As I was composing my teaching philosophy video, I was forced to drastically change many of the ideas that I had, but more importantly, I needed to approach the project from a non-alphabetic perspective. One important way that this shift came to fruition was through the use of language that I used in my video. I began the composing process by focusing on my strength of alphabetic writing, and as a result, I wrote up five long paragraphs that I planned on memorizing and reading into the camera. This was a complete disaster. As soon as I listened to the way that this scripted, alphabetic voice sounded, I knew I needed to wipe the paragraph approach completely; instead, I broke the paragraphs down into the most important points, and spoke directly into the camera in a casual manner. The end result that you see in the video, though it still feels mildly scripted, reflects this important change in tone.

          I constructed my initial draft of the video from my infographic, which had its original source in the alphabetic teaching philosophy. While I drew upon many of the scenes from the infographic for my video, it really only provided the framework or outline to build upon for the video. When it came to actually constructing the video, I was left in the murky, unfamiliar waters of technology. I used snag it in order to match prerecorded videos with both images on my screen (Romeo and Juliet and SnagIt) but also stock footage from WeVideo. In so doing, the various videos didn’t quite line up in terms of their sound, and I had a frustrating time trying to adjust the sound perfectly both between the footage and the videos, or between the music and the next source of sound. This was perhaps my biggest struggle.

               I knew from the beginning of the composing process that I wanted to gear my piece towards my next class of students. This audience-centric goal meant that a few things were already determined about my video: I would be speaking into the camera, I would need to strike an engaging yet professional tone, and I would need to provide examples of some of the ways that the readings and philosophies from this course would come to fruition in the classroom that year (i.e snag it, the many hats of learning, and analyzing cinematography). I actually went through an entire version of the video before deciding that my attire was too informal, and thus I needed to change into a shirt and tie in order to portray myself in the manner that I saw would be professional in the eyes of my students.

               In summation, I enjoyed working on this project. I was appreciative of the fact that each assignment in the process of constructing the video built upon the previous project, and that each one needed reconsideration in order to fully adapt to the new form of media. I am grateful that I will be able to take a tangible teaching philosophy away to show to my students this upcoming year.