24 Hour Tombstones photo © 2009 Lenore Edman | more info (via: Wylio)
I was sadden to hear that from Read Write Web and other sources that Cisco is discontinuing the Flip camera brand it purchased in March of 2009. In my opinion the Flip camera totally revolutionized education technology and the way media could be produced in the classroom. In fact, it was on the back of Flip cameras that helped win a Technology Innovative Program award for my former school. First, Flips were easy to use. Just point and press the big red button to start and stop recording. Editing was a snap with the Flip Share software that was developed for the camera. Both of these features allowed teachers and students to easily video all kinds of class activities on the fly. Flips could also accommodate those who wanted to do more with better video editing software. Second, the cameras were inexpensive. Teachers could purchase one or schools could purchase dozens of the little cameras and it would not break the bank.

While there are similar cameras from Sony, Kodak, RCA, and other manufactures, they may all eventually fall to rise of quality video cameras in mobile phones. My Motorola Atrix can shoot 720P HD video and the quality is very good. However, the operative term is mobile phone and many educators are not ready to embrace the mobile phone as a learning tool yet. Maybe the demise of Flip may force naysayers into experimenting with mobile phones. Only time will tell.

As for me, I still carry around my trusty Flip just about everywhere I go and use it for various things. One of the last uses of my Flip was to record South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's recent visit to our school. Some of the video was shot with my Flip while other video was shot with my Atrix. My trusty Flip will continue to be a companion, always waiting for that perfect moment to record and share.

Presidential campaigns have a way of defining changes in media. Franklin Roosevelt made effective use of the radio in his election bid in 1932. Richard Nixon was the first politician to use television to speak directly to voters in 1952. John F. Kennedy showed that preparing for the characteristics of television helped him during the televised debates in 1960. Bloggers pretty much decided the election in 2004. In 2008 it will be the use of YouTube or citizen generated media that has made inroads and I expect 2012 will see its effective use by a candidate.

Both campaigns used YouTube to post campaign commercials. John McCain may have started the rewriting of Fair Use policy when some of his posts from news shows were taken down after networks complained of copyright infringement. CNN and YouTube collaborated on having people video questions for Republican and Democratic candidates during the primaries. Now YouTube, PBS, and GroundReport are teaming up for Video Your Vote which encourages people to video their experiences during the voting process and are giving away Flip camcorders to make it happen. Yet the biggest surprise is how many people picked up a video camcorder of some kind and shot video that made some kind of statement for one candidate or the other because they wanted to. I receive information e-mails from both the Obama and McCain campaigns (I should disclose that my sister is a county chairwomen for John McCain) and while most of the e-mails are asking for money (which Obama can stop because he can't possibly spend $300 million between now and election day) the McCain campaign surprised me with a call for "I am Joe the Plumber" videos.

The thing for teachers to learn from this is that people are finding new ways to communicate that are easy and cheap to do. I could write, shoot, and edit a campaign commercial for either candidate with a $100 to $150 camcorder that would look decent then upload it on YouTube. All this exercise in democracy would cost next to nothing but time. Take a look at what individuals have created on their own by surfing the campaign videos on YouTube. Think about how you can tap into that creative energy with your students. See if you can't create your own "Joe the Student" video that could change the course of history as much as "Joe the Plumber" might in this election.