ITHI Annual Conference Presentation Michelle Halvorsen, Texas School for the Deaf Austin, TX

1. Vlogs, Vod-casts and Blogs: Providing Vocabulary and Content Support at Home to Increase Student Retention ITHI Annual Conference Presentation Michelle Halvorsen, Texas School for the Deaf Austin, TX

2. Quick Biology Lesson… • Transmission of Nerve Impulses: • Nerve cells are resting…more Na+ (that’s sodium) on the outside and more K+ (that’s potassium) on the inside… • Something stimulates your nervous system… • Na+ rushes into the nerve cell and depolarizes the membrane, this creates an “action potential” • This action potential is carried all the way down the length of the nerve cell (called the axon) • When it reaches the end, chemicals (called neurotransmitters) are released and the process begins again at the next nerve cell’s dendrites • Then, the membrane is repolarized, Na+ goes back out and K+ goes back in (all through the sodium potassium pump)

4. What are Vlogs and Vod-Casts? • Vlog or Vod-Cast • Video that can be uploaded to a website or downloaded to a student’s iPod or laptop for students to use a resource when reviewing vocabulary • Example video: • You can find more examples on my class blogs: http://halvorsenbiology.wordpress.com/review-videos/http://halvorsenanatomy.wordpress.com/review-videos/ http://halvorsenbasicbiology.wordpress.com/review-videos/

5. Why Use Teacher-Created Vlogs or Vod-Casts? • Provides specific vocabulary and/or content support at home that directly relates to what has happened or is happening in your classroom • Increases student retention • Increases student participation and engagement • Increases parent awareness of topics covered in class • EASY to create and upload!

6. How I First Used Vlogs: My Action Research Project • Students were given a Pre-Test to assess key vocabulary • During the unit, I created and posted a video review each day that new material was presented • Students were required to view and respond to the review videos (graded component to encourage participation) • Students were given a Post-Test to re-asses key vocabulary and to determine progress

7. Impact on Student Performance (Pre-Test vs Post-Test Scores) • During my action research: • All students (except one) who viewed four or more videos showed at least a 7 point (25%) increase from their pre-test to their post-test • All students (except one) who viewed four or more videos received a passing score on the post-test • In contrast, the student who viewed only three out of seven videos showed a 15% point decrease from the pre-test to the post-test • Overall, this post-test had some of the highest scores of the year • Students who consistently viewed videos were also more engaged and participated more easily and freely during class discussions

8. Other Uses of Vlogs and Vod-Casts • Students create their own! • Use for review or final projects • Use to document labs or do a video lab report • Use for discussions of current events

9. Another Student Example…

10. Vlog/Vod-Cast Materials:What Do You Need? • Computer • Web-cam, digital camera or video camera • iMovie (Mac), Movie-maker (PC) software or AVS Video Editor (free software)

11. The A-B-Cs of Vlogs and Vod-Casts • Decide how often you will create your videos • Each day, once each week, towards the end of a unit, etc • Write a short script to follow while making your video • Record your video • Edit (if necessary) your video • Post your video to your class blog, email to students and parents, and/or download directly to student’s laptops or iPods

12. Step by Step Video Creation Using iMovie • Open iMovie • Click “Create a New Project” • Name your project • Click on Camera (“Built-in-iSight”) • When ready, click on “Record with iSight” • Film your movie, click again on “Record with iSight” to stop filming • Save • IF YOU HAVE NO WEBCAM—RECORD ON YOUR CAMERA, THEN DOWNLOAD AND IMPORT TO IMOVIE

13. Step by Step Video Creation Using iMovie • Drag Clip to bottom area “Drag Clips here to Build Your Project” • Edit (view Tutorials online for more advanced editing) • Save • Get ready for uploading: • To load to a Website or to Transfer to another laptop via USB stick: Click “Share-Quick Time” and choose web-streaming and name your project • To student’s iPods: Click “Share-iPod” and then click share • Your movie is now ready for uploading, downloading or transferring to a student’s laptop or iPod

14. If you are using AVS Editor or Movie Maker • See these websites for helpful tutorials: • AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Editor.aspx?sct=aff&ct=regnow&cid=175028 • Movie Maker Tutorials: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx

15. Blogs • Very easy to set up • A place to upload your videos • Also great for announcements such as homework or test dates • Suggested FREE sites: • wordpress.com (cannot directly upload videos, must link to a site such as TeacherTube or YouTube) • blogspot.com (can directly upload video files)

16. More Helpful Links • iMovie Tutorials: http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie • Movie Maker Tutorials: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx • AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Editor.aspx?sct=aff&ct=regnow&cid=175028 • Sites to upload your videos: http://youtube.com/ or http://teachertube.com/

17. That’s a Wrap… • Access to this PPT is on my blog: http://halvorsenclasses.wordpress.com/ and should also be on your CD of all handouts • Feel free to contact me: michelle.halvorsen@tsd.state.tx.us at any time if you have additional questions or need more help! • Questions??? • If you would like to stay and play more with the software to make your own Vlog, please feel free to stick around!

18. Other COOL websites for projects • www.animoto.com (http://animoto.com/education for FREE FULL access) • Example Student Project on Biomes: • www.voicethread.com