Thing #7 Video Sources

Found this video in the NeoK12 collection. Looks like they want to be portable as they are offering an iTouch application for NeoK12 "on the go" and videos in other languages. By right clicking on the video, you can easily copy the embedded code, watch it on YouTube, zoom in, zoom out, and download it to RealPlayer. How simple is that! This video would be perfect for 1st grade's study of insects. Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home...

This video from NeoK12 is a fascinating look at unusual plants. Any age/grade level would enjoy this video. A perfect hook to get students interested in learning more...

For the PreK to Kindergarten crowd, I like the TOTLOL site, but it asked for a $18 membership fee when I signed in as a member. Will this be a site Library Services could purchase with a district subscription?

This high interest video called "The Science of Speed Eating" from Hulu could be used in a high school biology class. It discusses the anatomy of and shows video images of the mechanics of the digestive system of several professional speed eaters. The video is 45 minutes long, but a great feature enables the user to easily edit the video by dragging the handles to adjust the start and end times before copying the embedding code into another site.

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!

Thing #23 Old Dinosaur with lots of New Tricks!

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Successfully creating my blog. I had tried once before very unsuccessfully. I like this description of a blog:

“A site one establishes for the purpose of putting one’s thoughts online for the edification or amusement of visitors, who may leave pieces of their own minds before departing.”

Discovering what others had found and were experiencing along the way by reading their blog entries, and then leaving a little piece of my own mind...

Playing with the online image generators

Discovering educational videos on YouTube

Using Flickr to share photos with friends and family

The entertaining and succinct Common Craft guys

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
While in graduate school (online), I had a mainline to the latest and greatest through my coursework. Participating in 23 Things was like being back in school with the bonus of no grades! I’m a hands-on learner, so 23 Things was the perfect learning tool. What's next, Kickball Captains?

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I was amazed at the depth and breath of this online adventure.

Actually understanding and using the 2.0 web tools my children use and talk about and understanding and using 2.0 web tools my children have not heard of!

Learning more about my SBISD colleagues. It’s amazing what you can discover about a person from reading their blog.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Possibly offer smaller parts of the whole at a time by dividing the 23 Things into thirds and offering 6 hour credit segments.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Absolutely!

How would you describe your learning experience?
Hands-on learning of relevant and, best of all, applicable best practices and cutting edge technology for use with students and the faculty in my library.

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?