published InterMed - MediaEducation - 10 years No 1 April 2005
Almost ten years ago, while I was looking for ideas on how to improve the short paths through the introduction of audiovisual language that was driving with Massimo Rossi Peter Kick Institute of Padua, I happened to read an interesting manual , written by two New York media educator (1), a chapter devoted to videoletters.
Maybe because in my practice I had found a manufacturer to make videos that correspond to the various communication needs, perhaps for a little reminiscent of the ideas of Jean Cloutier (2) that my lack of familiarity with the French had allowed me to his time to learn, I had been immediately clear the potential of the video letter may have as a tool comunicazionein schools.
It is clear that an audiovisual product through a school group (usually a class) can exchange with one or more groups better partner, and especially of languages \u200b\u200band cultures, about their living environment, their smoking habit and aspirations , cultural environment, much more effective than through an exchange of e-mail. It is also clear that the path of production of a video letter creates a powerful synergy between the objectives of the group communicate with partners and to acquire skills and abilities in creating and decoding of audiovisual messages.
In 1998, with the collaboration of Education in the City of Padua, I was able to achieve for the 5 classes of paths introduction to the use of audiovisual language centered on the creation of a video letter, and in October of 2002, having in the meantime carry out any other experience like this, I put the site on the net www.videoletter.org, where I try to encourage teachers to undertake this kind of experience, outlining the key features and (in the "make a video letter") the possible ways of realization.
In a nutshell, if you do not have time to go see the site, say that a structure particularly functional for a video letter is probably that of the container program in which one or more contributions to this announcement and have a duration of two to four minutes, each designed, filmed and edited by a group of 3 / 5 students.
Here, instead, I try to think about the difficulties they encounter this kind of experience and possible strategies to overcome them.
must not encouraging from a given: if today we make a Google search using as keywords videoletter school and there are 46 listed sites from which, after a screening accurate enough, we get news of no more than 4 or 5 actually made videoletters in schools since 1998. Few, if pensa che ai vari concorsi di video per le scuole che ci sono in Italia arrivano ogni anno diverse centinaia di prodotti.
Ripetendo la ricerca con i termini inglesi, il risultato non è più confortante, anche se si ricava l’impressione (non verificabile per chi, come me, non conosce quelle lingue) che nei Paesi dell’estremo oriente questo mezzo di comunicazione sia più utilizzato.
La domanda che mi pongo è quindi: come mai uno strumento così potente e “bello” come la videolettera non viene adeguatamente sfruttato?
Vi sono senz’altro delle difficoltà di tipo organizzativo, dovute al fatto che una videolettera, per poter rappresentare effettivamente l’inizio di un rapporto communication between two classes, must be prepared and submitted to partners at the latest by March, so that all phases (approval and funding of the project on the one hand, and research and agreement with partners on the other) must be completed by December.
thing as we know it is not always easy, especially when you depend on funding from sources outside the school (and that although it is not difficult to understand to the local value of this kind of initiative). Much simpler, however, is to communicate through videoletters classes as part of a collaborative project already started, or when there is already involved in the schools production practices audiovisuals. Another difficulty with
challenges facing those who lead the path of production of the video letter - he is a teacher with some experience in the production of audiovisual or an outside expert - is the lack of appropriate role models.
None of audiovisual products that are normally used to consider the producers are turning directly to the public to speak for themselves. In addition, none of the "normal" audio-visual products to the relationship between producer and consumer is interchangeable and equal. For comparison, we could say that is the video letter to the other audiovisual products as a call to action is an assembly in front of microphones, or as a letter is a book: records of communication are clearly different.
While most of audiovisual productions, including at school, the "actors" are asked to represent something, and at the same time to adapt to the prevailing communication patterns for that particular medium at that particular historical moment, the guys in the video letter should simply present the their partners as they are.
The thing is not easy, at both the decision and writing the content to be communicated, both during recording, as it is very difficult to get rid of the models daily absorbed through the TV when we write a lineup or even to choose the best shot - however necessary steps to ensure the adequacy and clarity of the message.
until such time as it will be appropriate to a settled practice communication audiovisual communication "as equals" (which can hardly be designed at a table, but more likely will follow the practice), an effective solution would be to consciously practice two levels of communication, stating explicitly the partners: "We send you this movie we made for you" even while turning to the "film" (which is the documentary about the school or district, the city's history or sports played on the boys do not care) its back-stage.
do not believe however that can be attributed to the lack of optimum models that, as much experience, we are almost a year of zero videoletters and I think that, in addition to organizational difficulties I mentioned earlier, the responsibility is more likely to attributed to the low level audio-visual literacy of the school (not only Italian) and the lack of a popular series, so it just happens that a few people is now planning to use video as a medium of communication between classes.
I also believe, however, that the inevitable spread of the personal audio-visual communication (handsets, webcam, management and exchange of movies via computer) will still lead the school to the use of audiovisual media in exchange programs with schools in other countries and localities.
It is desirable that the community media educators participate actively in this process by providing and, above all, testing models and production processes for the videoletters in order to ripen quickly what appears to be an excellent tool to develop knowledge and friendship between young people of different cultures and different conditions.
(1) BETSY NEWMAN, JOSEPH MARA, Reading, Writing & TV: A Video
Handbook for Teachers, Highsmith Co., November 1995.
(2) Cloutier Jean, the ages of Emerec ou la communication audio-scriptovisuelle
à l'heure des self media, Les Presses de l'Université de Montreal, 1975
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