Category: Video

ALL video (mine and others’)

Talking Ed.: FIRST Robotics

Talking Ed.: FIRST Robotics

Talking Ed. with Tod Traughber

Episode 005 (View entire series)

The mission of FIRST is “to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership” (Source). The organization seeks to show students of every age that science, technology, and problem-solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all.

Tod Traughber is one of my doctoral students and he coordinates the judges for one of the regional FIRST Robotics Competitions. In brief conversations here and there, Tod had been trying to convey to me just how amazing the organization is and how exciting the competitions are. I was blown away once we were able to dedicate some time to discuss nothing but FIRST. Their mission and activities are something that I believe many students, teachers, and schools would love to be a part of. Thus, I invited Tod to participate in the following interview in hopes that we could get this great information out to everyone.

Talking Ed.: Overcoming Challenges through Social Media

Talking Ed.: Social Media

Talking Ed. with Lisa Durff

Episode 004 (View entire series)

Earlier this week I had the opportunity spend time talking with Lisa Durff (@durff, +Lisa Durff). She discussed her special needs and the importance of social media and her personal learning network (PLN). In particular, Lisa makes heavy use of Second Life and Twitter as they enable her to interact with others in meaningful ways.

You can visit Lisa’s blog to become acquainted her work, interests, and thinking. Especially note this post for a bit of background on her physical challenges and insight into ways that technology helps her overcome them.

I think that you’ll find that Lisa’s ideas and experiences will open your eyes to new possibilities about technology’s ability to empower us. I know her story inspires me.

Making Thinking Visible: Parent Testimonials

Parent TestimonialIf you have been in one of my graduate classes, conference keynotes or presentations, or professional development workshops or institutes in the past three years then you have likely heard me promote the Teaching for Understanding (TFU) framework and the idea of making thinking visible. I likely shared evidence intended to encourage you to give the TFU framework and thinking routines strong consideration. I may have provided examples of student projects that demonstrated creativity, deep reflection, and provided “evidence” of thinking. I may have also shared interviews with some of the Project Zero faculty and researchers, video testimonies from teachers and students, photos and videos of lessons demonstrating thinking routines in action, photos and videos of schools and classrooms that are developing a culture of thinking, and a variety of resources to help you learn more and begin implementing all of this in your classroom. Thanks to Bemis Elementary School we now have video testimony of parents sharing their praise for visible thinking routines. These mothers describe how they regularly witness their children thinking deeply and pursuing their curiosities. I love that these moms are also familiar with the thinking routines and further promote thinking when their children are at home.

CASIE parent testimonial from Courtney Miarka on Vimeo.

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A Student’s Thoughts on Visible Thinking

Analogy: Thinking and PizzaThis young lady shares a few thoughts about visible thinking. She explains that “when you do Visible Thinking it helps you understand more and learn more than you thought you know.” I especially like the analogy she makes between thinking and pizza. I hadn’t heard that one before.

It’s great to see how much she values thinking and metacognition.

Thoughts on Visible Thinking from Bemis Elementary School on Vimeo.

Image Source: Wikipedia

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An Especially Beautiful Version of Pharrell Williams’ Video, Happy

World Down Syndrome DayHere’s another remake of Pharrell William’s video, Happy. This one is especially beautiful as it’s a celebration of World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st). Lance Ulanoff, aptly describes the experience of watching this video.

“Watching people dance to almost any song is usually a happy experience. Watching those living with Down syndrome dance to the snappy beats of Pharrell’s soon-to-be-played-out “Happy” is something approaching joy” (Source).

What Is Web 3.0? Here’s An Introduction

Extended Learning

How Web 3.0 Will Work by HowStuffWorks

Semantic Web at Wikipedia

What Does Web 3.0 Look Like in Education from TeachBytes

Web 3.0

2nd Graders Remember Dr. King

Here are some resources and ideas to help everyone learn about the life and important contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King.

You can learn a lot from simply watching this video developed by (I think) a 2nd grade class (Please help me find the original source so that I can properly cite and acknowledge their outstanding work.).

EdTech Ideas

You and your students could also make your thinking visible using technologies such as: Google Slides or Prezi, Storybird, ToonDoo or Pixton, Blubbr, Pinterest or Learnist in combination with AudioBoo or  Soundcloud, Glogster, Dipity, VoiceThread, SlideCast, Zentation, or GoAnimate or PowToon.

Photo Album

Here are a few of my photos from what was then the recently finished Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, D.C.

An Introduction to Online Word Processing

(Repost from 12/04/2009)

This video provides a great overview of the concept of online productivity tools (word processor, presentations, spreadsheets) in under 3 minutes.

Click to take a look at Google Docs and Zoho Writer.

See this tutorial on collaborating with others with web applications like Google Docs.

Consider how these kinds of technologies could be integrated with teaching and learning and leave your ideas in the comments section below.

Office Productivity Tools

From Trash to Treasure (A Must-See Video)

Clarinet Made from Trash

The following trailer is for a documentary about The Recycled Orchestra, a “group of children from a Paraguayan slum who play instruments made entirely of garbage. It is a beautiful story about the transformative power of music, which also highlights two vital issues of our times: poverty and waste pollution” (Source).

“People realize we shouldn’t throw away trash carelessly.
Well, we shouldn’t throw away people either.”

Making Mathematics Visible

Math ConnectionsAs a math teacher I would sometimes hear students ask, “When are we going to use this in real life.” I worked hard to provide students with practical experiences and tangible answers to this question as I think doing so helps with transference and engagement. I relied on feedback from my father (an architect, contractor, and farmer) and my friends that work in the areas of engineering, accounting/finance/sales, and healthcare for ideas and real-world examples that I could use in my classroom. I think the students and I would have also enjoyed having examples similar to the ones included in the following video. Amazing!

BEAUTY OF MATHEMATICS from PARACHUTES.TV on Vimeo.

Image Source: alibris.com

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