My two seconds of fame: Periodic table around the house video

I decided to create a video about how elements of the periodic table are more than letters, words and numbers in a table ... they are real, and are around us in everyday life.  I thought by linking some elements to a real context, students may be able to better connect with the periodic table.

 

 

I used Windows Live Movie Maker to create the movie on the periodic table.  This was the first movie I have ever made, and I was surprised how easy it was to put together using this program (even though watching yourself on film is always embarrassing).  I used our DSL camera to record the video, uploaded the individual video files onto Movie Maker, cut the sections I wanted, added music and Movie Maker did it’s magic!  I think students would find this tool exceptionally easy to use.  In fact, I think my 5 year old could create a movie!  As most students have a smart phone / Ipod, they can use this to record the video file.  A specialised video camera is not required, so makes it more accessible to more students.  In addition, I uploaded the video to Youtube, which was also a very straight-forward process (that I have not done before).

Here's my PMI analysis of video:

Plus	Minus	Interesting / Implications
Students can re-record until they are happy with recording.	Can be time consuming to edit and put together.	Can be used instead of live oral presentations – good for students who are not confident doing oral presentations.
Combines images and sound – appeal to both visual and auditory learners.	Sound can sometimes be an issue, depending on the quality of the microphone in the phone/camera/video recording device.	Like podcasts, YouTube (and other video sites) has changed education – you can watch a video on virtually anything, including lectures from conferences and universities in other countries.
Can watch video whenever convenient	Can't have comments/feedback from teachers or fellow students (or wider web users) until it's finished and posted on Youtube (or similar)
Easy to record (most mobile phones and cameras have video function)
Can embed directly into wiki and glog and blog
YouTube – videos on practically anything (a lot of educational videos too).
Can import PowerPoint slides into MovieMaker to create a video very easily.

I think the use of video as a learning tool could be very relevant in the areas of Science and Home Economics.  As seen in my short video, making Science real by creating a video on the periodic table elements may make students more engaged with concepts that they cannot see.  In an assessment piece, giving students a limit on the video duration would also make them consider and assess the most important components that needed to be included. 

Creating a video requires high order thinking skills of designing, planning, producing, filming, mixing/editing as per Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. Even though the final video may only be a few minutes long, there is alot of work using high order thinking skills behind the scenes to get it to that point. If I made this video public on YouTube (currently it is unlisted so only those with the link can see it), it can contribute to the current resource pool of science in the real world. This opens it up to comments and debates from web users as to the accuracy and effectiveness of the video ... in essence, users of the web are marking/assessing my video! This creates dialogue, and encourages me to go back , review and update the video depending on the feedback and suggestions provided.

With the periodic table video, I included the words of the elements with the pictures to assist students to make the connection between the visual image and the name of the element.  This is in line with the spatial contiguity principle, whereby students are thought to learn more effectively when corresponding words and images are located near each other  (Stansbury, 2008).  Similarly, students are thought to have enhanced learning when corresponding words and images are located simultaneously according to the Temporal Contiguity Principle (Stansbury, 2008).  In the case of this video, having the name of the element presented with the visual picture of the real life application may be more effective than just having the name of the elements presented at the end (and not connected to the corresponding image). 

 

Being a visual learner, I couldn’t agree with the Multimedia Principle more: “Retention is improved through words and pictures rather than through words alone.” (Stansbury, 2008).  Bring on the pictures, I say.  For me, it is true that a picture speaks a thousand words.  I think particularly for subjects like Science where there is a whole new vocab and intangible concepts (eg elements of the periodic table) for students to learn quickly, pictures really do assist with retention. 

 

I included some soft background music in the video because it seemed very quiet (and a bit boring) with only my voice on the video.  However, this background music may have hindered learning, as according to the Coherence Principle, students can learn better when unrelated and unnecessary sounds are excluded rather than included (Swisher, 2007).

As with all online media, creating videos requires safe, ethical and legal guidelines to be adhered to.  Students (and teachers if they are creating the video) need to ensure their video does not contain any abusive or explicit or illegal language, images or content, that they comply with copyright laws (particularly if they are using images, video and music incorporated in their video).  All subjects in the video need to give consent to be filmed, so students must ensure this is done (and permission from parents/carers if children are being filmed). 

  References

Stansbury, Meris. (2008). Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning.   Retrieved 22 March 2013, from http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/

Swisher, David. (2007). Does multimedia truly enhance learning?  Moving beyond the visual media bandwagon towards instructional effectiveness. Paper presented at the K-State at Salina Professional Day, Kanvas State University, Salina. http://www.academia.edu/1046356/Does_Multimedia_Truly_Enhance_Learning_Moving_Beyond_The_Visual_Media_Bandwagon_Toward_Instructional_Effectiveness