Week 4: Using Video to Convey Information.

WEEK 4: USING VIDEO TO CONVEY INFORMATION.

Schoolhouse Rock: How a bill becomes a law.

Subject, Age, and Policies.

The subject for this video is for my social studies classroom. The topic at hand is how a bill becomes a law in the United States of America. My evaluation of the video is that the content in this video is very appropriate for children of all ages. Considering that I teach in the middle school, students may find this video entertaining, however, it will make the understanding of this process much easier to learn. It enhances my lesson plan because students can watch this video both at school and at home because there are no age requirements. The video is very easy to follow for students and if they need to rewind to understand the process better, they can. They can watch this video to understand how a bill becomes a law on their phone, computer, or tablet which is huge for students of this generation. Students love to utilize technology and having this available to them at all times will allow them to understand this concept much easier. The most important aspect of using this video is that students who have learning needs or challenges can rewind this video to be able to clearly understand it so there is less confusion. This video will make learning more enjoyable for students because the lesson is enhanced by technology and allows them to learn the concept through a much simpler process.

1. I chose this video because it relates perfectly to the content area that I teach, social studies. 2. Understanding how a bill becomes a law in the United States is not an easy task because there are many steps that occur along the way in the process. It enhances the learning process both in school and at home because they will have access to it. 3. This video is acceptable and I am able to use this in my school. I have used it in the past and students still know the words from before and that means they have mastered the lesson. 4. The content is very easy to follow along to and it is not too long at all. Right around four minutes in length.  5. The content is compelling to get the attention of my audience because it is not a boring video. It’s one that they can sing along to and learn as they go which helps them remember the material better. 6. Yes, the podcast works in my classroom and is accessible at home. 7. The source is very credible and it’s a shortened down version of how a bill becomes a law and students are able to grasp the information better. 8. I believe that it goes both ways with the best method. They have read about the long process of how a bill becomes a law but, the video condenses it into a smaller portion thus making it easier to understand. 9. Yes, they can even see other videos from former or future topics that this video series does a great job of making it easier for students to learn. 10. No, it doesn’t provide any restrictions in terms of distribution. They don’t have to pay for this service, it is free of charge and again they can utilize this video both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Lesson Plan Idea: Students will be discovering how the United States of America really became the United States. They know how it was founded but, they will understand how the immigrants who came to this country in the early 1900’s built this country. This video lesson that I have created will allow them to understand where immigrants entered, where they started their lives, and just how many essentially threw away everything in their native lands to come to the United States to start a new and better life.

Outline of this technology: Students will be able to see and hear about the places that immigrants entered through to start a new life in the United States. It will allow them to take notes on the places mentioned and also allow them to rewind back to anything that they missed. They will be able to utilize this piece of technology anywhere and will have to be able to discuss it the next day. It is a way of freeing up class time to discuss information that was covered at home. Through the use of phones, tablets, and computers, students will be able to understand and grasp this lesson.

Learning objective: The students through this video and podcast will be able to understand how America was built on immigrants. Whether it was early immigrants in the 1900’s until now, they will be able to understand through images, illustrations, and text what makes the United States of America so great and want to learn more about their background to understand what their culture is based on. Students will then be able to go home and ask their parents about their heritage and then begin to trace it back to the early 1900’s because one way or another, their family was built upon immigration. The factors that could influence my implementation are students from different backgrounds not wanting to talk about how they got to the United States. Some experience difficult journeys today and they experience a much different process compared to those who came in the early 1900’s. 

Application: From week one until this assignment, I have learned a lot about these different principles and how to use them in my classroom. This week I used the redundancy principle and the voice principle with my presentation. The students will be able to hear not only my voice relaying the information that they have covered, they will also be able learn better through graphics, hearing my voice, and the text that is presented on the screen. They are receiving the information in different ways but, as an educator, you have to adapt to all of your students to help them learn the best way possible. Students do not want to hear a pre-recorded voice or machine because they don’t perform as well on tests and quizzes. If they hear the teachers voice, they know that they are putting in the time and effort to help their students learn the best way possible. I made sure that I used both principles in my lesson this week so that I incorporated all aspects of different learning styles. Adapting will only help me grow as an educator because you learn to do different things as you evolve in the classroom and adapt.

Reflection: Each week keeps getting better as I move through this course. I looked at all three websites we were given and also thought about doing my own personal video to help my students learn better. However, I ended up using powtoon and that was a great choice for me and I believe for my students as well. This website will be used for projects in my classroom. I have shown this video to my students in the lower grades (6^th and 7^th) and they loved the animation that was used and how they could hear the voice of the teacher. As it is the end of the year and we are in finals, they want to use that format going forward in our lessons. I thought this assignment would be difficult to do due to the time constraints and would I be able to fit enough information in. That was not the case in this sense. This website was very easy to use and very friendly throughout the process. It has allowed me to be even more creative as an educator. There were no tensions between the principles that I used in this assignment. Powtoon has already allowed me to begin creating lessons for next year in my classroom and through the feedback that I have received from students, they want to use it in other classes as well.