WWII Propaganda Movie

Although I had a very hard time with this project, I feel like it was useful for me to learn how to make a video. I believe that because of this project, I am much more confident in making a movie and I feel like I could do this again if I needed to. I also feel like I could construct a video assignment for my students, which could be a very useful learning tool for them. They could recreate an event in history or create a talk show to discuss a historical issue.
Multimedia Project (Movie)

1. Must teach or enhance the teaching of a concept in a way that would be difficult to do without technology OR be an example of a video project a student might submit for your class (3 points) Your assessment:3/3 I believe that providing visual and video, the students will better understand just how powerful propaganda can be. My Assessment:
2. Must connect directly to teaching some aspect of the Utah Core Curriculum (see http://uen.org/core/) – (1 point) Your assessment: 1/1 It connects to the core curriculum by showing how Americans dealt with the war. My Assessment:
3. Must include a storyboard (due the first week of the project). If this storyboard is not provided BEFORE the project, then you will lose points.
4. Must include digital images or video (2 points) Your assessment:2/2 I used a couple of images for the project. My Assessment:
5. Must include meaningful narration or text (1 points) Your assessment:1/1 I narrated at the beginning, explaining what propaganda is. My Assessment:
6. Must include some background music that enhances and not distracts from your message (1 points) Your assessment:1/1 The music during the narration helped to engage the listener, making it more interesting. My Assessment:
7. Must have a credits page at the end where images, video, and music used in the video are properly cited. Note that many students lose these points because their credits are too small or move too fast to be read, or they do not describe a source exactly using generalities instead like “photo from flickr.com”. (1 point).Your assessment: 0/1 I don't think that I cited some things properly. My Assessment:
8. Must be engaging or interesting to view (4 points) Your assessment:4/4 I believe that it was very interesting and engaging. My Assessment:
9. Must teach the topic effectively in a way that could not be done as well without the technology (4 points) Your assessment:4/4 I believe that it is very important for the students to see visuals and movies to show just how propaganda works. My Assessment:
10. Must be uploaded to TeacherTube or Youtube and then embedded in your blog correctly (1 point). Your assessment:1/1 I completed this requirement. My Assessment:


Score:__19_/20

Comments: Put your comments here

Working with iMovie

Things have been going pretty well with my iMovie. I have figured out how to import movies, pictures, how to do voice-overs, and how to correct the view on images. I also have figured out how to rearrange things so that they can be in the right order. One issue that I am having, however, is that I don't know how to open a iMovie file that I have saved on my flash drive. I know that it is saved there, and that I have saved it correctly, but I am unable to open that file on a Mac other than the one that I have worked on it on. This is very frustrating. Also, I am not sure how to add a menu, an opening, or credits at the end. I am unsure as to how I can change the time limit on how long certain pictures are showing. I feel as though I am making progress, but it feels very slow and frustrating at times.

Video Plan

For my video topic I decided to focus on propaganda in the United States during WWII and how it go the American people to support US soldiers. To start out, I am going to have a number of propaganda posters showing. I will have a voice-over going at the same time the gives the definition of propaganda and how these particular posters were used during WWII to gain US domestic support. Then I will have a clip of a professor at a university talking about the way that Hollywood was able to gain support for our troops by portraying the war and our efforts in a good light. Then I will have a clip from a Donald Duck propaganda movie that calls on Americans to pay their taxes in order to support their troops. I believe that this will be a very effective way of teaching this concept, because propaganda is all about visuals and making an emotional connection with the audience in order to get them to do or feel what you want them to. I also believe that it will be much more engaging for the students to see propaganda rather than just hearing a definition.

Videos in the Classroom

Videos in the classroom can be a very useful tool. One way that they can be used is to personalize the subject for the students. I believe that this is especially true with history students. By showing clips from movies of dramatized history, the students can feel more personally connected to the material and it can help them feel that it is more relevant to their own lives. Movies can also be used to show examples of activities or demonstrations that you could not perform in the classroom. This opens a whole world of possibilities for classroom experiences. I also think that video from real life can be very useful for students when you are teaching material that is from the last 60 years. It can really help students to get a better picture of what was really happening at this time. I do think, however, that you should not simply put in a movie for an entire class period. Teachers need to engage their students in the movie, perhaps by stopping the movie and asking questions or having the students fill out a work sheet. This will ensure that they get involved rather than falling asleep.

Technology Project: Google Earth and Me

I really enjoyed learning how to use Google Earth, especially because I believe that it will be very useful for my later teaching. There are a lot of different tools on Google Earth that I learned about as I worked on this project. One of the most useful that I found was that you can record a 'tour' on Google Earth. For my activity, the students will have a guided 'tour' of Greece. The students will be working in pairs on their own computers and we will discuss how geography effected the development of both social and cultural aspects of ancient Greece. As part of the activity, I will have students record their tours of Greece, and I will view them later, to ensure that the students were on task and understood the assignment. Another interesting aspect of Google Earth is that you can add a landmark on your person computer, so you can find it later. Also, there are a number of different features that you can view, such as 3D buildings, labels and borders, important places and landmarks, as well as images of buildings and landmarks that have been tagged onto certain sites.
I will definitely be using this resource in my classroom, because it will provide students with a visual, as well as help them to become involved in learning about geography. They will also be able to connect things that they are learning in class to concrete images and resources. I feel like I have a good handle on what Google Earth is and how I can use it effectively in my classroom.