KidsVid: Website to help create student-made videos!

The tool I have chosen is called KidsVid. I found this website and tool through the website 4teachers.org, but I found the KidsVid website most interesting. KidsVid is a tool for students to use to create digital movies and videos. KidsVid is also an instructional website that provides teachers (and students) tools to create digital works. When students can create their own videos, it helps them learn in new and exciting ways; they actually have the desire to learn. Although both teachers and students might be overwhelmed with the movie making process, this website gives all tips, tools, and advice for making movies. Do not be afraid to implement video/movie-making into your lessons because it is a very helpful and useful tool.

KidsVid has a mission statement that they truly follow and believe in. Basically, the mission of KidsVid is to offer teachers and students assistance in enhancing learning through technology and digital media. The website actually lists out goals that KidsVid always strives to accomplish. The goals of KidsVid (and movie-making) are: to provide assistance in digital production, create a digital production resource for the classroom, and to create a network of classrooms around the world who instigate joint productivity. The KidsVid website also gives some class ideas!

Teachers can use KidsVid in all content areas for all types of activities. There are many standards throughout the grades that videos could be used to represent. Students in the upper grades can create videos of biographies of important historical figures, Presidents, inventors, etc. Science standards can be incorporated by student-made videos of the life cycle of animals, the water cycle, types of clouds, the human body, etc. Many creative ideas can be put together to create wonderful student-made videos. Not only will they be educational, but they will be fun!! Teachers can also use KidsVid to create videos for their own classroom. If students see that their teacher uses the website, they will probably think its cooler! Teachers can create videos for their classroom rules, procedures, days of the week, etc. So many teachers use boring old power points over and over and the students get bored with seeing the same old thing every year with every teacher. It is important, as teachers, to intrigue our students and keep them engaged – making videos will do this!

Advantages:

• Students can be creative!
• Students can not only do this assignment, but understand and dissect their standards in order to create their video assignment.
• Students will learn more about cameras and video equipment.
• Students will learn about the movie-making process (scripting, making, editing, showtime)
• A storyboard tool is used to help students plan their movie – this is VERY helpful!
• KidsVid breaks every step of the movie-making process up so students can easily understand it.
• The site also teaches students how to use music, images, effects, and other tools to make their movies.

Disadvantages:

• Some students might not have knowledge about technology; they might find this project difficult.
• Some students do not have internet or computers at home so they won’t be able to work on their movies anywhere but school.
• KidsVid, although easy to navigate, some younger students may need A LOT of help using the website and reading the bigger words.
• Movie-making, in general, for younger students may take a lot of time and the students will probably need a lot of help, but creating movies will help all aged students learn better.
  
  
  
  

The audience for this tool is probably upper elementary (even college students can make movies, obviously). Although younger students in lower grades can use this tool – KidsVid – it will be easier and more manageable for upper elementary. Upper elementary aged students can create movies on their own or in pairs/groups, but younger elementary students could not create a movie without the teacher’s assistance.

You can find more about this tool (KidsVid) at the official KidsVid website. Information can also be found at this helpful website and another site with more basic information. Both of these sites are very helpful in learning more about KidsVid. Teachers often need a lot of information on certain tools and activities before they use them because the tools may not always be what are suitable for their students.

My opinion about KidsVid is that it is a very good idea for students to use this site. I think movie-making is a great chance for students to learn. When I become a teacher, I would use the movie-making KidsVid tool for older grades (3, 4, 5) but not the lower grades. I think the website itself is definitely VERY helpful for students to use for the step-by-step process of creating a movie.