror stories about those teachers who use video as the bulk of nearly every lesson and administrators who react by banning video and DVDs, even in sub plans, for everyone and forever. It can also be a hot topic for debate between general music teachers.
So is video really all that bad? Personally I’d rather have my classes singing, playing, creat- ing and moving, especially my little friends in K-2 since they get enough screen time as it is! On the other hand, I hate to forsake all video entirely. It can serve its purpose and, when used thoughtfully can greatly enhance learning. In addition, it is necessary to leave sub lessons that include video in order for a substitute with no musical background to teach in a music class- room. Tat said, what does one consider when making an effort to use video in ways that lead to meaningful learning?
Does it provide an introduction, review or recap for your lesson? Carefully chosen video material can provide a springboard for discussion on a musical con- cept with younger students. It can also provide a recap for concepts you have taught in that lesson or a review from prior lessons so make this your first question when considering video content. If you are using video at the beginning or end of a lesson you certainly could find an activity that could do the same, but will that activity refocus students, give them some quiet reflection time and have them ready to line up at the end of class? Plus give you some much needed setup time so the next class flows from entry? Tere are endless YouTube videos that support many concepts. If you don’t have a YouTube channel, now might be the time to start one. Browse for clips that contain related content and save them to a watchlist, but be sure to preview! Add-ons for Chrome and other
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browsers can take care of commercial content if you are concerned about excessive or inappro- priate ads. Adblock is one of the most popular. TeacherTube is also a good alternative if your district has chosen to block or limit YouTube.
Another option is to make your own short instructional videos. I like to do these in the summer when I’m looking back on lessons that might need a better closer, or thinking ahead to providing instructional material for a non-music substitute. Screencast videos can be done quickly with only a bit of practice. I use presentation soſtware (KeyNote, Powerpoint, Google Slides) to present the visual portion of my material then simply talk through the lesson slides while recording the video with Quick- Time or other screencast soſtware. One of my favorites is Doceri, which allows you to use an iPad for your screencast and annotate the slides. A screencast lesson can be leſt for a sub to review or introduce a skill, with a worksheet for follow-up.
Can you tie your video to standards? Tis is another vital point to consider. My district has adopted the Michigan Fine Arts Standards and, in our small rural school the standard on age-appropriate audience behav- ior is a bit difficult to assess. We do not have enough funding for regular out of district field trips for live music, so video opportunities to teach and assess correct audience behavior is my best option. Of course, you also want to cover performance or literacy standards as well if possible and you can with carefully chosen video content. Video clips are oſten necessary to cover Michigan standards dealing with analysis. Consider using 4-5 brief clips in a center exercise. Post QR codes linking to video content and having an exercise for each dealing with form, timbre, style, etc. Tis is a lesson that can easily be leſt for a substitute, with the QR codes and worksheets printed and leſt in a “sub file”.
Will the video content enhance or enrich learning? Does the content reflect a higher performance level that your students could appreciate aſter
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