chapter 9. Journal

                1)      FOCUS QUESTION:  How can teachers use video resources in their teaching?

Videos are easy tools to be found in a school environment. They can be set on TV monitors and be ready for use in classrooms. Videos can come from different sources such as a school library, TV programs, Public libraries, websites, museums, educational organizations. They can even be created by teachers and students.  How to use as
Resources to promote teaching and learning?
Television has always been present in the life of the youth, and they are already inclined to accept it instead of any printed material or lecture form teachers. Teachers can take advantage of that natural attraction and incorporate videos to engage students.  Consequently, some techniques are developed to use videos effectively.
·         The features of pause, rewind, and stop allow the educator to control the information given to the students, and also engage them in an interactive open discussion that will promote critical thinking.
·         The previous features facilitate note taking, and better viewing. These two elements play together to enhance students' involvement.
·         Teachers can opt to show a small amount of a video to keep students’ interest. Long viewing periods risk loosing their attention and opportunities to interact and learn from it.
·         The video experience can be modified by turning the sound off, giving the students a chance to come up with their understanding of the visual input only. This one could be eliminated instead, and students could try to imagine the scenes using only the sound of it.
            The most important aspect about videos is that educators can use them to enhance the
            students’ learning experience, enriching a lesson, and providing an auditive and visual
             feature to serve students with different learning styles.


2)      TECH TOOL: Film, Video, and Streaming Video Resources For Teachers.

            I believe that items that have the potential to stimulate learning, should be among the
            teachers’ priorities tools. Based on the fact that students are more enthusiast to learn
            when a visual input is used, I would take advantage, as an educator, of the following
             resources which are easily accessible, and able of engaging learners.

·         PBS: “Public Broadcasting Station”.
PBS stations provide many varieties of television programs that can be used as resources to enhance lessons on different topics. Also, many programs comes with websites that provide lesson plans, interactive timelines, additional resource materials, etc. TV for Teachers is part of the PBS TeacherSource (www.pbs.org/teachersources) that provide more than 3,000 lesson plans for all school courses and grade levels. PBS also gives  information on research about technologies used in K-12. It allows as well bloggers to exchange information and ideas about the influence of technology and internet on teaching and learning in school, etc.

·         NTTI: “National Teacher Training Institute”.
The National Teacher Training Institute (NTTI) is a video resource for teacher that contain several lesson plans written by teachers.The site offers also strategies for integrating video in teaching.

·         TeacherTube/Teachers.tv:
TeacherTube is similar to the popular YouTube video site, but it has educational content. Teachers.tv is the version created by the British. Both sites provide resources that can be used in classrooms. They are well organized, and up to date.

·         The Futures Channel:
It offers a collection of video clips on careers, jobs, and future opportunities. They show students various application of class content in real life situations. It includes also an extensive variety of lessons plans and other teaching resources.

·         Annenberg Media Learner.Org:
It is a website that provides streaming videos (simultaneous transfer of video, voice, and data from one computer to another) with educational content in several subject areas.



3)      SUMMARY:

Chapter 9 explains how educators can instill learning by using presentation tools such as PowerPoint software, videos and DVDs, digital camera, movie-making software, and podcasts/vodcasts.
A term such as multimedia is introduced as “the presentation of material using both words and pictures” (Mayer 2001 p.2). Multimodal learning is described as happening when teachers combine lecture with visuals or text with audio. The advantages for teachers to incorporate multiple interactive media into instruction are expressed, as well as the benefits of having a multimedia classroom. Usefulness, critique, and strategies of using PowerPoint are debated. Also, video, photo taking and movie making, digital videos, and tactic for using cameras, are outlined as tools for teaching. Even lesson plan utilizes technology (digital cameras, digital videos cameras, or camera phones with video capabilities) to inspire students of different grade level.
The focus of chapter 9 is on using multimedia technologies interactively with students to stimulate enthusiasm for learning, actively engage them, and also conjointly with them or not to create and to deliver information.