This is an incredible answer to my “Huh?” at the end of last week’s video. Love the music; love the effects; love the story. I just might have to add this video to my list as a way to look at different elements of plot. Relying on visuals, not words, to tell the story was such a smart choice. Fantastic conclusion. Next summer, another set?

As I’ve written already, congratulations! I look forward to how this impacts the way you view teaching, the way you view the amount of time you spend at/on work, the way that time you commit turns into a condensed version of what you’ve done in the past, and the way you make concessions when to do otherwise would be disastrous. The “smarter, not harder” adage is trite, but I am desperately looking at how to do exactly that.

Wiping a tear from my eye….

Seriously congrats on a fine piece of work. I recall questioning your ability to complete the series but am glad you persevered. Did you plan out all 10 ahead of production? What influenced your decisions? Would you do it again?

I love the constraints you used in this project. I think I need to get inside your computer again, skype you and get some of these answers. You game?

I know the school year is crazy, but you need to put up some videos during the year. These are great.

Love how Stager relates that he found you through Will. Many months ago, iJohn helped me do the same. And heck, have to admit that I have a hard time finding the time to follow everything, much less the amazing job you do in creating it. From your resignation last year, through your wedding related here – you not only personify an amazing teacher and edtech evangelist, but you epitomize what it is to be an amazing PERSON who also happens to be an educator.

So I challenge your words that this might be the “least useful to you.” You have inspired many with your efforts, both inside the classroom, and out.

Many happy returns on all of your recent life changes!

PS I know tags have gone kaput, but surely this gets a “how I work” tag too?

1) I loved this last one *because* you drop the monologue and make it personal. In doing this, as opposed to the previous episodes, you most closely follow your own Do No Harm Powerpoint advice: chuck the words. You *show* it all instead, and consequently I feel you best utilized the tools of your medium here (harkening back, again, to your own advice in ep 1). I feel that I learned more about you as a teacher than all the others put together.

2) Also this is arguably the episode which had –ta da– the most cohesive narrative/story, and you know the human brain and story.

3) Technically, it had a titch of “how many cool video effects can I blitz through?” feeling about it for me. But then again, I think this

is one of the best music videos of all time, and you know where I stand in terms of tech sensory overload/input overall. So anyway. There’s a note from the “less is more” camp, I guess.

4) I think Stager probably has nailed it in terms of judging your audience. I loved this episode, yes, but greatly because we’ve been dueling about truth and story and marriage and effort and achievement for almost a year now. I would never say I know you; but surely, I am interested in how you work, and thus, who you are. I am already invested, in otherwords, via your blog, in the video product.

4a) Not only am I *invested*, but I also have the *background knowledge* to make sense of the questions you visually raise about your practice. I can imagine, for example, for someone who hasn’t been following your work, the walk up to your bride being merely confusing– or worse, a superficial sop to the “sweetness of life”.

(Isn’t this funny? I didn’t intend this at all, but as I write it, there it is: just like for any Algebra student off the street, your video only has meaning with investment and appropriate background knowledge.)

So the central question I would have you answer for yourself would be: How can video you make provide a) the opportunity to invest and b) the appropriate background, so that a teacher can use it for the ultimate goal: to *facilitate learning*?

Entertaining and thought-provoking as your series may be, I don’t think it actually answers this question. Here’s why: because I would argue your BLOG provided the lion’s share of the investment and background, miles before anyone clicks on the little blue arrow.

How weak– or strong– would this series be, do you think, if you played it, just so, for, say, my building-wide faculty meeting on Monday? Would we learn? Would we care?

Whoops. There’s that damn “C” word again.

All right. Beat me up now.

Dan,

Let me congratulate you on a successful video series and reminding us how important and effective a well-done visual can be. I think some of the criticism leveled at you misses the main point. I never saw these podcasts as “stand-alone” video sermons, simply as natural extensions of your blogging.

I hope in the future that you can balance personal life and teaching. That’s one I’m working on, though I have no immediate answers.

You’ve been fun to watch, even the teeth brushing.

If there was ever a moment to pull the Hillman Curtis comparison out of the ol’ messenger bag, this is that moment.

Consider it out on the table, shined up, and ready to be gift-wrapped for a speedy flight out to Cali.

Funny how a well-told ‘story’ truly transcends the specifics of any of our chosen disciplines, as well as the sharpened blades of our biases.

I’m glad to know you, Dan. And glad to be learning from you along the way.

***

P.S. Perhaps you’ll take the baton on the H.C. nod?

I suspect you’ll do him beautiful tribute, as well as to introduce the dy/dan gang good service by steering their collective radar that way. I know my 10th grade kiddos will be imagination-deep in his visual vignettes in the coming week.

I wonder how many other classrooms would be well served by the same inspiration (and a well guided dy/dan tour down his video rabbit hole).

nudge

Dan-

No constructive criticism, just another compliment. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your set of 10. Keep up the great work, and I hope you have meaningful school year.

Shot to the heart and you’re to blame, Dan– accusing an English teacher of turbidity in her writing. Ack. :) No more streams of consciousness from me.

I messed up the presentation, acknowledged, but I think my primary point still stands: restating your posts in video monologue is fine for an established audience who automatically brings investment and background knowledge– hence, meaning– to watching them. But for my faculty, who doesn’t know you from Adam, I’m not so sure. In that scenario, I don’t know if the full additive value of the video medium is being utilized as the clips stand now.

You could certainly retort that all that is required is some tweaking, and I would certainly agree– your clips are still really good work. What I’m saying, though, is that I feel I have to abstain from judgement on how universally effective they are until I see a product that is intended for teachers in Anywhere Middle School, South Dakota– not one that is intended for us. (I.e., what would happen if the fish jumps out of the fishbowl?)

Aw, dude– don’t play like that. :) Both you and I know that ep 2 is the best in the bunch, beyond the finale (my personal favorite).

Let’s take ep 4 instead, which was way fun– Collateral and Will Hunting = Dan driving to coffee, hysterical– but little more than your posts on amphetamines. I got a bit more out of it than *reading* a post because I am invested and have background knowledge, etc etc etc. But for Kim, my other 7th grade English teacher colleague down the hall, I would argue that seeing ep 4 yields the same net level of thought and reflection that reading a post would– no more or less. So why spend 8+ hours making the video?

And even the finale, as I mentioned in my first comment, has its bit of lost beauty. *I* know you’re wondering if marriage and family is going to change everything about teaching (sidenote: it does), and so your ending has that heightened tension that makes the slow walk and the soundtrack (and the faceless bride, signifying concept, not individual person) so very lovely– for me. But for Kim, all that’s a bit murky, if it’s even on the radar.

I hope I’m being a little clearer…

Snort. All right, all right. Ep 2 and finale, off the table. Ep 4 is our sacrificial lamb.

More fun? Oh yes, totally.

But what I’m saying is that it’s not, in the grand scheme, compared to a post, more *educational*. Which was the whole point. Wasn’t it?

As far as the timesuck factor goes, I’m not questioning your grip on it. But remember the Dishwasher Effect in my Seven Questions? If you’re an average teacher, pouring hours into a vodcast for your kids (and probably from a point waaaaay farther back in the learning curve than you), shouldn’t you be rock solid sure that the education that occurs from watching the final product it is proportionate to your effort? No matter how much fun it is?

Unless you are actually stating that video is inherently more educational than print.

:: smiles sweetly ::

Not sure I agree with you there Dan – I still think I get more from text than I do with video (not that I don’t enjoy a well made video). I like having control over the pace of the information, which I have when reading. I don’t have that with video.

Oh, I can pause, but I can’t skim to preview. Nor can I jump back and forth as easily as I can with text. Video seems more linear to me than text.

Hmm. Perhaps I need to learn to interact with video – not just passively watch it.

Jackie, you’re changing your signature? Is this related to the new school year at all?

I actually read some new-teacher-survival-guide-type book advocating showing a video of yourself speaking. Something about how the kids are already trained to pay attention to a screen. (And maybe you can walk around and whack them on the head?) Best evidence that at least some of those books aren’t worth much.

Dan, to clarify, both great video and great text get my attention first time though. The skimming often comes after that first reading/viewing, when I’m going back through the information.

The bandwidth argument still doesn’t fit me. I don’t exactly visualize content in my head unless there’s a picture–it never mattered to me when characters in books were supposed to be animals–but I’ve found that text with well-chosen illustrations often spurs my imagination more than video itself does. (Though I will confess that while I feel like we had part of this conversation 6 months ago, I can’t find it in the archives. Something along the lines of most of us know what we should be doing, and watching a video of your methods isn’t going to help us anymore?)

My guess is that you’re arguing here with the people who read for entertainment as much/more than watching video. The hardest part of summer camp was going that long without a library. I could skip seeing movies on weekends off, but I needed to refresh my book supply so I always had something to work on.

Kate, that video does sound like one we’d all avoid. Yuck!

Jackie, I never did like the typing exercises where you couldn’t see the keys/the computer screen. :-)

All said, I’m off to read and enjoy the rest of the three-day weekend.