Lights, camera, action

BARRHEAD-It started as a way to help motivate her students but it quickly morphed into something more.

That is how AnneMarie Tyrrell described the weekly video she and her husband, Bruce, along with their sons, David and James have been producing and publishing on Barrhead Elementary School's (BES) Facebook page.

AnneMarie is a Grade 2 teacher at BES and her husband Bruce is a Com Tech teacher at the nearby Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS).

Tyrrell said the idea behind the first video was to help her students with the writing process.

"When [schools] first closed their doors and we started going online I knew I needed to do something because it is hard to get students at this age-level at the best of times to start writing — a spark other than the normal writing assignments," she said.

Through the videos, AnnMarie asks students to write a short story or essay answering the question it poses.

In the first video, she asks students what superhero would they be and what superpower would they have.

In subsequent videos, Tyrrell asks "What book or movie character would they be? What is the best place they have ever visited? If you could be an animal, what would it be? and What would life be like if you were two inches tall?"

Some of the answers the Tyrrells have provided through the videos are

FedEx man and teleportation (Bruce in the superhero video), Giraffe (AnneMarie-animal they would like to be), outside (David-the best trip) and James said he would take up skateboarding in the sink if he was two inches tall.

Initially, AnnMarie consulted with Bruce intending him to be a "guest writer on the first video.

However, his role quickly expanded after he wrote a script for the first video.

Bruce and David also contribute their technical abilities by providing the camera and video editing work.

David is the Tyrrell's oldest son and has taken his father's Com Tec course in movie making. Other courses offered through BCHS' Com Tec department include photography and digital arts, ie graphic design and animation.

Tyrell noted that since they started the videos, the pool of potential actors has increased to other BES staff members including teachers; Kelly Klein, Lauren Chapman and Gillian Bourgeois.

Although the videos were meant only as a way to communicate with her students, they seem to have gathered a following outside her class and BES, thanks to someone posting them on the school's social media feed.

In part, due to the positive comments and reaction, the videos have received outside the community, it has pushed the Tyrrells to become more creative and elaborate in creating the videos.

Their latest creation (released April 14), where they pose the question of "what would life be like if you were two inches tall" they used a green screen to help create the special effects.

As for what future holds for the videos, she isn't sure. To keep things manageable, whenever actors or contributions from outside their immediate family are required, due to social distancing measures, it takes a fair bit of extra editing work.

But that being said AnneMarie notes depending on where Bruce's students are in their studies, they might have another group of video editors to call upon.

Online education

AnnMarie noted the videos are just one way she is attempting to make connections with her students.

"It has been a very steep learning curve not only for us as teachers, but our students," she said. "We are both accustomed to the model of teachers working in front of students, but know its a matter of putting our lessons on software."

And AnneMarie said it isn't as simple, at least not at her grade level, of just putting material online or streaming a teacher's lecture.

"The curriculum and lesson plans are not necessarily geared for presentation online," she said. "So it has been a learning curve through a bit of trial and error to see what works."

AnneMarie added she is also trying to add as much interconnection time with her students as possible through platforms such as Google Meet.

"It's not something any of us were quite ready for, but we are doing our best to make sure we are still making those connections because they are so important in learning," she said.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com

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