[minivanmama3]

Hi all,

I had planned to have someone come in to film the lessons, but a lot of the advice I've been reading suggests taping all aspects of the lesson including the days leading up to it. I can't imagine asking someone to be my personal film crew. Has anyone used a tripod or filmed themselves?

[asheffield28]

I used a tripod and external mic. I panned the room about every 5 minutes and as I moved from group to group I would stop off and turn the camera and take the mic with me to the other group. I taped a class period (we have 48 minutes, but I keep them for 3 periods in a row, so the bell means nothing really) so that I could choose the best 15 minutes. It took me 3 tapings to "perfect" MY method (the kiddos did great all 3 times but were always wanting to "do better"), but by that 3rd time, I could move the camera the mic and hit each group with ease.

[minivanmama3]

Thanks for responding. Was the Mic wireless or did you have the cord to contend with?

[Readn gal]

I used a student to film my whole group lesson, but with small group, I used a tripod. I set up my desks in small groups around the perimeter of the room and put the camera in the middle on a tripod. You absolutely must have an external mic. I tried my first lesson and the camera pics up the sounds behind it and not the people to was focused on. The mic had a cord and I moved it from group to group. I would then turn the camera on the next group. With my desks set up that way, I could focus on the students in the group and then I would kneel down beside the desks, so the camera faced me.

My first really dumb thing (there were many along the way) I did was plug the mic into the "aux" spot. My video camera did not have a mic port. It was a great lesson, but you had to read lips to figure out what they were saying. I ended up borrowing a camera and a mic. It was awesome because the audio was completely clear. I think my second video was a better lesson, so it was all for the best.

Here is another hint, pick a mix of kids that show enthusiasm. If you have a student that often has a dour expression, it really shows up on camera and looks like they are not engaged in the lesson.

[snickydog]

I used almost entirely a tripod. I'm doing EMC Literacy, and for one entry I used a guided reading group. I just set up my tripod and taped all my guided reading for a week so I could pick the one lesson I felt was best. For my other video entry, I needed a two-part video. The first time involved me speaking with small groups of students, so I used another teacher to tape me during her prep. (So nice of her!) For the second half, I taped student presentations, so I just set up a tripod, stood in the picture when I needed to, and panned the camera to the speakers and the audience as needed.

[saralara]

I also filmed with a tripod and a wired mic by myself. It took some playing around with it to figure out how to get everyone in the shot. One of the best things I did was mark my tripod location with tape so I could quickly turn the camera and get right back in the action.

Without the mic, you could hear almost nothing. It was a well spent $20.