Video Thoughts

1. It is important to use short video clips. This will keep students' interest rather than showing very long and drawn out films. By showing short clips, at a maximum length of 15 minutes, and preferably around 5 minutes, we will keep them engaged and provide for better class discussions. I know when I was in class and we took a whole class to watch a documentary I was one of the first ones to fall asleep. Keeping the videos to shorter segments will prevent this from happening.

2. Screencasting is something new to me, and is an extremely interesting tool. I would love to utilize this when I am a teacher because I can have students view screencasts for homework if I was not able to cover everything in class. This allows them to go at their own pace for learning, thus, allowing them to get the most out of it. What is also nice about this tool is that you do not need to download any software, and it can quickly be published online. It is also iOS compatible, so students can use their Apple devices to view the screencasts.

3. YouTube, SchoolTube, and TeacherTube are great resources to use in the classroom. Obviously, I have heard of YouTube, although I have not heard of the other two. Both provide a multitude of video options for teachers to search as well as use in lessons. After watching some videos, there is really an endless amount of teaching videos available to us.

4. Pre-question videos are a important to propose before a video. Students will be more attentive during the video if they have something specific they need to look for. An easy way to do this would be to divide the class into sections and assign different questions or aspects of the video to different groups. After the video, discussion time can really bring the concepts of the video into fruition.

It would be soooooooooooo easy to incorporate video in our unit for Dr. Grace's class. I have already set up some "hooks" that involve using video. For example my hook for my day on exponential functions will be a video of a roller coaster and how it goes very slow at first and then explodes in quickness to the bottom. My hope is that this will catch students attention, and hook them for the rest of class.