Come on, don't be shy - who cringed?
I know I did the other night when I first posted, and this is something that I observed from several of my students when we began working with the built-in web cams for the first time today. "OMG, get me off the screen!" seemed to be the one I heard the most. What I failed to grasp at the time was that there was a much smaller percentage - and I'll start paying closer attention to the specific numbers for research purposes in the future - who seemed pretty comfortable with the whole thing. At the very least they didn't verbalize their discomfort as the others did so clearly. So naturally, it got me thinking about our choice of response for VoiceThread (and other web media modes.)
We use things like VoiceThread because we are encouraged to try all of the different possibilities an application gives us. How many people out there decide to write their posts rather than voice record? Or video record? As a Language Arts instructor, I've taught the idea of revision before you put forth the final draft to your audience, so it seems natural to me to write, revise, revise again and then print - or post as the case may be. I've done it already about a dozen times since I started writing this entry. Revision gives you a lot of chances to get it right before you post or print. With audio and video, you can re-record your post - but it's not quite the same. Unless you go through a thorough editing process, you may delete a potential post because you've rambled on for six minutes -as I did with my initial posting on VoiceThread - but you may forget to include a particularly good nugget of commentary from your initial post as you record the second - or third, or fourth - version of your posting. I'm guessing like anything else, you may learn a few tricks to avoid this the more you use it.
The other end of "video discomfort" is the idea that we sometimes don't like our own skin very much. I will say as a short guy with a weight problem, some days I'm not as comfortable with my physical self. Most other days I am who I am, and that's that. Perhaps that's the deciding factor: Is today a good hair day? I'm posting video. Do I look like hell? I'll writing blog instead.
There is help out there, though - naturally, on the internet. This blog found on the Mashable.com website is a very helpful and straight forward guide to making good video blogs.
Image: Original photo, Bill Lammers, May 26, 2010
OK. You had me at the title of this blog! Funny stuff. And the pic...I am lovin' it. And, ok, can I be honest? I clicked some classmates off after their reaction to the video got long winded. There are only so many hours in a day. So, I'm making an effort to be concise, and clever, but alas! Both are so difficult. You have the talent for it!
ReplyDeleteBill, my thoughts go along with yours exactly. Why on earth would I put a video of me stumbling over my words, and uh, and um, and ... If I want something to be hanging out over the internet for all to see, I would prefer if I was a little more polished and could pick my own picture, and besides, I don't always want to wear a shirt when I am at home... It's just a hassle to find one so I can make a comment about a video :)
ReplyDeleteLoved the humor you provided me:) After a stressful day at school and then seeing your title your blog was a must read. I definitely have to say I'm not loving myself on video either:) I'm much happier just chatting without being viewed. However, video conferencing does force me to step outside my comfort zone and I guess that can be a positive. P.S. I love the picture:)
ReplyDeleteOther factors--the room the computer is in is a mess and I don't want anyone to know how messy my house can get; my kids are shouting in the background; my dog is barking; I have very dark circles under my eyes--and look and sound tired . . . I hadn't thought through reasons for "video discomfort" before . . .very true and very interesting!
ReplyDeleteGood posting, Bill. Here is your opportunity to explore your ideas and then share them. Do you believe that this is an issue with your students? Do they tend to feel the same as you or are they more used to being seen in digital format?
ReplyDeleteRemember that there is a difference between a posting and a blog. The posting you referred to was The Complete Guide to Video Blogging.
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Thanks for the comments, everyone (and the corrections of my terminology, Leigh.) To explore the question you raise, it was my student's reaction to seeing themselves that got me thinking about this subject. My own reaction to seeing myself was not horrible, but when I considered it with my students' reactions in class a day or two later, I thought this was more of an issue than just me feeling a little self-conscious. While most of them are reasonably comfortable with their digital world, it might have been more a nervous reaction to seeing their image - and their classmates seeing it as well. We are working with blogs right now, and I've noticed that many of them are not using actual photos of themselves - which could also be attributed to our privacy on the internet discussion. I'm pretty sure I don't have a clear answer to this yet, but I'll get a good picture of how students feel about this as we do more digital communication.
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