Since the Vine app launched in January 2013, news organizations have been experimenting with it as a tool for audience engagement. Vine lets you record and share short videos–very short. We’re talking six seconds or less.
While playing around with Vine after its launch, I had an ‘aha’ moment. I noticed a cool, and unexpected, use of the app: a tool to teach students the basics of video sequencing. Vine allows you to record short video clips that total less than six seconds, and the app doesn’t give you the option of editing the order of those clips. That’s the perfect way to teach sequencing to students. They’re forced to edit “inside their heads.” In other words, before hitting “record,” students must think about the next shot in a sequence.
I recently had students use the Vine app in my visual journalism class. During a scavenger hunt, students captured four types of still images around campus. In addition, they recorded video sequences with the app. Earlier in the semester, I taught students the basics of sequencing. This Vine exercise reinforced those concepts in a creative and fun way. This presentation explains more about the Vine exercise.
Sampling of students’ Vine video sequences
Note: the first video is a spoof of all my posts about my dog!
Storify of the scavenger hunt