June 2005 — The Final Word
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
The Digitization of Learning
Looking to energize classroom instruction? Bring in digital video.
In the United States, 21st century
students are immersed in media,
squandering more time each day in
front of various screens and displays than
the typical full-time employee spends at
work. Therefore, it should come as no
surprise that the recent Kaiser Family
Foundation study, Generation M: Media
in the Lives of 8-18 Year-Olds, which
looked at the media habits of 2,000 thirdthrough
12th-grade students nationwide,
found, among other things, that students
spend more than eight-and-a-half hours
daily consuming media.
True masters of multi-tasking, children today watch television while text messaging friends and downloading songs to their MP3 players—wolfing down their daily dose of media in just under six-and-a-half hours. But even with this efficiency,media usage eats up more hours per day than school. And as the study confirms—and most parents will attest—media consumption ranks second only to sleeping in the average day of the American teen.
Re-engaging Students With Digital Storytelling
Attuned as they are to the media habits of their students, educators are showing an increasing interest in the concept of visual literacy. This is because teaching visual literacy can be an effective way of reaching students whose primary means of interaction, communication, and entertainment is visual. By harnessing their fascination and familiarity with multimedia,educators are striving to re-engage students—many of whom are left cold by traditional textbased learning—in the learning process.
Yet educators are not merely pandering to their students’media preferences. By teaching them proficiency in information and communication technologies, educators are preparing students for everyday life and workplace productivity in today’s plugged-in world. Teachers can use digital video to excite and engage students in learning activities across a range of subjects and activities.Working individually or in groups, students can use digital video to tell stories or create reports on virtually any subject. Whether they’re studying local history, staging a scene from a famous play, or reporting on a class field trip, even young students can use digital video to tell their stories in a compelling and memorable manner. In addition, students can even use digital video to bring still photos to life by panning across them and adding music, narration,and visual effects.
Culling the Right Solution
Just a few years ago, the cost of equipment to produce and edit digital video was beyond the means of all but the most affluent schools; expensive hardware and software were often challenging to install and operate. Fortunately, computers are now cheaper, exponentially more powerful, and easier to use than they were previously. Even today’s off-the-shelf computers typically have the numbercrunching horsepower, disk space, and connectivity needed to tackle digital video editing. With the improvements and enhancements in technology, now all schools need is a cable to transfer photos and videos from camera to computer.
