Shellae’s Education Blog

I just finished up my website for my final project.  I tried a few new things, like creating a video of me to introduce the site and adding it to the home page.  I also added the Tech video from YouTube and put it directly on the site.  The only major frustration I had was trying to add my mp3 files.  I tried various gadgets but I just could not get it to work the way I wanted so I just added links to my blog.  Let me know what you think.

http://sites.google.com/site/multimediaspete/

I am currently working on the website for the final project but I am not really sure about my explanations and how to bring it all together.  I have a separate page set up for each of the 7 projects that we turned in and the home page with the introduction and brief overview of the site.  Not sure where to go from here but I am trying.  Hopefully I will make it over this stump soon and have the final site ready by Wed. or Thurs.

In the last few days I have watched tons of videos on YouTube and found several that I liked and disliked.  The first is an old favorite Schoolhouse Rock video called Dry Bones.  

I love all of these videos because 1. they teach a lesson, 2.  they are in terms that can be easily understood 3. they cover a wide range of topics across all content area  and 4.  they are all set to music which kids really seem to enjoy.  If you work with kids 12 and under, these videos are a definite must (most of my high school students enjoyed them as well).  

Another video that I found interesting is called Education Today and Tomorrow.

This video goes through the changes in the classroom through the last century and it is filled with some startling facts (I checked of course) that should open a few american eyes. It is also set to music that will catch that attention of young people.  

The videos that I did not think were useful included the following problems:  incorrect content, no music or music that most young people would find boring, small or illegible font, lessons that spoke above the intended audience, or made light of difficult tasks.  Instructional videos are meant to be just that…instructional.  They should catch the students’ attention, be up to date, and contain content that is used to enhance your lesson.  If these guidelines are met, then personally, I choose not to use the video in my class.

Tags: education, Schoolhouse Rock, videos, YouTube