YouTube at School

The biggest complaint my collegues voice is the unavailability of YouTube videos at school.  The reasons for using YouTube on campus are plentiful.  Here are a few tips for utilizing the site from the YouTube Teacher Channel:



1. Spark lively discussions: Engage students by showing a video relevant to their lives. Video clips can bring in different perspectives or force students to consider a new viewpoint, helping to spark a discussion. Check out this Science video as a great example.
2. Organize all the great video content you find: Playlists are YouTube's way of allowing you to organize videos on the site: a playlist is a series of videos you put together - they don't have to be videos you uploaded, and you get to choose the order. When one video ends, the playlist plays the next video without offering 'related videos', thus creating a curated environment for your students. Therefore, by creating playlists of videos you can select which YouTube videos you want your students to view. Watch the Dynamic Earth Processes playlist for a good example.
3. Archive your work: Capture and save projects and discussions so you can refer back to them year after year. This will also help you save time as you can assign old videos to your new students. For example, this teacher created a video explaining a plot diagram that she drew. Because it is video, it is archived on YouTube and can easily be shared with other teachers.
4. Allow students to dig deeper into a subject: Give students the option to dig deeper into a subject by creating a playlist of videos related to that concept. By creating playlists of relevant videos you allow students to pursue their interests without wasting their time searching for information (or finding potentially objectionable content). Here is a sample playlist a teacher created for their students on Math Story Problems.
5. Get struggling students up to speed, and push strong students ahead: Videos (or playlists) can help supplement in class teaching for struggling students. Students can review them at home time so you're not forced to teach exclusively to the middle 50%. YouTube user piazzaalexis created videos aligned with the state standards so students who needed to review a particular standard could get the help they needed. Watch it now.
6. Review for upcoming exams: Turn test review and flashcards into easy-to-watch videos. This way students can hear your explanations as they study. Watch an example of a review for a Medieval Japan test. You can also create a "test review" video students can use to study the night before the big test.
7. Create a YouTube center in your classroom:  When working in stations or centers, have students use your YouTube channel to complete an assignment, freeing you up to work with small groups of students. Divide your class into groups and have them rotate through different stations. At the YouTube station, introduce students to new information, allowing you to help students practice their new found skills.
8. Create quizzes to accompany videos for instant feedback: Create a Google Form that students complete after watching a video.You can use this quiz to get instant feedback on what they're learning. Embed your quiz on a class blog or site so students can watch a video and complete the quiz at the same time. View an example of this in action.
9. Create Interactive Video Quests: Use YouTube annotations to create "Choose your own adventure" style video quests. View an example now. You can also create a video guide.
10. Flip your classroom If your students watch a video of the basic concepts at home you can focus in class on applying those concepts, working collaboratively with their classmates rather than simply listening to you lecture. View an example now.

If your campus allows any form of YouTube (i.e. GaggleTube) then you are set to create exciting content connections for your students.  If your school does not allow any form of the video channel then allow me to introduce Zamzar.

Zamar is a FREE file conversion website.  I've used the site:

• To help those students still utilizng WordPerfect at home. Zamzar will convert the file to a .doc extension.
• Prior to the PDF feature of Office 2007, I used the site to turn .doc, .ppt, etc. into PDFs
• There are a host of extensions to chose from.  Visit the site and check out how Zamzar will benefit you.
• Here's the best part - you can convert YouTube videos to .wmv (or other video files) and insert them into your PowerPoint show.  Just make sure you click the DOWNLOAD VIDEO tab.

Over the past few years I have yet to go a week during the school year without using Zamzar for myself or a colleague.  I have a feeling that you will be using it frequently too.

READER RESPONSE: Which YouTube for education tip will you try? 

Stop Robbing Students

John Dewey once said, "If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow.”


It is my hope that the ideas and tools presented encourage you to become the Robin Hood of the classroom.  Rob from your colleagues and nourish students with their great ideas.  Enjoy the two presentations that follow. You will find a review of the tools covered plus a few more. 

Click here to view the Prezi presentation.

Click here to get Spicy!

Thank you for taking this journey with me. Come back soon as I continue to profile technology trends and tools in education.

READER RESPONSE: Which tool did you enjoy the most in the series?  Please continue to post your original works and ideas in the COMMENTS section of the tool discussed.

A Quick Response

A funny thing started to appear in magazines a couple of years ago.

Initially I had no idea what to do with this barcode.  I tried to snap a picture with my phone and you know what happened?  Nothing.  Well, I had a new .jpg file taking up space on my phone but not much else.

Today people understand by downloading a Quick Response (QR) app to your phone that when you snap the picture a whole new world is opened up to us. 

As a teacher you can use today's site, i-nigma, to create QR barcodes that will link your students to website links and more. This is a great treat of the week for your students to discover something new in your content area.  A few other ideas include:

1. Vcard: For starters, you might consider updating your business cards to include a QR code, which would upload your contact information directly into another person’s contact list. Hand your cards out to parents at back to school night and show them how to add you to their address book if they have a mobile device. Here’s an example of the QR code I am putting on my new business card (try it out and see how my contact information will display on your mobile device): 
2. Interactive Back to School Night: Post QR codes throughout the classroom, with titles about various student work. QR codes could access student videos, projects, blogs, and many other ideas only teachers can envision. Hand out devices (iPod Touches, for instance) to parents who don’t have a mobile device and show them how to read the QR code and access the materials.
3. Resource links on class handouts: Include QR codes that link to online resources, your contact information, articles, YouTube channel/playlists, your email, phone, SMS, Facebook link, Twitter, and any other resources students will need to access. Remember to include the URLs and text-based information as well, for those students who might not have a mobile device.
4. Mobile Assignment Reminders: As your students leave the classroom, post a QR code on the door, with the title “Assignments for this Week.” Students could quickly scan the QR code and have that information instantly visible on their mobile devices. They won’t lose this as easily as a piece of paper.
5. Self-Assessment: Create flashcards with the QR codes on the back, which would provide the answers. You could get very creative with this and incorporate links to websites that would provide additional information about the questions.
6. Guided Tours: Students could create a guided tour of their school, a historical site, museum, or public building–researching the site, creating mobile webpages, videos, audio files, or any other type of appropriate media to provide more information–creating and posting the QR codes to the various locations.
7. Mobile Class Newsletters: Include a QR code along with the printed URL that would direct parents to a mobile version of your class newsletter. Make sure you include directions on what the QR code is and how it can be read by a mobile phone.
8. School News: Have students create weekly videos on school activities, publishing them to their school Intranet or other private location, then post QR codes that link to these updates with the notice “What’s Happening in School This Week!”
9. Code Quest: Create a cooperative learning “Code Quest” by posting QR codes at various locations. Each QR code will ask a question that will require the retrieval of an object. Once the object is found, another QR code will send students to another location, to locate yet another object. This Code Quest involves teamwork, cooperation, thinking, and moving around!
10. Instant Surveys or Quizzes: Create a survey or quiz using a Google Docs Form and create a QR code link to that form. Students, parents, whoever, can easily access and complete the survey or quiz on the mobile device.

Source

 

Try this QR Code now to see what I want for Christmas:

 

 

Similar sites include: Kaywa, Create QR Code, Mobile Barcodes, and Snap Vu.

READER RESPONSE: Tell us which idea you plan to use to integrate QR codes into your classroom. 

Ideas Worth Spreading

Some of you know of my adoration for Ted.  I've posted several Ted videos on this blog over the past year so my hope is to introduce others to the wonder of Ted. 

Ted presenters deliver interesting subjects in a way we all wish we could engage our munchkins.  The best part of Ted is that the speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in innovative and engaging ways. The 18 minute limit is perfect for students because it's just enough to convey a point but never too long to bore them. 

Ted videos may be limited to 18 minutes but in addition to finding videos by themes you can limit your search to 3, 6, 9, 12 or 18 minute talks. 

Enough of my gibberish.  Enjoy this fascinating video by one of my favorite Ted presenters, Sir Ken Robinson.

READER RESPONSE: Which Ted video is your favorite?  Post your links below.

You Are What You Read

As a librarian I totally agree with this statement.  Are you junk or nutritious goodness?  I read a lot like I eat.  I combine books that fuel my brain but add a bit of spice and sweetness with the occasional romance novel or tabloid fare.

Scholastic takes the idea of being what you read further with You Are What You Read.  Here's the premise as printed on the Scholatic site: "Once you sign up, you’ll be able to input your Bookprint – the five books that most influenced your life. You’ll then be able to connect with others through your shared Bookprints, interact with a global community of readers, and discover new books to enjoy."

This site is similar to Good Reads but with the added zen factor.

The uncharacteristic part of the site is that Scholastic has created but an adult and youth site. This is a great way to bring the world into the lives of your students.  Sign up today.