Over the last few years, I have been entertained and informed by RSAnimate videos. You can view one here,
Recently, I noticed a blog post on twitter by @paulblogush titled, "How to Create RSA Animate Style Videos in your Class". Paul's post was very informative and detailed. His description is grounded in pedagogy and his step-by-step process makes it easy for teachers to replicate this teaching strategy. You can view his entire blog post here, http://blogush.edublogs.org/2012/12/26/how-to-make-rsa-animate-style-videos-with-your-class/.
After reading Paul's post, I was excited to try this myself before I implement it with my students. I am currently taking a course/training by the International Baccalaureate Organization to become a workshop leader and consultant. One of my assignments was to describe in brief the process a school might go through to be Authorized by the IBO. I decided to create an RSA Animate video for this assignment. Here is the process I went through:
1. I read over all the documents to make sure I had a clear understanding of the information.
2. I synthesized the information into a series of draft drawings, separating the drawings into only a few pages.
3. I set up a handheld video camera on a tripod and focused it onto a white board. Then, I drew a box on the white board so I knew what area I could draw on and still be in the camera's view.
4. With my draft drawings close by, I pushed record on the video camera and began drawing out the pictures and words I needed to help tell my story. This took a few attempts/trials.
5. I downloaded the video to my computer and imported it into Imovie. In Imovie, I sped up the video by 400%. The original video was 14 min and when sped up it was down to approximately 3 min.
6. Then, I created a script and added audio narration to the sped up video. This took a few attempts.
7. Finally, I uploaded my creation to youtube so I could easily share it.
Here is my final product,
1. I read over all the documents to make sure I had a clear understanding of the information.
2. I synthesized the information into a series of draft drawings, separating the drawings into only a few pages.
3. I set up a handheld video camera on a tripod and focused it onto a white board. Then, I drew a box on the white board so I knew what area I could draw on and still be in the camera's view.
4. With my draft drawings close by, I pushed record on the video camera and began drawing out the pictures and words I needed to help tell my story. This took a few attempts/trials.
5. I downloaded the video to my computer and imported it into Imovie. In Imovie, I sped up the video by 400%. The original video was 14 min and when sped up it was down to approximately 3 min.
6. Then, I created a script and added audio narration to the sped up video. This took a few attempts.
7. Finally, I uploaded my creation to youtube so I could easily share it.
Here is my final product,
Some schools may not have access to a class set of white boards. So, I also tried the same process with paper. If you are using paper instead of white boards, you will have a bit more prep work. I measured out and drew a rectangle on a large poster paper that was within the field of view of the video camera (sitting on a tripod). Then, I pre-cut several rectangles that were the same size as this rectangle. So, instead of erasing the area like I would on a white board, I just replaced the area with a new piece of paper that was the same size. Here is an example of what it looked like when I used paper,
Now that I have explored this teaching/learning strategy myself, I am excited to implement it with my students. RSA animate style videos are a creative and engaging way to allow students to synthesize and present information. This strategy could be applicable to any subject, project or assignment.
Have you used RSA animate videos in your class? What was your experience like?
