Access to free videos for all content areas

I was spending some time on Twitter recently, looking for some ideas for my posts.  I came across a link for a site with free education videos for all content areas.  I was very intrigued and had to check it out.  What I found was WatchKnowLearn. This site is amazing.  It features close to or more than fifty thousand videos about every topic imaginable.  The creators of the site list is a free domain to categorize and rate K-12 educational videos.

It reminds me a little of scoop.it or pinterest for video links.  It provides teachers the capability of adding links to videos about topics. After adding the links, a team from WatchKnowLearn sifts through the videos and determines if they are right for the site, they are added to a large database where anyone can access them.

I love, love, love how this site it checked and maintained and evaluated for good sources.  There are many opportunities.   Teachers can actually set up a classroom on the site and assign videos to classes and students. There is a step by step instruction sheet as well as a video about creating the account and the classroom. What's even better, all of it is free!  One tip, someone has to be an administrator so talk to people at your school and see who that would be.  Enjoy!  It's a great tool

Send your class a video email

Have you gone to a special conference and met someone you wish you could share with your students?  What about a trip that you took somewhere during Spring Break that was a great content related journey you think students need to see?  There is a site you there called eyejot where you can record video and email it directly to your students.

Eyejot has several options for use, the free version lets you send 50 emails of a 5 minute video. That means you can share an experience with 50 students!   You have an unlimited number of messages sent as well.

Due to the limited number of emails you can send, you may have to get creative if you teach a lot of sections of the same class, but, with unlimited messages, you can record different segments of the video to share with students.

There is an app you can use on iOS as well.

A New form of book reports: Trailers

With students today being so much more tech savvy than they were ten, or even five years ago, the need to change out methods of instruction is vastly growing. But, what about our way of collecting information and assessing students?

This semester I was given two sections of a course called Library Media.  In Indiana, this is a course that is designed to focus on research as well as the ongoings of a school library.   Students are to focus on digital citizenship, reading and recommendations.   One of the assignments I decided to do was to replace the traditional book report with a book trailer.  I felt letting kids do a more technology based presentation/ recommendation would be more exciting and let them use a little more creativity than simply writing a report.

The students used one of two online platform called Powtoon or Animoto.   Both of them allow users to create fast presentations that come out as a video.   Many of the kids chose Powtoon because it let them modify the fonts and change the size of text.  They are also able to do transitions, which they liked.

The outcome was really a great one.  I was pleased with the results and it made the assignment so much more fun.

Anyone who requires students to read a novel or even a book excerpt can require students to do a book trailer in place of the traditional report.

Make a free video fast: Stupeflix

I have been a frequent user of Animoto for quite some time.  I use it to do my new releases videos for the library and for my classroom.  It's easy to use and doesn't take much time.  I found another site that does a very similar thing- Stupeflix.  Stupeflix lets videos and images merge to a video using music.


I made a test video, and it went really fast.  I added photos and then I selected music from the website's built in library.  It is very similar to the music on Animoto.  Photos can be uploaded from computer, caught from the webcam or pulled from an online storage (flickr, instagram)

There is a free version as well as a paid version.  I did the free version, got a minute of video which for a new releases presentation is sufficient.  I felt it was a fairly easy to use program as well.  Simply create an account, and make a free video.   Once you do that, you can actually send it out to Youtube, Vimeo and others.

It seems like a pretty easy site to use.  It just took me a few seconds to make a video.  It is worth looking at.
 

Using Videonot.es to Flip

As I was taking my training for technology leadership certification, I was introduced to a site called Videonot.es.   I learned quickly that a teacher who is flipping a class, or who wants to script can use this program and pull videos from YouTube and Khan, just to name a few.   A student who needs extra help can use this quickly and efficiently to create great notes for themselves.   

One thing I really like about this is the link to GoogleDrive.  Anything you create saves in your Drive to be used later for more reference.  If you are in a class that has a comprehensive exam, you can refer to these flipped videos as a study tool. 

It could be used by numerous grade levels, even staff could use it for professional development notes.

When we did our training for TLC, we used this site to take notes and it was very helpful and useful.  I can see a teacher who is trying to flip a class use this to be very successful. Kids can benefit a lot, and if you are in a GAFE school, it's even easier.   I suggest you look into it.

Cool presentations: Animoto

As a library media specialist, part of my job is to make my patrons as aware as possible of everything I can about the library at my school.  I make a lot of videos for the teachers and students about everything.  I make tutorials, new release videos and videos about what we have for them.   One program I use often to make videos is Animoto.  I have learned that Animoto is awesome and easy and I use it weekly to make my new release videos.  It's fast and fun and I think every teacher out there should know about this program because you can put together something for any class.

Animoto sets images and text to music.  It contains a set of royalty free music, simple text inserts and the capability of linking to several graphic sites and storage sites (such as dropbox and flickr.)  I have learned, too, that teachers can get a free educational account that allows for longer videos (the typical free video is 30 seconds, but with the educational version, the videos are as long as the songs you choose.)

It's very easy to use and the fact that the end result can be exported to YouTube.  I embed the YouTube videos right into my library blog.  I also post the links to the school Facebook account so the videos reach as many people as possible.  I love how simple the program is to use.  It doesn't take much to learn and every teacher can put this into their bag of tricks and use it to make something awesome.

Simple ways to caption: Camtasia

If you are fortunate enough to have a copy of Camtasia from TechSmith, you can use that to make your videos accessible to all with captioning.  The software is about $300 for a copy, but, it's worth it. I have used it for several video projects and the outcome is very professional.

The people at Techsmith have established excellent tutorials for their product and there is a section devoted to captioning.  It has a speech to text capability, syncing with a script as well as manual caption editing.

Techsmith does have a free trial of the software to see how to use it and if you want to buy it. I encourage you to download it and make a video lesson. Don't forget your captions, they are a very important step to making a video accessible for students who need to read subtitles instead of just listening.

Simple ways to caption: iMovie

I have talked a few times lately about captioning video to make them accessible for all learners.   I am not a Mac user, but, iMovie is built into each Mac computer and it can be used to caption videos.   I saw it done at a conference recently, and it looked fairly simple to do.   Apple has made a whitepaper with directions on how to do this.  You can find one by clicking this link.

I think it is important to remember that all students need to be able to have accessible videos.  Not all students can learn my merely hearing, some need to read that is spoken to them.  Captioning is a simple step that will benefit your students.

iMovie does take a little longer to caption than using YouTube, but, it can be done prior to the upload and be built in directly to the video. One step that is different than editing captions in YouTube is the direct typing of word for word content.   YouTube does find the content for you and you just edit. With iMovie, you will have to type as you listen.  The steps are a little extra, but it is worth it in the end.

Simple ways to caption: Movie Maker

When it comes to accessibility, captioning is by far one of the best ways to make a flipped classroom an accessible classroom to many learners.   Microsoft Movie Maker has the capability of placing captions over video clips to help the visual learner.   I have located a tutorial on Microsoft's website that explains the process of using Movie Maker's title/ credit component. You merely place the credit over the video.  You can see the tutorial here.

I have used Movie Maker often for putting together tutorials for students and staff. It is an easy program to use and the fact that it is free makes it even better. It is available on every PC computer and if it doesn't appear, it can be downloaded to your Windows PC.  It isn't compatible with an IOs system.

There are several good tutorials for Movie Maker in general on YouTube as well.  It's worth looking into.

Simple ways to caption videos: YouTube

I recently went to a training for technology leadership certification and one of the things we talked about for a great amount of time was accessibility for all students. 

I've decided I'm going to take a little bit of time to talk about captioning because that is one of the ways to make things accessible for students.  There are so many teachers flipping their classes, but do they realize that not all kids can follow the aural cues and watch the video along side?   Some of them need to have their videos captioned because they learn better by reading than merely listening. I want to take a little time today to show you how to use YouTube to caption.  I have found this is one of the easiest ways to make it work. 

1. First of all, if you have a video uploaded to YouTube, captioning is simple.  Follow these steps:

1. Open your YouTube video manager where you see the list of YouTube videos.

2. Choose the video you plan to edit and click Subtitles and caption from the Edit pull down menu.

2. 3. Choose English as the original language of the video and it will regenerate a page that has the 4th image on it, When you click the English that has a green dot next to it, you will see a page of text generate.  This is your captioning.   

4.  You need to click the edit button and it will permit you to change the text to what it needs to be.  Sometimes, text is generated that doesn't make perfect sense, but with a few keystrokes, you can change it to make it correct.  Hearing impaired will tell you they need to just get the gist and not the entire context.  Another note:  You may want to add cues that relate to the sounds as well. (applause, music, laughter) as this helps the hearing impaired understand why there is no captioning for a long period of time.

5.  Once you have edited the text that came in, you merely publish it and then you will notice that the video has text the next time it is played.

This is a free service and really doesn't take that long to complete.  You will be able to help many students who learn better from words than audio.  It is a great way to meet the accessibility needs of all students.

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Make that fun video

I don't often do commentary about iPad apps, namely because not everyone has an iPad, but, when my co-worker showed me Touchcast, I had to share it.   Touchcast is an app on your iPad (sorry android folks, it's not available.) that lets you make a creative recording.  It has a green screen, the capabilities of adding a moving background or adding an image for the background.  Why do the typical boring video when you can make something special this way.

I made a quick video to share with students information about our Doctor Who theme.  It was easy to use and a little addicting.  (I think I spent more time playing with bells and whistles than I needed to, but who wouldn't!?) I am going to add it to the class set of iPads I have in the media center for the seventh graders to use for their book talks.  I am going to start doing video chats about books as well.

What I liked about it is the numerous types of products one can make.  It has a business report, a new report, a how to setup, just to name a few.  You pick the type of video you want to make, add some text and record.  It puts the text directly onto the screen and it has a ticker that runs across the bottom with current events.  It's really cool.  There is even a TelePrompTer tool that scrolls your content.

The app also links to several social media sites and allows for posting videos on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.  I have decided I am going to take a new twist to doing some of my promotional videos. Right now, I use Animoto and add images of the new releases, the books we are sharing or book clubbing, but, with this app, I can make an actual press release type video.  According to the site, there is soon to be a desktop version available.  I will certainly check back for that one!  Imagine using my desktop to make a video.  Just like in the newsroom. I can't wait.

Touchcast is fun and it's FREE!  Can't beat that!

Using educanon to make Q/A videos

As a member of edweb.net, I get several digests each day and lately, the bulk of them have referred to a site called educanon that teachers are using to make the flipped model more inviting, more accountable and more specific to the needs of the kids.



Educanon takes your YouTube video and allows for insertion of questions to assure students are paying attention and learning something from the video.  A lot of mentions lately are by teachers who are flipping their classroom or considering the flipped model.  They are making videos galore and inserting lots of questions to check for understanding.

I decided since I was using a flipped model, somewhat, in my French class, I wanted to give it a shot. I made a few video clips that had some questions inserted.  It was easy to use and the fact that it's free is even better.

If you look at the images I posted, you see the video I selected and the questions I added. You can also see there is a desktop, per se, where you assign work to specific classes.  All of your videos are placed in a queue and you select one to send to a class.  It is very simple to do.  It seems to me that it takes longer to preview the video than to do the activities with it.

I think if someone is going to consider flipping a class, this site is a smart move to generate questions and answers.  It will certainly hold kids accountable and show the teachers what kids know. I am going to start implementing videos into my classroom.

A new way to flip a class

A few months back I joined edshelf, a site that builds collections of apps and tools for different needs.  Being a member of the site, I get a weekly (sometimes more often) email with a list of tools that have recently been added to the site.  I happened to read the latest email I received and noticed there was a new app/ site called edpuzzle.  I thought perhaps it was a site to make games but I checked it out and saw something that appealed to me a great deal:  a site that allows videos to be clipped and modified and add voice overs and questions.   I immediately thought about my French classes and how I could use it with them.

As I have mentioned before, I am working on flipping my French class.  I was searching for something I could use to show the kids videos but also assess them to see what they have learned.  I think this site would really help me do that.

After an account is created, classes can be made and so can assignments.   You can pull videos from Khan Academy, YouTube or LearnZillion and build assignments with them.  What a great tool to assess and teach together.

If you are doing a flipped class model or trying to differentiate your instruction, this may be the way to do it. Take a look at this site, it's free, seems easy and probably will do a lot of good for classes.

Marketing my State's Award books

This school year, I have made a dedicated point to spend more time marketing the library.  I have been very focused on doing whatever it takes to increase student library usage.  I have spent a lot of time checking out things other people do, talking to other media specialists, googling ideas, attending webinars, twitter chats and conferences; whatever it takes. I am finding that my efforts are not only fun, but starting to pay off.

It started when a colleague sent a message on the Indiana Librarians listserv asking for ways schools were promoting the state award books.   I had been doing a few things in the library and getting them interested, but her challenge drove me to find some other outlets. I decided to start making videos.

I spent a little time walking about the media center looking for pictures of the books, the signage, the prizes (I give away prizes via drawing for voting on the books.) and where to find the materials.  I used my trusty Animoto account and voilà, a quick, fun video that identified all of the things we had to offer. I shared it with my YouTube account and emailed it to all of the students.  They saw what I had to offer and what we were doing for the students who participated.

When the second nine weeks started, I posted a new video, featuring the winners from round one, the prizes we had and how they could win. I posted the video on YouTube and sent it to the kids.  I am seeing a lot of positive changes in circulation. Last year only 8 of the state award books were checked out and voted upon.  This year, I have already had 30.  *I know this sounds like a very low number but in a school of 200, it is a good percentage.

I am not sure how much impact my newly found marketing strategies will work, but I am sure with time, persistence and a little patience, the students in my school will have a part in voting for the Indiana nominated books.

Flip a class with Sophia

The growing trend of late is flipping a classroom where teachers become the facilitator of learning and students drive the instruction and focus more on their personal growth through the use of videos and tutorials.

There are several platforms teachers can use to do a flipped class.  I came across Sophia on twitter and I like the format it has to offer.

First off, it is free (or premium) and it allows teachers to create classes and assign videos to each class.  Secondly, there is an archive of items recorded and shared by other teachers that can be added to a class.  As a French teacher, I didn't find a lot of material, but, I found a few things that can be pulled into a classroom setting.

There is a creative mode where teachers can make their own tutorials and screencast, edit and publish.  It also allows you to make playlists for specific topics/ classes/ etc.   I like the tools and tricks it has to offer.  I think if flipping a class is a direction one wants to take, this site can do a lot.

I think someone teaching Math or Science can really benefit from the offerings here.  It allows you to search for specifics and the classroom setup is very helpful.

If you are planning to flip a class or pull some of the flipped model into your classroom, you might consider looking at Sophia as a place to get started.

Using GoAnimate for a Project

Often as teachers, we scramble to find something kids will like and find different than most things on the computer.  We want them to learn and expand their knowledge but enjoy doing that. I think sites like GoAnimate can do that.

My son showed me the site when he started 5th grade last year.  His teacher had them make a conversation between two presidents. I saw it again at a conference when a presenter talked about using it in her Foreign Language class as a mini project.  Her students wrote short conversations.  So, I made one.  It's in French, but check it out:
Greeting Video Fr. 2 by JenniferWells on GoAnimate
It took me about seven minutes to write the conversation.  The program directs you as to what steps to take to make it flow easily.  You can add music, voice, text, whatever.   Students can call in and record their voice or type the text and it builds the scenes around it.

You only get a certain number of credits when you create an account, so using the free version might only be done a few times during the course of a year.  I am not sure if you get credits added to your account for free.
One thing I noticed, is people can follow you like they do on twitter or on YouTube.  You can also export your videos to YouTube, if you pay for the service. I say, use the freebie until you can't anymore.

I have already decided my students will be doing a mini greeting project as a review of the year prior the first week of school.  They can incorporate a lot of vocabulary and skills by doing this.

Here are some other ways this could work:
1) A presidential interview.
2) A conversation between two or three people about a topic being covered in class.
3) A book talk. (The character can talk about the title and share what they liked about it, why, and such.)
4) A spoken summary of a chapter in the class. (There are props available)
5) A way to present a tutorial about something in an animated way.

Those are just a few... There are tons of other ways to use the program in the classroom.

From the Archives: CLEAR Video dropbox

Being that I am at the end of the school year and things are beyond hectic, here is an archive regarding CLEAR tools.  More to come next week.

For part three of my CLEAR tools, I decided to talk about the video dropbox.

If you read my post about the audio dropbox, you will know how easy these tools are to use.  Merely create an account, login and go.  You embed the dropbox into a website or Edmodo and voila, kids can record anything right off the bat. The fact that the teacher can set a time limit on the dropbox also helps

I used this a few times last year to record short skits in my French class but I think the tool could be used for so much more.

My school is a 1:1 school.  All students have a device with a webcam.  I can see a video dropbox being used for oral history reports, weather reports, broadcasts, and presentation.

The one disadvantage to the CLEAR tools is the teacher has the account and the final product is only accessible to the teacher.  It would be hard to use it as a collaboration tool or to share information online with others. (Perhaps a presentation to sister school or something.)

Take a look at it, if you are in a district with webcam capable devices, it could really work for you.

From the Archives: CLEAR RIA tools

Since it is the end of the year and crazier than ever, my next three posts will be about CLEAR RIA tools...

As a foreign language teacher, I am often introduced to tools and techniques at conferences that are not normally shared with teachers outside of the foreign language realm.  Some of the tools available are really fantastic for the language teacher, but, those outside the language box can also benefit from the tools.  Michigan State University's CLEAR (Center for Language Education and Research) is one such place.  CLEAR has a large assortment of what they cal RIA tools which are awesome ways to have students complete oral and video tasks.  I am going to take the next few blog posts to talk about the tools I use in my classroom and some of the advantages of them.  Check out the site, especially if you teach classes that require students to interact, respond and do speaking or video tasks.  The site also allows you to link to YouTube, TeacherTube and SchoolTube videos or upload your own.  They can be modified to meet your needs in the classroom.

The first thing to do, is take a look at the CLEAR site and look at some of the options available.   The site to check, is the RIA site.  These are Rich Internet Activities.  I use them at least twice a week, especially the audio dropbox.  The tools can be embedded into a website, including Edmodo.

There are also webinars and white papers.  Some of them are not for everyone, a majority are geared primarily for the language teacher, but something there might be of interest to a different content area. There are assessment tools, a quiz break, just to name a few.  Look around the site, I will be posting about some of the cool RIA tools in the next few posts.

CLEAR RIA tools: Conversations

To continue my chat about CLEAR RIA tools, we have to talk about the conversation one.  So often, foreign language teachers have to assess lots of kids with just a little bit of time. I have some classes where I am spread thin and not able to meet each child several times during the duration of the class, especially if I am differentiating and helping someone who is confused about a step.

Conversations allows the teacher to record a series of questions and embed them into a website for students to respond to orally.  It is a super easy tool to use and I don't think it has to be used solely for the foreign language classroom.  I can see success with this in a variety of classes.  In a Social Studies class, students can use oral responses for a portion of an assessment.  Special education students who rely on dictation as a means of testing can respond orally. A speech teacher can strike an impromptu speech showing students an image or a question.  The ideas go on and on.

I am going to use it to get my French One students to talk about the weather.  The time setting it up may be a little more lengthy than a normal assignment, but as I do it annually, it can be recycled.  Check it out.  You may find something to do with the software.

CLEAR RIA tools: Viewpoint embeddable videos

Being a foreign language teacher, the need to use videos is often very necessary in the classroom.  With all of the talk of flipping classrooms and using video for instruction, the need grows for many educators.  CLEAR from MSU has a program for videos called Viewpoint.  You can actually record video, audio and embed it directly into your school website or into Edmodo (and probably My Big Campus too). One thing I like is the fact that our school does not block these video streams.  Since they are directly coming from CLEAR, my school doesn't block it.   It saves a lot of time with the process to unblock websites for classroom use.

The program has a few options for you.  First of all, you can record a video with a camera and upload it to the site.  You can also record directly onto the site.  There are places to make a collection of videos as well.  You can also add your students to the site and have them respond and upload video.

It's something different to do in class and with so many people starting to talk about the flip, it might be a way to do it successully.