can you say 'video fiasco' ten times really fast?

The last two weeks of school nine teachers at last count have assigned video projects, all due next week. Unfortunately, most are not thought out at all as far as anyone can tell.

The librarians, computer lab teacher and I have all been beseiged with clueless students wanting to borrow equipment they have no idea how to use, to do they-don't-know-what. It's a fiasco of the first water.

As a result of our frustration, we're in the process of making a video to be shown at the faculty meeting next week, showing dozens of students asking to use the $3000 video production cameras they have no idea how to operate, lining up in the library around the building and out the door to borrow/use their equipment, and dozens more clamoring for editing help in the lab until the lab teacher goes berserk and has to be led out of the room by a colleague, while she mumbles and drools.

I fear that just as in the early days of Powerpoint, they will be too easily influenced by the bells and whistles, and not notice a distinct lack of content. Like the math video I watched two students working on last week. They did manage to incorporate a large red truck, a fatal accident, and lots of cool music, none of which had anything to do with math, and when they got to the math part, they just read the book out loud and showed one of the boys writing out the problems. Two weeks of video production class down the tubes.

One person suggested putting a notice in the daily staff bulletin, announcing that each teacher had to do a brief video project before picking up our June paychecks...