Flip cams & other things

so, my last post was about using flip video in the classroom.  and no sooner had our department bought a whole set then the mashable article came out about them being discontinued.

i have a couple of thoughts on this.  one, i find using the video recorded easier with my own version of the flip video. i have a VADO i bought it at ulearn09. since it automatically saves files in .avi, i find it much quicker and easier to use for editing after videoing, so i personally won't miss the actual flip video brand, but hope that usb video cams stay viable. i think they are an important tool in the toolbox for both staff and students.

secondly, having had our staff record their speeches on flip video cams made my job of preparing for external moderation so much EASIER. before, i had to wade through heaps of random audio & videos files that required converting, then manually plow through each because the file didn't "cut" at the end of speeches, but rather linked two or more together and ended wherever it wanted, so i might have up to 25 pieces of video for one speech and a half, yet just 1 piece for another two or three. added to the fact that i didn't know all the students by sight, it made for a headachy time and took about 8 - 10 hours to put together 8 candidates.

worth noting is the fact that before i took on this task, my department had never (as in EVER) had speeches properly externally moderated via viewing the speeches. moderators were given a DVD with the original video files (which were unplayable) and the assessment sheets, and each year they would come back as not moderated due to unplayable video.  because of my dedication to tech (i produce a video with title cards of candidate names and marks before each speech to match the assessment sheets, saved as a video that can be opened in any common media player), we are now properly moderated, and i am pleased to say that we have 100% moderation mark agreement. it is nice to have that confirmed so that all staff are standardised.

i have had some other things on my mind lately, and i may share some of them with you during the holidays. i'd really love to get your feedback on them.

enjoy your time off for holidays/spring break,
kelly