Many people feel like they are being watched/ recorded all the time, and in many cases that is true - for better or for worse. They also feel like the details surrounding that are hazy (hence the smoke filter on my image for this post). Despite all the questions and uncertainties, I want to explore some possibilities for recording interactions in the classroom and other parts of education.
Recently I was working with the incredible staff at Crossroads Middle School in Northview, MI (outside Grand Rapids). A couple of the science teachers were describing how students often strayed from small-group discussion topics when the teacher moved away from them. That led us to think about how we could hold students accountable for their conversations, and we developed a plan for them to record their discussions and send them to the teacher. Here is the process we concocted:
- Provide roles for partners/ groups (recorder, note-taker, facilitator)
- Establish protocols for contributing (what is a substantive comment, allowing a person to finish, etc.)
- Identify a device per group and have them set it to low resolution recording if possible. (This can be done in the camera settings on recent versions of Android. iOS devices do not allow camera recording resolution to be altered.)
- Student that is recording shows each participant as he/she speaks, including him/herself.
- Share it via Gmail with teacher
- Tell them a group will be chosen randomly (roll of die) and video shown to class
- Critique as class and/or share with students who missed by email.
In our test recordings, a two-minute conversation resulted in a 10-15 MB file, depending on resolution used. This is no problem for Gmail since the max attachment size is 10GB. The emailed files were available in under two minutes for the teacher to review and/or share via the classroom projector. The students can delete the files from their phones/ devices after the email goes through.
Potential Benefits/ Uses
The main benefit we could see is the achievement of accountable talk. Granted, there are other methods and strategies that can be used to achieve this, but with recording the whole process is retrievable and available for reference, critique, assessment, and more. In addition, students would be working on their speaking and listening skills in authentic scenarios, and we know those are increasingly valuable skills for our kiddos (our standards and intuition tell us so).
This could also be used for any meeting or brainstorming session that you may want to capture for future reference (staff or student related). I have had too many instances when I know something was said or alluded to in a meeting/class session, and I couldn't recall it because 17,000 other things had happened since and nothing in the minutes/ notes mentioned it. If these encounters are recorded, then everything (good and bad) can be archived and used for a variety of purposes.
Potential Issues
Privacy is a major concern for many people, and there is some cause for concern here. Let's say a student is recording a conversation, and she happens to record another student doing something awkward (nose picking, misspeaking, etc.). Since the recording is on that student's device, she could manipulate that and/or share the embarrassing moment in inappropriate ways. I think this could be addressed by reminding students to act professionally during recording so that embarrassing things don't occur (good preparation for public speaking). You could also create/ refer to classroom policies about treatment of others and inappropriate sharing of classroom work.
Student reluctance - some students might object to being recorded. This, to me, is similar to students who refuse to present in front of class. It seems like informal conversations that could be viewed by others is a good way to scaffold the process of gaining the confidence needed to speak in front of others. If students are given time to consider the topic and develop some thoughts, this issue could be alleviated. Also, students could be given the option to only have their voices recorded.
Device access - based on what I have seen in middle and high schools, at least 25% of students have a smartphone or a device that can record video and send it via email. Also, most schools have access to enough devices with recording capability to allow enough groups to do this in a class.
Storage - if people are storing all of these recordings, that could lead to bloated drives or devices; however, the availability of cheap or free storage has increased so much in recent months, I don't think it's an issue to transfer files to Google Drive (30GB for free) or another cloud-based storage option. Also, because much of these recordings would only need to be accessed in the short-term, most of them could be deleted after 1-2 months.
Conclusion
After considering this topic, I think it is a useful idea for people in education. Teachers can utilize it to ensure higher quality discussions as well as help students build important interactive skills. Staffs and admin teams can also keep better record of what transpires in often-impromptu discussions and idea development. As long as it is facilitated with some care and participants are reminded of appropriate use, I think the potential issues are minimal. So, I will be recording more of my encounters. I encourage you to give it a try, and let me (and others) know how it goes.
Craig
A very interesting topic as class sizes increase and teachers who encourage group work and conversations are spread thin during these times. The idea of creating a product (a recording) to capture and showcase learning is great and allows the teacher and other students to benefit from all of the conversations, rather than just the one they were present for.
ReplyDeleteI think the the importance of recording oneself is not that it leads to more thoughtful discussion at the time of the recording but that it leads to reflection and future learning as one reviews and learns from the recording.
ReplyDeleteI think that this could be a useful tool in the classroom. It would take some planning and establishing a comfort level with students.
ReplyDeleteAccountability is a key issue. Assigning roles to students is important as well as reminders regarding appropriate responses. I also appreciate the fact that it would be recorded, so students would understand that progress has to be made and students would most likely stay on task. It also would be a useful recording regarding what a teacher might "think" was clear and how students actually interpreted the directions.
ReplyDeleteThis seems effective and straight forward. As long as all students know that they are being recorded, then it is fair and warranted. I think that the quality and focus of the discussion would immediately increase. There is direct accountability involved. I love the random aspect of which video is selected for viewing.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of recording your world, but I feel like people are very concerned about being recorded. They are concerned that it could be used against them somehow even if they are not doing anything wrong. I liked how the title of your blog was very clear and let the reader know what they were going to be reading about. I wonder if changing the font style/size would help the post be more reader friendly? However, I think this is a really great and applicable topic.
ReplyDeleteDigital recordings provide an amazing level of accountablility and instant feedback for both the student(s) and teacher. This post shows the possibilities for a high engagement level.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your hazy picture to get my attention for this topic...I thought you clearly outlined your process and the outcomes.
ReplyDeleteI focused in on the part about devices. We need to get more devices to utilize these ideas?
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is current and engaging. It is a topic that we should consider for our students. This picture you used has the correct focus, media. I wonder why you used a picture of yourself. I would recommend you include a picture of students using the devices (maybe even within a classroom cooperative group). The picture of you makes me think this article is about using media to record your life or how to use it for mine, not necessarily how to use media to enhance student engagement.
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