Observation Experience

To be honest, I put off my observation because it was hard to get away from school or find time in the evening to observe another technology teacher. I am the only technology teacher in our school district so the observation required an out-of-town trip. I finally asked for an afternoon off and went thirty miles down the road to TSTC in Breckenridge to observe Mr. Brian Kight.

The class I observed was a digital video class. The class had meet three times prior to my visit so the instructor was still introducing much of the foundation of the course. The software they were using was Adobe Premiere 6.0. Mr. Kight taught a wonderful (three hour) lesson that covered essentially all the TA Foundation TEKS.

He began the class with a review quiz to make sure the students knew the difference between linear and non-linear editing. The students discussed how the software was designed to allow non-linear editing and its advantages. Before class began Mr. Kight had taken a few minutes of video of the students waiting for class to start. He used the video to demonstrate on a projection screen the process of trimming clips and adding transitions. Because the video was of classmates, the students really enjoyed watching the video and stayed focused on the lesson.

Next, Mr. Kight went over all the types of connectivity used between a video camera, the computer and other devices. He showed examples of a firewire and composite cabling. He referenced the book that the students had been studying and reviewed some of the file types that could be used with Adobe Premiere.

Then, he showed the class, in extensive detail, the video camera and tripod that they would be using to produce video. He meticulously went over every area of the camera from the lens cover to the VCR playback buttons. He demonstrated how to put in the tape, how to charge the battery, how to install the battery, how to fit the camera on to the tripod, how to adjust the tripod, how to zoom in to a shot and anything that could be done with the camera.

Finally, to peek their interest in the project that they would be doing, which was to create a short film of their own, he showed a clip from a previous student's video. He also did a little bit of very interesting editing to a prepared clip that showed how changing angles of a shot added interest to a film.

I really enjoyed observing this class and particularly liked Mr. Kight's teaching style. He was very relaxed but also extremely knowledgable. Teaching at a technical school like TSTC or a Junior College would be nice since the students have chosen to be there and are attentive and interested.