Seeing myself on film: "Oh dahhhling, I just LOVED it."

Obviously I'm kidding. Does anyone short of a full-blown narcissist enjoy seeing himself or herself filmed? I suspect that few enjoy it.

So first, let me address the many things I did not enjoy about this experience. I did not enjoy seeing my physical person on film. The camera angle could hardly have been less flattering. This is a personal issue, I know. In terms of the teaching itself, the main weakness that I noticed is something I already know about myself: that I repeat myself and fall into "verbal filler" habits. Usually, I tend to fall back on um and uh. In this case, for whatever reason, I clapped as a segue, which isn't something I particularly believe I do in the classroom unless I am trying to send subtle cues to a sleepy, chatty class. In this case, I was filming in front of...no one. I suspect I was behaving a little strangely because I was trying to present the appearance of my usual style and self without actual students there. I also repeat myself from time to time (see below). Finally, I noted at one point, in a segment that may have been edited out of the final product, that as I was modulating my voice, I emphasized an odd syllable or word that probably would have made the sentence harder for students to understand or follow had they been present.

Since I'm also supposed to discuss the strengths of my presentation, I think it's safe to call it "solid." My lesson made sense and was manageable; at the same time, it would have required some time to browsing the Library of Congress collection and editing the class wiki heading to students, and my video shows me in the midst of allowing that time.  I also worked hard, as I always work hard, to use the classroom space even when tied in many ways to the computer from which I'm projecting. I believe that I explained the process I was demonstrating clearly, with good volume, and that I pointed to the board and used other means to direct (hypothetical) student attention to relevant elements of the display on the board. I also believe that this assignment, although not an actual task for my class, would be a valid and meaningful assignment; I might well use it in a later year. The target audience for this lesson would be my English 9 students, in their first year at the upper school at Seven Hills, and so introducing them to important resources like the Library of Congress electronic collections serves a purpose for them as learners beyond the mere significance of this particular collection for this particular assignment. I would even say that points of weakness noted above are not wholly weaknesses: I do tend to repeat myself as I talk in class, but that is in part an adaptation because I seem unable to make myself consistently speak more slowly (when I repeat key ideas, that gives kids a second chance to catch that essential point); and my verbal modulation -- loud and soft, higher and lower pitches -- serves to draw and keep student attention and, usually, to help me emphasize key points.

All in all...it was fine to see myself on film, but certainly not a pleasure. I do believe that any teacher stands to learn from this sort of experience, every now and again.