Mathew Wood Hill interview 18th March 2015 Q1 summary

Mathew Wood Hill interview 18th March 2015

Q1 summary

I am not a lecturer, however have been very involved in teaching in different ways and having been teaching the whole module.

I have input into the some of the teaching modules in different cases.

So there are three things that I think I draw attention to:

The first one is it's called the Global Citizenship Summer School program that we run within the DPU for UCL and specifically for the use your grand challenge of sustainable cities

The second thing we do is a and a week long programme during the first term for the

Masters the students to study here within the development plan units .

The third thing is I have inputs into various modules within the Department on how they can use video both in terms of technical training and in terms of the sorts of ways they might build to bring through in their research methodologies.

Because when the DPU works is very practice place, so the students here will study reallife case studies for a lot of the year in terms of secondary research. But in the third term, in April or May they will visit a context in what we call the urban global south. Some country like Ethiopian for example , Tanzania Lima in Peru to a specific city's I should have said, and conduct primary research there.

So what we're interested in is how they can bring video in different media and communications technologies to bear in those research processes within the whole of the departments .

We have 220 students but was very interesting that the DPU is that we have students coming from over 50 different countries so incredibly international here .

Within the modules within the different workshops I've been talking, the summer school program has 100 students the the masters student workshop includes all 220 master students to take part in and postgraduate teaching here in the Department. Then the individual interventions I have within modules on the masters programmes is around about

20 to 30 students usually.

If I use the example of the summer school that we run for undergraduate students in UCL , we have a strong connection between the teaching that we doing that and actually in our own research activities.

So the summer School is based around and a case study which is in Dar es Salaam in

Tanzania and then we have active research projects going on there at the moment.

So I been to Das es Salaam a couple of times. I've have met members of the communities that we been working with, in collaboration with our research partners there, who are local

NGOs and local university.

We've we made interviews with protesters of the communities interviews with representatives from these organisations and other key informants in the city. We then post produced that and I actually repackaged it as teaching material for the students, so

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when the students come into that summer school there they might have been very clear understanding of what other poverty is ,but they are immediately exposed to what or as close as we can make it what the real world situation would be by hearing those viewpoints.

Interview

How video is used in teaching

Q2: The pedagogical context 3.29

The reason that were interesting using video in our teaching is because of the specific context that we work in. So the Development Planning Unit focuses on urban development in the Global South. We deal a lot with the urban poor who have very different living conditions as you can imagine, compared to a lot of the students who are here studying that and urban development and poverty.

I think what what the video really does is, it exposes them to the realities of what's happening on the ground. It gives them an insight into how people are thinking, how people are feeling ,and what the key issues really are.

For example, I was recently in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and while there I was recording and filming interviews and capturing footage with members of the local community groups, with representatives from and non-government organisations, from local universities and other key informants in the city, around issues such as challenges in urban planning and particularly access to water infrastructure

Special conditions using video in teaching


I think we have to adopt an ethnographic perspective on work there and just simply document what's going on we can capture in those moments and really also document what people want to tell us as well

How video is used in teaching

Q2:The pedagogical context 5.07

The way we work is to close the integrate our recent research and teaching activities.So for example when I was in Dar es Salaam collecting footage and with the local community members and representatives of different organisations that we've been working closely with in the city. I was seeking interviews we could then repackaging into teaching purposes.

How that links to a couple of workshops is that we run a summer school in June each year within use of undergraduate students which is part of the global citizenship programme, specifically on sustainable cities.

We also run a workshop with our master students each year and they have access to all of these videos to really given a sense of what people are saying on the ground, and to bring them a lot closer to the context, to give a window into what the real challenges that people who are experiencing urban poverty on a daily basis are facing, and also of course the the experiences and the fine work that people are doing as representatives of NGOs for example, or that local governments of what they're doing actually to come up with solutions to some of those challenges.

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The educational value of video


While I'm not the course leader, I think that is very important that students have exposure to this very different context , and it’s very different realities of what it would be like to live in a city in the Urban Global South and specifically what it would be like to be someone experiencing poverty on a daily basis, as well as those those perspectives coming from individual people perhaps and community groups that living in challenging conditions. We also benefit from having inputs from people from organisations such as a local NGOs and local government, who then talk that the other side what the kind of plans and processes in place to actually overcome those difficulties.

Student reaction


In terms of the feedback we've been receiving from the students they're very keen to flag up how this takes their learning beyond just the books.It takes them out of the classroom in a sense because it insights insights into emotions ,into individual people's perspectives and and how they deal with the challenges they face on a daily basis

Discussion with course leaders


We always have conversations about what's needed in those specific scenarios. I try where possible to tailor the specific workshop exercises towards the teaching is required in that module.

I can give an example. Recently I've been working with a group of MSc students who are going to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in May of this year.

What we wanted to do was to ask them to give us some education about how to devise video stories. To taken through the process from inception of your storyline through to your shot formation ,your storyboarding and then eventually or scripting. Of course we had in places a context that is going to be useful to them when they're actually there in country and hopefully using these tools and for that to support their research. So that was then therefore done in accordance with some of the direct seems that there asked to address.

So while they might be especially sexy topics we had students that were asked to devise films around elements of public infrastructure which included toilet facilities or waters . We are trying to ask them to make quite self-contained stories, but that actually have a role in contributing towards the wider learning objectives and also stimulate thinking about how they might use that in the real situation when they're in the field .

Video integration example 1

Q3: How video is used 8.59

In terms of how embedded and integrated the video element is within our teaching I think that happens in two different ways

In the summer school program that we run we begin in the very first session by introducing students to the video of cityscapes, so they get a sense of what the city looks like and what it might feel like in terms of the sounds as well for example

They use that then to I suppose get a greater understanding of what the city might be like especially for residents living.

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They have access to a series of interviews we meet with key informants who are members of NGOs, members of government and local community groups.

Video integration example 1


Another really key parts of the methodology that binds the summer school program together is how you start off by looking at videos of people.

We then introduce different techniques to enable you to construct your own videos. So we example run and one afternoon workshop on video editing. Another afternoon we run a workshop on storyboarding. Then by the end of a two-week programme students are asked to produce their own film about the situation in Dar es Salaam but specifically focus on their own visions for sustainable city

So they have been given access to how the video is about, how people living in the city see the future of their city. But actually they then asked to use their technical skills they have developed over the course of the program and bring them together with, of course the interdisciplinary skills that we have that they've gained and from those other parts of through lectures and through other activities and we mustn't bring that together and produce a final video output .

Assessment


What we do within the MSc courses, specifically one programme which is called the

Masters in Environment and Sustainable Development is embed video in the assessment throughout the whole course, bought from throughout the whole year one module

This module specifically is focused on and practical engagement with communities in neighbouring Peru. Now in the first term they conduct secondary research and they're asked to produce audiovisual reports Usually that's using archive footage and their own and contributions. I guess pieces to camera for example

In term two to they produce a video that really is their diagnosis of a case study in which they going to go and be working in.

The fantastic thing about video in that context is that they're able to create let's say a five minute video. They can add the Spanish subtitles to that sent out to the partners with who are going to be working when they arrive in May for the actual fieldwork. Who can get a sense of where they're coming from how they've understood the context and what they might be contributing before they even arrive there. This certainly opens up the dialogue.

When the students are out in Lima there working with communities to understand there as the environment of concerns that they're facing in the other challenges facing living within the city and many of these are actually more closely related to environmental and social justice actually and their interactions with different actors I suppose within the city big government our private sector or non-governmental actors

When it comes the assessments they actually have to produce shorts film which is how they are asked to communicate and present their research That's done here in London for their module tutors of course.

But additionally there are required to provide Spanish translation through through subtitles which means that the videos is have a life beyond the course to the made available at say on YouTube.

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They are also sent through through the post on DVDs to the partners out their reliever who can then use of their own purposes.

I think there are two or three purposes, that we really see these videos are being used for.

One is of course this this than I do documenting what's going on the process

Another thing is awareness raising about some of the issues and challenges that the communities out there facing

Thirdly, of course is advocacy, because students at the end of their project are asked for a series of recommendations about ways forward and to to improve or enhance environmental justice within the city.

The videos are really powerful tool for doing. what we seen for example is that our colleagues improve actually spoken to us at various other events remarking on these videos and talking about how they've been really informative and very interesting the learning about what's going on, but also in terms of really grasping what the core of the issues are .

Assessment

Q2: The pedagogical context 13.53

It is one of the main and assess outputs from that module. But really it is mixed media outputs, so yes it is video but it's also for example slides or pictures that have underlying audio to tell the story and the digital .

Equipment


I personally shoot from their digital SLR camera. I usually have a separate H4 Zoom microphone and that's like core kit. But that's not really how we use video, within the

Department that is specific to my role as media and communications officer because I am providing coverage of events for example, and taking photos.

The way that we use video equipment within the teaching is much more linked to low-tech accessible technologies, and by that I mean smart phones are new flip cameras really.

We give students training in how to construct digital stories. But in terms of the equipment we put into the hands we've put a very yet cheap and simple flip camera or we rely on them using their own smartphones.

Equipment - audio issues


A problem that we encounter on a regular basis is of course audio, because we're shooting for smartphone you are picking up ambient noise generally With all of that background noise is difficult to have a polished product.

There are there are two ways that we would try to work around that . One is that we were very fortunate to have a few and Kodak Play Touch Flip cams which were think to my knowledge the last of the sort generation basically 3100- £150 that still had an external mike input

We do have a few of those really just a handful the other way that the working is with separate voice recorders. Then with students in the kind of filmmaking process.

Particularly when we talk about editing and postproduction how to sync audio and video files at the end.

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Editing for students


I've run video editing workshops for a number of years now. I've tried running them in a number of ways. I’ve also been on the other end of the month sat in the audience and try to learn from a couple of different in a couple of different techniques.

What I found to be the most effective way of teaching is through basically creating a tutorial manual to talk students through a specific case study.

I'll give them at the start. I will give them a package In the package there are three interview files. There are three cityscape files one map one music file and is also one the complete movie. So the first thing they do is watch that complete movie so they know what they are supposed to be doing for the exercise in the tutorial .

I found that printing it makes it much much more effective than even than using as a PDF online. The next I like to do is to record video of myself in Editor making that nothing that could add something, when students get stuck they can make that she watched the rewind to a specific point but I found the physical manual the talks if you step-by-step how to construct that specific video to be very important

Then it also adds another layer because what we can do is make that video contest specific so find training people who are going to be going to Dar es Salaam on how to put a video together about Dar es Salam I give them my bits I've taken there's been assembled into a short film they can then build it themselves.

I think it it has a dual purpose of really helping them to think about when I'm in that situation I was speaking to these people how can I build my own interview or my own film.

The one thing that I haven't spoken about as the two platforms that we use this our

Windows movie maker and iMovie and the reasons again are links to to our emphasis on using low-tech and accessible technologies because iMovie with easily make are freely available on the Mac platform and Windows platform so we think that's what we should be concentrating our efforts at that basic video editing stage.

Training


I'm completely self-taught in how I used to video editing software, and certainly in how a teacher it. I think I gained a lot actually I got from other technical training. For example, I had a basic introduction to GIS training in UCL, with the guy who is a Ph.D. student in the

School of Civil Engineering and he introduced us to the way of learning through the tutorial pamphlets.

I found that to be so affected vital on trial in video editing .The feedbacks generally been very good, and the outputs as well. In terms of when students have had that session.

They've learnt things and then they are asked to generate their own outputs at the end of the process of the Summer School or of a research experience. They seem to pick up the skills. So hopefully that was from my input.

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General availability of resources

Q4: Future media requirements 19.11

I don't think that personality got known that the help in UCL is there. if indeed it is there.

There's definitely first and foremost a bit of a gap in terms of communication or awareness about what's available.

The second thing might be simply that actually some of these resources are not available.

I know for example that there is a video editing suite in the UCL Department of anthropology because I've been lucky enough to have worked on a project with them, where that was made available to me if I if I needed it But beyond that I don't know.

I think also perhaps a greater forum for video producers within the University would be really important which I think is what this project is setting out to achieve Because I'm producing content I'm sure would would be interesting to the folks running UCL TV, but I'm not in really in contact with them, but I do know what they're looking for thing

So I don’t know how to direct contact towards them.

In terms of equipment this is really challenge that we come back to time and time again the way that the masters programmes working the DPU we have field trips and overseas.

In May of every year the demands from the students from the tutors running those modules for equipment to plan to conduct wherever or to experiment with the methodologies they want to use which are increasingly incorporating audiovisual means, photography, video, digital mapping, for example.

They are growing year-on-year and yet it's the only resource hub within you so we can go and say okay in a year in advance because we know exactly when these things are going to be happening. Where we can go to and say okay for these two weeks we would really like to borrow 20 basic video cameras. Would like to be altered to borrow a GIS devices . I don't get sense that exists at the moment

We very lucky in the DPU that where we sit within the faculty of the built environment the

Bartlett because we have access to the whole of the Adobe Cloud and suite of programs which includes a course Adobe premiere pro which is fantastic editing software will also lucky because we have Lynda.com which is another resource rush to actually learn about uses the software something is really valuable

Server storage facility


I think that there is a real challenge in terms of storing things and in terms of how we how we distribute and disseminates videos.

In terms of the storage we have and a piece of server space Lynn within the bot that several which I use to backup all of my with my video files box that's it really.

It is not shared space so people wants to access video for something that they want to use it as a resource in their teaching.

They have come to me. It is very centralised.

I'd like there to be essential they could go such was something that we put them, just like a shared drive or something when they can access that .

The other ways that I personally store store videos just on external hard drives which are

I'm not convinced of the most reliable way of doing so that is another backup.

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Online Services Moodle


We use Moodle but it's very challenging to use the video and the reason for that is because you can actually only upload a file that is 160 MB in size so you really have to compress if your video of any deselect had to compress it down in order to make it usable.Then of course if it's over five or 10 minutes then it really sacrifices a lot of quality.

Longlife of videos


A really useful resource once videos have been produced by the students, they have their own lifespan, we'd like to put them up the minute you make them publicly available.

We also like to have it embed within our website within a specific page devoted to that project. Now that is of course challenge, which is that we have to ensure certain amount of quality within the videos and stories.

We have to make sure that they are true stories, that the technically quality.

More importantly, given the context that we work in, that they are ethically sound, - not sending out any wrong messages for example,

So what would be useful is to have kind of a closed space in which videos can be uploaded and displayed and then viewed internally within the UCL by staff before they actually go public. Because as is with YouTube for example it's either public-private or are listed and unlisted, is still actually public. Even if it's incredibly difficult to find you can still find it by Google Search.

Using video is a bit different because we can password the videos, but I mean that that's not always and especially easy way of working

Use of video

Summary 24.34

To summarise I think actually I see this as looped process that connects with research and teaching in different ways. Because the way we have been using video, is to develop content for research. We then bring that into teaching activities to educate students. To expose them to the kind of context that will be working in. We then use that, through different methodologies and techniques and tools that involve video and story construction, editing and production . Then ask students create their own stories, which can be so different things, for documentary purposes, for reporting assessments and also for advocacy and awareness raising.

Now what I really see as the next step, would actually be to take those methodologies that we been using with the students, and start using them with our partners in cities in the

Global South so that they can in turn, become content creators. In a sense that takes us back right back into the research.

We’re asking people we are working with whether the students and whether participants in our activities, to actually be practically using video to generate new ideas and new material.

ENDS

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Mathew Wood Hill interview 18th March 2015 Q1 summary

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