Do you need to get students excited about science? Slow motion video is one of the best science teaching tools a teacher can use in the classroom. Details can be noticed. Motions that couldn’t be seen, can be seen. Every teacher should try utilizing slow motion video in the classroom.
Meet our Critter Family
Meet one of the R.B. Wright Elementary party animals, Luigi. We have quite a few critters around my school that our students observe and learn from. I believe very passionately about bringing the concepts we teach to life for students and setting up critter observation areas is a cool way to do this! Students of all ages love animals. What place has almost every teacher been to on a field trip at least a dozen times? A zoo or some kind of animal observatory. So why not bring the field trip to the school? That said, meet a few of the other party animals we have on campus:
Say hello to Rosie, our gopher tortoise that we have a special permit for.
This is Rafiki our bearded dragon. She is a party animal that loves a good selfie!
Sure, many teachers have classroom pets, but how can we really make this a learning experience for our students? One way is to put these animals in a high traffic viewing area like a main hallway. Luigi is located in our main atrium. Rosie is on the playground, and Rafiki is often used for school wide presentations and classroom visits.
How to make slow motion videos
Now isn’t this video of Luigi the coolest? Did you have any idea a chameleon had a tongue that long? Every teacher walking around with a cool little device called a smart phone can make slow-motion videos anywhere. Open your phone’s camera and scroll through picture options to find it. We often forget how many 21st century tools we have available so easily. This option is readily available on most tablets, as well. Students will get obsessed with making slow-motion videos! Even grown ups will. I know my Luigi video has become quite the conversation piece for me.
Teaching with Phenomena
I have a strong background in teaching science. Currently, it’s all about teaching scientific phenomena to get students to look deeper into the concepts they process and problem solve with. There are many resources available with videos and pictures for teaching scientific phenomena. Here is one of the best from the National Science Teacher Association.
Slow Motion Video Making
However, what would a 21st century teacher do? He or she would make or allow students to make their own slow-motion videos to observe scientific phenomena, of course! The things that we can notice in slow-motion video are endless. These videos can be watched over and over to find new elements to study. In the next video, force and motion, as well as, weather can be closely observed. I made this one when we had a crazy weather phenomenon in South Georgia this past year.
This video was made with a student to observe sound vibrations.
Every 21st century teacher needs to begin using technology to make observations with. There are so many things we can witness and take a closer look at with just the simple slow-motion video technology on our phones!
Check out a few of my other favorite techy classroom tools.
Check out my ultimate guide for starting a STEM/STEAM classroom: 9 Steps to turning your classroom into STEM/STEAM classroom in any subject!
