This week, our assignment was to examine a tech tool of our choice that can be used in the classroom. I chose to look into using online videos in the classroom mainly because it applies to absolutely any age group. I am still unsure about what grade I prefer to teach in the future and there is no way of knowing what I will have the opportunity to teach, so I thought that this would be the most useful and versatile tool to examine.
I checked out "Use Online Video in Your Classroom: How teachers can bring the best of YouTube to your students", by Jennifer Hillner from EduTopia. This page had some interesting insight into utilizing these videos to the advantage of education and some links to great resources.
My first impression upon looking over the page was, "Wow, times have changed". It is amazing that these days, a teacher could simply look up the topic they are teaching on the internet and provide a video component to their lesson whenever they like, and in a timely fashion no less. It is hard to comprehend how different things are since I was in elementary school.
The fact is, a teacher can talk about a topic until they are blue in the face, and students can read fro hours about a topic, but sometimes, actually viewing something with your own two eyes and seeing how it occurs can be the only way to fully wrap your heard around certain things. For instance, if a class was focusing on weather and some of the amazing and terrifying things that weather is capable of like hurricanes, which we do not have experience within Alaska, the only way to completely illustrate to the students what occurs in an actual hurricane is ultimately to show them a video of one.
I fully support and actually prefer the the books and class demonstrations that bring knowledge to our students, but I must admit, this does seem to be the most effective way to educate students on certain topics in certain situations. In fact, knowing I have this tool to drive home some of the concepts that I will be teaching is comforting to me as a future teacher.
Jessica I really like how you described using online videos in the classroom. It certainly shouldn't replace hands on experiences, working in groups, reading books, and listening to the teacher, but it does serve a purpose. It can be a great tool for increasing understanding in specific concepts.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your take on videos in the classroom. I think that this can help teacher take a huge step forward in getting the students involved. But, teachers can not forget to use the hands on technique. One of my favorite teachers at UAA is William Jamison. He teachs humannities and he uses youtube all the time. It is a great way for him to visually express a point that he is trying to make during class.
ReplyDeleteI think youtube can be a great tool for teachers. I have been in online classes where all of the resources that were used for videos were off of youtube. It is such a great tool because it allows the students to see certain situations that they might not otherwise encounter. As a future teacher that is one of the greatest tools. For a student they are able to see videos of elephants and places they might not otherwise see.
ReplyDeleteYouTube videos make a great support tool for classroom use. Jessica, I agree with you the ease and efficiency of having students learn an unfamiliar concept through simply viewing it is really useful. Through watching Wesley Fryer's slideshare talk on copyright I learned that teachers should download YouTube videos to keep comments and other inappropriate things out of the view of students.
ReplyDeleteVideos in the classroom is a great idea, especially for the visual learners. I wouldn't normal recommend spending much time watching videos but if they are short and directly relate to the lesson it might be just what the students need to refocus them on the lesson. Many of my elive teacher have redirected us to a youtube video, some times the class ended up wasting time because not everyone was in the same place but if all the students were together and the teacher was prepared with the video corresponding to the lesson this could be a great resource.
ReplyDeleteI also researched online video for our tech tool assignment. I agree that it is a really good way to be able to bring a lesson or concept to life. But at the same time you have to be careful to not over use it.
ReplyDeleteI like videos. They have action to follow so it holds attention better. Like everyone else has said, they are tools and there are a lot of tools to use.
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