Thing #4 - Video Hosting

The main advantage of having teaching/learning videos available online on YouTube, TeacherTube, and SchoolTube? Access, access, access - the key to a successful library, an integral part of a successful database, and the obvious advantage to having teaching/learning videos and student created work available online.

Suggested uses of teacher made videos for educational purposes:

• summaries of in-class lectures for students who are absent or for review purposes
• instructional videos
• professional development videos for teachers (technology how-to's) created by the librarian
• resource for sharing with colleagues similar to our LibrariansShare folder

Advantages to uploading student created work:

• inspiration for other students
• being Web published
• ideas for how teachers can implement technology-based projects in their classrooms
• peer teaching tool
• teaches educational use of YouTube
• point of view videos for debating purposes
• encourages exploration-based/connected learning approach
• teaches skills necessary for technology-based future (renown universities are now using YouTube as a venue for setting up individualized accounts for students, faculty, and administrators to use)

SchoolTube looks like a promising site for which to access and post student or teacher produced videos, however, with multiple sites for posting videos, will we need a "reader" of some sort keep up with multiple video hosting sites? In reading more about SchoolTube, it appears that student-created content has to be approved (by registered teachers) before it is posted. Common sense censorship or just censorship? Is there a difference? Does it matter? I do like the fact that, included in the video categories, there is a separate elementary school level category, which many sites don't offer. They mention the possibility that videos of school plays and spelling bees posted on the site would be a way for parents or other family who cannot be there to virtually attend. I searched for my elementary school under "Find a School"and found a page for it just waiting for the first video to be uploaded. I wonder if our district was solicited to register all the of the SBISD schools or whether it was someone's job to search, find, and register various schools around the country.

At present, I don't have anything to upload to YouTube, and I don't want to upload something just for the sake of doing it. So, I will try out that piece at a later date with some student made products using our new bond technology!

Video/TeacherTube/MovieMaker

A catchy video from TeacherTube for 2nd graders when studying the water cycle. Had no trouble putting this in my blog. Cannot figure out how to import it into MovieMaker. If and when I do, I will post a comment. I did figure out how to import pictures into MovieMaker, but still need lots of playtime to manipulate the pictures. Playtime is at a premium this time of the school year. Sure would like to continue our Table Play during our fall and winter district librarians' meetings!

Thing #20 YouTube, TeacherTube and Zamzar

It was fun discovering an educational application for YouTube. Attached is a video of Bill Martin reading/singing his book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Kinder would love this if they could access it on the district computers. They all have ACTIVboards at my school, and the videos would play so well on the large white board! I am going to try the Zamzar conversion with this video to see if it will give me a video that will bypass the district filters.


This video is a creative take off on Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It could be used as the introduction/hook to a creative writing activity.



TeacherTube seems to have a buffering issue. I didn’t experience this with YouTube. The following video is an animated and somewhat humorous review of the states and capitals of the U.S., perfect for 4th or 5th graders. I'm wondering if converting this TeacherTube video on Zamzar would solve the buffering issue. Has anyone tried that solution?

Thing # 15 Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the future of libraries

The way students of the new "Net Generation" think and find, view, manipulate, process and use information has dramatically changed from the previous generation. While multitasking, they mentally and physically interact with their world on a daily basis. In creating library programs to address these students, it is important to define what their needs are, restructure the delivery of instruction according to those needs, incorporate a flexible library schedule with open access to address point of need access, learn and offer new technologies(!) in tandem with the classroom teachers, create and sustain remote online access creating a virtual library for anytime access, assure the freedom of the librarian to sustain a leadership role in the library program through adequate library staffing, and transform existing library buildings to meet the technological needs of these students. If the librarian can be the “go to” person in the building for supporting Web 2.0+ technologies, the library remains the information-rich learning hub of the school.

I like David Warlick's 10 step method for integrating oneself into 21st C. thinking and self-development as an educator. Our community of learners on the 2.0 playground this summer is a prime example of teachers/librarians who want to learn how to reach/teach/inspire/facilitate the digital natives we are given the opportunity to come into contact with each year. The digital language we are learning to speak requires networking/sharing with peers and maximum technology support. The final step in our journey is sharing successes with our uninformed (and possibly technophobic!) colleagues and “inviting them into the conversation,” so that they can develop an interest in joining the ranks of the digitally literate life-long learners.

I ran across this video when checking out TeacherTube. It is a “top rated” and “most viewed” video on the site. I can see why. It speaks loudly as to why we must continue to transform our teaching and evolve as educators.