VIDEO IN THE CLASSROOM

I think that video in the classroom can have some real benefits for the students.  Video should be used as a nice change-up to regular classroom activities.  I don't think we should ask WHAT the video teaches, but rather HOW it can teach.  Some students are visual learners, so watching a video could be very helpful to those students.  The attention span for students can often times be very small, so instead of lecturing five days in a row and becoming boring to most students, throw a video in once or twice a week just to mix things up and keep the attention of the students.  Whenever you do something new or a little different in the classroom it automatically becomes fun and exciting.  As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, showing videos in class can have a really high value in my opinion.
As for how I would incorporate video in my class is very easy for me to explain.  When i was at 13th & Green, I taught a Waterford program to kindergarten students in the computer lab.  Everyday,at their scheduled times I picked them up from their classrooms and brought them into the lab and got to work.  It didn't take long in the first year I was there to realize that even repetition of this modern technology became boring to some students.  Then I discovered a Waterford video tape in a closet and was given permission to show the video as a lesson because it was the same program just in a different form of media. 
When I first started showing the 1st of a four video set, I showed it every Friday for a month and then moved on to the 2nd video.  I followed the same pattern for the net three videos.  When I started the second year, I changed that up to only showing the 1st video over and over until I knew the children were 1oo% proficient with the letter names.  I did notice that some students got bored with the same video over and over, however I knew that this particular group started the year much lower in their letter fluency than the first year students.  I compromised with the bored students by offering them a new video when they could name every letter on my board.  This actually drove the students to try harder, even at the young ages of five and six. 
I think the idea of using videos in the classroom is great for many reasons, not only to keep the students attention but to try and appeal to students who have different learning styles.  I feel as though all teachers should be open to trying new ways to reach their students. 

VIDEO PROJECT

My partner was pretty easy to choose for this video project.  It was a natural fit for Shereetha and I since we know each other outside of class and have been sitting next to each other this whole semester.  She was very easy to work with which allowed this project to go rather smoothly.  We didn't have any hick-ups other than the computer freezing up a few times, which didn't turn out to be as bad as originally thought.  This was a fun project that really  brought me back to my undergrad days at the electronic media department at Kutztown University.
After viewing some of the previous projects done for this class, it was pretty obvious we were going to something along the lines of comedy.  Shereetha came up with the hygiene concept and we thought of three great examples that we could make look pretty funny.  Our original plan was to do something with "Hygiene Police" theme, which was going to have me dressed up like a police officer, approaching people who were committing hygiene crimes and helping them solve their problem.  In order to do that idea any justice, props and actors would have been needed, and we just didn't have those resources.  This is what led us to get the point across but in a more simple manner.  I am very satisfied with how it turned out, and I'm really hoping for some genuine laughs. :)
Stay fresh my friends!

Hygiene PSA

http://youtu.be/d-POCQK4bFY

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are being used in the classroom more and more everyday.  I believe these boards can definitely enhance the way the classroom is operated, as well as how the students learn.  Whenever the students are involved with any kind of interaction in the classroom it is a positive thing.  That's why good teachers often stress class participation.  These interactive whiteboards give any teacher a different tool to try and reach students, and also give a student something new and exciting to keep his/her attention.  There is a huge, global craze over modern technology with smart phones, video games, high definition TV's, computers and the Internet, and much more.  When you can combine modern technology with the lesson you want to teach it can enhance how learning and teaching is done by having the students full attention and envolvement from the very start of the lesson.
The best part of any new form of technology is that, with practice, they are easy to use.  The more you use the whiteboards more you learn and the easier it becomes to operate.  I didn't really have too much trouble working this program and I can now start to see what the capabilities are for this new technology in the classroom.  I think the most important pros to this concept are getting the students involved more, and using a source of media that will more easily grab the attention of most students.  The only negative I think goes along with using whiteboards would e if a teacher just simply uses the whiteboard as a modern chalk board.  This would prevent both the teacher and students from experiencing what these whiteboards truly have to offer.
I would incorperate the smartboard with my students by replacing some of the picture card lessons I used for letter sounds.  I'm really happy with my lesson plan I did for class tonight and would like to create more lesson plans like it to cover all of the letters, two at time.  I'm excited about what I still have to learn about interactive whiteboards and look forward to incorporating them in the classroom with my future lessons.

Student Technology Experience

I wasn't really surprised to see that most college don't really use the Internet for much more than communication.  Having the internet in classroom, in the grand scheme of things, is a really new idea.  Ten years ago e-mail was only starting to gain popularity yet alone having a high-speed, 'search anything' search engine right at your fingertips.  With that said, it's only been a short amount of time to allow Internet usage in the classroom to evolve.  Most teachers are not up to a high speed on how to operate many of the new technologies that are available to them.  I personally know of a school that had a few Promethean Boards that went an entire year without even being turned on.  I am well aware that teachers all over the country are taking and have to take Ed. Tech courses, but in most cases no one is an expert on technology at the completion of any one course.  Until the teachers have a better grip on how to operate the machinery, the classroom will be at a technological disadvantage.
I think that many of the issues involving technology in the classroom can have a huge effect on teachers, however, the classroom is forever evolving place and must always keep up, if not be ahead of the times and start to experience the benefits that the Internet has to offer. 

Graphic Organizers

I think that graphic organizers are a great way to get your main points across.  In my eyes, I see these organizers as a fun way to read a summary, as well as a shorter way to write a summary.  A written summary of any of the graphic organizers we had to do in class would take 10x the amount of time to read and write, yet the organizers themselves still cover all the points.  The graphic organizers are very clear and concise, and provide more than enough information to understand what is being discussed.  However, I do feel as though students DO need to know how to write reports and write them well.  I think a great idea for any teacher would be to teach the two styles of writing and give assignments that alternate using both ways.  Using a graphic organizer is a great method for providing information, but writing full length reports, in my opinion, cannot be abandoned.

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