YouTube, TeacherTube ... and now, RMHS MathTube ?!Our Honors Geometry students have been working hard on a large project. One of the essential questions the students are trying to answer is: "What are some of the best ways to teach geometry concepts using the TI graphing calculator?" The TI calculator is a key component in high school math curricula. It is chock-full of software apps designed to put the power of math, in an affordable way, in each student's hands. At RMHS, it is an expected tool for our students.
Today, a team of three freshmen from Fourth Period, Honors Geometry created their first video, uploadable (is this an actual word?) to a hosting site, Screencast. They arrived in the Media Lab, script in hand and did it! Zach Driscoll, Paul Andrick and Ben Finn did a great job writing and producing this 5-minute video. The lesson is on the sine function, on the TI graphing calculator. While the video appears seemingly straightforward, it is deceptive ~ ~ these kids did a lot of traveling up a learning curve, especially on software interfaces, to make it happen.
All the students in periods 1, 4 and 5 are making math videos on use of the graphing calculator. They see the following video as an important first step for a new process here at RMHS. Using exisiting hardware and software, some additional free software, and a lot of attention to detail, we now know this is possible. According to TechSmith, Inc, the Michigan corporation responsible for Screencast and Jing, they know of no other high schools in the US doing this type of work with their product, let alone freshmen!
Students, watch and learn. Make sure your volume is on and high enough. Be sure to show your folks too. I am VERY proud of you all.
Below is the link. Double click it. Then, click the triangle "play" button in the middle of the screen. Scroll as needed to see the display screen.
http://screencast.com/t/tgY9epcw
Readers, please comment and let us know what you think. What else should we consider in making the videos? Where would YOU like to see this go?
17 comments:
This is Julia from Period 4:
The only two things that I have considered in the making of these videos, is maybe to add music, or a beginning and ending slides, videos, etc. to introduce what the topic is, instead of just saying it.
This is Sarah from period 5. I agree with Julia from period 4. I think that these videos are off to a good start.
Ladies,
This is Mrs. Fitzpatrick writing.
I like your suggestions. I realize there are more powerful broadcasting tools out there that woukd make additions of music and editing our voices possible. Maybe next year I can tweek the project to include that type of powerful software. This year I went with Jing for the sheer simplicity of it. I wanted to keep the focus on the math, the Cabri Jr. work. I am very proud of you!
This is Alexandra from period one. I wish that Jing could let us edit more and have more freedom. I have IMovie on my computer and the ability to take clips from different broadcasts help tremendouly espically if they're long. Say you mess up in the last 30 seconds then you'd have to redo the entire broadcast! This happened all too many times with my group.
This is Julia from period One. I think that Jing is a great software, but it definitly has its limits that make it difficult to work with. Our group was recording a rotation, and we got to the end where we actually had to rotate the object and it took a while to work, so I said to Kayley "Why isn't this working?" and suddenly, it worked. If the Jing software gave students the ability to edit their clips or splice two clips together, it would be a much more powerful software.
This is Joey from period 1.
I was lucky enough to see the first Jing video completed by the boys in period 4. They did a great job with explaining all of their steps with detail, but short enough so that the viewers did not get bored. My group is completing our Jing Video and we are excited to see how it is going to come out. It took a lot of work but I l feel like it will pay off.
Hi its Colin ffrom p.4
I also saw the video made by Zack, Ben and PAul and thought they did a great job explaining. I hope ours can come out just as good.
This is Margaret from period 5.
I agree with Alexandra's observation that Jing would be better if we could use parts of different sessions. My group messed up in the middle of something that had been working well several times and we had to keep starting over. This wasted a lot of time when we could have just used pieces from different attempts.
I think it's really exciting that no other high schools in the US are doing anything like this. From what my group has done with our project, and from what we've seen of other groups' projects, Jing seems like really good teaching/learning software. I enjoyed the oppertunity to try it!
-Maureen, period 1
This is Chris From period Four. I agree with Julia. The videos were great to start, but it would have been great to be able to edit them and possibly add music.
Nick- Period 1
Last Friday, my group members and I finished recording the screen cast using TI smartview and the jing. It was tough doing the videos because sometimes, the programs were a little lagged and it took a while to make it under 5 minutes. However, we managed to do 3 sessions all under 5 minutes and I think it came out great. I hope you enjoy it.
Zack from period 4. This screencast is probably the coolest thing ever made in the history of ever. Maybe I am a little biased, but who is keeping track? I agree with previous comments about the problem of not being able to edit mistakes and the possibility of adding music to the screencast. But, we all know that this screencast was put together very well. and the narrator's voice seemed pretty nice. Ya. Ching Waeng
Phil from period 1 -
Yes I do agree that this software is very slow and there are not many options with background music etc, which may really hinder video productions. However this video that was completed by Ben, Zach, and Paul was very good with the use of humor and Ben laughing in the background :) Anyway hopefully my group's video will come out ok and technology will not be an issue.
This is Ben from Period 4
Hah. What an awesome video. I wonder who made it......Anyways. I definately think we were on the verge of a great new idea with Jing. While it was a great software for a start for a new project like this, especially due to its simplicity, I think the students that will do it next year should be able to use softwares that they are more familiar with, such as MovieMaker, or iMovie, or anything like that. not only would it make it a lot easier on the students, but it could also yield even better results than we did with Jing.
Jordan Period 5
This is a very well-made video. There is a good combination of information and comedy. I was entertained throughout and I also learned how to measure segments and angles. I agree with Joey that the length of the video was good. I also thought that the narration was key. Zack was speaking at a good pace and was clear. Overall, this was a good jing production.
Jordan Period 5
This was a very well-made video. I thought that there was a nice balance between information and comedy. The script was geared towards all types of audiences. Also, the narration was good. Zack spoke clearly and at a good pace. I enjoyed the video and I feel that it is a very good learning resource
brian p 5
I wish that the ti program was able to work quicker without a lag. the lag made our video slower than necessary and hard to deaal with.
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