Journal 4

Campbell, L. O. (2012). If you give a kid a video camera. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(5), 30-33. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx

"If You Give a Kid a Video Camera" makes the analogy of giving students technology as a tool they will want to use it more to giving a mouse a cookie and it will want to eat more.  It explains how once a student is introduced to a tool, for example, a video camera, they will want to use it in all aspects of learning.  We as teachers can show students how they can use video cameras to show learning in math, reading, science, social studies, or any other subjects for that matter.  A student can be recorded reading, so that they can see from another perspective what their reading sounds like.  They record themselves doing an oral book report to share with other students, doing a science experiment in the lab, or creating a human map for social studies.  Basically students with be documenting their lessons in different way that will give them the opportunity to see themselves learning, and in turn learn from that.

How will video taping enhance students learning?

When a student does an assignment and receives feedback, they might not recall exactly how they got to their final product.  If this is the case, he or she knows that they are right or wrong, but may not know exactly where they went wrong, or what they did do correctly to get their answer.  A video document can allow the students to retrace their work every step of the way.

How will students gain access to a video camera?

In order to make sure all students have access to a video camera, I will have to have one of my own accessible to students.  In a perfect world, all students will have their own video cameras or access to a computer that allows video making.  However, this will most likely not be the case so one possibility is to video tape classroom projects and to require each student to review and reflect on one or two recorded projects throughout the year.