Audio+and+Video

Audio and Video Tools
Adding multimedia to your arsenal of teaching tools is a sure way to get kids engaged. It is surprisingly easy to both locate audio and video to use in the classroom as well as create your own.

Audio
Bernadette wins the award for being our podcasting pioneer. Her work with the 5th grade during their unit on civil rights was highlighted by student interviews with teachers and community members. The [|podcasts]are strong examples of learning. Creating a podcast can be done on any computer in the lab using garageband. Once recorded, you can edit it and then post to your webpage or blog. They could be used for student research, poetry readings, book talks, interviews, many many ways.

There are many podcasts available free through itunes that will enhance your teaching. From the itunes store, click podcasts and then select education under the categories. I like the ones produced by [|Jamestown Elementary].

Video
Many of you are familiar with [|Youtube]and the enormous range of material available there. A search for most subject areas will return results. [|New Amphibian Discoveries], [|Chicks Hatching], [|Life cycles of the Monarch Butterfly], [|simple machines], [|a solar eclipse], or a look at [|Ancient Greek ruins]are all just a click away. [|Teachertube]is a site devoted to teachers and educational videos and [|schooltube]is just that while [|Vimeo]is another video option. While these don't have the sheer volume of YouTube, they have less objectionable material and a focus on educational content. You can also produce video to upload to these sites. The library can lend you a camera.

Think of ways this week that you could add an audio or video element to a lesson you are teaching.