Monday, July 15, 2013

'in-video' questioning - another great way to highlight key points and check that homework is being done!


Dear Flippers,


I know I have been absent for a very long time. As most of you are teachers I know you will understand. Reporting. Assessment. Marking. Rinse. Repeat. Accreditation. Rinse some more.

I have (however) in my travels come across a new program that I have briefly experimented with that allows me to ask in-video questions of my students - thereby even more fully ensuring that they watch the pre-set screencasts.


'Camtasia' (I do not work for Camtasia. I promise.) Is a video editing program that allows for many different features? It is simple enough to use and permits me to ask students questions in the video, that is, the video literally stops, and students must answer a multiple choice question before resuming the rest of the video.








This is great for ramming home key points of the lesson, and also simply another way to ‘check’ that they have actually watched the video.



Answers and identities of the answerers are sent to an email address that I nominate – allowing me to keep a relatively easy track of who has watched the video, and answered the questions.



In order to be able to use the in-video questioning, the videos must be viewed via a site called screencast.com, which so far is a free service - http://screencast.com/



This is also a great way to file your videos for students if creating a website is yet beyond you…



Perhaps you are ready to take the test below? Go on...be brave...
(This is a video I made using Camtasia.)



I have also started to consult in NSW primary and high schools with regards to flipping (or blending) the classroom. If you are interested in having me come along to speak to your staff, details can be found here:   https://sites.google.com/site/mattburnsflipyourclassroom/