Video and photos (visual media) can help our products, and the written content in them, come to life. We use media for a variety of reasons. For example, media helps us to demonstrate high quality environments, education practices, and family engagement. It can also enable the audience to see or hear directly from educators describing various elements of their practice. Seeing and identifying practices in action is a key element of the Intentional Teaching Framework.

When thinking about using media, be sure to review the Partnering for Product Development chapter. Collaborating or consulting with the production teams (media producers, graphic designers, instructional designers, and the media liaison) ensures high quality, relevant, and creative products! For more information about accessing the media database, review the Webdam and Media Lab chapter.

In addition to partnering for product development, follow the tips and guidance listed below when choosing media. Be sure to also review the Multimedia Tracking Sheet chapter when using visual media in your products. We use a multimedia tracking sheet as a collaboration and archiving tool. Work with the various production teams and the project manager to complete this document as part of content development.

Please note: For our purposes, early care and education refers to birth through school-age. Early care and education settings might include families or home visitors in family homes, family child care, center-based child care, community centers, and school-age or expanded learning opportunity (ELO) programs, to name a few.

Guidelines for Choosing Media

• Our products prioritize featuring real educators and early care and education settings as often as possible. When this is not possible, work with the project team to brainstorm alternate ways to demonstrate the concept or idea.
• Use media from Webdam or request new filming, especially for any early care and education program (classroom) footage. You can find filming request form on the Resource Development Portal: Request Forms. If new filming is not possible, work with the project manager and media producer to problem solve. You might be able to use iStock images or request use of media from other sources. For help searching Webdam, use the Webdam and Media Lab request form found on the Resource Development Portal.
• Use videos and photos to demonstrate education practices and other key content in action.
• Reflect the product’s audience in your media choices. Review the Know Your Audience chapter in this guide for more information.
• Strive to use current, relevant media in our products. Choose the best media to represent what you are trying to convey.
• When choosing video for multilingual audiences, use media that is in the participant’s preferred language.
• Use care to ensure you represent the subject of the media in the best way possible. The children, youth, families, and educators we film are not actors. In fact, they might even be a member of the audience for your product!
• Avoid using non-examples. A non-example is media that shows what not to do when demonstrating education practices or other content.
• Use discretion when using video featuring children’s behavior. For example, when showing challenging behavior or emotional dysregulation, the media can be used to demonstrate how educators respond to children’s behavior in a supportive and instructive way. The media producer can help to edit this type of video, so the focus is on the educator’s response to behavior. When possible, the video should demonstrate how the educator’s response supports regulation or resolving the behavior.

Not for Use

Some videos will have information indicated in the Waiver or Flag section of the metadata. Ensure that footage being used is waived (true) and any flags are considered before use.

Video produced by the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) should not be used in a product developed after 2015. CASTL videos were developed by our University of Virginia partners for specific projects and are not intended for additional use.

Using Media Produced by Other Organizations

There are times when the style or type of video you need is not in our database, or you would like to use a video produced by a different organization. For example, videos from YouTube, a health organization, or an educational organization like Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. These types of videos often need permission to use. Media from other organizations will also have specific rules about how it can be used, including whether it can be downloaded or embedded into products. Review the Using Published Materials In Cultivate Learning Products chapter for more information about requesting permission for use.

Before using videos produced by other organizations consider:

• Is this video able to be produced by Cultivate Learning? Might it be possible to show the same or similar content with visual media we have access to in Webdam? Is the content of the video something our media team might be able to film?
  • If you answer yes or are unsure, meet with the media team.
• Is this video going to work for the intended audience? Does it have captions or is it available in the languages we need?
  • If you answer no, do not use.
  • If you are unsure, consult with a biliterate content specialist or lead.

Video Use Guidelines

The following guidelines apply to produced video created by Cultivate Learning’s media team.

Captions

All videos should be captioned in English, and where funding is available, in additional languages. Content developers and media producers will coordinate to get videos captioned and applied according to Section 508 accessibility standards. Content developers and editors review applied captions to ensure correct spelling and names.

Captioning in Spanish

Gender permeates not only pronoun forms but adjectives, objects and even nouns. It is particularly important to get the gender right when people are speaking, as in video transcriptions and subtitles. To insure this, we have the following suggestions:

• When videos are to be translated, please have translators review the SRT/TextEdit texts together with the actual video, to make sure the speakers’ genders are correctly represented.
• If the originals are text only, have the authors make sure to identify the gender of the speakers and the people referred to. Words like “child” and “teacher” do not convey gender and leave translators guessing, with little to work from.
• When possible, include a disclaimer to explain why a project has used a specific gender form.

Credits

Work with the media producer and project manager to determine necessary credits and attributions for video projects. Use the attribution styles section as a guide and determine if project roles should be attributed (e.g., producer, reviewer, writer, editor).

Titles of person on produced video

If a PhD, use PhD at the front of their name instead of Dr. at the beginning (See academic degrees and academic titles sections).

When requesting video edits, provide the full name, title, and organization the person is affiliated with.

• Susan Sandall, PhD, Cultivate Learning, University of Washington.
• Gail Joseph, PhD, (content phrasing following the name depends on the project). The content developer should determine, or work with a person who will be featured to confirm their affiliation.

There will be some variability and change needed at times if a person does not quite fit into these structures.

Downloading and Embedding Videos

We often want to embed videos in our products. This is especially useful for in-person or synchronous presentations so that presenters do not need to rely on internet access. Videos might be from our own media database (Webdam) or an online source. Be sure to read through the entire chapter about citing our work when using online videos.

Downloading Produced Videos from Webdam

It is important to download the proper size from Webdam. After selecting the video to be downloaded, you can choose the proper size in the settings. This helps to ensure our products, especially PowerPoints, are more manageable when accessing.

When downloading produced videos from Webdam, select the  “MP4 Compressed for PowerPoint” setting. If you are unsure if a video is produced, check with a media producer. 

Embedding Videos into PowerPoint

You can insert a video downloaded to your device, using the template. Select the proper icon and upload from your device.

Or you can use the “Insert Video From…” feature to insert from your device, stock videos, or online videos. Read more about this feature at Microsoft Support: Insert a video from YouTube or another site

Downloading and Embedding Photos

We often want to insert pictures into our products. These might be from our own media database (Webdam) or an online source. Be sure to read through the entire chapter about citing our work when using online images.

Downloading Photos from Webdam

It is important to download the proper size from Webdam. After selecting the video to be downloaded, you can choose the proper size in the settings. This helps to ensure our products, especially PowerPoints, are more manageable when accessing.

When downloading photos from Webdam, select the “1) JPEG 721dpi Original Dimensions for Presentations” setting. 

Embedding Photos into PowerPoint

You can insert a video downloaded to your device, using the template. Select the proper icon and upload from your device. The icon on the left is for inserting stock images. The icon in the image on the right is for inserting photos downloaded to your device.

Or you can use the “Insert Picture From…” feature to insert from your device, stock images, or online pictures. Read more about this feature at Microsoft Support: Insert a picture in PowerPoint