May 2010 Archives

In previous semesters, I would start the class with a PowerPoint presentation where I would introduce students to the content of the course. In the Active Learning Classroom, one simple shift I made was using a free online video tool called Animoto to create a video introduction (using some of the same PowerPoint slides as still images in the video). When students walked into the classroom, this video was playing on all screens. Thus began my obsession with video anticipatory sets.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

One cross-impact of the focus on video in the course I redesigned for the Active Learning Classroom was that I started thinking of ways to bring the power of video into other classes I teach. In my Comparative Education class in the fall, I gave students the option of signing up with a partner to lead a class activity or develop a multimedia anticipatory set. This clip is a great example of one of those student projects.