Lights... Camera... Action!

Pollution of our environment is a serious problem in today's society. It can have lasting effect on the climate of our planet which can spell trouble for our continued human existence. As a group, we created a video to be used by students in grade 3 and above to address the topic of a healthy environment. Our video focuses on depicting what a healthy environment should look like, the effects of pollution on the environment, mother nature's response to these detrimental human activities and how we can help to save earth. Hence the title of our production 'Saving Earth'.

To reiterate sentiments from my earlier posts, students of this generation are thoroughly taken with technology in this age. Therefore, videos can be a great addition in the classroom as it incorporates their interests which adds excitement to the lessons. The use of videos will also appeal to those student who are visual learners. Teachers can use videos to document presentations for future viewing or have the students create their own video research projects. Teachers now have to move away from traditional methods and find creative ways to reach all students in the classroom.When learning is fun, students are more likely to retain the information that is being taught.

Reflection:
For portfolio piece #6, my group members and I created a video using Windows Movie Maker to be used for a Social Studies lesson on the topic of A healthy environment.This piece had to be completed in collaborative groups during the scheduled class time. The video could be used to engage students in a discussion about the importance of the environment and encourage students to be proactive in helping to keep it clean and healthy. The major issue that was faced by my colleagues and I, was that the Windows Live Movie Maker would continually crash at inopportune moments. At one point, we lost the entire video. It sincerely taught us the value of saving your work. I believe that the piece could be improved by using voice overs on the still images in addition to the text. The use of local photography would also help to make it easier for the students to relate to the video.