Educator of the Month: Karen Jackson

Dr. Karen Jackson is currently an Instructional Technology Specialist in the Temple Independent School District, and an Adjunct Professor for Texas A & M, Central Texas. She has been an educator for 23 years, with most of her classroom experience in elementary and middle school. She is Principal certified, has a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, with a Technology Director Emphasis. She regularly presents at the Texas Computer Educator Association Conference, and has presented at the University of North Texas Education Leadership Conference. Her Dissertation entitled Technology Challenges: Successful Integration of Classroom Technology was published in 2013, resulting in a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership. Karen is a Google Certified Educator, Level 1, Google Certified Trainer and WeVideo Ambassador.

The City of Temple is situated between the hill country and the coastal plain of Texas. It serves a mid-sized urban district of 8,600 diverse students. We have one high school, three middle schools, and 9 elementary schools. Temple Independent School District completed a 4 year technology roll-out just last month which included high school 1:1 student to Chromebook ratio. Middle school and 2nd-5th at the elementary have a 2:1 Chromebook to student ratio, and Pre-Kindergarten and 1st grade has 2:1 iPad Minis.

First Project

The folks at WeVideo asked me to show my very first example, after cringing; I went back to the first one, inspiringly titled Journey with WeVideo . When I created it, I wanted to show the steps how to make a video and then show my sample video. Honestly, it is not profound, but its intent was to demonstrate to my teachers how they can take a few pictures and tell a story. So I gathered a few quotes, a few images, and a bit of film I took of a robot on the exhibit floor at TCEA (Texas Computer Educator Association). I was shocked to see that within a few moments, I had a fairly decent video with transitions, fading, and the Ken Burns effect.

Favorite Feature

Much of the video making I do now is directly instructional, showing teachers how to upload a picture or a video from their phone or iPad to their Drive or Google Plus account. My favorite feature is the Screencast ability which allows me to show teachers and students exactly what Im trying to explain. Some of the videos are not long at all, but they get the point across. The beautiful thing about that is once I have created something, I can always refer back to it or change it because WeVideo will keep it for me.

Occasionally, I get to work with my fellow Instructional Technology Specialists to showcase some new video techniques we are building, like using a Light Board. I am learning how to appreciate the power of Story in life, and this is a great method to explore and experience story telling.

WeVideo

I am honored to share my experiences using WeVideo and working with the awesome people in the company. I currently train teachers and students in Central Texas in a mid-sized district of 8,400 students. We have one high school, three middle schools, and 9 elementary schools. Temple Independent School District completed a 4 year technology roll-out just last month which included high school 1:1 student to Chromebooks ratio. Middle school and 2nd-5th at the elementary have a 2:1 Chromebook to student ratio, and Pre-K to 1st grade has 2:1 iPad minis. We traveled down this road and found all kinds of bumps, but are still very excited to see whats happening in Temple ISD.

My district selected WeVideo for teachers and students because the value and numerous features it has in the online video editing environment are crazy good. The more I use WeVideo, the more I fall more in love with this versatile product.

Do you know a WeVideo Rockstar? Are YOU a WeVideo rockstar? Send an email to lise@wevideo.com

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