Redfining with Video

Happy Friday!

In the last couple of years in the Elbert County School District we have been talking about the SAMR model to purposely align Technology with our learning outcomes. If you are new to SAMR  SAMR stands for (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition).   We usually talk about how a big focus is to get beyond substitution. In my opinion when our  students are creating the same thing using technology that they could do without technology then I reflect and ask myself "what's the point?" I strongly believe that technology offers us the chance to create new things, get instant feedback, and better align what we are teaching to our students learning styles. 

I'm also often asked if the point is always to get to Redefinition with my learning tasks. My answer to that is to make sure that our technology enhances and transforms our learning goals.

We are very fortunate to now have WeVideo in our School District. All students who have 1:1 devices and all teachers in the district have access to this amazing program. I strongly believe that Wevideo is an amazing way for students and teachers to create a new task that would be inconceivable without the use of technology.  Students can create videos, screencasts and podcasts. Matt Snow,  A Graduate Student from Georgia Southern, put together this amazing resource page for us (also located on the District Website) with directions, ideas, and examples for Wevideo.  Does this require risk taking? Absolutely! Will it be messy?  Guaranteed!! Do you need to be an expert in Wevideo?? Nooooooo! Let your students problem solve, create, and figure it out.  Angela Scoggins, Middle School Teacher at ECMS, was an early adopter of Wevideo in the Fall and let her students experiment and try out the program to create a video for the Betacon convention. Below is what they came up with. It's my understanding that this video will be competing against others at the National Level. 

Our students can make amazing things! I used to be freaked out a little by releasing control to my students in my classroom and letting them take risks and fail forward. When I see things like this I wish I would have done it more. If you have questions about Wevideo please let me or the Media Specialist in your building know. Let's encourage each other and our students to redefine how they learn.

Have a great weekend.  

Clint