EDU618FALL11

The website artbabble.org is a great example of the alternatives to youtube that the freetech4teachers article discusses.  It is a video sharing site devoted to inspiring creativity through art. I navigated to an abstract expressionism page and watched a pretty cool video on how different artists came to find their passion for the style and medium that they employ.  I understand the need to have alternatives to youtube available as classroom resources. The school that I currently work at has a block on youtube at all school computers. You can temporarily bypass the block as a teacher, but the process never fully works when you need it to during a class. In addition to firewall issues, sights like artbabble provide a more focused and efficient search than youtube. The search options are specifically designed for finding art related media, so you don't have to scan through tons of irrelevant information.

Interesting video about installations at the Modern Art Museum in San Diego, which showcase pieces from the Light and Space movement.

This site specializes in aggregating video from various sources online, but only content that has closed captioning. This could be a great asset for tracking down material online if you are in an inclusive setting and want to ensure that a student with a hearing impairment can still make use of video utilities like Youtube. This was an interesting video, and it was neat to see some glimpses of what look like some very cool installations, including some by James Turrell, who has some permanent installations at the Mattress Factory right here in Pittsburgh!

I love this website! I think this is a great way for students and teachers to see a variety of educationally appropriate videos that also show the classroom discussions as well.  This site along with many of the other sites in the blog are great ways to incorporate technology into any class.  One of the videos that I found fascinating (Because i'm an art major) is the video about Michelangelo.  The great part about the site is that you can search by subject therefore making it easier for teachers to find what they are looking for.  

I think this site is pretty awesome even for hearing students. I know that when I watch something with words along the bottom, I automatically read what is along the bottom no matter what. Things that have tickers across the bottom, like CNN or (what I'm more likely watching, shamefully) E!, I get super distracted, which is frustrating. But having the words that are actually being spoken, kids may become better readers and also better absorb what is being presented to them. Reading along also makes watching a video a less passive activity.

When I was little, I had a book called How Stuff Works. I used to reference it all the time because I was curious about everything. Conversion to a website format makes it that much easier to find what you need and to add additional videos as technology advances. I think that this would be a fantastic reference website for any classroom.

This website looks like a fantastic resource for teachers, although I was saddened to find that they didn't include English or Literature in their list of subjects.

This website looks like a fantastic resource for teachers, although I was saddened to find that they didn't include English or Literature in their list of subjects.

Avalon Project - excellent for use in looking at pimary documents. Students can review specific documents in the context of understanding events and historical periods

Students can work in groups reviewing primary documents and collecting information in the context of a event or historical action. This allows for students to understand the importance of looking at materials in the context of their particular time and location

ANIMATED HISTORY - If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good animation is worth ten thousand. After reading book after book dealing with history and finding only complicated maps with dotted lines and dashed lines crisscrossing the pages, An effort has been to depict key naval and land battles using animation technology.

This is an excellent site that allows animation to present complicated facts through animations connecting events with the historical concepts and activites that surround them. An excellent way to present complicated specific information to student in an accurate, detailed, and yet entertaining way.

One reason I bookmarked this site is because I was shocked, flabbergast, and delighted that "10 Completely Wrong Ways to Use Commas" made it into the "Most Popular" list for howstuffworks.com. The other reason is simpler: Howstuffworks taught me how to explain transgenics, use fantasy football, and change a car tire. Students should know this site!

This is a user driven channel that actually broadcasts on television, it is on all the major providers including comcast and verizon fios. Pretty cool tool!

Listing and links to tools for classroom use

I liked this piece because it reminded me of a conversation I had in another class this week. Another person in the class was asking how we can prepare our kids for technology in the future that we have no idea will exist as of right now. The example given was how nobody knew iPads would exist a few years ago and now tablets are the big thing. My thoughts are that if we make sure our students are well-versed in the technology that we have right now, future technology builds on that and becomes intuitive. It wasn't hard for me to go from Pac-Man to Zelda, or from Zelda to Doom. Each built on skills that I already had. When I got my iPad as a gift, I had no idea what the purpose of it was; now I can't live without it. It wasn't hard for me to learn at all because it built on the skills I already had. I think this article says all of that, albeit in a much simpler way.

Great points!

I saw this video the other day on Google Reader. It sparked my interest because it is a very interesting idea and could be a great resource for teachers and students alike. I think on-demand video learning is going to be a huge part of the future of the classroom, and it is a great way for students to get a fuller understanding of something that maybe wasn't discussed in as much detail in the classroom.

Khan Academy is AWESOME! I had bookmarked it last year, and then I forgot about it. I could use it now to help my daughter in Math! Thanks!