EDLD+5363+Course+Reflection+Prompts

Course Reflection Prompts:
 * Elizabeth Robles ET8015** [[image:agenda.jpg width="143" height="165" align="right"]]

1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

When I first read the title of this course, Multimedia and Video Technology, I was very excited! I love using video in the classroom but I felt as though I was not very proficient in creating my own videos. I expected this class to help me to become a better videographer and video editor. And it did!! I learned about several different video editing programs like Microsoft Movie Maker, Avid FreeDV, and Apple iMovie. Each of these free programs is featured in the article, “Top 5 Free Video Editing Software Programs.” After researching each of these programs, I finally decided to use Microsoft Movie Maker to edit a video during Week 2. Our final PSA project was editing using Apple iMovie. It was really great to learn different free options in video editing. I will be able to show my students and then they can download them free of charge! What I did not envision for this class was the group project. This was this first time I have ever worked with a virtual group and created a product. It was definitely a learning experience for me!

 Desktop-Video-Guide. (n.d.). Top 5 free video editing software programs. Retrieved on April 12, 2009, from http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/top-5-free-video-editing-software-review.html.

2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

I will definitely put what I have learned in this course to use in my current job. I use video in the classroom and I am excited to be able to edit videos with more confidence. It was also interesting to learn different tips on videotaping. For example, the article “Videography Tips” lists seven deadly camcorder sins like firehosing (panning all over the scene), snapshooting (taping only two or three seconds per shot), and motorzooming (overuse of on-screen zooms). I realized that I am guilty of each of these “sins” and I will now be more cognizant of the tips I have learned from our readings in week 3. In my job, I have to make some presentations for the staff. I am looking forward to using my new skills for those presentations this year. In week 1, we created a personal video using PhotoStory 3. I loved this activity because I am very familiar with PhotoStory. I use it with my classes at least 7 times per year. I also create a monthly video using PhotoStory and post it to my website. I will definitely keep using PhotoStory as well as Movie Maker in my career.

Videomaker. (n.d.). Videography tips. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://www.videomaker.com/learn/tips-to-get-started/

3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

 I feel as though I achieved all of the outcomes of the course. We did have a glitch in our group- one of our members dropped from our group during week 4. We were all able to make up for the missing group member and we worked together to get his part of the PSA assignment done in time. Another issue that we had was the problem with file extension names. Since a few group members were in charge of actually videotaping something, we had to send our videos to our group’s editor. This proved to be rather tricky. I tried converting and sending my video in many different formats (Quicktime, .wmv, .avi), but we were finally able to merge our videos with Mp4 files. We used the program iMovie to create our final project. 4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I was able to complete all course assignments! Week 1’s assignment was rather easy for me since I am very familiar with PhotoStory 3. I created a video about my husband and I- from when we met 10 years ago to our wedding last year. I had never used PhotoStory for a personal video- I have always used it at school! It was nice to create a personal video for a change. One thing that discouraged me during this course was the changing in assignments. During one of the weeks, I had a different assignment on my Brighton Course Ware than the one that was sent to me though email. I had to wait to begin my assignment until I got clarification about the difference in the assignments. My group was discouraged when one of our team mates dropped out of our group during week 4! We had already assigned the roles for our PSA and this made it somewhat difficult to get everything completed in time. We worked together to get it all done! I felt very discouraged when I attempted to send my part of the PSA video to one of my group members for editing but wasn’t immediately able to find a compatible file extension.

5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I learned many different things about myself, my technology and leadership skills, and my attitudes during EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology. First of all, I learned that I really didn’t know much at all about creating video and editing it before taking this course! It was great to be given the time in week 2 to really explore different video editing software programs and chose one that was right for us. I was able to learn about many different programs, especially Windows Movie Maker which is great because we use this program at my campus. One of the best things that I learned during this course was how to conduct a virtual group! It was the first opportunity that I have had to work in a group and create a product which each group member contributed to. It was tough at first, but we got the hang of sharing documents using google docs and communicating through email. At first I had a negative attitude about virtual groups but now I feel much more comfortable with it and I feel as though I would be able to conduct a great group in the future. One of my favorite articles that I read during this course was entitled “Videography Tips.” I learned so much about what to do (and what not to do!!) when it comes to videotaping. I will use what I have learned in this course in my job and in my personal life!

Videomaker. (n.d.). Videography tips. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://www.videomaker.com/learn/tips-to-get-started/

