YouTube is the bomb. I'm not so impressed with Teacher Tube. It just doesn't have the quality or variety of YouTube. I found that the TeacherTube videos I watched generally had poor sound quality and the video quality was equally bad. YouTube, maybe because it's been around longer can certainly house the same "bad" quality videos, but there are good quality ones to enjoy as well. I did searches for content-related information on YouTube. One video I watched had to do with teaching about the differences between theme and main idea. I found it useful, so I did a lesson this past week on just that very thing. The other content-specific video I found is the one I have embedded below, called "Grammaropolis." It's a cute grammar video that students would enjoy and maybe even remember.
As a side note I must say, that it's really too bad we can't get YouTube through the firewall. I understand that there are internet "surprises" out there, but seems to me that educating students as to the possibility of accidentally viewing inappropriate content, like a pop-up ad, is part of the internet experience. Teaching them to honor their own characters and avoid investigating such "invitations" would be good use of our time when teaching students about Netiquette and appropriate uses for technology.
My "how to" video was on tying an eternal knot. Since I make jewelry on the side, I am always interested in learning how to add a new look to my artistic style.
The last video I viewed on YouTube was KONY 2012. There has been so much talk about this, that I wanted to investigate myself. I think it's great that this has motivated and energized young people to "make a difference," but I sure wish all that positive energy could have been invested in something domestic...like homelessness, or hunger right here in our own country.
As for classroom use of video production, I'm sure there is a place for it in the classroom Language Arts setting. However, I feel that there are so many other more appropriate avenues for students to share their knowledge. Producing video is yet another option that I might use for studentsin creating projects, and for purposes of differentiation, but it's not one that I am blown away about at the moment. Video resources are somewhat limited in our school at present, and I believe our students do not have the discipline or the sense of responsibility to pursue use of video on a frequent basis.
As a side note I must say, that it's really too bad we can't get YouTube through the firewall. I understand that there are internet "surprises" out there, but seems to me that educating students as to the possibility of accidentally viewing inappropriate content, like a pop-up ad, is part of the internet experience. Teaching them to honor their own characters and avoid investigating such "invitations" would be good use of our time when teaching students about Netiquette and appropriate uses for technology.
My "how to" video was on tying an eternal knot. Since I make jewelry on the side, I am always interested in learning how to add a new look to my artistic style.
The last video I viewed on YouTube was KONY 2012. There has been so much talk about this, that I wanted to investigate myself. I think it's great that this has motivated and energized young people to "make a difference," but I sure wish all that positive energy could have been invested in something domestic...like homelessness, or hunger right here in our own country.
As for classroom use of video production, I'm sure there is a place for it in the classroom Language Arts setting. However, I feel that there are so many other more appropriate avenues for students to share their knowledge. Producing video is yet another option that I might use for studentsin creating projects, and for purposes of differentiation, but it's not one that I am blown away about at the moment. Video resources are somewhat limited in our school at present, and I believe our students do not have the discipline or the sense of responsibility to pursue use of video on a frequent basis.