Digital Video Editing

     Having students design and create their own digital videos in the classroom is a powerful tool to get students engaged in what they are learning. My favorite curriculum to teach is World History I. Having students design and create a tourism commercial at the end of the year on their favorite civilization would be an excellent way for students to synthesize the content and skills they have learned throughout the year.

     Students could work in teams based on the civilization they chose. They would go back and look at what they have learned about that civilization and choose places someone would want to visit that were important to that civilization. They would then create a treatment for their commercial complete with design, color, music, look, feel, and special effects.  They need to design who their audience will be and make sure there are designing for that audience. After the treatment is approved by their teacher they will then begin to film.

      There are two ways to edit video. Students can do it in-camera which takes longer to film but is easier or they can digitally edit the video after the filming which takes longer but looks more professional. For this project, the students would be editing the video after the filming occurred. Students could then add backgrounds to make the reader see the civilization, edit in music, animation, and even voice-overs. I like Movie-maker because it allows students to edit easily and is free.  When the videos are complete, students would share them with their peers, reflecting on what worked and what may have been a challenge. By creating videos in the classroom, students are linking living to learning, they are finding meaning in what they do, and using real world skills to do them. 

Have you ever had your students use video editing in your classroom? What worked? What were some of the challenges? 

How to use Movie Maker