PART D - Findings and Implications

My project has changed over the course of this class.  I originally planned on creating a video of a dissection in my wife’s classroom.  Carrie, my wife, does not have any samples left over from previous dissections, and no more planned for this school year.  We tried to pick up some squid for a test video; however the only squid I could find were already “cleaned” – so there was not much to dissect.  To complete this task, we opted to change to a lab project that students would miss out on if they were not present during the day of the lab.  Being absent the day of the lab proposed the same issues if the students were absent for a dissection, so this seemed like a perfect fit.  We have recorded the lab and placed it on my wife’s web site.

Current practice would have the student who missed the lab sit down with their scheduled lab partner(s) to discuss the lab, take notes and complete the worksheet.  The student would miss out on the actual lab and would not be able to see the lab happen, and the learning from that experience.  Of course, this puts both students a little behind in the class when they are performing these tasks as the class moves on to other lessons.  A video of the lab would allow the absent student a chance to view the lab as if they were there to see it happen.  Residing on the web, the student can also view the video after class so they do not miss the current class in session, or distract their lab partner(s) from the current lesson either.  This is a win situation for more than just the absent student!

I would love to do more of these projects, but there are a few things I would change in the future.  For one, I would get a regular video camera instead of using my smart phone.  At this time, this was the only equipment available to us.  A regular video camera would have optical zoom instead of only digital zoom which my phone has.  I would also use a tri-pod to hold the camera in place and keep it steady during filming.  I thought the audio was acceptable in my test, but I might add a microphone to get clearer audio next time.

It is definitely much easier to perform this function with technical help while you are trying to perform a lab.  Other options are available, but assistance makes it much easier.  The areas of improvement discussed above would also be suggestions for others who might want to perform this task.

This project was done as a test and not performed in class as originally planned.  There are some benefits to doing it this way as you don’t have the classroom distractions.  Doing the lab ahead of time allows the presenter to be totally prepared, but it also requires more supplies if you are still doing the presentation live for the students.  Doing the taping in the classroom allows for questions to be heard, but also allows for distractions and less prep time to finish the recording and posting it.  I can see myself utilizing both conditions for future recordings.

Here is the videocast of my project:  http://www.msu.edu/~carlrobe/CEP812/BobCarlsWPPVideo.mp4