Windows Movie Maker (WMM) is part of the Microsoft Operating System. It has been there since MS XP and was much improved after service pack 2. So, since XPSP2 WMM has been available for teachers and learners alike to edit video clips.
Although simple to use ('How to' documents can be found on the MALT course) WMM is very powerful and allows users to easily cut and edit clips from a variety of sources. It even allows the user to change the orientation of a clip.

Microsoft Photostory 3 is a free download from the Microsoft website. It allows the user to insert images and to add motion, sound and text to them - resulting in a fully featured video.
Easy to use for both teachers and learners.

Area this example can be used:

All subjects

Short and concise description what I did and how I did it:

The method of presenting the new material in front of the classroom is typically used when introducing the new topic. The teacher usually offers a certain amount of information to the students either simply speaking in front of the classroom or asking the students questions and then adding the necessary information to their answers.

Useful in age group:

19 to 25, 26 to 30, 31 to 50, 51 to 66, 66 over

Aim to be achieved:

To help students acquire the information not only by reading about it or listening to the teacher's presentation, but also visually, audially, and intrapersonally (through the atmosphere and emotions). Another reason to use this method was to make the presentation more appealing, since nowadays students have a very short concentration span, and different approaches enable to draw their attention.

How did I achieve it:

An internet website www.youtube.com was used to collect several videos related to environmental issues. All of the videos were campaign commercials, made by Greanpeace organisation. After the initial presentation on environmental issues in general, three videos were shown to the students and their opinion about the issues was asked.

I encountered these problems and my following approaches helped to solve these:

Starting a new topic or material, the introduction is typically done in front of the classroom either speaking about it or asking the students questions and then adding some information that might be new to them. The students are usually quite interested, but the presentations tend to be monotonous, and, since the students perceive the information differently, in many cases students lose concentration and get bored rather soon. The chosen method together with video materials can make the presentation more appealing and captivating.

Why do I consider this approach to be effective and useful:

This method combined with the video, is very good, because the information can be perceived in many different ways, besides, video commercials usually have a very impressing musical background. The teacher has to be cautious about the number of the videos that he or she has planned to show, because students concentration fades in about 6-10 minutes. The optimal number of the videos is 1 to 3 at a time.

Tools:

A video resource website with thousands of videos on various issues. Can be used to watch or upload videos made by students.

Our Turkish partner Zeynel Karagoz was interviewed by a turkish the station. Later they gave him a CD from the the interview. It was a VCD!