Hello Everyone! Hope you have been enjoying the Flip Camera in your class. To check in on how things are going I would like everyone to post ONE positive activity that incorporated the use of the Flip and also ONE obstable or drawback you have faced thus far. Please post your comments before we all head off to break.
I've really enjoyed reading all your comments and was very excited to see additional posts added all on your own! Keep up the great work and enjoy your holiday break. (Please make sure you post under your name so I can check you off my list)
As always, if you need additional training or have questions, please email myself or Roger. Or if you need additional Flips for student projects, send in a loan request form available on our website, http://www.ontract.org/.
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I really haven't had the opportunity to film my students lately. We are working on research papers. :( However, in the next few months, we will be doing Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. I plan to borrow more cameras from the Teacher Center so my kids can film themselves doing different scenes. I also plan to use these films as part of my faculty presentation as well as part of their grade. I don't know when that will be.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, several students approached me about using the Flip for a project in another class. I was impressed by their ability to record, transfer, and edit the video with minimal help from me. This just shows the possibility of using the camera in the hands of students. The only negative, however, is the poor audio quality of the Flip Camera.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to say anything positive about the camera, it would be its small, carry-on size. Unfortunately, I am distracted by its poor video and audio capabilities as well as its design and data storage. I had high hopes for this camera.
ReplyDeleteI presented the Flip Camera to our school's technology team. Many member were enthusiastic and one actually asked to borrow the camera to film a Veteran's Day presentation in her room. I have begun filming the students as they research and prepare presentations of Christmas Celebrations Around the World. I hope to make a film incorporating the working aspect and the final presentation of the project. The only thing that could be looked on as a negative is that I have a hard time holding the camera still enough so that the images don't wobble. Nobody's fault but mine. Love the camera. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI used it for filming my children several times this year. Once just to try it so I filmed them at the fire assembly, fun but not thrilling or educational. The second time, I filmed them doing their Reader's Theater Halloween stories. Wow, did they ever get a lot from this experience, we played it back and they couldn't believe how they were reading. They commented on their fluency and wanted a "re-do" The second time was much, much better and they were definitely more fluent. I have to agree with John regarding the audio, if there is a lot of background noise, you will hear or it is muffled. I do love it and plan on using it for reading fluency and ELA as well as other areas in the classroom.
ReplyDeletehi,
ReplyDeletetook video of the polevaulters at practice.
hi,
ReplyDeletelook at your calendar...
december is spelled wrong!
pat
I have taken the flip on a fieldtrip and made a video thank you. We used clips from the trip and thanked our hosts for our gifts and read stories we wrote about the trip. I'm still having trouble burning to a CD that will work on our school computers or tv. I'm sure it's something simple but I'm stuck and slowed down taking video because I can't do much with the movie maker movies except watch them on my computer. Carol
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed making videos of my third grade class giving book presentations. They were really excited to see themselves and were, surprisingly, critical of themselves. My biggest obstacle is having time to make the videos, edit, etc.
ReplyDeleteIi've only had the chance to use the Flip once with my students. At that time, they were sharing some creative writing. Many of the students were excited to know they were being recorded, but others were much shyer than I expected them to be. When I took the camera out for this activity, I hadn't forewarned students. Next time, I'll tell them ahead of time so that they can prepared themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe only negative I find so far is that the camera picks up sound from whatever is closest to it. Those who are a little far from it don't record well.
We used the flip camera to measure fluency and expression. The students each read a few lines from a spooky story and we taped them using the flip. Then we put them all together to complete an entire story. It was then posted on our web site as a treat for Halloween. It was good because it motivated the students to be fluent and expressive. It definitely would be easier if we had more flips because each student only had enough time to do a few lines. We plan on doing a similar activity hopefully before break.
ReplyDeleteI have used it about 6 times: math explanations, shadow puppet, book review skits, and other student presentations....huge motivator is the best thing I like....negative...I guess audio though we just try to get close to it..loaned it to another teacher....they had a great time with it...I also really like the way you can plug it into the TV and get instanteous playback
ReplyDeleteKathy Costello
WOW! Some really exciting stuff going on. Keep up the great work. I know the audio isn't the best on these cameras but they are affordable which makes them a great option for classrooms. Try to record as close as you can is my best advice. Don't forget we have more here for loan if you want to borrow some for a project. Pat, unfortunately the calendar comes with the blog so I can't change 'Decemeber'. But thanks for letting me know. Carol, I'll see if Roger can help you out with your CD issue. Have a wonderful holiday everyone!!!!! Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI have yet to incorporate the Flip camera into a classroom activity as I had hoped, but am anticipating that implementation after the holiday. I have recorded our school concerts and posted them to the web page, student council representatives are putting the finishing touches to their script and will film a brief description of character education when we return from break, and our P.E. teacher has used the camera (students too) to gather clips on activities while in P.E. These are usually posted to the web site as well.
ReplyDeleteI used the camera to record a reader's theater presentation of my kindergarten students. After filming, we watched it to analyze the results. It was an awesome experience that led to the students themselves generating a list of things to change as we redid the video. Lots of higher order thinking going on. A few weeks later, as I was doing a lesson on opposits, the kids asked if we could make a video of opposits. They helped me plan and film. Finding the time to edit and make the movies has been a little bit of an issue but worth it. I also have some problem with the audio quality.
ReplyDeleteOne of my colleagues asked to use the Flip Camera in her one of her classes. However, when she plugged it into the computer, she could hear the sound, but she couldn't see the images. Does anyone know if there is software she has to download from the Internet? I thought that once you plugged it in, the computer opened up the Flip software. I do know that our district computers lose whatever is on them once they are shut down. I think it is called a Deep Freeze (?). I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI used the Flip Camera as part of a school-wide Veteran's Day activity. We filmed several people talking about their experiences related to the military including a couple teachers, my brother whois stationed in Germany, and the newly elected NT mayor. I created a movie in MovieMaker and this was played for all of the students. After viewing the movie, students wrote letters to soldiers and veterans thanking them for their service. One setback I experienced was the poor sound quality. I did like how easy the Flip was to use, though!
ReplyDeleteA student who was having difficulty with a project,a linoleum (block)carving to do a print, had given up. They put their head down on the desk and started to go to sleep. Ah ha, aperfect opportunity. "OK, how would you like another option? Document the project for me and teach others how to do it." "How?" "You can use the flip and make a movie." They jumped up, I gave him the camera and he got stared! We'll let you know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteI have been using the camera for many different projects. Our school has a leadership team comprised of students and staff. The camera has been used to record students interviews with quest speakers. The ultimate goal will be to create presentations with student involvement and then upload the presentations to school tube.
ReplyDeleteRegarding school tube, I uploaded our schools first video to school tube. One of our fourth grade teachers had students presdent their "greatest gifts" to their parents. This presentation was then uploaded to the school tube site. The students have really enjoyed using the camera in different learning modalities. Future presentations will also be added to school tube.
So it took me awhile for inspiration to hit, but I've got it! We used it for creating a Poem for Two Voices. I video taped a student reading the bad side of her life, and then we loaded it onto her Mac. She stood next to her MAC and read the good side of her life alternating with the computer. It turned out soooo cute. Then we taped the whole thing for the teacher.
ReplyDelete