Video in the classroom

I think the use of video in the classroom is a wonderful resource that hasn't been fully integrated into technology. Much online content must be viewed and previewed before it can be shown to students in a classroom. And, much of the video is not the best quality. However, kids like tv and movies and video games. They enjoy the visual appeal beyond what we generation X folks could ever have imagined. We just need to tap into what we know works for kids and make it a teachable moment. If we can show a video clip in class and have students write about it or draw a picture to help them focus on the theme of a story or a particular character, haven't we transformed a "likeable" activity into a learnable one?

I know that my school district has purchased a subscription for video use. I understand that it has been a time saver for me. I teach 6 grade levels and often need to find different material for all six levels. Having a search engine that will narrow my topic is very time efficient and helpful to me. Yes, I know there are other materials out there. However, I value what the current subscription offers. And, I need to make use of it before the district decides it's not economically efficient enough to keep. When I can, I go out and search other material. And, I share this information with my staff so that they have additional resources as well.

As these teachers learn to take something like a simple video clip and make it a learning experience, I believe video/multimedia usage will increase in the traditional classroom.

AG

We have to stop meeting like this

Hello to all...it appears it is another late night for me. After much review, I determined a major disadvantage to the use of web 2.0 tools in my school district. My students don't have email accounts and many of the free resources available...my topic this week was podcasting...require you to create an account using an email address. What frustration! For students to be able to utilize the wonderful tools that are out there, school systems would need to provide all students with email accounts. Unfortunately, many school districts have not finalized plans that ensure student use in a "safe" environment. Unless students have personal email accounts they can use, many will not be able to take advantage of these tools. There are some renegade teachers...such as myself...who will probably find a way around this until the school board can catch up with our tech savvy world. Until then, I suspect teachers will do what they can to provide or imitate the real world tech environment our students should have access to.

Anyone have any great ideas of how they have addressed this issue?

Good night for now.

AG