Digital Video assignment

This week's assignment was fun and interesting, albeit for me a bit self-indulgent. I have created I-Movies before and even used one in class for an introduction to the Vietnam War and the turbulent 60s, but it has been six or so years since I've played with this technology. Just like my last foray into this technology, I got carried away with family photos (especially of our little girls) set to some of my favorite music. But I see the value of video, especially concerning history. I am in the midst of creating an IMovie about the Harlem Renaissance, complete with blues music and spoken poems. I'll use it next year during my poetry unit. Its value is strong because students will see and hear the poets, view some of the historical milestones of the era (Great Depression, Jim Crow laws, etc.) and come away with a better understanding than if we read a textbook.

What's invaluable about IMovie is when students are assigned a topic, they really have to learn it. If their interest is sparked, they will voluntarily seek more information about their topic, which may not necessarily enhance their production, but will better educate them about what it is they are producing. If they do not pursue additional information, that's okay, because they wouldn't have done so from reading a text book. But if they do seek supplemental information, just to satiate their new-found curiosity, well that's the first step in getting hooked on the discovery of knowledge, which is really the goal of every teacher.

Of all the technology we've covered in this class so far, I believe this is the most accessible to students for two reasons: first it gives them power to direct the action and narrative; second it is relatively designed to be user-friendly. The hardest part of using IMovie is self-control - it's easy to get carried away and want to create too much.