Digital Movie Making

When assigning a movie-making process, there can be a focus on the process or the content involved in the movie. For a United States History class, both ways are important. Content can be included as students explore cause and effect relationships, synthesizing information, narrating historical events, and sequencing events in history as well. You can have your students focus on movies as a communication tool, observation and analysis, or reflection. A talk show using famous figures, or a debate between people on different sides of a historical issue can be used to facilitate communication. Students can work on analyzing the causes of war, or make their own observations on historical events. Because a good history course can help change how people view the past, having reflective videos based on what has been learned can also be used. Students can make their own news reports for events before newscasters entered the scene. There are many possibilities to use such assignments in the classroom.

Assigning students such projects can help them in many areas. The famous George Lucas argues that the benefits of making movies can help your students in ways that other projects can't. There is a greater focus on emotional intelligence. If you decide to assign your students a project where they must present a short documentary on the Civil War, music, colors, and sequence must be chosen to make the emotional impact the students wish to affect. When making presentations later in life, this early exposure to making such choices can benefit students. Research done in Australia also finds students benefitting in the history domain, language and film skills development, literacy skills, communication, organization and teamwork, higher order thinking, metacognitive skills and affective skills.

There are of course issues that have to be considered before you begin assignments. Before expecting students to demonstrate competance in the equiptment needed, you must train yourself. Look into IMovie, PhotoStory, MovieMaker or Bubbleshare. If students are expected to actually film something, then they will need to use one of the movie programs, but if the focus is more on narration, using Bubbleshare may be more viable. You must also make sure students have access to materials needed, and there should be time in class to help students with any problems they have. Allow for creativity, but do not ignore content area. Students must be learning about history as well as the other skills supplimented by digital film making. If you plan on sharing student products on the internet or in other places, permission from parents probably should be acquired. Websites like YouTube! can be great, but there are dangers as well. If these considerations are looked at, then using movie making can be really useful and doable in your classroom.