Students' Perspectives
Jayme's Perspective
 During
the years which we traveled to ASU West we learned a lot. Our visits
to ASU West were part of our English class so the technology fundamentals
we learned became a method to express ourselves, just as students in
any other class would express themselves by writing. The major difference
was that we were shown more ways than the five-paragraph essay format
to pass on our ideas.
For instance, we used PowerPoint™
as an aid in verbal presentations. We also created Web pages to describe
events or projects
in each of the grades at our elementary school. Throughout our eighth
grade year in language arts, we used iMovie™ to put great emphasis
and power into projects we were doing. A major ongoing project which
we did as a class was a series of newsmagazines that were presented
over the TV system at our school. We taped school events such as kindergarten
water day, track and field meets, choral concerts, or the reading of
a speech to the armed forces on Veterans Day. We then edited and enhanced
these clips using iMovie™ to create our newsmagazines, which were
then shown to all students and teachers in our school. This allowed
us not only a chance to practice what we had learned, but it enabled
us to get everyone in school involved also.
 The
most memorable project was an "uncommercial" about current problems
in America. These "uncommercials" consisted only of still clips, text,
and sound, but I can guarantee that they were more powerful than is
even possible for a persuasive essay to be. ("Uncommercials" about abortion,
capital punishment, and racism
were included
in videos found later in the article.)
Uncommercial Planning Document
Uncommercial Rubric
I didn't stop using technology
tools in English projects after eighth grade; in fact I have used them
in every possible project I could. I have found different types of media
to make my book reports more individual, and more enjoyable to create.
I brainstorm possible ideas and have already completed a fully interactive
game using PowerPoint™ and a two minute long flash animation that
is a trailer for a movie about a book I read. The same concepts of book
reports are kept, yet they are made more appealing to the students making
them and to the students listening to or viewing them.
What we have learned has
also spread to out-of-school activities including a movie production
company. It has also encouraged me to learn more about technology and
how to express ideas through it. I have started playing with digital
photography and creating Web sites, which I greatly enjoy. Cory and
I have also been able to produce a well-planned Web site [http://coe.west.asu.edu/chsrobotics/]
for our high school's robotics club, giving vital information to teammates
who would otherwise not be able to easily access this up-to-date information.
I think that overall those
days at Arizona State University West during the last two years of my
middle school career will prove very beneficial to any future career
options.
Joey's Perspective
 I
have received more than just technology training while participating
in Mrs. Naish's multimedia educational partnership with Dr. Christie.
I remember that on our first visit to ASU West we were introduced to
the digital video-editing program, iMovie™. Instantly there was
intensity in the room because everyone was excited about this new experience.
Soon we learned all about how video is edited and we discovered this
was something we could do ourselves. We all grew each time we visited
ASU West, and gained a wealth of knowledge about all kinds of things.
We discovered how to capture video on tape, edit the video using a computer,
and produce high-quality projects. We also learned other important things
about film including establishing shots, the power and importance of
camera angles, and the practical uses of special effects. We also learned
how to use other computer programs including PowerPoint™, Claris
HomePage™, and Adobe Photoshop Elements™.
There were things that each
individual also learned that couldn't be taught in a classroom like
how to work with others in groups, and how to solve any problems that
came up without having to ask the teacher every time; we gained confidence
that would last us into high school.
 We
also brought the things we learned from ASU West back to our middle
school classroom. We were able to make school projects with video, we
captured school events on film, and we even made a news program that
we broadcast over our school's video announcement system. Dr. Christie's
and Mrs. Naish's partnership has definitely enhanced my academic life.
I have also been able to
volunteer to help in Dr. Christie's summer classes. For the past two
years I have spent about a month during the summer helping out with
Dr. Christie's EDT
545 and EDT 546
classes. The interesting thing about these classes is that they are
made up of mostly teachers from around Phoenix. In these classes I helped
teach graduate students (who are practicing teachers) how to use iMovie™,
PowerPoint™, Claris HomePage™, and Adobe Photoshop Elements™.
I am able to help others learn and grow because of the things I learned
from Dr. Christie at ASU West.
I still use many of the things
I have learned in Dr. Christie's and Mrs. Naish's partnership today.
Ever since I have entered high school, I have completed several projects
using iMovie™. My teachers are surprised and pleased when I use
multimedia and I have received a grade of 100% on each project. I have
had the opportunity to make several commercials for clubs that I am
in, and I use my knowledge of video editing to complete these tasks.
With friends, I have also started an amateur movie making company called
Duck Eat Man Productions. We write our own scripts and make
movies using our knowledge of digital filming. All these things were
made possible by our multimedia project and I am thankful that I was
given the opportunity to discover a whole new world through digital
video.
Cory's Perspective
 My
name is Cory and during my middle school years of 7th and 8th grade
through the partnership of Dr. Christie, a college professor, and Mrs.
Naish, our language arts teacher, I was introduced to the digital world.
My experience with technology prior to that time was only in the world
of video games; computers were something I put a CD into and my favorite
heroes ran around under my control. In 7th grade our class went to Dr.
Christie's classroom at ASU West and started to learn how to make our
own Web pages. Later that year our class was studying the holocaust
and our assignment was to make a WebQuest on tolerance with a partner.
We went through search engines and found Web resources, wrote up questions,
attached links and over all made a decent sized WebQuest. The next few
visits were spent creating Web pages for each of the nine grades at
our K-8 school [http://pioneer.peoriaud.k12.az.us].
In eighth grade things really started to get interesting.
Then we were introduced to
a little tool called iMovie™ which is a video-editing program made
for Apple computers. The first visit we only had the chance to play
around with the tutorial and familiarize ourselves with the layout.
Soon, our teacher had us writing scripts and story lines for projects
on creativity and uncommercials. We had to put what was in our minds
essentially onto the little computer screen while we cut, cropped, stripped
down, rearranged, added effects, titles, voice-overs, and, in some cases,
went back and refilmed parts that weren't quite perfect. If we ran into
a problem the teachers were there to help, but they were learning right
along with us. Six times out of ten when the students had a problem
the teachers didn't know the answer. This made us think outside the
box as we thought of ways we might be able to get what we wanted. Through
tweaking and testing, we not only achieved the effect we wanted, we
also learned many new techniques we could try with other clips. After
we, the students, had learned something new, we would then teach the
teachers what we had learned.
We started a school video
magazine where we would take the cameras to school events and tape them.
We would interview teachers and students then come back and edit the
raw footage into a two to three minute segment. Every student was running
with his or her own ideas with minor assistance from our teachers. In
a sense it was like a real world working environment where the bosses
(Mrs. Naish and Dr. Christie) would give us a broad concept to work
with, and the workers (the students) would create pieces for the video
magazine. We would then take all the segments we had, film our anchors
talking, and arrange all the clips in the correct order, then watch
it with the entire school over the video announcement system.
 In
High School we no longer had class with Mrs. Naish or Dr. Christie,
but that didn't turn us away from using the technology tools we learned
over the last few years. We made many movies including projects for
classes (that somehow always got the A) as well as a forty-five minute
movie about a power struggle for a throne by three men. Often during
group projects, my friends and I have made movies for book reports that
have dazzled our high school teachers. Sometimes, just for fun, my friends
and I will think of a crazy idea and go and put it onto film. For
one film, we made a robot out of tin foil, cardboard, flexible air duct,
and a Halloween mask. Our
best was a film about a guitar-banging, folktale-singing, hobo living
on the street; this film brought tears of laughter to the eyes of our
parents, teachers, and non-film-making friends.
I also created a visual aid
for the robotics club, of which I am the Vice President. Our historian,
Jayme, takes pictures and video of club events and posts them on our
Web site [http://coe.west.asu.edu/chsrobotics/].
We made this Web site after we learned what makes a good quality Web
site while helping as student aides in a multimedia class that Dr. Christie
teaches to graduate students over the summer. I've created PowerPoint™
presentations that make oral presentations a breeze and helped me get
a good grade. When I'm watching a movie I look for what angles the camera
is shooting at and why they would choose that angle or in older movies
when a special effect happened how they might have done that. Without
the opportunities I had as part of the partnership between Dr. Christie
and Mrs. Naish during middle school, many of the things I enjoy doing
today I would only dream about doing.
Jason's Perspective
 My
time at ASU West was an educational but exciting experience. I learned
so much in our visits to the technology-based classroom. What we were
taught was the next step to integrating our new knowledge into our school
system. We recounted school accomplishments and events through our TV
shows broadcast in each classroom. We used a program called iMovie™,
which incorporated video editing, transitions, and music. Other multimedia
projects we worked on were videos about creativity and its power, and
an uncommercial which showed a less-known problem about America in a
compelling and effective video of sound and still clips. Our projects
not only informed our audiences, they also helped us work in groups
- using more than one mind or approach. My whole educational experience
has been better for the skills I acquired. A hands-on approach to technology
and education is far more effectual for learning purposes.
The next step to learning
to use technology was to incorporate it into our lives. I can tell you
that this concept was completely new to my high school teachers and
it blew them away. Freshman year, a friend and I created a movie for
our book report project in English; it included transitional effects
and voice-overs. We received an A+ for our work because it was well
planned and more original than our teacher had ever seen. Right now
the multimedia business is booming so getting an early start has really
boosted our experience. I now take every chance I can to put myself
in computer classes to learn more. I have created Web sites and flash
movies in school and next year I enrolled myself in the school media
class. I'm hoping my prior experience can bring something to the class
and maybe something new that the school hasn't seen yet. I have seen
the benefits and I can't wait to see what comes in the future.
Conclusion
This visual literacy project
was based on constructivist principles and used available technology
tools to help teachers/co-learners (Alice and Valerie), and students
(Jayme, Cory, Joey, Jason, and many others) become information producers
in the digital world in which we live. Our love of learning and the
countless learning possibilities that digital media provides was renewed
for all the authors as we worked together to write this article. Even
though three years has passed since this project took place, we are
all very excited about the potential of digital video to transform teaching
and learning.
About
the Authors
Alice A. Christie,
Ph.D.is an Associate Professor of Technology and Education and Graduate
Studies Department Chair at Arizona State University West.
Email alice.christie@asu.edu,
http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/
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