I am a geography teacher and have been looking for a way to tie everything in that we learn about during the year into one big final project. I have always enjoyed the Zeitgeist videos that Google produces that highlight the most searched stories/events of each year. I decided to incorporate that concept into our class by having students chronicle the major current events worldwide from the start of school to the end, basically Aug-May. They had to pick events each month that they felt should be included in their final video. They needed to explain why they were choosing to highlight a particular event, what made that event more worthy to be chosen than other events. In the end they used the Video Editor to find images and video that showed their view of the past nine months of the major world, national, and local events.
There are many reasons that I think the Video Editor is worthwhile. First off the students get to create a project that they can show the world. Most projects end up being viewed by the student, parents, and teacher, maybe the class, but that is usually it. Using YouTube really does open it up to the world. Secondly students get a project that they can keep. In the past posters have been an acceptable medium, meaning as soon as project is over it goes in the garbage, plus there is only so much you can do with a poster. Next point is copyright infringement. I think the YouTube editor does a great job teaching how to be a responsible creator in digital age. Because you are limited to copyright free images, music, and videos students learn that if they are publishing worldwide they need to make sure they are following the rules. Finally and perhaps most importantly is the ability to create. I allowed my students a lot of freedom in this arena. They could add anything to their video that meant something to them which I felt was important from a creative stance as well as it meant I didn't have to watch the same video 150 times. Each one would be as unique as the students themselves. Students have really enjoyed this aspect of the video editor. They make the final call on edits, clips, and anything they put in or leave out of their video. They also love that others can see their video and they can view what the rest of the class has done. They will do a good job for you, if they know it will be published for the world to see they will make sure it's worthy of that as well.
I have included a few of the videos so you can see what students are able to produce. I consider creation the peak of critical thinking and the YouTube video editor really allows for something special.
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