Filming My First Video

January 13^th 2012

I want to ease my Biology students into the idea of watching a video lecture, so today I decided to create a section review video. 

What format should I use?  There are so many different ways to present recorded course content that I wasn’t sure which to use: screen casts, Kahn Academy, video recording, etc.  After much deliberation, I decided to use the Flip one-take model that Lodge McCammon presented at the STEM Institute.  I chose this format for two reasons.  First, I like the idea of my students being able to see me as I teach them, and two I think it will help me keep the video lectures short (under 10 minutes).

I started by dividing a piece of white paper into six sections.  Each of these sections would represent the material I would put onto my six white boards.  Then I transferred the information and images onto the white boards using colorful markers. 

I set up my white boards, tripod and video camera and was ready to go.  Since this was a review lecture of an entire section of content, it was a little longer than I had hoped (10:33) but I managed to pull it off in just one take.  From start to finish this first attempt took me approximately one hour.