ETAD 877 - Video Design for Learning
Get ready to be your own photographer, videographer, editor and producer!
I took ETAD 877 in the spring of 2017 and I was quite excited to take this course for a couple reasons. First was it was a video design course and I was really looking forward to improving my video design skills. I am an amature photographer and I had the chance to take a photography course in my education undergrad 10 years prior. I really enjoyed playing with lighting and settings on my digital camera and I was looking forward to the next step in learning more about making educational videos. Secondly, I had already designed some educational videos in the multimedia design course and had a basic comfort level with using iMovie and YouTube to design and publish. I was looking forward to polishing up videography skills. Third, was that this course was being taught by Dr. Jay Wilson. I knew Jay, back when I was an undergrad, as the guru of all things technological in the College of Education. He was the man in charge of the computer lab and in the few times I had seen him was struck by his sincerity, knowledge and overall easy-going nature. Many had said he was a great professor and I was looking forward to learning with him.
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I can say that this course didn't disappoint. Jay was very knowledgable on all subjects. His video discussions with us were very in depth, but also a lot of fun. He pushed us to think about all the aspects of video design while providing advice and assistance at every step of the way. In this class I was blown away by my classmates. Many who were much more knowledgeable videographers. Their projects were amazing and their use of green screens, cut effects and voice and video overlay left me in awe. I realized I still have much to learn.
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For this course having access to the tools really helps to build a great product. I owned my own Nikon Coolpix point and shoot camera. I borrowed a GoPro camera and tripod to help me design my final project. Having the right tools really will help you in this course, but you can still develop a great educational video with a minimum of equipment. I suggest the motto beg, borrow or... to get get what you need. In terms of video editing programs we were allowed complete flexibility with what platform to use. Some chose Final Cut Pro and other high end video editing software. I myself choose iMovie on my computer. I liked that Jay gave us complete freedom to use the editor we were interested in. I learned a lot in this course and had some tough lessons (like lighting challenges), and felt like Jay said, "You will always look at your end result and wish you did something better." Overall this is a great course and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in adding video to their instruction.
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For my final project I designed an instructional video for Grade 7 math titled: Mountain Biking and Circumference. I hope you enjoy it.
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