Reflection by Usellta Augustin

In preparation for the video my group had to select a topic. In my opinion that was one of the hardest task because we were debating tirelessly on which topic to choose however it allowed me to develop a sense of respect of my colleague's opinion. We were asked to create a story board which I thought was a waste of time but to my surprise while shooting the video the storyboard made our task easier because we had a guide to refer to, to know what our next step should be. The storyboard allowed us to draw up our ideas, combine and filter them into a desired choice of the group and allowed us to visualize the video even before the actual shooting. While writing the lesson plan I became aware that I have used the video at school and not for once it occurred to me to add how the video will be used in my lesson plan and I realized this is essential. A blog was created and the three aforementioned items created were posted on there. I want to highlight that this activity fostered group dynamics.

When the video was being shot we encountered several difficulties especially with the weather however I realized that we did not have to hire a photographer to make the video and any device which allows one to record a video can be used. Phones and cameras were used which means that making a video for instruction is inexpensive and time efficient. The video was  then edited using Camtasia.

After the video was shot I recognized that a video is indeed a highly interactive, interesting and authentic teaching aid to introduce to the classrooms, especially with students of the 21^st century who are exposed to media technology all around them. The video would add more variety to our teaching styles and learning experiences designed for teaching and learning. I also learnt that planning is a very important aspect and has encouraged me to take my lesson planning more seriously as we used the story board as a plan which aided the smooth running of the video. I will definitely create my own videos to be used in my classroom or by other members of staff for more authentic teaching.