Technical Considerations

• There is at least a five second gap between the time the camera is turned on and the time the taping starts. This is also true for the copying process from the time the copying button is pressed. Allow for this and don’t include anything vital in these first few seconds.
• Poor lighting causes more poor quality in videotape pictures than anything else. NEVER tape toward windows. Either cover them or put the camera in front of them and shoot away from them. PE candidates and others who shoot outdoors or in gyms must avoid shooting into the sun or bright lights. Shoot from an angle, rather than head-on, for the most attractive video.
• Many camera mics will do a good job of picking up sound in front of the camera while eliminating or reducing sound from the sides. If you can buy a mic, try to buy a flat (also called boundary or PMZ) mic. Lapel mics can work well in small groups, and a remote mic, mounted on a hand-held stick, may be very useful for PE candidates. Wrap the cord twice around the handle of the camera or a tripod leg to keep it from being pulled loose during filming.
• It is possible to “bump” the sound up during tape copying, but this will produce fuzziness. It is OK to have a student’s voice without an image of the student. Panning needs to be slow, and the camera might not get there until the student is well into his/her comment. You and your students do need to speak up more than normal. It is permissible for you to repeat what a student says if you fear that it will not be audible on the tape.
• Get professional quality tapes, if possible, not over the counter. A good camera shop will carry them, or your media specialist can order them at the state rate. The sound quality may be poor on up to 1/3 of regular tapes. NEVER use the first two minutes of the tape. This section is often of poor quality, especially the audio. You can set the tape past these two minutes before you submit it. To avoid “snow” on this part, tape it with the lens cap on as part of preparing for the taping session.

Planning Ahead

• Start taping early! Even if you don’t get a lesson you can use early, YOU become more comfortable. You need to get to the point where you can focus on teaching, not on the camera. Your students will get used to the camera and begin to ignore it.
• Many teachers find it useful to place questions they want to ask on a clipboard as they move around the class. This may be especially important if the teacher is going from group to group and wants to ask each group the same or very similar questions.

Analyzing After

• If the videotape to be submitted is to have more than one part or section, give the most length to the best part(s).
• Have the students watch the tape the next day and let them pick out the best parts. Most students are extremely good at this and will “nail” the parts you should feature.
Videotaping.Tips CERRA-SC, June, 2003
• Remember that the assessors want to see the students. They want student to student interaction more than they want student to teacher interaction. They don’t want just teacher. If there is a handout or other written material and/or if there is a rubric used for grading the lesson, include these as instructional materials.
• Remember that no tape will ever be perfect, and you don’t have to have a perfect tape. In fact, problems that arise during the lesson can be used to show how you handle difficulties. If there are none, you can talk about how you anticipated them and headed them off. The main focus of the assessor is “How did you analyze and reflect?” How well have you analyzed what you did with regard to the standards and your own learning goals? Have you shown knowledge of students, knowledge of standards, and knowledge of content? Have you shown awareness of misconceptions the students may have, and have you addressed helping students to overcome them? If there is a problem, admit it, discuss it, and address why it happened and how it can be prevented in the future.
• Although no tape will be perfect, it should meet the requirements as set forth in the portfolio directions. Good writing can offset a tape that is not top quality or a lesson with problems, but it cannot offset a tape that is not done according to instructions.
  Discussion doesn’t mean lecture, small group doesn’t mean free play, inquiry lab doesn’t mean teacher demonstration, and classroom community doesn’t mean chatting.
  Assessors read the written portion of the tape before viewing to get an idea of what is coming. They look on the tape for evidence of what you said happened, and it needs to be there. The assessor does not have to agree with your interpretation of what happened, but what you say has to seem possible and be backed up by the video.
• Many people have certified with a tape of poor technical quality, but the assessors are only allowed to view each tape once with no rewinding. They press PLAY on the VCR, let the tape run to the end or until the time is up, then stop it. They cannot fast forward or reverse to find the beginning or extend the time. You must be sure that what you send is ready to view. The value of having a good quality tape is that it lets the assessor focus on the lesson and how the tape is evidence of what you said in the writing, without having to struggle to make out faces and voices. Anything you can do to make the job of the assessor easier will pay off in a lower possibility of errors or confusion affecting your score.
• It is important to help the assessor identify the student(s) or incident(s) you’re writing about. Watching the tape with the sound off may help you come up with identifiers so that you can give a cue of something.