Getting Started with Video

Despite that many Web sites require paid subscriptions, these sites may also have numerous free information to help teachers and librarians set up their own projects. To get started with a video classroom project, Atomic Learning contains a series of very short videos explaining how to set up basic camera shots and visual composition rules. In addition, a free Video Storytelling Guide reviews important concepts to think about when beginning the project like creating a storyboard. You can download the storyboard for free and learn how to add new shots to the storyboard and new links, to name some.

Learn about using video in your classroom so you can start a new project when the new 2010 school year begins!

Enter the Video Science Challenge

An interesting and motivating way to challenge students at the 5th to 8th grade level to become more involved in science is the 2010 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, sponsored by Discovery Education and 3M Corporation. The video only has to be one to two minutes on a topic emphasizing “safety and security.” Each entry must be individual and explain the science behind the danger and the science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics behind a possible solution.

Some sample topics include food safety, spread of germs, protection from the sun to name a few. Sample videos and lesson plans are also available on the site. Visit the 2010 Video Topics to learn all about the requirements, entry regulations and date of submission. If you have students interested in science here’s a way to stimulate that interest. More on this topic and how to create videos on my Web site.

New Additions to Web Site

New additional have been added to my Web site Bev's Educational Website that accompanies my book Using Web 2.0 Tools in the K-12 Classroom.

--Enter the Video Science Challenge contains information about an individual science project for middle school students as well as Web sites that offer free resources to get started using video in the classroom. The project is similar to Science Fair projects with video as the main tool.

--New wiki projects for the social studies.

Improve your English: An ESL tip

If your native language is not English, the easiest way to improve your speaking and listening skills is to practice every day. Perhaps you don’t have a partner to speak to every day. At Elllo you can listen to videos recorded by speakers from all over the world on topics of interest, for example, what is my favorite pizza or is your country multicultural? In addition, a written transcript can help you improve your reading skills and learn vocabulary you may not know. A quiz tests your knowledge of grammar requiring you to put in the correct form of a word. Other videos emphasize vocabulary—do you know what the “crust” of a pizza is?

You can find more tips and suggested projects to use with ESL students in my books Using Web 2.0 Tools in the K-12 Classroom (Chapter 7) and Internet Workshops: 10 Ready-to-do Workshops for K-12 Educators (Workshop 8).