Online Media

It was interesting (and time consuming!) to investigate online media this week. I always started out looking for videos and pod casts for the assignment but then oh..this looks interesting and before you know it hours have gone by and I am miles away from where I was supposed to be. I think this is what happens to our students as well. When using online media it would be best to download the media or to have the links on a website ready for the students to use to prevent them from getting “lost” looking around.
Teacher tube and Youtube are both great resources for video but I wish there was some way to restrict the content on youtube. There is a lot of great videos but a lot of not so great stuff too. I did find Carpet Skates though and they really do work! Who knew there could be so many videos? Sooo I ordered a pair…
Will have to let you know what color cast I pick...

Animoto is a great resource for students to quickly and easily create their own videos. It is easy to upload photos, pick a song and viola your video is mixed. The students and teachers have used this website to create book trailers, a video introduction to the high school for eighth graders and even made videos for the Constitutional amendments. Creating the videos also provides the opportunity to discuss copyright and what they can and can’t take off the web to create their video. The only complaint I get is that the 30 second free videos are too short. The students have a hard time limiting themselves to the thirty seconds. The teachers like the limited content because it makes the students really think about what to include. For this weeks assignment I have linked a video I created about the school and media center where I work using information from the DESE website.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

For pod casting I have used Audacity but the teachers seemed to have some trouble with it. Our World Language department had used it for the AP exam and to have students practice speaking the language they are learning. Another product I like is Podium pod casting software by RM Education
It allows you to write scripts, edit and publish podcasts. It is easy to use and has a lot of options for students to tweak what they have recorded. You can also use the software with their Easispeak microphone which records MP3 files and has a USB for charging and download. Students can be roving reporters, the microphone has 128mb of memory, and then download it onto a computer to create a unique podcast.

I love, I mean loved my I-pod right up until the moment I dropped it on the treadmill and it smashed into the wall behind me…Kudos to Apple because although the screen shattered it still works..I just blindly hit the buttons until a song starts playing. My husband and I got each other the I-touch for Christmas oddly enough without even talking about it ahead of time. (Does this mean we are meant for each other?) While he loves his, I returned mine and bought a Wii…sorry Apple. The reason was that I already have a Blackberry and didn’t think I would lug the two devices around. Also, I discovered Pandora on my Blackberry and was hooked! I love the way you choose and artist and then it finds other songs you might like…and if you don’t just click on the thumbs down button and you are on to something else. Now all I have to worry about is not dropping my Blackberry the treadmill! Best of all it is free!!!! No more 99 cent and $1.29 downloads from itunes. Now I know I don’t own the songs but do I need to anyways? Just before my I-pod broke my computer broke and guess what? If you have not backed up your itunes they are gone…Lesson learned but Apple was unwilling to restore my songs even the ones I had purchased so bye bye to 5000 songs. I just don’t have it in me to rebuild so it is Pandora for now.
The I-touch does have a lot of other great things about it…music, movies, games and of course all those apps! There are some useful ones and some that just make for interesting conversations. Some interesting ones high school students might use…Drivers Ed, study for the driving test anytime, anyplace; Lumosity Brain Trainer, challenge you brain for positive effects and SAT Vocab Challenge.