CUE 2009: Visuacy and Film Making for Podcasters
I’m putting these two together because, I don’t know, so don’t ask me. The presenters, Nick Pernisco, and Mathew Needleman know each other and often work together at conferences informally. Both of these presentations were about teaching students visual literacy, but for different purposes.
First up, Visuacy, from Nick Pernisco which was a Bonus Session on Thursday.
Background:
This was the only session that I live blogged with Cover It Live. I was a bit toasty at that point because I had finished the first of my presentations that morning, and then was heading off to do the second after the session. Nick was presenting in the same room that I had used earlier, Ventura, which is off the beaten track, over-cooled, and has lousy wifi when there are a lot of people. He had more attendees than the four I got in the a.m., but it was still sparse and I was able to maintain my wifi connection.
Rough Notes:
See my live blog: CUE 2009 Day 1: Bonus Sessions | Reflections on Teaching
My thoughts:
Good presentation, his points, students need to have visual literacy (how images appeal to different people), so they can understand how they are being marketed to and are able to make better choices. He had excellent examples of still visuals, how audio and editing can change the context of an image. Nick has a very low-key delivery when talking, but the pace of the examples was quick and well-paced, making it lively.
Audience:
Since it was about big ideas, I feel it was a session that was as advertised, for all grade-levels, and all levels of expertise. This is the sort of subject that all computer and media lab teachers should know about and teach. It is would probably be helpful to rhetoric and speech teachers if they are not familiar with YouTube to see examples from there. It was also accessible enough for the general teaching population.
My very short notes:
Next, “Film School for Video Podcasters” with Mathew Needleman. This was based on K12 Online Conference presentation in October. There may have been some differences (which I’m sure Mathew will apprise me of), but that K12Online preso was the bones of this.
My thoughts:
The advantage, it was a relatively small group, and he was there in person so there was the advantage of being able to interact with Mathew. One topic that came up was during the part where Mathew discussed what equipment to buy. He had a real low-key approach rather than getting into widget talk, BUT the audience pointed out that one feature he said was really important in video cameras, a jack to add an external mic, is harder to find in DV cameras, and some models that used to have them don’t. So caveat emptor!
Audience:
Both Nick and Mathew have very low-key personalities, so I’m impressed with their ability to deliver well-paced material. They frame the ideas with well choosen examples, and frame the material without taking over. This was NOT a how-to use a program presentation, but instead shows you how to PLAN for creating a video. If you have tried, and failed, at video you’ll want to look at his work to see how to structure teaching in this environment. If you are thinking of doing it, this will give you a good idea of what is involved before you take a class in iMovie, MovieMaker, or Premiere Elements so you learn more than what button to click at the editing process after filming an hour of junk.
