VIdeos in the Classroom?

Integrating video technology into the classroom is both fun and creative. Students have an opportunity to explore the aspects of capturing an event or project on video, but also the project itself requires critical thinking on behalf of the student.

 

In an effort to create a video that is both relevant and useful to a class full of students with special needs, I developed a project plan 

that would address a specific desired behavior following the format of a social story. This is in answer to the fact that sometimes, though we assume they do, students do not always know the correct behavior expected of them

            The point of view or perspective of the author in this video is first person point of view, following the format of a social story. This allows the student to assume the role of responsibility and understand the antecedent and correct response and behavior.

            The dramatic question, or question that will be answered by the end of the movie, addressed by this video is what is expected of me or what can I do when I am so overwhelmed, I just cannot take it anymore?

            The emotional content of a story or video is something that speaks to the viewer. In this video, we highlight the seemingly devastating situation of being overly stimulated or overwhelmed. Because social stories tend to be written with a particular student in mind to target undesired behavior and form alternative correct behavior, the emotional content is highly personal to the intended viewer.

            This of course directly relates to the ­gift of voice or the personalization of the story to help the audience understand the context. The intended audience will directly relate to the content and those who watch but are not the intended audience will at least understand the subject.

            Another important aspect to consider when putting a video together is the power of the soundtrack which is the music or sounds that support the story line. Because too many sounds can distract a student with disabilities and/or be to too much sensory input, the sounds will be limited to the narration except for two dramatic points in the video where an overstimulation and undesired behavior occur. This is mainly to make a point that overstimulation is loud and overwhelming.

            Economy is using just enough content to tell the story, This is important in social stories and this video because attention spans of students with special needs run short and adding too much information will cause the student to lose focus and miss the lesson being taught by the video.

            A movie should be paced according to content. The pacing of this movie is deliberate and even as if a student was reading a book or content was being explained clearly to a student.