That’s when I discovered a product called a Lightsmith, and learning has not been the same in my classroom ever since. If only I had something to hold the camera, I thought, I could use a camcorder with my projector just like the ELMO across the hall. This led me to think about using DV for a writing workshop as well. I was really struck by the amazing parallels between video editing and the editing process for a piece of writing.
The students loved making it and with the data projector, it was easy to involve the whole class in the editing process using Pinnacle Studio (opens in new tab). The first one we made was of students making balloon animals to wrap up a how-to essay about balloon twisting. With access to a data projector and student computers in my third grade classroom, I decided that we really ought to make the most of our high-tech equipment by shooting and editing a DV movie. Meanwhile, I had been using a Digital Video camcorder at home to record and edit movies of my two young children, and by the time I received my classroom computers, I had used the camcorder to record a couple of school music programs. Also, the one-on-one student interaction with computers allowed teachers the flexibility to meet with small groups whenever the need arose because the rest of the class could stay actively engaged with ongoing projects. The students were excited about the decrease in written drill assignments from a textbook, and the teachers were thrilled to have instant feedback about what lessons students needed most.
Our district also used Compass Learning software to offer skills practice across the curriculum, and one of the first signs of technology implementation in our school was a greatly improved use of Compass to assign work custom-tailored to individual needs.
All fourth grade teachers across the district had also been given ELMO video imagers, with the reasoning that the shift to open response and essay questions in fourth grade benchmark tests warranted the instant feedback of the ELMO. Because of our Title 1 status, we won approval to take out a large loan with which we bought an impressive list of hardware: student computers, modified desks to house the computers, teacher laptops, data projectors, and larger projection screens for all regular classrooms. The first approach, and one in which I was lucky enough to be involved, was getting a computer for each of our students.