I recently decided to take the plunge and put in an application for Google Teacher Academy. As part of the process you are required to submit a video. There’s certainly pressure to be creative – and also meet the 1 minute maximum time limit. Initially I was excited to use one of the new 2.0 programs that I have read about. The process of trying to do this reminded me that I had to choose a ‘tool’ that fit what I needed to do – not choose a 2.0 tool and then fit the content to that.

At first I was keen to use Voicethreads. I love the narrative possibilities, the ease of uploading visuals and the idea that you can contribute to the program from any number of platforms. What didn’t work for me was the ‘timing’ issue. Voicethreads  requires that all visuals appear for exactly the same length of time. For me, trying to showcase what I needed to in 60 seconds, this became the deal breaker. I will be using Voicethreads in the classroom this year – just not for this presentation.

Next I moved on to more traditional presentation ideas. Prezi is a popular 2.0 presentation tool. It is dynamic and allows a great mix of pictures and video. Powerpoint – even though its not new initially looked like a good choice. I know that there are lots of other tools out there – but I don’t think you need to abandon something just because it isn’t new. I think there is a real danger in education of forcing a classwork to fit new programs not the other way around.

Ultimately I ended my quest with an old standby – iMovie. The ‘movie’ concept allowed me to adjust slide timing, incorporate video, add stills and still meet the 1 min. requirement. It was also a seamless upload to YouTube. The result is not going to win any Academy Awards but I am pleased that it allowed me to capture what I wanted. Along the way it also reinforced the idea that you need the right tool to do a job right. You can see the results below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deh4WzO6eyU

Colleen