To those of you who
record lectures and YouTube videos for your classes, a tip of the hat to you. If
you do it often (and your students actually watch them), <applause>. If they
reference anecdotes that you’ve shared in your videos (i.e., “that’s just like
your Dream of the Giant Contact Lens”), I salute you! Because, truly, that’s
what it’s all about…
While the effort to capture
course material on video is admirable, certainly, it needs to be a worthwhile
endeavor, adding something meaningful to your class (well worth the pain,
suffering, and learning curve required ;-)
If you’ve ever embarked
on recording for your classes, you know, the first playback is the hardest. It’s
one thing to do your thang and bask
in the aftermath of a “great class.” It’s quite another to watch what you just did, to see yourself as your students see you, to
notice aspects of your delivery, appearance (and that weird way you hold your
pen) that are just well, distracting.
Truly, those are the first
hurdles to get through -- to not allow our presentation-of-self to interfere
with the message. If we want our message to be heard, we have to eliminate the
noise, the distractions.
What you might think as
a “stellar moment” in your lecture may not come off that way in the playback.
You might consider yourself “hilarious,” only to notice that on second view, your
punch line was too quiet, that your timing was off, and that it was not quite
so hilar.
It’s not easy to see you
yourself as others might, to look at your lecture from the perspective of a
student or a stranger -- as in, what would I think if that were my professor? What impressions would I
form of him/her? Is he/she likable? Authentic? Worth listening to?
Once we get past the “medium,”
of course, it’s all about the message. The real
content. Yet this can be a virtual minefield as well. For despite our personal
values and points-of-view, we need to be ever-mindful that not everyone who
steps into our classroom shares a similar perspective. Some were likely raised
in very different households, with opposing political views, religious beliefs,
and ideas about what is “right” (not to mention, schemas and stereotypes on the
basis of gender, ethnicity, culture, social class, their life experiences, etc.)
When students complain
of “biases” (in another class, not yours ;-) it might be puzzling at first. But
ah, if you had the opportunity to watch a class lecture, you would likely see
their perspective on the playback. And perhaps experience a light bulb “teaching
moment: to be a bit more inclusive in the future, honoring multiple point-of-views
and leaving the door open (in the hopes that one day they’ll grow in awareness
and realize that you were right all along ;-)
Truly, it is all about
the message…and yet, we can’t ignore the medium. Video recording is like shining
a bright light on your class…only you can’t be afraid to look. Be open to the
feedback it offers you. No flinching!
Karly - I've tried my hand at this and, I have to say I should probably have had acting lessons first! Seriously, I think I'm a warm, communicative person. Yet, my videos have been rigid and somewhat cold, and my students asked it it's really me! I appreciate that the message and content can be lost because the focus is on the wrong thing - me, rubbing my chin - me, blinking 50 gazillion times!
ReplyDeleteOk - I guess I need to try this again - or, maybe just stick to Jing and forget the 'face time'!
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, Chris. All I can say is, don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Just be YOU -- pretend the camera isn’t even there. That’s the key to getting through the early phases of recording. Sometimes we can be paralyzed by the fear of being judged. Honestly, it’s not going to be perfect in the beginning. There is a learning curve -- and one way to diffuse the “pressure” is to joke with your students about how you’re learning to record your lectures. I remember in the early days, my students would actually troubleshoot with me as I would aim my camera and set the mike volume. Being authentic is the best way to diffuse judgment, to model self- and other-acceptance. I’ve found that when you can be vulnerable -- to show students that you don’t know everything ;-) and that you’re willing to learn something new -- it builds a great deal of trust. We’re in the same boat, you see…
DeleteGreat advice, Karly! Now, as far as that vulnerable side... well, that's another story!
DeleteThis is great Karly. I started recording videos weekly this semester. It's a new medium for me and it is really hard. I've become hypercritical of everything, even the way my mouth weirdly looks more open on one side than the other. The hard thing for me is I can correct myself immediately in a classroom, but I'm terrified I'll say the wrong thing on camera and there will be a permanent record of it floating around the Internet. I'm working on it. :)
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your feedback, Erin! I remember going through the same thing myself (yes, we can be our own worst critics…) And yes, others can be critical, but they’re just being snarky and mean, and have much bigger insecurities to deal with ;-)) I finally got through my fear by realizing, “If I said it in class, my students already heard it -- I was being authentic” ;-) And I learned to trust that if “that wasn’t the best way to cover the material,” video recordings can be deleted and overridden the next semester ;-) Really, Tegrity recordings do not live on forever ;-))
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