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Creating Video for the Digital World

    A large portion of technology in the classroom is the use of multimedia video. Children today are constantly bombarded with videos throughout the day, whether on tablets, computers, and television. Over the years, YouTube has surpassed anyone’s expectations of how big it has become. According to Digital Writing: A Guide to Writing for Social Media and the Web, “...there may be as many as 300 or more hours of new content being uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day.” (Lawrence, 2022, p. 112). In order to become an effective digital writer and educator in today’s world, one must become comfortable with video as a media form to reach your audience. Videos are a great way to record a moment in time that can be saved for years to come. Sui et al. (2022) state, “…they can be utilized as a ‘window to the past’ or as representatives of trends across social and cultural movements.” (p. 4). Videos can capture moments and ideas like no other form of media. Lawrence (2022) makes the point that humans have evolved to enjoy video by stating, “It is not surprising that a creature evolved to detect movement in the world for its survival would now prefer to engage with a world in motion, such as that presented by video.” (p. 108). It is human instinct now to gravitate toward flashy video that capture the audience and keep our shorter attention spans engaged. 

Video courtesy of Stewart Gauld, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgXuKYjgwLk

I’m going to take you through the process of creating a video for your digital writing. The first video is an example of an introductory style video where the author (me) is giving background on themselves and explaining a point of view on a certain topic or topics. Notice the lighting, background choice, and quality of the video. It is a simple video shot by a phone without any music, graphics, or transitions. 


    The next video is an edited version of basically the same idea. There may be a few more ideas discussed in the content, but the introductory style of video stays the same. Again, notice the lighting, background choice, and quality of the video. This time I created the video from my classroom, which coincides better with the subject matter. I used the video editing tool, Canva, to help edit the video and add music, graphics, and transitions. This video is more visually appealing, fun, and grabs the reader’s attention much better than the first example. 

As you can see, this video is going to be more popular with the audience. When posted on YouTube, it will garner more likes and views than the previous one. This is important as Sui et al. (2022) states, “The YouTube algorithm ‘curates’ a series of videos to display based on numerous factors, including the ‘popularity’ of a video, a user’s previously watched videos, the location of the user, and the specific day/time the search was performed.” (p. 6). The amount of views and popularity of a video enables a writer to have more influence, as the greater the amount of views, the more their audience grows. 


References


Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press. 


Gauld, Stewart. (2022, April 8). Top five ways to create business videos: Best video makers [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgXuKYjgwLk


     Sui, W., Sui, A., & Rhodes, R.E. (2022). What to watch: Practical considerations and strategies for using youtube for research. Digital Health 8, 1-13. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/20552076221123707



Comments

  1. Gia ShoresJuly 22, 2024 at 5:54 PM

    Laura,

    I, too, went ahead and created another video introducing myself from scratch after everything we have learned in the course we are taking together. I liked that you stressed that today’s digital writers must feel comfortable with using videos if we want to be more effective and appealing to our audience. This takes me to one of my biggest takeaways from what we have been working on this week. Specifically, I have learned new concepts I can teach my own students as I am improving my own introduction video. In my classroom we do so much digital writing, and I have learned that using videos to inspire my students to write can go very far. In fact, Strassman and O’Connell (2007) affirmed that “using video as an inspiration for writing offers upper elementary and middle school students a similar freedom that can begin for them an entirely new and creative relationship to text” (Building On The Writers' Workshop Approach section, para. 4).

    In addition, I wanted to add for anyone who may find it beneficial, that with so many videos that we could include in a particular lesson or unit, it may seem overwhelming. However, a new way I learned how to organize multiple videos to where students can access them easily is by using a HyperDoc. According to Carpenter et al. (2020), “if a teacher is planning on using several videos in a particular lesson, they might use Google Slides to create the HyperDoc, because they can embed the videos directly into the slides” (as cited in DeCamillis, 2023, p. 2). All the technology resources I continue to learn about do not cease to amaze me!

    References

    DeCamillis, K. (2023). HyperDocs, GIFs, and collaboration boards: Online writing instruction
    supports for English learners. CATESOL Journal, 34(1). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1417119.pdf

    Strassman, B. K., & O’Connell, T. (2007). Teaching tips: Authoring with video. The Reading Teacher. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/curriculum-and-instruction/articles/teachi
    Ng-tips-authoring-video

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kellie IngramJuly 23, 2024 at 9:30 PM

    I enjoyed reading your blog about creating videos for classroom use. I liked your comparison of two videos. The first one was a basic introductory style video. Then you were able to show a more polished, edited version. This shows how better lighting, background, and production quality can significantly enhance a video. As Lawrence (2022) mentined, creating an effective video takes alot of time. That is why I love programs like Canva. I also used Canva as an editing tool for my resubmission video. I love how easy and fun it is!

    References:
    Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mary Claire ShingletonJuly 24, 2024 at 12:14 PM

    It is so effective to see your videos side by side! I think it really highlights the importance of those video elements that we read about in the text. I find it interesting that you pointed out how much video content is being produced on a daily basis, as Lawrence (2022) discusses in the text how significantly more content is viewed and consumed than is created (sec. 3.3). I do wonder what percentage of people are both creators and viewers versus those who are only viewers, and what that means for us as educators. Should we be teaching elements of content creation, or at least using video and social media content creation as an option for assessment or learning activities?

    References:
    Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Digital EducatorJuly 24, 2024 at 4:07 PM

    Laura,
    You’re right about videos being everywhere in education today. Isn’t it funny to think about 30 years ago when teachers would roll a cart with a giant television into the classroom? The excitement was palpable! Watching a video was such a novel activity in class back then. Now, our students and educators learn constantly with short clips or long explanations found on YouTube and the like. Teachers even refer to video clips for professional development and inspiration on a regular basis (Staudt Willet, 2023).
    You made me think beyond the end of my own videos when you mentioned the interactions that your second video might receive. In regards to this very idea, Lawrence wrote “How will that activity further shape and send our message around the Internet and into the lives of others?” (2022, p.39). We have to think beyond the end of a view when it comes to the impact of videos or posts in general.

    References
    Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.
    Staudt Willet, K. B. (2023). Early career teachers’ expansion of professional learning networks with social media. Professional Development in Education, 50(2), 386-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2023.2178481

    ReplyDelete

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