Video editing in the classroom

Some topics may be regarded as, let's face it, rather dull by some students. Faced by such dilemma one needs to think hard to get the students remotely interested before asking them to start preparing notes or essays etc.

Movie Maker is an ideal tool to turn the pressure up in the classroom and it does not have to take long to produce. I quickly edited a brief video clip downloaded from www.britishpathe.co.uk to make it appear that Joseph Stalin was standing in the Kremlin waiting, patiently, for...the students. The task was simple:

• Targets set during the first Five Year Plan had been too high and factories were unable to meet them.
• Students' job was to prepare a speech explaining to Stalin what they had done to meet targets and why they consequently had failed.
• The class was also informed that their speeches would be rated according to 'chance of survival' after delivering their masterpieces.

For a full run-down of this activity including an example of what we used please visit the website