I'll admit it, I actually like making overly corny educational videos for my students. And the best part is: I think they like them too. Videos are great tools for the classroom, especially when relating what could be considered 'dry' material. However, as a secondary pre-service teacher, I found my grade 10 students didn't always have the attention span required to get all I hoped they would have out of some of my favorite TeacherTube videos. This changed when I showed them a media project that a few other pre-service teachers and I collaborated on. They really enjoyed watching me make a fool out of myself and they still took away the lesson's message!
Due to length and a few potentially minor soundtrack copyright issues, I didn't upload the videos to YouTube. However, I've posted some stills and a description of the content.
Due to length and a few potentially minor soundtrack copyright issues, I didn't upload the videos to YouTube. However, I've posted some stills and a description of the content.
Retro Jacuzzi Time Machine Mayhem
This video taught that it was Nikola Tesla who was the first to harness AC current as well as how to make lemon batteries (NB Grade 6 & 9 Electricity Units).
The story is that LeeAnn and I are scientists finishing up a top secret project: a time machine. We decide to go back to one of the most important moments in scientific discovery: when Nikola Tesla harnessed alternating current. A la Wizard of Oz, our time machine accidentally lands on Tesla, killing him before he is able to publish his discovery. We flee back to the future in a panic and find ourselves in a world without electricity. Unfortunately the power source of our time machine needs charging so we can't go back and stop ourselves from causing such trouble. The custodian at our laboratory is also a physicist and he teaches LeeAnn and I how to make a battery from lemons so that we can charge our time machine. Fearing what other mistakes we may accidentally make in the time continuum, we send the custodian back to complete Tesla's work and live out his days in peace farming lemons (he wasn't content living in the present anyway and looked alarming similar to Tesla). Electricity is returned to the present and all is well. The End.
The story is that LeeAnn and I are scientists finishing up a top secret project: a time machine. We decide to go back to one of the most important moments in scientific discovery: when Nikola Tesla harnessed alternating current. A la Wizard of Oz, our time machine accidentally lands on Tesla, killing him before he is able to publish his discovery. We flee back to the future in a panic and find ourselves in a world without electricity. Unfortunately the power source of our time machine needs charging so we can't go back and stop ourselves from causing such trouble. The custodian at our laboratory is also a physicist and he teaches LeeAnn and I how to make a battery from lemons so that we can charge our time machine. Fearing what other mistakes we may accidentally make in the time continuum, we send the custodian back to complete Tesla's work and live out his days in peace farming lemons (he wasn't content living in the present anyway and looked alarming similar to Tesla). Electricity is returned to the present and all is well. The End.
A Case for DNA
This video serves as an introduction to the DNA molecule and in an experiment, DNA is extracted from strawberries. (close to NB Grade 9 Science outcomes but could also work for younger audiences)
In this video, I'm a disgruntled gum-shoe detective. I work for an agency that hasn't had a case in months due to the ease with which forensic investigators solve cases using DNA. The 'camera man' is a new employee who teaches me about DNA and we then extract the DNA from strawberries in an experiment. Now that I understand and can isolate DNA, the agency can use these concepts to get back in the game and solve new cases.
In this video, I'm a disgruntled gum-shoe detective. I work for an agency that hasn't had a case in months due to the ease with which forensic investigators solve cases using DNA. The 'camera man' is a new employee who teaches me about DNA and we then extract the DNA from strawberries in an experiment. Now that I understand and can isolate DNA, the agency can use these concepts to get back in the game and solve new cases.
Some advice for anyone looking to make a video for the first time using IMovie: keep it very short; try to make for as little editing as possible by keeping the scenes brief and ensuring you have a good take (so you don't have to splice in a segment- this is a very tedious task that often doesn't end up looking good despite your best effort); rely on YouTube tutorials rather then the IMovie help (as a beginner I found this was a situation where I actually needed to see where the buttons were hiding); and finally, keep in mind that each time after gets easier (provided you don't forget everything since the first time).