Video Analysis

http://www.edutopia.org/video/movie.php?reset=cookie&keyword=137&id=Art_1127


The video “Laptops on Expedition” documents a seventh grade class’ journey to success. This school in Maine is the most ethnically and economically diverse school in the district. The students were struggling and test scores were in the bottom third of the state. Then, students and teachers began to work with technology on a regular basis. All classes are connected to work on one central project. In the video, the students analyzed and discussed the endangered animals of Maine. The information which included, a paper or report, a video documentary, artwork, and data all came together on a CD that was given to each of the students at the project’s end. The goal of this interconnected project was to allow students to contribute to the project in an area they excel in. Every student is a part of the final product; everyone is a team.

This unity and project were helped in a major due to the school’s use of integrated technology. Students had access to laptops with wireless Internet. This allowed them to research individual parts of a project while at the same time working on a common task. Students had access to digital media technology. The students were responsible for filming, directing, and editing their documentary. The students used cameras and editing software again on the provided laptop computers. Another use of technology was used in the soundtrack of the documentary. Students in the band and orchestra recorded and edited their own musical talent and placed it on the documentary. Students ran this project themselves, and it always turns out well.

The students are engaged in the technology and the project. The teachers in this film simply led the students to an ending goal. The students did the research, the students made the film, and the students organized the CD. The technology was for them. The only time a teacher assists is when students have questions about guidelines or using the technology. The teacher becomes a guide or mentor and the students and their technology drive the project.

The technology is what makes this project so special. Any student can write a report on an endangered animal. Any teacher can take the class to the library for research. Instead, the teachers left it up to the students. The technology helps them engage in their task. It makes it exciting, fun, and different. I personally feel it may be easier for current students to research on the Internet than in the library. The openness of the project let the students venture to any desired goal. They had access to pretty much anything and that opportunity to work with such fun, new, exciting technology inspired the students.

The teacher may not be “teaching” in the old fashioned sense, but that does not mean they are not busy. The teacher needs to ensure that all students are working and on task. This technology may inspire students, but it can also distract them. Teachers also need to do a good job introducing the lesson or project and the technology. If either part is unclear, students will be in over their heads. Lastly, as a team of teachers, a project like this takes a tremendous amount of planning, creativity and dedication. Every area has to be involved, while still teaching the material of a school/state’s curriculum.
In the end, the project and technology provide students with a new way of thinking and learning. School is no longer centered at the front of the classroom, but at the front of their own ability to explore.