Reflective video is an element of reflective practice I have waxed lyrical about for a long time. The ability to see oneself and analyse how we come across when we communicate, and if we are capable of transmitting a clear and succinct message that learners and/or attendees at a workshop/seminar can comprehend.
I was asked to make some ‘short’ videos about the future of teaching and learning, if technology influences and shapes how we communicate, and therefore the teaching and learning of languages.
Here is a trial run of one of the videos – it was supposed to be 2.5 – 3 minutes long. Reflective practice note to self – get to the point and make your message clear.
Here is the video of my talk at the IATELF BESIG Conference: Using video to help develop oral presentation skills using mobile devices, held in Sitges this weekend; 13-15 November 2015.
My talk centred around the use of video to encourage learners to become reflective practitioners and engage in their own reflective practice.
Here’s how:
Learners brainstorm or ‘thought shower’ the features of a good presentation.
The features are boarded open-class so all students have the same ‘checklist’.
Students mark features from the checklist that they do/don’t do.
They give the presentation and are recorded by a classmate/colleague so they own the content which enables unlimited replay.
Each student assesses their performance against the checklist to compare what they think they do and what they really do, and sets some personal objectives to improve from the features.
They then partake in reflective practice to think about what they do, and consider how they can make improvements.
They use a reflective cycle to guide them on their journey of thinking and doing to improve their presentation/speaking skills for the objective set out.
The main principles of my reflective cycle are:
Plan
Record
View
Analyse
Reflect
Correct
I shared some research I have done an EAP context, but have also used this with students preparing for Cambridge exams, and business English classes in 1:1 and group contexts.
I have already received some very positive feedback from some of the attendees at my talk, so let me know if you try this and how it works.
Here is a clip from the talk I gave at Oxford Tefl in Barcelona in February about using mobile phones for teaching and learning. I really enjoyed sharing my ideas with the attendees and all the feedback and interaction which helped me for giving further talks on the subject, and presenting my ideas in general.
Seeing myself on film has been been invaluable for learning how I come across when presenting. I have watched the footage repeatedly for reflective practice and to observe my presentation style, and as a corrective tool to consider any changes or improvements that could be made to my presentations.
I will be sharing my ideas about the use of video for teaching learning at the Innovate ELT conference on the 9th May.