Blinkx has some wonderful, educational videos. The only drawback is that most are preceeded by advertising. I watched video on dinosaurs, Mars, volcanoes and other science topics.
I was unable to view or download video selections from the National Archive link, but had no trouble when I searched GoogleVideo directly for individual subjects however. These were wonderful, authentic historical selections which will be very helpful in the classroom.
PBS had amazing video, including this one on the migration of butterflies which would have application in the elementary classroom. Just the introduction to the NOVA program would be enough for the younger students. I also like the fact that you can see the transcripts. It doesn't appear as though these videos can be downloaded, only shared by link or purchased from PBS.
Totlol has some cute commercial videos for the younger ones, including some Thomas the Train shorts which could be used in character education contexts, however, there are changes in the works for this site, with the possibility of fees being charged in the future. Joining is required to view content.
Google video is easy to search, manipulate, and download. Here is a short 1 minute video on the Masai people of Tanzania that could be used in a geography class.
NeoK12 had wonderful, short, educational options like this one on the northern lights which is difficult to explain but has more value for students to see.
SchoolTube had this cute student-made book review on One Potato, Two Potato, the Bluebonnet Award winner this year. It seems to be a good forum for student-published work.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thing 6: itouch
This post sent me scurrying to the apple store at the mall. The sacrifices I make... It was a daunting task to enter the store with all those teens during the summer and were those clerks speaking English? It's hard to tell with all those acronyms. Not having an iphone or itouch, or dare I say, even an ipod, I'm not sure my observations will be on the mark, but here goes.
I like the QuickVoice application for recording, and I think that would be useful remembering key points of a lecture, dictating homework assignments and conducting interviews, as well as potential application for foreign language studies.
Googledoc, dictionary.com, GoogleEarth, and Wikipanion applications would have value for research and writing.
winremote is something I would like to use as a teacher with a projector since it is much less expensive than the typical media cart set up or tablet.
Here is the itouch official download video tour, including downloading application instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF_8EOJ2o8c
I like the QuickVoice application for recording, and I think that would be useful remembering key points of a lecture, dictating homework assignments and conducting interviews, as well as potential application for foreign language studies.
Googledoc, dictionary.com, GoogleEarth, and Wikipanion applications would have value for research and writing.
winremote is something I would like to use as a teacher with a projector since it is much less expensive than the typical media cart set up or tablet.
Here is the itouch official download video tour, including downloading application instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF_8EOJ2o8c
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thing 5: Microblogging
Just found this twitter from Joyce Valenza that seems a propos to our discussion:
joycevalenzaClay Shirky's TED--How Twitter Can Change History http://bit.ly/9JbOd
According to Shirky, China is trying to hide unrest, but because media is produced locally, by amateurs, quickly, and in abundance, it can no longer be effectively filtered. Shirkey states that media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap. It is no longer IF we want to operate in this environment but HOW we will adapt to it.
I have facebook and twitter accounts already which, frankly, I don't use much. I am afraid I am still more of a consumer of media than a producer of media. I am still more private than transparent in my worldview. I do enjoy keeping up with my college kids in a less obtrusive, casual way. I personally found twitter4teachers very helpful to get started finding people to follow.
I think the idea of backchanneling is amazing. I've never participated in that kind of activity. That would free teachers to stimulate critical thinking if simple questions are answered on the spot by peers or moderators. I think every speaker tries to feel the pulse of the audience and this would help. Phones are banned at our school, but students still manage to text under the table. I'm thinking that a moderated backchannel on Tiny Chat would be a more productive activity, kind of like "If you can't beat them, join them."
joycevalenzaClay Shirky's TED--How Twitter Can Change History http://bit.ly/9JbOd
According to Shirky, China is trying to hide unrest, but because media is produced locally, by amateurs, quickly, and in abundance, it can no longer be effectively filtered. Shirkey states that media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap. It is no longer IF we want to operate in this environment but HOW we will adapt to it.
I have facebook and twitter accounts already which, frankly, I don't use much. I am afraid I am still more of a consumer of media than a producer of media. I am still more private than transparent in my worldview. I do enjoy keeping up with my college kids in a less obtrusive, casual way. I personally found twitter4teachers very helpful to get started finding people to follow.
I think the idea of backchanneling is amazing. I've never participated in that kind of activity. That would free teachers to stimulate critical thinking if simple questions are answered on the spot by peers or moderators. I think every speaker tries to feel the pulse of the audience and this would help. Phones are banned at our school, but students still manage to text under the table. I'm thinking that a moderated backchannel on Tiny Chat would be a more productive activity, kind of like "If you can't beat them, join them."
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thing 4 - Creating/Posting Video
I found this activity to be enjoyable, but frustrating. I used both PhotoStory 3 (Microsoft download) and Windows Movie Maker to create a book trailer for Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan. I ended up posting the wmv file to Youtube Education and TeacherTube. The uploads were the easiest part. The music was the hardest part. I think I am ready to get a site license to Soundzabound just for ease of use and copyright protection. Here is the youtube embed (TeacherTube reviews the upload and posts it after 24 hours).
I like having more creative control over the end product, but animoto is definitely snazzier than what I can create. I think book trailers are really helpful to promote reading and I intend to make more, but youtube is blocked at our school. We can't see most of what's on neok12 which is a shame. I know my library students will have more fun making book trailers than the usual reports and I look forward to seeing what they will produce. I am also hopeful that teachertube will not be blocked.
I like having more creative control over the end product, but animoto is definitely snazzier than what I can create. I think book trailers are really helpful to promote reading and I intend to make more, but youtube is blocked at our school. We can't see most of what's on neok12 which is a shame. I know my library students will have more fun making book trailers than the usual reports and I look forward to seeing what they will produce. I am also hopeful that teachertube will not be blocked.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thing 3 - Skype
I use Skype at home, but not at school. We don't allow Skype at school because of bandwidth limitations. I love the makeuseof site which I don't remember seeing last year as a resource. I found this index and started looking at some of the resources listed there:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/30-tools-and-tips-to-make-your-skype-better-all-free/
I think the recordings of Skype and answering machine widgets are the best tips.
The hard part would be trying to find a class to connect with, I imagine. I don't think epals provides for a Skype interface, but this wiki helps you find other classrooms to connect with for and offers many other resources for making the program more applicable to education. http://wikiskype.pbworks.com/Skype+in+the+Classroom
This site refers to an author interview with Cynthia Leitch Smith conducted by a high school in Austin. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6515247.html That is something I would like to do very much.
The following site was very helpful, very basic in how to actually begin teaching the program to students and Vicki Davis gives helpful tips such as giving a grade and checking profiles. http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/10/using-skype-in-classroom-or-just.html
I think the best applications are to include absent students via Skype, to conduct interviews with experts and authors, to have cultural exchange "show and tells" with students from different countries, and to conference with parents after hours, especially with an out-of-state parent (which you would probably want to record).
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/30-tools-and-tips-to-make-your-skype-better-all-free/
I think the recordings of Skype and answering machine widgets are the best tips.
The hard part would be trying to find a class to connect with, I imagine. I don't think epals provides for a Skype interface, but this wiki helps you find other classrooms to connect with for and offers many other resources for making the program more applicable to education. http://wikiskype.pbworks.com/Skype+in+the+Classroom
This site refers to an author interview with Cynthia Leitch Smith conducted by a high school in Austin. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6515247.html That is something I would like to do very much.
The following site was very helpful, very basic in how to actually begin teaching the program to students and Vicki Davis gives helpful tips such as giving a grade and checking profiles. http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/10/using-skype-in-classroom-or-just.html
I think the best applications are to include absent students via Skype, to conduct interviews with experts and authors, to have cultural exchange "show and tells" with students from different countries, and to conference with parents after hours, especially with an out-of-state parent (which you would probably want to record).
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thing 2 - Bookr
Bookr is amazing! I get so frustrated shelling out big bucks for a little book of pictures and minimal text to help the younger grades understand key concepts. Here is a link to a book I created in a short amount of time. To read it, turn the top or bottom corner of the page.
I can see myself using this on a weekly basis for "the littles". They will certainly find this more fun and much easier to see. I will say that the site is mostly intuitive, but a little tricky. For instance, you can't save your work that I can tell, so you need to have a good amount of time to finish and publish your work. Also, some of the flickr pictures are inappropriate. Try searching hot or heat tags and you'll see what I mean... Probably uploading your own pictures would be safer is you are going to have students make books.
I can see myself using this on a weekly basis for "the littles". They will certainly find this more fun and much easier to see. I will say that the site is mostly intuitive, but a little tricky. For instance, you can't save your work that I can tell, so you need to have a good amount of time to finish and publish your work. Also, some of the flickr pictures are inappropriate. Try searching hot or heat tags and you'll see what I mean... Probably uploading your own pictures would be safer is you are going to have students make books.
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