I have been searching for a way to support my students when they are at home trying to review or study. Over the years, I have asked students to write notes in their notebooks in their own words, made copies of power point presentations and encouraged students to email me with questions. All of these methods have been effective, but I still believed that some students were at home staring at a piece of paper and trying to recall or recreate my explanation of a grammar concept they understood in class but have forgotten since they got home. I was looking for a resource students could refer to, to refresh their memories and help them reorient themselves. Often, when students come to me in the morning for extra help, I can review the material in a few minutes, give them a few examples, and their grasp of the concept is firm once again, and they feel confident again. They just needed to see it and hear it one more time, in a way that a printed piece of paper cannont convey. I have spoken to other teachers who have used Jing for screencasting, but it seemed too complicated for me to take the time to figure out and use effectively. In the past few months, though, I have downloaded Jing onto all of my computers, fought with the hardware for different machines, and created a stock of quick grammar reviews for most of the chapters I teach. I have uploaded the recordings onto my Google page and taught my students how to access the videos. I have also included some of the videos in my Moodle page for independent learners. I have also used the still picture recording in Jing to create documents and activities for students. Not only have I created materials for students, but having used both Screencast-o-matic and Jing, I feel competent to use either program, and willing to try other formats in the future, which is certainly personal progress compared to how I felt about using screencasting before our class!
There are many concepts involved in Latin grammar, but to be successful, a student must understand how to apply many of these individual concepts together, how they affect and interact with one another to create meaning. Students must also do maintenance on their vocabulary and grammar understanding. Of course we review in class, but I encourage students to be responsible for their own learning and to review on their own. I remind them periodically throughout the year that everyone needs to do maintenance studying. Creating the Jing videos and making them available for students to use for review purposes either during the unit or as maintenance later allows students to “become active participants in . . . managing their own learning and assessing their own progress.” The burden is largely on the student to use the resource, but a video would seem to be much more appealing than a worksheet (review materials I also make available). In each video there are examples to do with the student and a few examples for students to do on their own to check their understanding of the material.
Throughout this process, I have shared my experience with students and sought their feedback in an effort to “exhibit knowledge, skills and work processes representative of an innovative professional in global and digital society.” I have shared with students my frustrations and accomplishments and asked some of them to be involved in this project. Granted, my “innovations” in using screencasting might not be cutting edge, but considering where I felt I was starting, I have gained confidence, felt the support of my students, and derived determination from their enthusiasm for the project. I have also shared my experiences with some of the other teaches in my department. True, I have not led a workshop teaching others how to use Jing or screencasting, but I have offered myself as a resource and feel I have something to offer others.
Working with screencasting and the opportunites it provides has led me down several tangential paths during this project. I found new software to use with my textbook, joined an online discussion room for Latin teachers, explored using Youtube videos in my classroom and how to save them and link them to my Google page for reference by me or by students later, and perhaps most important, I have made or strengthened some personal connections with the technology specialist and the media specialist, relationships which will certainly prove invaluable as I “engage in professional growth and leadership, continuously improve . . . professional practice, model lifelong learning and . . . demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.”
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