Add comments to the video you embedded. Why did you select it? Were you also able to download a video?
I selected this short video on The Louisiana Purchase to share because it gives some important historical information in a nutshell. It is not flashy (I found the flashy ones to be historically inaccurate or biased) but the visuals, especially the map, will give students a focus at the beginning of my unit on Westward Expansion. The facts are accurate and will help to dispel some common misconceptions students have about this important land deal and what it meant to the United States.
I actually had difficulties embedding the video but it had nothing to do with YouTube. I didn’t realize that the Thunderstorm knocked out my wireless. Now, my keyboard shortcuts aren’t working to copy and paste. It took me some time to figure out both of those problems. I am going to post this blog then attempt a download. I’ll post my results in a reply.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thing 9: Online Video
What do you like or dislike about YouTube? Did you find videos that would be useful for teaching and learning? Is YouTube restricted in your building?
What I like the most about YouTube is that I can actually see what is happening around the world without being there to witness it firsthand. Such as the Sound of Music performance in the Antwerp Train Station. I also like that it gives a vehicle and an audience for artists.
There really isn’t anything I personally dislike about YouTube except maybe that I can spend too much time there. With anyone being able to post almost anything, sometimes I see things I would prefer to not see but that’s what the little red x is for.
The problem I see with YouTube is how students are using it. Students from my school recorded a fight in the cafeteria and it was uploaded to YouTube as soon as school ended that day. I have heard of students from another local school district who start fights just to post them to YouTube and have them rated. My understanding is that the more blood, the higher the rating. The latest issue of NEA Today (p. 18) has an article about this concern. “When it comes to schoolyard fights, the big question isn’t how many hits you got: It’s how many hits you’ll get.” “Basically, it’s like you’re abused twice – first when you’re beat up and then again when it’s posted,” says Nancy Willard.
On a more positive side, as a Social Studies teacher I find several videos that are useful to my teaching. The entire MLK I Have a Dream Speech is available as are several clips from the TV series John Adams. It can be a very useful tool when teaching American history.
YouTube is restricted in my district. I doubt that the reason is a bandwidth issue. All social networking sites are blocked due to the nature of some content and the risk to students.
What I like the most about YouTube is that I can actually see what is happening around the world without being there to witness it firsthand. Such as the Sound of Music performance in the Antwerp Train Station. I also like that it gives a vehicle and an audience for artists.
There really isn’t anything I personally dislike about YouTube except maybe that I can spend too much time there. With anyone being able to post almost anything, sometimes I see things I would prefer to not see but that’s what the little red x is for.
The problem I see with YouTube is how students are using it. Students from my school recorded a fight in the cafeteria and it was uploaded to YouTube as soon as school ended that day. I have heard of students from another local school district who start fights just to post them to YouTube and have them rated. My understanding is that the more blood, the higher the rating. The latest issue of NEA Today (p. 18) has an article about this concern. “When it comes to schoolyard fights, the big question isn’t how many hits you got: It’s how many hits you’ll get.” “Basically, it’s like you’re abused twice – first when you’re beat up and then again when it’s posted,” says Nancy Willard.
On a more positive side, as a Social Studies teacher I find several videos that are useful to my teaching. The entire MLK I Have a Dream Speech is available as are several clips from the TV series John Adams. It can be a very useful tool when teaching American history.
YouTube is restricted in my district. I doubt that the reason is a bandwidth issue. All social networking sites are blocked due to the nature of some content and the risk to students.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thing 8: Fun with Images
In the same post in which you placed your creation, briefly describe your experience completing Thing 8. Which of these tools intrigues you and why? Was it easy, frustrating, time-consuming, fun? Share some of your ideas for using the images you can create.
Whoa, I spent way too much time playing around with this “thing”! It was so much fun and I had no idea all this existed on the web for free! Thanks for the great recommendations.
I enjoyed creating different visualizations of my name in Spelling with Flickr. It was easy to create but inconsistent when posting. I found I could easily post it to another blog I manage but it took a number of attempts to have it work in Bloglines. Then I noticed that sometimes it shows up and at other times all I get is the html code. If I could get it to work consistently, it would make an eye-catching and creative banner for a teacher’s or classroom’s homepage.
Another tool I had fun using was the Motivation Poster. When my college age daughter comes home on break I pay her to clean the house for a little spending money. One day I walked into the house after a particularly challenging day in the classroom and she had cleaned the family room then made a family of elephants out of towels. We laughed so hard and it was just what I needed to return the next day with a positive attitude. It might be interesting to see ELA students use this tool to create posters for metaphors and similes. Another idea would be to create posters that give advice to main characters about solving the story’s problem.
Now, I better go bookmark those sites!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thing 7: Share Your Photos Online
Think of ways you may be able to use Flickr in the classroom or in your work and share your ideas. What issues might you face?
I don’t believe that my district allows access to Flickr so using it in my classroom would be problematic. One way I might be able to use Flickr is to take (or have students submit) photos of projects and other work they have created. I could then create a classroom gallery on Flickr and throughout the year add exhibits of student work.
For example, my ELA students construct Harry Potter projects that are incredibly creative. I could post an entire Harry Potter Project Exhibit that students, parents, grandparents, family, and friends would be able to see. Currently the only visitors to see these projects are the parents who attend fall conference and visit the school library where they are on display. This would open up a whole new “authentic” audience for my students to consider when creating their projects and encourage them to do their best work!
I could circumvent the problem of my district not allowing access to Flickr by posting the pictures from home. However, another consideration would be how to handle students who use a performance for their project when my district does not allow pictures or videos of students to be posted on-line?
I don’t believe that my district allows access to Flickr so using it in my classroom would be problematic. One way I might be able to use Flickr is to take (or have students submit) photos of projects and other work they have created. I could then create a classroom gallery on Flickr and throughout the year add exhibits of student work.
For example, my ELA students construct Harry Potter projects that are incredibly creative. I could post an entire Harry Potter Project Exhibit that students, parents, grandparents, family, and friends would be able to see. Currently the only visitors to see these projects are the parents who attend fall conference and visit the school library where they are on display. This would open up a whole new “authentic” audience for my students to consider when creating their projects and encourage them to do their best work!
I could circumvent the problem of my district not allowing access to Flickr by posting the pictures from home. However, another consideration would be how to handle students who use a performance for their project when my district does not allow pictures or videos of students to be posted on-line?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thing 6: Photo Sharing with Flickr
Create a post on your blog about one of the photos you downloaded. Why did you choose a particular photo? What is it about the photo that you found interesting?
A few years ago I had never heard of Plumeria. Then, on a special anniversary my husband bought a Plumeria scented candle to use when we visited a romantic bed and breakfast. Silly me, I thought it was some made up scent from Bath & Body. Just this past Spring, I was looking for pictures of flowers to download for a profile on a social network site and found these incredibly beautiful flowers. I found out that the Plumeria is the Hawaiian flower used to make leis. They are absolutely beautiful and now my favorite flower. I found it very interesting that they come in so many colors and varieties. It wasn’t until I saw all the pictures on Flicker that I realized that!
Thing 5: Subscribing to RSS Feeds
RSS can be a difficult concept for some to grasp right away - what questions do you have? What didn't work or doesn't make sense? How might you use RSS in your personal or professional life? Find anything in your searching that you'd recommend to others?
For me the concept wasn’t difficult to grasp because I capture updates through RRS feeds on a different site. I did have difficulty using Bloglines though. Several of the directions did not work for either the websites I visited or the system I am using. IE wanted to add it to its own site and not Bloglines. It took a long time and trial and error to determine that my Bookmarklets do not have an icon but instead a little tab above the task bar that’s labeled links and I still cannot get that to function correctly. I found that good old copy and paste for the feed url worked best.
Using RSS, whether for personal or professional reasons, streamlines the entire “check in” process because all you have to do is go to one site and start clicking! I have used it to increase my personal knowledge of content areas and to get ideas for teaching strategies.
I have some great sites to recommend. For ELA teachers, Grammar Girl does a terrific job explaining the complexities of the English Language and she’s just plain fun! For History/Social Studies teachers, History Tech offers lots of strategy ideas for the classroom. Everyone should be able to find something interesting and valuable to teaching on both How Stuff Works, National Geographic News and Edutopia. I hope you find this helpful – happy hunting!
For me the concept wasn’t difficult to grasp because I capture updates through RRS feeds on a different site. I did have difficulty using Bloglines though. Several of the directions did not work for either the websites I visited or the system I am using. IE wanted to add it to its own site and not Bloglines. It took a long time and trial and error to determine that my Bookmarklets do not have an icon but instead a little tab above the task bar that’s labeled links and I still cannot get that to function correctly. I found that good old copy and paste for the feed url worked best.
Using RSS, whether for personal or professional reasons, streamlines the entire “check in” process because all you have to do is go to one site and start clicking! I have used it to increase my personal knowledge of content areas and to get ideas for teaching strategies.
I have some great sites to recommend. For ELA teachers, Grammar Girl does a terrific job explaining the complexities of the English Language and she’s just plain fun! For History/Social Studies teachers, History Tech offers lots of strategy ideas for the classroom. Everyone should be able to find something interesting and valuable to teaching on both How Stuff Works, National Geographic News and Edutopia. I hope you find this helpful – happy hunting!
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