My video documentary is a little bit about the invention of the typewriter, a little about the phenomenology of writing and more specifically about typing vs. handwriting for young children learning how to write.
Most of my teaching experience has been in early childhood education, preschool, Kindergarten and Grade 1. My daughter is 2 years old and more and more, I am interested in how she is growing up in a world of cell phones and tablets which she is learning to use before she can even hold her fork and crayons appropriately.
As I began finding sources about the typewriter, I came across several studies on memory for handwriting vs. typing and became intrigued about how this might connect to children learning how to read and write, and specifically, the use of the typewriter as an assistive tool for special needs children. It took me some time to try to narrow everything down into a manageable topic and there are still more related issues that I would have liked to include and explore. The first time I read though my work aloud, however, it was over 17 minutes long and I knew that part was going to be a huge challenge for me. I tend to overwrite and struggled with cutting out pieces to shorten the length.
I decided to use splice app as my medium for creating my video. I did have many frustrating moments which included not being able to show an image longer than 10 seconds, not having long enough video to support my audio which I didn’t realize until after I recorded my audio and got cut off, and finding it incredibly time consuming to change the order of the photos until I realized it was easier to start all over again and simply select the photos from my camera roll in more or less the order that I would want them in. I completed the video itself on my ipad, whilst having my parents’ desktop computer open (I have been visiting and staying with them since July 4), my uncle’s typewriter from 1963 which I borrowed, and of course, my cell phone next to me, as well. I had a pile of printed out resources, a notepad, pencil and highlighter ready to go, too!
I feel like I had many successes during this project. For one, even though I’m a stay at home parent right now, my daughter is more than a full-time job and I’m also pregnant with various issues, so I’m exhausted and juggling several medical appointments a week. It was a huge success that I managed to fit in the time and energy to complete this on time! I am quite happy that I learned how to use a new app, I haven’t created a video for over 10 years which I realized I missed. I used to run a video and photography club with Grade 7 students who worked on creating a video yearbook for the school each year. Also, I really dislike hearing my voice and hearing myself give a talk so the fact that I managed to do that and listen to it was a success, albeit likely a small one to many of you. Finally, I am happy with how I managed to make use of so many different tools in completing this project. I needed my ipad, Google photos, email, computer, phone, typewriter, paper, pen, pencil, highlighter, printer, the splice app, royalty free photo websites, visits to my local library, Google Scholar, the UBC library, refworks, and more.
This project was truly a learning experience for me and a memorable one.
Here is my script as a pdf:
Here is a link to my video on youtube:
