"I believe that at BYU-Idaho we must learn to use new technologies and develop methods, materials, programs, and concepts that not only can be applied to our students on and off our campus, but also can be effectively and efficiently applied by others across the Church and, indeed, across the world."
Kim B. Clark
Students Create Family History DVDs
In Brother Doug Ladle’s Family History class, the projects are far beyond ordinary. Every semester, twenty to twenty-five students from each section opt to create a Family History DVD for his class. These DVDs contain everything from family home videos and pictures to entire family stories, complete with narration and music soundtracks. However, some students are so far away from home they can not get their hands on home videos or photos. These students actually create video autobiographies of their life here at BYU-Idaho. “The movies are usually from six to eight minutes long,” Brother Ladle says, “But they take anywhere from six to eight hours to create.” To begin the project, Brother Ladle sends his students to Josh Holt of the Business Management Department for a one-hour lab. Here they learn how to use software such as Adobe Premier, which they use to create and edit video files and set them to music. After this lab, they go to work themselves, experimenting with the software to get just what they want. After many hours behind a computer, and a little reflection on the people that preceded them, the DVDs are complete. By using technology in his class, Brother Ladle has brought the past alive to his students, and in the process created DVDs that will last for years to come.
