Using Video and Video Editing in Education
This week part of EDCI 337 course content focused on using video and video editing programs in education. Video editing can be very intimidating particularly to people who do not see themselves as “tech-savvy”. However, the programs suggested in this course, OpenShot Video Editor or iMovie for Mac users, are both straightforward to use especially when following along with the worksheet. I was concerned with running into problems with the power output of my computer since I have a CPU from around 2013 (I bought a used Intel Xeon E5-1620 a few years ago) but since it was a short video I did not have any problems. With programs like OpenShot available to teachers and the recent push to online learning, it is a great time to incorporate video and editing into both professional development and classrooms. Using techniques like mixing audio and graphics to transition between scenes can bring out emotions (like excitement or curiosity) in viewers and holds on to their attention (Elwyn, 2017).
Being able to edit video will create opportunities for digital lesson creation, compiling in-class activities, and achieving activities from a whole year into short and easily consumed edits. Using video editing programs also boosts teacher’s confidence in bringing this into a classroom where learners can film and edit videos of their own.
This is a good video for people starting to edit videos with OpenShot. It is well laid out with timestamps for the different topics that are covered. I really liked how they highlighted changing the language and shortcut keys for OpenShot.
This webpage has great ideas for how to incorporate video/video editing into your classroom. Ideas like dramatic poem reading and sales pitches are covered and it doesn’t shy away from pointing out problems, like privacy issues, you can run into (Peachey, 2020).
Hands-on Learning
Below is the video I edited using OpenShot. As mentioned earlier in this post, despite being intimidated by the idea of video editing I found the user interface intuitive and the process easy to navigate.
References:
Elwyn, J. (2017, November 30). Understanding the power of film editing. Jonny Elwyn: Film editor. https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video-editing/understanding-the-power-of-film-editing/
Peachey, N. (2020, September 23). 7 Reasons why you should be making videos with your students and 9 activities to get you started. Oxford tefl. https://oxfordtefl.com/blog/7-reasons-why-you-should-be-making-videos-with-your-students-and-9-activities-to-get-you-started/
Teacher’s Tech. (2018, February 20). OpenShot video editor tutorial – Designed for beginners [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_r12b99TIg