While reseaching social bookmarking, I came across some staggering numbers about video sharing in this Mashable blog entry by Sean P. Aune.
"According to the latest numbers from Comscore, a total of 141 million unique viewers, an increase of 2.5 million, watched 10,156,199,000 videos." In December 2007. And only December 2007. I knew video sharing was huge, but these amazing numbers are really making me rethink online video watching.
In my last post, I pretty much condemed YouTube, but as an educator, can I really condemn a phenomenon with such powerful public currency? I am reminded that I need to look past my personal biases in order to provide my students with the most relevant and effective instruction possible.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Suck it up!
C'mon, princess, you can figure this out!
I cyber-bullied myself into making a movie. Here, for all to enjoy, is Sophie's First Month, which I made in Windows Movie Maker using photos from my digital camera. Arlene told me I could use my camera to make a video, and I can, but I haven't been able to get it into a format YouTube likes yet.
This is hard work!
Intimidation factor: 3.5/5
I cyber-bullied myself into making a movie. Here, for all to enjoy, is Sophie's First Month, which I made in Windows Movie Maker using photos from my digital camera. Arlene told me I could use my camera to make a video, and I can, but I haven't been able to get it into a format YouTube likes yet.
This is hard work!
Intimidation factor: 3.5/5
Saturday, February 2, 2008
YouTube bad, TeacherTube good!
It took me exactly 2 minutes (yes, I timed it) for me to find objectionable content on YouTube. And it's not like I did a search for smut. In fact, I found it in the 'education' section of the site, as one of the featured videos. Now maybe the video does not exceed the YouTube terms for what is innappropriate, but it wasn't anything I'd want kids watching at school... or in their homes. Granted, I had to be signed in as over 18 before I could view the video, but who's checking? And sure, you are supposed to be over 13 to even use the site, but a brief talk with some of my 3rd and 4th grade recorder students told me "everybody's doing it!"
I decided then to see how long it would take me to find something I considered worthwhile, and it didn't take that much longer: I took a german lesson from someone named Kiwi! A little more digging took me to the non-profit section of the Channels, where I watched a few interesting videos, getting a chuckle out of Keep America Beautiful Man, although even this video I woudn't show to students. A bit more poking around and I found some math tutorials, and more language lessons, but as I feared, surrounded by a lot of... junk.
YouTube verdict: not for schools. But only because there is TeacherTube.
I liked TeacherTube. I watched a teacher give her students a tutorial on setting up a Word Document for assignments and love that it is always there on the web if they forget how to do something, I watched a simple explanation of the principles of flight, and I watched a a wide variety of student produced videos. My favourite was a very simple video featuring 3rd grade students reading their sight words in sentences. Great for practicing at home! That simple use of a powerpoint presentation with kids' recorded voices really made me realize how powerful even the simplest technologies can be... and gave me a lot of ideas for my own practice: kids walking around the classroom narrating colours and shapes, kids reading a book with the camera on a tripod above them, focused on the pictures, maybe even using kidpix to animate number concepts, if that kind of file can be uploaded? Lots of possibilities!
TeacherTube addresses almost all of my concerns about video sharing in the classroom. First, the content seems to be quality and educational, and there is a wide variety. Second, users seem to respect the educational nature of the site and refrain from posting, ahem, objectionable material. Third, the privacy of posters is well protected. Posters have complete control over whether their content can be viewed publicly or just by those invited.
Of course, even TeacherTube can't guarantee the quality of everything that is posted, and so, as Karla Kingsley reminds us in her 2004 article Empower Diverse Learners With Educational Technology and Digital Media, "the quality, content, and effectiveness of digital learning materials can vary tremendously (Williams, Boone, & Kingsley, 2004), making it problematic for teachers to distinguish useful electronic programs and materials from flashy, graphics-intensive products that do little to promote learning." Most kids tend to be attracted to those flashy videos just as I am repelled by them, so it remains the responsibility of teachers to find materials that are flashy, appropriate, and useful.
I have to applaud Jason Smith for recognizing the potential of video sharing in an educational context and working to create a safe space for teachers and students to take advantage of the technology. I think making a video to post on the web for their friends and parents to see would be a very motivating activity for most students, and it's great that teachers have a safe place to help their students do just that!
I will definitely be adopting video sharing into my practice when I return to the classroom, but I've got a lot more to learn before I do. I've never made any kind of video, let along edited it in any way! I think this might be the topic for my PD proposal... nothing like needing to teach others what you know nothing about to motivate you to learn! Now I just need to find a video camera...
Intimidation factor: 4/5
I decided then to see how long it would take me to find something I considered worthwhile, and it didn't take that much longer: I took a german lesson from someone named Kiwi! A little more digging took me to the non-profit section of the Channels, where I watched a few interesting videos, getting a chuckle out of Keep America Beautiful Man, although even this video I woudn't show to students. A bit more poking around and I found some math tutorials, and more language lessons, but as I feared, surrounded by a lot of... junk.
YouTube verdict: not for schools. But only because there is TeacherTube.
I liked TeacherTube. I watched a teacher give her students a tutorial on setting up a Word Document for assignments and love that it is always there on the web if they forget how to do something, I watched a simple explanation of the principles of flight, and I watched a a wide variety of student produced videos. My favourite was a very simple video featuring 3rd grade students reading their sight words in sentences. Great for practicing at home! That simple use of a powerpoint presentation with kids' recorded voices really made me realize how powerful even the simplest technologies can be... and gave me a lot of ideas for my own practice: kids walking around the classroom narrating colours and shapes, kids reading a book with the camera on a tripod above them, focused on the pictures, maybe even using kidpix to animate number concepts, if that kind of file can be uploaded? Lots of possibilities!
TeacherTube addresses almost all of my concerns about video sharing in the classroom. First, the content seems to be quality and educational, and there is a wide variety. Second, users seem to respect the educational nature of the site and refrain from posting, ahem, objectionable material. Third, the privacy of posters is well protected. Posters have complete control over whether their content can be viewed publicly or just by those invited.
Of course, even TeacherTube can't guarantee the quality of everything that is posted, and so, as Karla Kingsley reminds us in her 2004 article Empower Diverse Learners With Educational Technology and Digital Media, "the quality, content, and effectiveness of digital learning materials can vary tremendously (Williams, Boone, & Kingsley, 2004), making it problematic for teachers to distinguish useful electronic programs and materials from flashy, graphics-intensive products that do little to promote learning." Most kids tend to be attracted to those flashy videos just as I am repelled by them, so it remains the responsibility of teachers to find materials that are flashy, appropriate, and useful.
I have to applaud Jason Smith for recognizing the potential of video sharing in an educational context and working to create a safe space for teachers and students to take advantage of the technology. I think making a video to post on the web for their friends and parents to see would be a very motivating activity for most students, and it's great that teachers have a safe place to help their students do just that!
I will definitely be adopting video sharing into my practice when I return to the classroom, but I've got a lot more to learn before I do. I've never made any kind of video, let along edited it in any way! I think this might be the topic for my PD proposal... nothing like needing to teach others what you know nothing about to motivate you to learn! Now I just need to find a video camera...
Intimidation factor: 4/5
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Before I begin...
Before I officially start exploring video sharing, I have to explain something: I don't like video. I can enjoy movies if they are really, really good, and there have been a few tv shows that have captured my attention (Corner Gas, Heroes) and I watch on DVD, for the most part I don't enjoy moving pictures.
The problem is two fold: first off, video tends to offer up too much stimulus for my little brain. For me, trying to watch an episode of CSI with it's crazy camera angles, quick shifts in perspective and constant barage of music is probably what it's like for other people to stumble into a graduate level astrophysics lecture. Overload. Secondly, I haven't found much of value on video or film or tv. Granted, this could largely be because of my avoidance of the genre, but it seems to me that for each interesting, thoughtful and thought provoking work of video, there are a thousand that are not worth the time to watch.
This year, Jim and I compromised. I let him hook up the tv to an antenna so we can watch CBC. When he's home, particularly on weekends, it is on ALL THE TIME. He'll be reading, and it's on. He'll be in another room, and it's on (and I promptly turn it off). I think this is probably common in most homes, after all, my parents have 4 tvs in the house for just the two of them so they can never be too far to catch whatever's on. It's a part of life for almost everyone.
So... I'm trying. Really. I know video is a powerful medium, after all, it wouldn't boggle my brain if it wasn't. I know it is attention grabbing, I know it can transmit messages in a way no other medium can, I know a lot of people learn from it really well. But please, please pardon me if I don't get too enthusiastic.
All right, I'm off to YouTube.
Intimidation factor: 5/5
The problem is two fold: first off, video tends to offer up too much stimulus for my little brain. For me, trying to watch an episode of CSI with it's crazy camera angles, quick shifts in perspective and constant barage of music is probably what it's like for other people to stumble into a graduate level astrophysics lecture. Overload. Secondly, I haven't found much of value on video or film or tv. Granted, this could largely be because of my avoidance of the genre, but it seems to me that for each interesting, thoughtful and thought provoking work of video, there are a thousand that are not worth the time to watch.
This year, Jim and I compromised. I let him hook up the tv to an antenna so we can watch CBC. When he's home, particularly on weekends, it is on ALL THE TIME. He'll be reading, and it's on. He'll be in another room, and it's on (and I promptly turn it off). I think this is probably common in most homes, after all, my parents have 4 tvs in the house for just the two of them so they can never be too far to catch whatever's on. It's a part of life for almost everyone.
So... I'm trying. Really. I know video is a powerful medium, after all, it wouldn't boggle my brain if it wasn't. I know it is attention grabbing, I know it can transmit messages in a way no other medium can, I know a lot of people learn from it really well. But please, please pardon me if I don't get too enthusiastic.
All right, I'm off to YouTube.
Intimidation factor: 5/5
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
More picasa-playing
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Picasa, printing, and portfolios
Picasa is currently searching my computer for pictures. Wow. I thought I had lost all the digital versions of my photos from Egypt, and there they are! I will be playing with this in the background while I do this posting, so more on Picasa as we go!
Arlene commented on my last post saying that she is the only one she knows that still likes to print pictures. Well, I like to print pictures too! I like to hold them in my hands, browse through them, put them in frames for the wall, fill albums, send them to friends! As a tactile person, having something in my hands makes it real. While I can look at images on a screen and enjoy them, it just isn't the same as looking at an image I am holding.
My parents live in Calgary, a long, long ways away when you are driving with an infant, and are always after me for more pictures of Sophie since we don't get to visit often. They know I can't drive over to the local wal-mart to print off pictures, so they accept emails. I have tried to convince them that looking at pictures on Facebook (more on that struggle in a later post) or Flickr or Shutterfly is just as good, but they too want physical prints to hold on to and find printing pictures easier from their email. This is a battle I have lost with them, despite all manner of wrangling and whining! Thankfully, I've finally figured out how to quickly upload pictures to email (it used to take forever, or at least 10 minutes). One of the reasons they don't like looking at Sophie pictures online is the same reason so many people love sites like Flickr-- the pictures are there for the whole world to see!
Sophie's grandparents don't feel special when they look at her pictures on the web, because everyone can see them. No matter what privacy settings I choose, there is still that sense that the pictures are too public, and that as grandparents, they deserve to see pictures no one else can. I would argue that a lot of people enjoy putting their photos on sites like Flickr so that everyone can see them-- a wee bit of exhibitionism perhaps? Or pride? A confession: I posted a picture I took on a Facebook group site and get a little thrill each time someone comments on it. So it is tempting to let all my pictures be publicly visible and let the accolades pour in!
As an early childhood educator, I think portfolios are one of the most effective assessment tools I have at my disposal. However, much of what happens in my classrooms doesn't 'fit' in a portfolio... how do you put a block structure or a pattern made with toy cars into a folder? I make extensive use of a digital camera in my classes to capture these moments. I've always printed these out on my mediocre printer and put the prints in kids' portfolios, but Flickr offers an intriguing option: online portfolios! What if I created a account for each student, made sure to choose the highest privacy settings, provided parents with access, and uploaded all relevant photos to that account? Parents could visit that site for constant visual evidence of what their child is learning!
Turnout at parent-teacher interviews tends to be dismal, so often parents end up not seeing all the great stuff and photos in their child's portfolio. Maybe making it digital will up the interest factor? After all, shouldn't I be trying everything I know how to make sure parents see what their kids are accomplishing? To that end, I did a search on ProQuest for electronic portfolios and discovered I am way behind the eight ball on this one. Lots of information out there! I found this about the use of electronic portfolios in teacher education using blogs, and this, explaining how making portfolios more visible and public can increase their educational value. Most of what I found had more applications for middle school and high school, and I would agree that at the early childhood and elementary level a full electronic portfolio may be a bit much (not a lot of word-processed report being churned out in first grade), but an electronic component may be just what is needed to further engage students in reflective learning, increase parental involvement, and improve assessment. I'm going to try it!
Back to Picasa: Wow. Now I wish I hadn't paid for Picnik, as Picasa has some great photo editing tools, for free! Very easy to move around in this program, very easy to email pictures (automatically decreases the file size for you), and you can order prints from a Canadian company starting at 13 cents each. All right! Also super easy to upload to a web album, right from Picasa, which I like a lot, since it has already found my pictures. I don't have to search around and deal with enigmatic file names, I can just browse through my actual pictures and send them to the web.
While Flickr might be more mainstream, I think I like this better.
I have also used Shutterfly in the past, but this is very much a commercial site. You put your pictures in an album there more because you want to order 'stuff' than share photos with others.
For examples, you can view my Shutterfly album here, my Flickr page here, and my (favourite) Picasa album here.
Intimidation factor: 1/5
Long-windedness factor: 5/5
Arlene commented on my last post saying that she is the only one she knows that still likes to print pictures. Well, I like to print pictures too! I like to hold them in my hands, browse through them, put them in frames for the wall, fill albums, send them to friends! As a tactile person, having something in my hands makes it real. While I can look at images on a screen and enjoy them, it just isn't the same as looking at an image I am holding.
My parents live in Calgary, a long, long ways away when you are driving with an infant, and are always after me for more pictures of Sophie since we don't get to visit often. They know I can't drive over to the local wal-mart to print off pictures, so they accept emails. I have tried to convince them that looking at pictures on Facebook (more on that struggle in a later post) or Flickr or Shutterfly is just as good, but they too want physical prints to hold on to and find printing pictures easier from their email. This is a battle I have lost with them, despite all manner of wrangling and whining! Thankfully, I've finally figured out how to quickly upload pictures to email (it used to take forever, or at least 10 minutes). One of the reasons they don't like looking at Sophie pictures online is the same reason so many people love sites like Flickr-- the pictures are there for the whole world to see!
Sophie's grandparents don't feel special when they look at her pictures on the web, because everyone can see them. No matter what privacy settings I choose, there is still that sense that the pictures are too public, and that as grandparents, they deserve to see pictures no one else can. I would argue that a lot of people enjoy putting their photos on sites like Flickr so that everyone can see them-- a wee bit of exhibitionism perhaps? Or pride? A confession: I posted a picture I took on a Facebook group site and get a little thrill each time someone comments on it. So it is tempting to let all my pictures be publicly visible and let the accolades pour in!
As an early childhood educator, I think portfolios are one of the most effective assessment tools I have at my disposal. However, much of what happens in my classrooms doesn't 'fit' in a portfolio... how do you put a block structure or a pattern made with toy cars into a folder? I make extensive use of a digital camera in my classes to capture these moments. I've always printed these out on my mediocre printer and put the prints in kids' portfolios, but Flickr offers an intriguing option: online portfolios! What if I created a account for each student, made sure to choose the highest privacy settings, provided parents with access, and uploaded all relevant photos to that account? Parents could visit that site for constant visual evidence of what their child is learning!
Turnout at parent-teacher interviews tends to be dismal, so often parents end up not seeing all the great stuff and photos in their child's portfolio. Maybe making it digital will up the interest factor? After all, shouldn't I be trying everything I know how to make sure parents see what their kids are accomplishing? To that end, I did a search on ProQuest for electronic portfolios and discovered I am way behind the eight ball on this one. Lots of information out there! I found this about the use of electronic portfolios in teacher education using blogs, and this, explaining how making portfolios more visible and public can increase their educational value. Most of what I found had more applications for middle school and high school, and I would agree that at the early childhood and elementary level a full electronic portfolio may be a bit much (not a lot of word-processed report being churned out in first grade), but an electronic component may be just what is needed to further engage students in reflective learning, increase parental involvement, and improve assessment. I'm going to try it!
Back to Picasa: Wow. Now I wish I hadn't paid for Picnik, as Picasa has some great photo editing tools, for free! Very easy to move around in this program, very easy to email pictures (automatically decreases the file size for you), and you can order prints from a Canadian company starting at 13 cents each. All right! Also super easy to upload to a web album, right from Picasa, which I like a lot, since it has already found my pictures. I don't have to search around and deal with enigmatic file names, I can just browse through my actual pictures and send them to the web.
While Flickr might be more mainstream, I think I like this better.
I have also used Shutterfly in the past, but this is very much a commercial site. You put your pictures in an album there more because you want to order 'stuff' than share photos with others.
For examples, you can view my Shutterfly album here, my Flickr page here, and my (favourite) Picasa album here.
Intimidation factor: 1/5
Long-windedness factor: 5/5
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Time 2.0
I have wasted so much time trying to upload images to Flickr, I'm officially ashamed of myself. It seems I got so excited about Flickr, I became willing to spend whatever time it took to participate, put up with whatever difficulties, work past whatever bugs.
I have better things to do with my time!
I eventually downloaded the old uploader and things went swimmingly. Then of course I had to play with Picnik, which quickly convinced me to send them money for access to more and better editing tools. Then, so proud was I of one particular photo, I thought, "I should order a print of this!" only to discover Flickr won't sell to Canada. Oh, I can buy expensive fancy photo stuff from their partners, but not an ordinary 3x5 print.
The concept is great: a community of photographers, pro, novice, and clicking-shots-of-the-baby types like me. I think it has a lot of potential (I'll get to that in a late post), but how often do we spend extra time on the new-fangled when the old-fangled was just as good? I have an empty photo album on my desk I've been meaning to get to for FOUR months now, which I could easily have finished in the time I spent swearing at Flickr Uploadr.
Hmmmm.
Intimidation factor: 2/5
Consternation factor:4/5
I have better things to do with my time!
I eventually downloaded the old uploader and things went swimmingly. Then of course I had to play with Picnik, which quickly convinced me to send them money for access to more and better editing tools. Then, so proud was I of one particular photo, I thought, "I should order a print of this!" only to discover Flickr won't sell to Canada. Oh, I can buy expensive fancy photo stuff from their partners, but not an ordinary 3x5 print.
The concept is great: a community of photographers, pro, novice, and clicking-shots-of-the-baby types like me. I think it has a lot of potential (I'll get to that in a late post), but how often do we spend extra time on the new-fangled when the old-fangled was just as good? I have an empty photo album on my desk I've been meaning to get to for FOUR months now, which I could easily have finished in the time I spent swearing at Flickr Uploadr.
Hmmmm.
Intimidation factor: 2/5
Consternation factor:4/5
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