Thing Twenty-One - YouTube and More
I have used YouTube for years (I'd guess four, maybe more), but it was usually just to view a funny home video I had heard about or a music video or the like. I never thought to use YouTube in the classroom, which is good because apparently it was only recently allowed as a viewable site from school computers. Now, however, I see something on T.V. I like and think could be useful in the classroom and instead of having to TiVo or record on VHS (I don't have a DVD burner hooked up to a television), I can simply bring up the streaming video in my classroom and pipe it over my LCD projector. I've only done this once so far, but it worked out well.
Oops, now that I think about it, that wasn't from over YouTube, but rather the site that owns the rights to the show. I am certain, however, that I could have gotten the same thing from YouTube.
I checked out some of the videos on TeacherTube and Yahoo! for Teachers and, while they are interesting, I am not sure how I would bring them into my classroom. That said, there are, I'm sure thousands more videos to view and something would be bound to work.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Thing Eighteen
Thing Eighteen - One Student Thing
My students ove Smart Boards. Once they got over the initial shock of how much they cost, students are enamored with the idea of an interactive screen and willingly admit that proper use of a Smart Board helps them learn a great deal. I, unfortunately, do not have one in my room, but I know several teachers who do and do marvelous things with them. Some of our math and science teachers, in particular, have done great things. For instance, Lee Barnett, a math teacher of ours, was actually able to flip a fraction upside down to show what a reciprocal is. Students that we share actually offered that information, unsolicited, saying that they had never understood what a reciprocal was despite the fact that they had learned about them every year since 5th or 6th grade (10th graders now). Plus, many of them expressed that they enjoy being able to use the Smart Board themselves (i.e. it's not just for teachers).
My students ove Smart Boards. Once they got over the initial shock of how much they cost, students are enamored with the idea of an interactive screen and willingly admit that proper use of a Smart Board helps them learn a great deal. I, unfortunately, do not have one in my room, but I know several teachers who do and do marvelous things with them. Some of our math and science teachers, in particular, have done great things. For instance, Lee Barnett, a math teacher of ours, was actually able to flip a fraction upside down to show what a reciprocal is. Students that we share actually offered that information, unsolicited, saying that they had never understood what a reciprocal was despite the fact that they had learned about them every year since 5th or 6th grade (10th graders now). Plus, many of them expressed that they enjoy being able to use the Smart Board themselves (i.e. it's not just for teachers).
Thing Sixteen
Thing Sixteen - Using MnLINK
I have used ILL in the past on many occassions, though I have never used MnLINK. While I was in college, I used ILL for research often and occassionally for fun as well. For instance, I went through a big 60's acid rock phase, but didn't want to actually go buy all of the albums. Instead, I borrowed them from the library and by the time they were due back, I was kind of over that phase anyway.
On a more academic note, I have found so many books I thought impossible to get to be available through ILL and have taken advantage of the service many times. I think that MnLINK could be helpful to my students, particularly once they start their research projects (starting March 10th, by the way). We have a good number of books at our school and we all know how much information is available on the internet, but to do actual in-depth research on something will require specialty texts which I doubt that we have or are available on the 'net. Given that it oftentimes does take a while for ILL to come through (at least, in my experience it did), if I get the students on the idea fast enough, many of them should get their books in time to use them on their papers.
I have used ILL in the past on many occassions, though I have never used MnLINK. While I was in college, I used ILL for research often and occassionally for fun as well. For instance, I went through a big 60's acid rock phase, but didn't want to actually go buy all of the albums. Instead, I borrowed them from the library and by the time they were due back, I was kind of over that phase anyway.
On a more academic note, I have found so many books I thought impossible to get to be available through ILL and have taken advantage of the service many times. I think that MnLINK could be helpful to my students, particularly once they start their research projects (starting March 10th, by the way). We have a good number of books at our school and we all know how much information is available on the internet, but to do actual in-depth research on something will require specialty texts which I doubt that we have or are available on the 'net. Given that it oftentimes does take a while for ILL to come through (at least, in my experience it did), if I get the students on the idea fast enough, many of them should get their books in time to use them on their papers.
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