When I was searching for some videos that relate to physical science, I decided to focus on electricity (since I had my webquest floating around in my head). I found two great videos. The first video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmbbfKWsFUQ) teaches students about series and parallel circuits without having a lecture. It is very engaging with the flashes of phrases and images. The second video is an oldie but goodie! I had completely forgotten about School House Rocks! Electricity! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8iahHwEfNg) This is a great video for introducing electricity and getting them excited. Who doesn’t love simple animated music videos???
For my video on how to do something, I struggled since at that moment I did not want to know how to do anything…YouTube is hard to search when you do not have a clear purpose! I eventually landed upon a video that made me happy: how to sew on a button (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QusBUu0xnCg). I know how to sew, have since I was little, but I still bring my shirts/jackets to my mom’s for her to do it for me. :) This video is made for bachelors who probably do not have a mother who lives less than 1 hour away. It makes me very happy to watch him sew this button…maybe it will motivate me to sew my own!
My last hunt on YouTube was for a nostalgic video. Well, I had an eccentric childhood so this was the hardest search I completed. I really wanted to re-live my soccer days, but I could not find a video of a child running away from the ball! I tried all different types of searches, but no luck. I guess no one wants to embarrass his or her child too much…or no one is quite like me. I was pretty bummed after my search produced nothing, but then I had a light bulb. I would search for my favorite summer past time: Doom 2. Viola! I found it! A video of someone kicking Doom 2’s butt to oblivion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XorJfexzF4M). I have beaten this game numerous times, while listening to 99x, but I have never been able to do it like this guy did. It made me want to re-purchase the game (I will not though, because I lost all the cheat codes…).
I do think there is a place for videos in the classrooms. Students love making them and showing everyone how cool they are. They are perfect for culminating projects. You do not need to know how to edit a video to make one…use the old fashion version of recording, stopping, recording or going to the next scene. I have been doing it for years with school projects and we never once edited one of our amazing videos (I was always the camera person…I have mad record/rewind skills!). It is even easier to make a video now that almost all still camera’s and phones have video capabilities.
As my final word on videos, I decided to show a video that is close to my heart. It is both a how to and a nostalgic video: How to beat Mario in less than 5 minutes. Happy Videoing!
I love Schoolhouse Rocks videos and so do my students. I honestly don't think they even know that it was a really show that kids use to watch on Saturday morning. It is great that we can use videosharing sites to access these videos that otherwise wouldn't be available to us. It's annoying that YouTube is blocked, but I'm glad that I can convert videos to use at school.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there is a place for students to create videos in the classroom especially now that there are so many different gadgets out there.
I love the choice of the Mario video. I have seen it before, but it is definitely a classic!