Empathy

Recently, I applied to attend a Google Innovator Academy. Part of this application process consists of creating a one minute video explaining an idea I would like to tackle. To learn more about this academy, click HERE to read an earlier post.

Below is the video that I ended up creating for my how might we statement: “How might we reimagine online portfolios so that students are inspired to share their story?”

In making this video, I was reminded with just how long it can take to complete an ‘assignment’. When we see videos like mine, we don’t immediately think about how long it actually took to create the video. Sure it was only a minute. But in reality, I would say that I spent a couple of hours on it. Yes, I wanted it as ‘perfect’ as it could be since I was submitting the video to Google. However, I would still guess that anyone who would create a similar type of one minute video would take more than a half hour to create.

Regardless of whether or not I get into the academy, this application process allowed me to gain empathy with our students. As educators, we assign tasks for students to complete. “For homework, complete a 2 minute Flipgrid response interviewing a peer in Spanish.” OR “Create a business plan for a restaurant through Google Slides”. That 2 minute Flipgrid response, depending on complexity, could take quite a bit of time to complete. The same goes with the Google Slide assignment.

I cannot tell you how many times I had to re-shoot the few scenes that I had in my 1 minute video. After recording all my scenes and putting them together, I realized that I went over on time. That meant I had to reshoot some scenes to talk faster or cut some content out. Again, I thought I was done and shared with others only to receive input that part of the video seemed disjointed. Again, I had to re-film a couple of scenes. Of course with each filming, multiple attempts were required due to me messing up and forgetting my lines.

Here comes my point. When I first discovered that I had to create a one minute video. I didn’t think much of it. I can put together a one minute video. However, due to the constraints and importance of including all necessary information, it took me longer than I thought. Which got me to thinking that as educators we give tasks for students to complete each day. Having some empathy as to what students go through with completing assignments can help ensure that students are most successful. This video has given me a reminder of how important it is to not underestimate how long it could take for students to complete tasks.

I couldn’t stop laughing at some of my clips. So, instead of keeping them to myself, I decided to curate them to share with others. My only wish is that I kept all of the bloopers. Hope it puts a smile on your face and makes you laugh.

And that is my Spiel…