Flip Video

My Humor and Satire course is really two courses in one. The first half of the course is based on literature that falls into the genre of humor and satire. The second half of the course is all about public speaking. This is a nightmare for many of my students. Last semester was my first time doing the course and I must say that I like the way this semester is going more. Last semester I started with public speaking and then moved into the literature. This semester I started with the literature and am now moving into public speaking. The students are more comfortable with each other, which is making for stronger speeches.

This semester I am also utilizing the flip video cameras for the speeches. The student's first speech was the Brown Bag Speech. In this speech students bring in three meaningful items. It is a fun speech to watch because they are short and I learn more about the student's lives. The videos have made an impact on the students. A lot of the students thought their speeches went well before they viewed themselves on camera. After they viewed themselves, they realized all of the problems that they had in their speech making. I asked the students to critique their speeches and to write a blog about them. I heard from many of the students and the overwhelming response was, "I didn't realize I look like that" or "I didn't realize that I did that" when making their speeches.

I'm looking forward to seeing their second round of speeches. I think the video cameras will help the students improve at a more rapid pace.

Lunn