What is the Visual Voices Project?

Visual Voices: Amplifying Student Expression Through Digital Video Production is a joint project sponsored by the Austin Independent School District and the IDEA Studio, at The University of Texas at Austin.

As part of the project, thirteen 4th and 5th grade teachers from AISD, Leander ISD, Austin Jewish Academy, and the Austin Peace Academy worked with selected students to create a digital video that addressed state standards (the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) for language arts.

Participating teams received a digital video production package* and a binder with the training materials included on this website**. Teachers and students attended two Saturday workshops. In the first workshop, teachers received instruction on the fundamental goals and principles of integrating digital video technology into curriculum. In addition, students and teachers were trained how to operate the equipment and use Macintosh OS X software to import and edit images, sound, and video. Teams worked on the projects for seven weeks. They then attended a second workshop in which they learned how to add effects to polish their final products and had an opportunity to work on their videos with the help of technology support staff.

At the close of the project, teacher/student teams presented their videos at a public film festival. During the festival, teams elected two People's Choice" videos whose creator received trophies and were invited to participate in the Austin Student Digital Film Festival.

*Each package included a Canon ZR70 digital camcorder, a Canon A60 digital still camera, an Apple iBook laptop, a Logitec dual headset, and a wireless microphone set. All training materials included on this website are based on the assumption that the reader is using these products.

** Click here to download the printable version of the contents on this site
          (7.6MB).