This site runs on Wordpress, a powerful software that runs many of the best blogs on the Internet. It can be used for a single site (like Gettig.net) or deployed in a multi-user fashion. With the last couple of versions, it is increasingly a candidate for use as a Content Management System (CMS).
Wordpress 2.7 introduced some wonderful new features that make managing a Wordpress site much easier. It also brought about increased functionality to make it a candidate for use as a CMS. Wordpress 2.8 expands upon that. Read more »
A colleague sent me a link to this article at EdWeek. I will let you read it and draw your own conclusions, but the big idea I got out of this was that filmmaking in schools can definitely help literacy.
Many schools are excited about their technology and rightfully so. Teachers are using various technologies to teach more effectively, and students are engaged in the learning process even more when they get to use these things.
Reading, writing, and math are core subjects of every school. Student filmmaking involves all three.
- Reading – Students prepare their script by researching the subject of their film, which requires reading. On a collaborative film assignment, this may require reading what other students have found or even written themselves, which brings about the effects of group learning. The sharp teacher will strategically group students for this reason.
- Writing – A movie is a story. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end. There are varied writing methods for the teacher to employ with their students and these can be used in the filmmaking process as well. Again, when students are grouped for a film project, they are forced to share their writings which fosters a peer review. In fact, the teacher can build in peer review as part of the assignment.
- Math – Working with a budget, whether that is time, money, or both, is a reality of everyday life. Students will need to keep their movie within the time frame dictated by the assignment and that means math. In older grades, a mock movie budget could be part of the assignment as well.
What about you? Are you using filmmaking in your classroom? Have you considered it? I look forward to your comments.
We are excited to let you know that we just finished production of several promotional videos for Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan. In conjunction with YTG Designs, we filmed, edited, and delivered several videos for use on their website, in presentations, and wherever else they choose to use them.
These videos were originally shot for online distribution only. In fact, the project originally called for just one video. By making several short videos, the message is spread out to a wider audience. Shorter videos mean a better chance of keeping the viewer’s attention. It also let us be laser focused for a variety of topics. This approach brings flexibility to the client so that they can drop the clip into a presentation, put it online, or string all of the shorts together to make a long form video.
Keep an eye on Goodwill’s website in the weeks ahead. They will be relaunching and featuring much of the video content. Once it is released, this story will be updated and the videos embedded.
If you want to know how social media can help your business get its message to the widest audience, contact me!
