Adventures in Teaching and Learning

This post will hopefully cover straightforward video sites as well as more interactive audiovisual sites. Once again, I have asked my PLN (Personal Learning Network) of other “educationalists” and “edtech” folk at Twitter to share their favourite sites, which I will hopefully share with you here. I’ll start with a few of my own:

YouTube – Probably one of the most well known Web 2.0 sites. There is a lot of inappropriate content, as there is anywhere, but don’t be put off – there is a vast amount of fantastic content as well. If you are an RE teacher, then from my skattp profile, you can find links to a group for RE teachers and to some other accounts that I find helpful. I am sure there are similar groups for other subjects.

TrueTube – There some excellent (British based) videos on here that would make great debate starters. TrueTube hopes that young people will make more equally provoking videos and share them on the site. I have written about TrueTube before, here.

Teachers’ TV – An excellent resource for CPD; the site also contains videos that can be used in class. There are also groups and forums that you can take part in.

TeacherTube – Videos by and for teachers.

Animoto – Upload photos, choose from a selection of Creative Commons music, and Animoto will produce an audiovisual presentation for you.

Xtranormal – If you can type, you can make movies. An easy way for a teacher to make a starter video, or for a student to produce an ICT-based piece of homework.

VoiceThread – You could add this as a way to introduce a topic, by uploading a picture or video, then recording a commentary while using pens to highlight key points. Or, you could upload students’ work, and other students can then comment on each others’ work, as a form of peer assessment.

GoAnimate – A fairly easy way to produce short animations. These can then be hosted on a video site, such as YouTube or TeacherTube.

Voki – This is an easy way for you, or a student, to animate a message without having to record your face as well as your voice. You normally need a blog to host it on.

Audacity – An excellent tool that can be downloaded for free. Easy to use to record and to transform voices as well. The voice can then be added to vokis or other videos.

There are some good primary examples on this Demo Primary School site, based in Falkirk. Thanks to @mvass for producing it, and to @johnmclear for drawing it to my attention!

I will add more later, as I receive more suggestions!

Very exciting news to share with you all – Teachers’ TV has been in touch and are wanting to record a programme featuring one of my classes and the Transformation Teachers’ Programme! I do now feel as if I have to start updating my blog again a bit more!

How is everyone else getting on? I think I better go visiting and leave a few messages!

That reminds me – Claire did an excellent piece of work on Holst’s Planet Suite using CrazyTalk and MovieMaker – hopefully she’ll put a review of how it went down with her class on her blog.

I wish I could share the video I made on MovieMaker with you. I took the film and the photos from Friday’s Year 8 lesson on Modern Day Prophets, put them together using MovieMaker, added the P Diddy track “Missing You”, added credits, and came up with a not bad little 3 minute movie. I showed it to a couple of the pupils who are in the film, and they were suitably impressed … “That’s sick, Miss!” was their reaction to the slow-mo effect when one of the main characters died. I’m looking forward to sharing it with the class on Friday … and to challenge them to improve on it themselves!