Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own

Last night I went to the IMAX Cinema in London to watch the U23D film. It was quite amazing! I’m not in the habit of going to concerts but this has to be the next best thing, or even better since you get a much better view of the band. Make sure you don’t leave too early, because the graphics at the end are also worth looking at while appreciating all the people involved making the film. Many great U2 songs are included such as Vertigo, Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You and many more.

Before it started, we were told to put on our big funny glasses and turn off our mobile phones. We were also informed that taking pictures were not allowed. However, in the film during one of the ballads, Bono encourages the audience to use their mobile phones as “lighters” and during the whole concert the panoramic camera flows through heaps of youngsters recording their experience on camera and sharing it with friends. Hmm. There seems to be a clash of perception of how money is made here.

I’m in a discussion right now with some friends regarding pricing an educational dvd we have produced. Although it will be filled with lots of interesting videos and texts, I think it will be difficult to get people to pay that much for it. Instead I view it as marketing material, and that earnings will come from conferences, subscriptions and advertising. But it’s hard to think that way when you put a lot of work into your production.

The Horizon Report from The New Media Consortium talks about trends in use of technology in education. One of their observations is that “grass root video” is catching on. Since it is so inexpensive to make a video and put it on the Internet and young people often prefer looking at a video instead of reading a thick book, this will probably have an impact on teaching. If your students can choose between listening to you doing a live lecture or look at videos from all over the world, perhaps including several of the top researchers/teachers in the world, you are up for some competition! However, turning teachers into video stars might have the positive effect that more young people might become interested in a career in education…