Mean, Green, Video Makin' Machine

Time to get out of your comfort zone and let students get creative!

Giving students more control is not as scary as it may sound, once you've given them some tools it's time to see what they can do!

Having students create video projects can be fun and exciting for both the students and teacher. Some students will take charge and use their creative minds to go above and beyond what has been asked of them to do. Others will sit and agonize over the details of the project because they just can't get started on what the background will be. They want to be able to create something that will be realistic to the theme of their video project.

Bring on the green screen!

Using a green screen helps students tap into their creativity because they now see what the possibilities could be for them. Now some will still complain and procrastinate for other reasons but at least you have given them the tools for creating.

There are 3 examples of using green screens (plus other apps that are fun to play with) that I will share with you.

The first one is using it as a simple background for student projects using TouchCast and Canva. You can click on the picture to see some of the projects students created. Here students used a variety of features called Vapps to enhance their projects. We also created a background for their introductions and thank you's using Canva.

The next example uses Videoleap as the editor. This is a great app to use with any video you may have that you want to layer on another video or image. By using the "Mixer" feature you can layer videos and pictures using the Chroma button to take out whatever color you want removed. Here I used Plotagon to create an animated version of myself. This would be a fun way for students to get to "meet" people in history, have conversations and interview them.

The last example combines Sketchbook Motion to create

the solar system, Plotagon to create an astronaut and put together using Videoleap. Plotagon is a great animation tool that oozes creativity from students. By using the green screen background it provides you can place your character in any environment you wish. Sketchbook Motion is a great tool for students to create their own pictures with movement.

Have fun! Using a green screen is like many other apps out there, it is only limited to your imagination!