Using Camcorders as an Educational Tool Starting and Maintaining a Student-Run Televised Morning Announcements Program At Your School Dov Rosenberg dovrosenberg.com dov.rosenberg@dpsnc.net NCETC 11/30 - 12/1/2005

Why Teach Children to Use Camcorders? How do children benefit? Learn how to make a finished product Learn how to communicate both visually and verbally Take pride in their work Learn a skill in preparation for the workplace THEY LOVE IT!

Ways to use Camcorders in the Classroom Instructional videos Class rules/procedures Student Projects Whole Class Multimedia Project Multimedia Mania Morning Announcements Show Lily Pad Live!

Teaching Children to Use Camcorders Framing What do you want in your shot? Panning Left to right, g-e-n-t-l-y Zooming Nice and smooth USE STUDENTS AS TEACHERS

Teaching Children to Use Camcorders (cont.) Flip the viewscreen around so your subjects can see themselves Hook the camcorder up to a TV with an AV cable so the camera person can watch

Equipment Tripod ($30) Microphone ($70) Lighting Camera mic is problematic I recommend the Pressure Zone Microphone (PZM) Lighting Flourescent lighting looks poor Standard clip-on work lights are $6 each! You’ll need a lot of lights, I recommend six to eight

Sharing Camcorder Projects Movie Maker This PC-based program will allow you to upload and edit video Most camcorders need a FireWire card to import video iMovie I use this Mac-based program Can import from camera, edit, and compress video to upload to the web You can also burn video projects to CD-ROMs and DVDs or just record them onto VHS!

Equipment Needed (cont.) Digital Camcorder The Samsung SC-D353 ($285) is the only model in its price range that supports an external mic FireWire Card ($39) Most digital camcorders use FireWire to import video to computers All Macs come with FireWire ports, but many PCs do not

Other Equipment Use PowerPoint with a TV for your teleprompter Install a video card ($50) or use an AverKey ($70) to connect computer to TV Child operates computer behind TV Example teleprompter files

Lighting Work lights are cheap ($6) The aluminum makes them effective at diffusing light Place them to eliminate shadows

What About Music? I made a CD of music and posted the track list for students to choose which song they want each day Speakers should be as far away from the mic as your subjects Try mounting them behind the kids Teach fading in and out

The Web and Video Projects Both Movie Maker and iMovie allow you to compress video for the web Your webmaster can upload it to your website Excellent web article about shooting web video! Make sure you’ve got parental permission! English version of form Spanish version of form

Paperwork LPL Application Employment Contract Parent Letter In Spanish Parent Letter Student Sign-In Sheet Job Assignment Sheet

Watch Lily Pad Live!

Equipment Pictures & Links

Camcorder I recommend Samsung digital camcorders Most leading brands have eliminated mic inputs The Samsung SC-D353 has a mic input and is a very good bargain at $285

Tripod Essential! ($30-$100) Steadies camera Makes panning & tilting easy Ensures against dropping

AV Cables Camcorder to VCR USB VCR to TV FireWire

Music As you can see, this stereo comes with speakers You can mount and connect these instead But, with longer speaker wire

Microphone The Pressure Zone Microphone (PZM) rests on the floor in front of the people or person speaking Purchase Link $60-$200

Computer Screen On Your TV! To get your teleprompter working right, you need to connect a computer to a TV You can use an AverKey ($70) Or try installing a video card ($50) AverKey Video Card

Teleprompter Files Take a look at some of the teleprompter files we used on Lily Pad Live! Basic Monday through Thursday Format Friday’s format has some subtle differences

FireWire Card Although digital pictures are exported through USB, very few camcorders export moving video through anything but FireWire FireWire is a type of cable used to connect camcorders to computers Purchase Link FireWire Card $39