Integrating Digital Video Technology in the Classroom

Integrating technology into kinesiology-related professional preparation pro-grams has the potential to enhance and improve student learning. A media-literate and experientially grounded student population, relatively easy-to-use and inexpensive resources, and higher professional expectations and accreditation standards support this integration. Digital video technology, in particular, is a strong tool that can enable students to develop a variety of skills, including research, communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and other higher-order critical-thinking skills (Theodosakis, 2001). In addition, the integration of digital video technology has the potential to enrich university classroom curricula, enhance authentic and meaningful pedagogical experiences, and provide new and sophisticated ways to improve student learning (Fiorentino, 2004). Technology-related standards have been progressively developed by various accrediting agencies and professional organizations, including the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). Digital video integration can be used as an example of technological competency for students and faculty. In recent years, technology in the classroom has become easier to use and less expensive. A number of companies offer easy-to-use video-editing software for less than $100 and some even for free. Video-editing software enables students and faculty to integrate various types of media—such as text, video, audio, graphics, and animation—to create meaningful educational videos. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance and benefits of digital video integration, describe the essential tools needed (e.g., hardware and software) and the steps to create a digital video, and provide examples of digital video assignments or projects and an evaluation rubric for assessing them