Video Editing and Production

   Classroom technology has changed rapidly in the last few years, and as devices have changed, so has classroom instruction. I can think of no more clear example than how video production has permeated classroom curricula at all levels.
    In the lower school, a number of recent projects show how young students are learning about topics through the use of video production.  In the 4th grade, a video project had students making films about topics related to appropriate computer use; one film was about cyber-bullying, another about plagiarism and another about cyber-safety. This past week, I've watched a number of Upper School Units ready films about various Unit experiences.  And through the year, in all divisions, student video projects are regularly produced to add depth and understanding to a topic under consideration.
    No doubt, you've seen student films and maybe assigned video-based projects.  But do you  know what's involved on the production side? Exactly how difficult is it to make a movie?
    The biggest single reason accounting for the explosion of video projects is the easy availability of good video cameras.  For most student filmmakers, this means using their phones.  Smartphones, pretty much without exception, have built in cameras that can be used for still or video photography. The resolution is usually excellent, though the audio usually lags far behind.  But another important reason why video project work has caught on is that video editors are also cheap (or free) and widely available.  At school, the two most used video editors are iMovie (an Apple product) and Movie Maker (a Microsoft product).
     Both iMovie and Movie Maker are similar, however one only works in the Apple operating system and the other in the Windows operating system.  In both, you work in a timeline.  You can drag and drop still images or video clips.  You can add a separate sound track, or separate audio clips, again by dragging and dropping.  You can create title slides and credit slides. You can use transitions to bridge sections of you film. You can add some special effects as well.  In the end, in either editor, you'd export your timelined project to create a file on your computer or a DVD.  The file could be posted to YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
     I teach a Filmmaking class in the Upper School. There are occasionally students in the class who have never worked in a movie editor.  It usually takes one or two classes to a student to know enough to begin working.  In other words, it's a gentle learning curve with lots of quick progress if you're using Movie Maker or iMovie. But to be accurate, iMovie is a little more difficult to learn because it's a richer program.  But it's still pretty easy to learn and worth the very moderate extra effort.
    The pros don't use iMovie or Movie Maker.  They're far more likely to use Avid or Final Cut Pro.  I've never used Avid, but I do work in Final Cut Pro.  It's more difficult to learn and master because it can so do much more than the basic editors.  But for those with interest, the end products seem well worth the effort.
    Interested in learning more?  If you have a Mac, it's likely you have iMovie already installed. Many of our school Macs are bootcamped, so you'll need to be working on the Mac OS side to access iMovie. If you're using a PC, you can look at your programs to see if you have Windows Movie Maker. If not, it's a free download.  I'd be happy to help you get started if you'd like some assistance.

The GSB Cavern

   In the Lower School, some available space has undergone an extreme makeover and become a simulated cave environment.  It's a teaching tool for Lynn Prosen, our science teacher, as she takes classes on tour to educate students about the ecosystems of caves.
   The cave, dubbed The GSB Cavern by students, is the handiwork of Lynn, Joanne Bodnar and Hope Napolitan.  You can watch the video posted above for an in-depth look at the cave.  In the video, the cave tour is hosted by two fourth graders, Isha and Kelly. Both were poised, knowledgeable guides.  

Google Drive

   When people hear the word "Google," generally one of two thoughts come to mind.  The first is to consider "Google" as a verb, and think about Googling information.  The other thought might be to consider "Google" as a corporate entity, a hugely powerful company that seems bent on taking over all competitors.
   I would add one additional reaction. To me, "Google" also brings to mind a set of tools that are effective, creative and practical.  The particular tool I want to focus on in this post is Google Drive, but before we get into Drive, I'll mention a few other Google tools that indicate the company's scope.
    Google Sketch-Up is a 3-D drawing tool. Blogger is a template to create blogs. (This blog is created on Blogger.) Google Sites allow users to create web sites. Google Play is an integrated set of services that bring games, music, TV, books and other entertainment to users. Gmail, of course, is an email system.  There are dozens of other examples.  Most are software tools, but Google is also creating hardware tools like Chromecast and Google Glass. Google tools are virtually all free to users, generally easy to learn and work dependably. Google tools are used best by registered users. The registration process affords Google information about users, and ultimately, that information has become very profitable to the company.
   Google Drive is actually a productivity suite of software tools in much the same way Microsoft Office is a productivity suite.   Google Drive's tools as a group are generally called Google Docs; you've probably heard the term.  These Docs are identified as Document, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Form and Drawing.  So if, for instance, you create a Google Document, you'll open a MS Word-like editor that allows you to create a text document, edit it in much the same way you'd edit a MS Word document and save it.  You can do the same for newly created spreadsheets or presentations (which echo a MS PowerPoint). Forms allow users to create surveys that can be distributed through a web site. Responses automatically populate a spreadsheet for easy analysis. (You might remember the "Digital vs. Paper" survey last month. That was a Google Form.) Google Art helps users to create and edit 2-D art work.  
   The real power of Google Drive is the way in which it allows multiple users to collaborate on a document.  Say, for instance, I create a Spreadsheet. I can share access to this document with several other users.  Based on my settings, other users might have read-only access or might have full editing privileges.  All edits are saved immediately.  The document is saved to Google's servers (aka: cloud storage) but can be downloaded to your desktop.
   Within Google Drive, folders can be created and named.  The result is that a Drive page can look much like a user's desktop, with fully identified folders that contain documents or additional nested folders.  Google Drive allows for customizable organization, an important feature for active users.
   Last week, I was part of a re-accreditation team that visited Montclair Kimberley Academy to create a report based on their self-study. This was a complicated project because MKA has three divisions located on three separate campuses.  Our team had 21 members, a very large team, so that each campus would have seven members "in residence."
   We used Google Drive to write our report.  Our Drive account, newly created for this project, had a separate folder for each chapter of MKA's self-study. Within the folder were documents that would allow specific people to take and store notes. There was also a template document that would eventually be filed in by designated team members that would be included in the final report.  Below, you can see a screen shot of the organization scheme.

      Folder #5 is labeled Technology.  This folder housed the note-taking documents and the report chapter on the Technology section of the self-study.  Looking below, you'll see the documents in the Technology folder.

   Towards the end of each working day, our 21 person team would assemble for group editing.  It was possible for all 21 members to have the same document open and actively be involved in editing that document.  Obviously, this could become chaotic. In fact, this is exactly what happened so it was important for our group to create some guidelines for our group editing sessions.

   We also found it helpful to set up a folder that housed a variety of files that were pertinent to our work.  If you look closely below, you'll notice that a Drive folder comfortably accommodates non-Google docs. You'll see .pdf files, a PowerPoint file and MS Word documents in the folder. It's easy to upload your files and/or create new docs using Google Drive.

    As part of our final session, our team debriefed our four day experience as a re-accreditation team.  On the topic of Google Drive, there was a unanimous and enthusiastic endorsement of its use for our work.  In fact, any number of people wondered aloud how such a project could be completed without a document-sharing tool such as Drive. 

   If an upcoming project includes a collaborative element, and especially if group participants are geographically separated, Google Drive could prove very useful.  If you'd like to know more, don't hesitate to ask.