The rise of student-produced video?

Just like so many other gadgets and technology, video cameras have become smaller and more affordable of late. And just like the affordability of computers, projectors and document cameras, this trend has a huge impact on education. I'm including the new Flip Mino camera in the December issue, about which I've received some reader feedback. These inexpensive (about $179) little video cameras make it practical to use in classroom curricula, hand them out to students to make projects, reports, film field trips, just about anything the teacher can imagine.
But that's just it: many could shy away from video cameras in the classroom because figuring out how to use them could be a challenge. This concept is what struck me about Freshi FilmWorx, (that's Fresh "eye") whom I chatted with last week at T+L in Seattle. They offer not just inexpensive, student-friendly video cameras from Digital Blue (pictured), but classroom kits that include curricula for K12 subjects including language arts, math, social studies, science, visual arts and health. Projects and instructional DVD's show students of all ages how to make films, tell a story, explore and report on a topic, and be creative in expressing themselves. It's a neat idea, and as far as I can see they're the first company to be offering something like this. Could this be the leading edge of a future of common student video cameras in districts everywhere?