Using Videos in the Classroom

           Having looked at the three video resources available to teachers (YouTube, GoogleVideos, and TeacherTube), I have seen what I think are some great ways of using video in the classroom and some truly questionable ways. I think that if a teacher is going to use videos in the classroom, it should be to enhance what he or she has already taught or assigned, and not take the place of lectures and readings. There may be a terrific video out there that can explain a particularly difficult topic better than a teacher can, or maybe the teacher has taught it numerous ways and there are students who still do not understand it, and then the video could be an asset. As with all things relating to technology, it cannot be used for its own sake. It has to have something valuable that can enrich the learning experience. Not every topic needs to have a video, but it can be a good way of making some topics more interesting and more understandable.
         
           My concern with YouTube and Google Videos would be that if I found a great video using either that I might not be able to access it on school property because of Internet rules. A lot of schools are addressing their policies regarding YouTube, so it may or may not be a problem but in the past YouTube was one of many “blocked” sites. Google Videos probably wouldn’t be an issue itself but the individual videos might be blocked because of the website they are on. Also, with YouTube you have to worry about what advertisements come on before the video so a teacher would need to have all videos pulled up at the beginning of the day to make sure the advertisements have been played before students watch the video. There is also the issue of finding good videos to show using these two websites; a teacher might really need a video fast and neither site may have one that is appropriate. Of course, all of these sites require an Internet connection and computer so if the Internet is down at the school or the server, and teacher may find his or her plans foiled and have to go to a “Plan B”. A back-up plan would be needed regardless because sometimes websites and videos change and what was available yesterday may not be available the next time you need it! For this reason, I believe YouTube and others can never completely replace videos on DVD and VHS or whatever the medium is, because a teacher can collect those videos and keep them and they do not require Internet connection.

            To be completely honest, I do not like TeacherTube. It is awkwardly built and there are too many questionable links and advertisements everywhere. I think it could be valuable if it is the only websites for videos that is allowed on a school’s computers, but that is about it. I saw a lot of videos that were of students in the classroom; I do not like that and I do not think it is okay to put recordings of children on the Internet when they are that young, regardless of how secure the site may be. That being said, TeacherTube appears to be a great place for teachers to share resources, but I cannot see myself using it very much.  I could use it to put recorded lectures online for my students to view, but I did not see anything that I could use for the particular standard I am covering (SS8H2). A search for James Oglethorpe turned up absolutely nothing. Now, like I said, I could post my own videos and have students view them in order to “flip” my classroom, but I think that is unfair for a lot of students who do not have computer and Internet access. An example of how I would use TeacherTube for recorded lectures can be found here. 

Thoughts on Voice Thread

Having just made my first Voice Thread, I don’t feel like I understand it enough quite yet to say whether or not I like it. I can say that making it was rather fun, however. My one complaint would be that Voice Thread does not give users enough information on what they are doing on the site. I apologize if I sound too complaining, but I feel the need to address why this Web 2.0 tool would be difficult for teachers to utilize before I talk about all the possibilities it has.  So, I was given a link for basic information and tutorials but could find neither. There were disjointed “FAQS” that allowed me to figure out how to add a voice recording, but I do not know if that is the only way to do so or if I even did it right. The site seemed more interested in corporate, licensing, money-making ventures than being usable.

However, all of that aside, Voice Thread does seem to be a valuable tool. I am not sure what different types of media you can upload, but pictures seem to be the most used. I think Voice Thread would be a great way for teachers to post presentations online. Many post presentations on YouTube for students to watch outside of the classroom, but with YouTube there isn’t a way to have a real discussion. There is only the comments section. On Voice Thread, however, a teacher could post text, pictures, etc. along with an audio commentary and students would be able to comment and ask questions via audio as well. There are many benefits to audio discussion; when communicating via text a lot of things are lost, such as voice inflection. You can also comment with a video on Voice Thread, which would add body language to the discussion. Voice Thread allows you to comment on individual slides, so the discussion is neater and more organized.

Using Voice Thread made me a little nervous, because I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I was also nervous about recording myself talk about my standard’s topic, because I didn’t want to sound stupid. I think for that, Voice Thread is good because it forces you to put yourself out there and forces you to contribute something. A lot of places on the Internet allow you to hide behind text and avatars, but Voice Thread takes that away to a certain extent and makes communication more open. I think Voice Thread would be great for teachers to use to get more lecture in outside of class time so that class time can be used for activities and discussion. I think it also allows teachers to teach students who are not able to come to the classroom for one reason or another. Also, it could be a project for students to do as a way for them to show what they know; teaching others is a great way to learn information yourself!  As with all technology tools however, it should not be used for the sake of using it; it should enhance the learning experience, as Rea and Harris stated (2009), and not interfere with the teaching (139).

Reference

Harris, A. L., &Rea, A. (2009). Web 2.0 and virtual world technologies: A growing impact on ISEducation. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2),137-144.

Link to my first Voice Thread on Colonial Georgia click here

Web 2.0….But what was Web 1.0???

Web 2.0 is a phrase that was coined around 2004. What is actually is appears to be debatable, but it seems to have emerged from the Internet after the dotcom crash of 2000. It marked a definite shift in the Internet and the way we use it. Before “Web 2.0”, though, there had to be a Web 1.0; this “first version” of the web was very basic. Website and pages and a few search engines, and not much you could do with any of it. A user could get information, maybe order something from Amazon, but there wasn’t a way for a user to add to any sort of conversation about the information or products available, or any way to interact with other users. Because of this, site managers had no way of knowing what people thought of their site, and pages did not change very often. The Internet was growing, but parts of it were static.

Web 2.0 is different from 1.0 in that the Internet is a platform off which the other programs are run. It allows for the Internet and the multiple programs and website that are available via the Internet to be used on multiple devices, which is important in a society where almost everyone has some sort of mobile device in addition to a traditional computer.  Web 2.0 is dynamic; things are always changing and there is a conversation going at all times about almost any topic a person could be interested in.  Ordinary people can create content, comment on others content, and interact within a community they are able to create using various tools of Web 2.0. This can be via social networking, blogging, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, all of which allows content to be shared the changes to be broadcast to those who have requested to be notified, and readers/users to submit feedback and comments, adding to whatever conversation is being had. Web 2.0 is largely based on various types of tagging systems which allow for content to be easily searched for and found. Blogs use tags to categorize posts, but social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram utilize hashtags, which allow for users to easily find who else is talking (or tweeting) about a particular subject. Web 2.0 is all of this and more, but mostly I believe it is a way for various aspects of the Web and the people who use it to be connected, and the programs themselves to be interconnected.

This interconnectedness of Web 2.0 makes it not only easy to contribute content but to share it across several programs. This can be seen in the way you can easily share a blog post, news article, YouTube video or the like to Facebook or Twitter, or post a link in a Wiki.  Gone are the days of having email something to everybody in your contacts just to see what others think. That can easily be done now by simply posting your content to its respective site and waiting on comments, or hosting a link-up on a blog site. Web 2.0 has made it easy for people to contribute to the larger conversation, which is what makes Web 2.0 a game changer for education. Conversations and intellectual discussions no longer occur solely in isolated classrooms on isolated campuses; they can now occur in cyberspace, across not only campuses but states, countries and the world, and across programs as well, allowing students to learn from each other. Web 2.0 is not clearly defined, and few people could tell you what it is. I certainly could not have written anything about it two weeks ago before being assigned to write this blog post! But I think that ambiguity is the beauty of Web 2.0, and allows for the countless possibilities for its use.