Week 4: Using Video

Part One: 




In our 5th grade science curriculum, students learn about the human body and how it works. The four main systems we analyze with our students are the skeletal, digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. I would utilize this video as an engagement hook to introduce students to the new unit. I would ask them to write down words they are unsure of and create a KWL Chart after watching this. I  would then revisit this podcast at the end to see if the students can fully understand what is happening. Furthermore, I'd like to have them specify which system(s) are being discussed in the podcast and how they know that.

This video is appropriate for fifth graders and goes right along with the body systems unit that we teach. I'm excited to use this next year because I believe that it will enhance the unit with further inquiry as I introduce the unit with it and then call for a reflection at the end. Since the video takes on a narrative perspective and "travels" through the "giant" I hold the belief that the students will be engaged watching it. The narrative perspective aligns with the Redundancy Principle as well. The only thing that might confuse students at first is that it talks about so many different parts so quickly and travels through some of the different systems without labeling them all. However, I'm going to turn it into a challenge for students to predict what system it is discussing at a certain point in the video.

Part Two: 





Reflection:

Use in the classroom:
     I intend to use this Powtoon video as a resource for helping students learn the order of operations. I have found that students struggle to remember what to do first. Therefore, this video I would link to my Moodle Page for students to view. Learning objective: Students will be able to solve problems using the order of operations. This video incorporated much creativity upon making it. I would encourage students to create their own video/song about the order of operations to share with the class. Yet, I would recommend them using iMovie instead of Powtoon. I think it would be more user friendly on their iPad's since they have that app. A factor that will influence the success of students creating their own iMovie on the order of operations will be their familiarity with the app.

Application:
     One principle I kept in mind while creating my video on Powtoon was the Embodiment Principle. I placed a couple of characters in my video that waved and displayed a thinking process  because the Embodiment Principle states that students may learn better with human-like gestures. Another principle I intentionally used was the Voice Principle. I used this in Powtoon by recording myself speaking throughout the slides. I believe this is supporting creativity by showing my students that I am trying to liven up the learning by trying new things to engage them.

Reflection:
     I decided to venture out of my comfort zone this week by trying a new video creation tool: Powtoon. While I had fun with it, the site frustrated me after awhile with how slow it was. I think if I would have spent the money on the Pro version, it would have been worthwhile. However, I really enjoyed getting creative with this video and it inspired me to want to come up with more ideas on incorporating video into the classroom. I grew in patience this week as I struggled with the slow-pace of the site. In addition, I had trouble uploading it to Blogger as the embed code would not work with Flash Player. So hopefully the link works correctly! Despite the frustrations I encountered, I enjoyed making the video.