Multimedia+Video+Tehcnology+Blogs

 The outcomes I envisioned for this course of study were to learn about the ins and outs of multimedia technology. In one way I believe that those outcomes were acheived. Certainly, I carried out the assignments which compelled me to create two well-thought-out video projects. I'm not sure what I expected to learn, but I have had a lot of experience making videos of this kind, so it was not really new to me. I did appreciate the videos about making videos. That really opened my eyes to the kind of finesse one must possess to be able to create a quality video. I have never been very steady with a camera. I believe that in order to be good at it, I would have to practice and be methodical about how I approach picture taking. Since I work for a living, and not as a photographer, I have little time to spend honing my camera skills. Even in family situations, my husband has been the one behind the camera for more than 34 years. However, I found in this course a few video-creation goals that I might want to try to achieve. I liked this course, except for the abundance of changes, and I think that it was what I expected it to be.  Certainly, the use of video equipment and the creation of quality videos is part of my job. I have considered using my Flip camera to take some video of master teachers delivering quality lessons. I would then use these to show teachers how a great classroom experience should look. This class has forced me to see that planning is essential and I can not take a "fly by the seat of your pants" attitude if I expect others to take my productions seriously. I know that being able to create a quality video will take more practice, but I believe that I can do it. Another aspect of my job is encouraging teachers to assign multimedia projects to their students. As many teachers are reluctant to assign something they know nothing about, it is my job to train them, and perhaps their students, to use the video equipment and Adobe Premiere Elements.  I do not feel that I failed to achieve any of the outcomes of this course. Do I think I could have done a better job? Yes, but since the course is only 5 weeks long, I also realize that to do anything well, I must also have time to practice. As far as Adobe Premiere Elements is concerned, our district has provided it to me for training and production purposes. I will have plenty of time to learn all of its finer points and to perfect my video-making process. This class has made me much more aware of how valuable videos can be for learning especially for students who are still in public school. It is where they are, and we are doing them a great disservice by not allowing them to express their learning through the creative outlet that video making affords. I wish every teacher could learn what I have. I think we would see some real changes in education!  I had no trouble completing the course assignments. The only issues I had were the changes in the syllabus and the requirements that changed weekly. I appreciate the time that the instructors spent trying to make valuable changes to the course work. The only real hindrance was that sometimes the assignments that were delivered by e-mail did not match the words that were spoken on the web conferences. This created a real dilemna but not one that could not be surmounted by a little creativity and inferencing on my part. So far, everything has worked out well. I have one exception however. Week 5 assignments were a bit convoluted. I never could tell which part I was working on, so I turned in the wrong assignment first thing. Consequently, I had to turn in the second part of the assignment in the wrong place as well.  I learned that sometimes I talk too much and say the wrong things, but I have known that for a very long time. I just thought I had gotten beyond those bad habits. I apologized to my group after our first meeting because I felt I had been a bit too outspoken about somethings we had discussed. For the most part, I try to keep my mouth shut unless I have thought things out very carefully (something I have learned through great distress and many trials). Overall, this group project is what I had hoped for from the beginning of my graduate studies. When my daughter took online courses in her undergraduate work, she always worked with groups of people that she never met. I have wanted to touch base with so many on the discussion board, but I have never really felt the time or provocation was there.