Online video

Online videos... they are invaluable in the classroom! It is not only great for visual learners, but engages students more in subjects they may have initially lacked interest in! So when and how do you use videos or other multimedia in the classroom? Like so many of our guest speakers have said, first you have to make sure you are using the video to enhance student learning, not just because it is there. I found this videointheclassroom presentation by Synergy Broadcast Systems, it provides some great information on when, why and how to use video in the classroom!

So the videos I chose were a rap about cells and a video about fresh water. In my next student teaching placement I will be teaching science… not my strongest subject. So, when I was trying to plan a lesson I thought, how can I make science interesting not only for me, but for my students? The answer is… a video!!! While I was browsing YouTubeEDU I found these two videos and thought I would share them with you! Let me know what you think!

Other ways you could use videos or multimedia in the classroom is to have your students create their own! Here are some random online video resources for students that I found:

• Memoov  provides the characters and settings and you provide the audio for each of the characters.  These videos can be created and shared on a variety of websites like YouTube and others.
• Voki allows users to create talking avatars to present information.  You can use your own voice or choose from voices provided for you. 
• Go!Animate  allows you to create animated stories to present information or quick stories.  They have many different options and objects to choose from and are constantly adding new material.
• Aniboom  allows users to create animated characters and create animated stories.  This site is a little more complex than others listed here, but it can be used by Jr. High and High School students.
• Animasher This is a fun site that allows you to create a variety of different types of animated movies with real video and 2 dimensional pictures. 

Would you consider (if your school allows it) putting student/class made videos up on YouTube (or another site) & share? why or why not? 

The above was a question that our professor, Mike, asked us and honestly I don't know. The reasons why I would want to put up student/class made videos are so that students could take more pride in their work by showcasing it. On the other hand, there are so many school policies and privacy acts it makes me nervous. When I was younger, I would have loved it if I could have shared and showed off my work online... I would have maybe worked harder too! I think if I were to ever share students work online I would only do it if they personally wanted to do it, if I had parental consent and if I had the support from my school/division. It also seems like a lot of work to go through all this just to share student's work online. So again... I'm back to not knowing what I would do, but I know I would consider sharing student/class videos as opposed to just dismissing the thought immediately. Anyone have any personal experience or advice they would like to share?!

Until my next post... JD