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Make a Digital Video Project - Show What You Know

A digital project is a great way to inform people about an important issue. It can be used to share facts with other people. It can be a plus in a public presentation regarding correcting a problem or setting a plan.

Use a digital camera and/or a digital camcorder coupled with other copyright free digital resources to make a video report or message.

Examples:

C-SPAN StudentCam 2009 1st Prize MS 'Down to the Last DROP' from Madison Richards

Watch a few of the 2013 StudentCam Winners

Select a topic

Dig deeply into the topic.

Be sure to include lots of facts. Depending on your subject, include a map and a table of critical facts.

Focus on using the principals of a strong persuasive essay.

Essential question:

Explain why this biome would be best for your family, your school and your community.

Propose a S.M.A.R.T. Goal (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely). What should people do? What can you do?

Eliminating world hunger is a nice goal, but it is not a SMART goal. A SMART goal related to hunger would be to provide a free or reduced price lunch to all the children, who qualify in your school or community, during the school year.

Important Advice for Videographers.

Discover what you need to know to make a digital media project starts on page 10

Plan ahead. Use a worksheet to organize your work. pdf version | doc version
Multimedia Project Planning Worksheet

Write a script.

Take/find the photos or shoot the video.

Adjust the script for unplanned, opportune additions.

Always be safe. Contrary to what you may see on TV, no cool or humorous shot is worth getting injured.

 

Here are the guidelines for making a video project

camera Tips for PSA for students: who, what, when, where, why

1. Use Microsoft Photo Story (free) or Apple's iMovie to create the show.

camera Read the tutorial: PhotoStory Tutorial or Photo Story tutorials by David Jakes.

camera Watch the iMovie tutorial | iMovie 08 tutorial | Support

camera iMovie tips and tutorials

camera Begin with an idea and a storyboard | Movie storyboarding

2. Your project should begin with a title and an introduction.

The project should be no longer than 5-7 minutes.

3. If you use someone else's photos or images, an attribution slide must be included at the end of your project. Other people's photos must be licensed under Creative Commons.

4. Take your photos. Read Tell the story in pictures.

  • If you plan to include people's faces, get their permission, first. Respecting each person's privacy is a vital human right.
  • What is your school's policy about taking photos of students in school? Find out.
  • Generally, photos of people taken out of school, in public places, may not require special permission.
  • It is always best to learn the laws and rules in your area or state BEFORE you take photos.

Always take a few more photos than you anticipate needing. It is much easier to delete an extra photo, than to need one at the last minute.

camera Here are great tips about taking photos. A tips article Adding Impact to Digital Stories. 3 Cs of digitial story telling

5. Use effective narration where needed.

6. Use the same transition throughout your whole project.

7. Music is not required. Only instrumental music may be used. Music is included in Photo Story. Other music must be licensed under Creative Commons or public domain. You must prove this by showing the download link or the cd.

gold star What's with all these rules? You may want to publish your creation on the Internet or show it outside of your classroom. If you do that, it must abide by copyright laws. It is best to build your project within those rules from the start. Additionally, some people have religious or personal objections to having their picture taken. We should all respect that. Period.

8. Conclusion - Be sure you give the viewer an action to take. Reinforce it in the final scene just like the water video did.

Proof the project. It is funny how speling errors and typeos sneak in to the bets worck. smiling icon

Share your work by posting it at TeacherTube.

 

Done Already? Good work.

You get an additional mission. Become a photo journalists and show the big picture. Make a photo essay of the class doing their projects. Or make a "how to" using photos, text, sound and video for your classmates. Demonstrate the steps for making a digital photo slide show or video project. Include one totally terrific tip.

Resources:

camera Movie rubrics - Rubric | Video Project Rubric | MYO Rubric

The Fundamentals of Digital Storytelling

FlickrLilli | Pics4Learning - copyright friendly images for use in education projects

LearningElectric - on demand tutorials that build skills

 

Other Digital Learning Projects:

Fields and Meadows Digital Project Alphabet book about your state or community project
Wetland Habitat Project - Digital Science Journal Sell your town - Why should someone move to your town?
GIS Map & Inventory the Trees in your community Look into your Community's Past project - problem based learning
Web site Evaluation Student Handbook Presentation
Life 'round here - digital project Patriotic Song Project
Best Treat of All - bird book online Winter Song Story Project

Problem Based Learning / Civics / Internet Hunts / Nature / Computers / PA Projects / Puzzles & Projects / Mrs O's House

developed by Cynthia J. O'Hora Posted 1/2009, Updated /2020
Released to public domain in honor of Steve Jobs who has always challenged conventional thinking.
In doing that, he has changed all our lives for the better.