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TeachersFirst Edge Review: for any technology user comfortable with video. Move over YouTube! Teachers now have their own place to learn, to laugh, and to cry: TeacherTube.com. Since this site is designed specifically for education, there is not as much concern about “public” contributions and appropriateness for school! Teachers will find videos suitable for classroom instruction, such as Ben Franklin chatting with a group of students, or they will find hilarious sites that only teachers could appreciate. There are also professional videos ideal for staff training (such as Classroom Strategies for Differentiated Instruction). Just click on the subject area that interests you, and then click on a video. To leave comments or to upload your own video, you will need to register. It’s all free. Obviously, this isn’t a site for students; however, there are many educational videos suitable for all subject areas that you could share with your students. If your school blocks streaming video sites, consider accessing this site and choosing videos at home, using a tool such as Vixy (explained here) to bring them in for class use. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Skills Needed: no special technological skills are necessary to view the videos. If you are looking for a specific topic, save time and use the search option If you wish to add comments or upload your own Teachertube video, you must register as a user at the site. Registration is free, but does require an email address. If you don't want to provide your personal email address, set up a gmail account or other “extra account” to use for site memberships. Then log in. Create and save your edited videos where you can find them on your computer. (Windows Movie Maker or iMovie are great, free tools for video). Then upload to TeacherTube. You will also receive comments on your uploaded videos.
Safety/Security Concerns: If the teacher is the one uploading, the only potential concerns include posting videos with identifiable information or images about your students, school, or class. Check your school policies about posting pictures of your school. If you post student videos, obtain written parent permission to post student work, again within school policies. Any student visible in a video should also have parent permission in accordance with school policies.
Possible uses: The most common classroom use would be viewing many videos that match curriculum content. Rap math, visit Anne Frank’s historical locations, or view a grammar lesson—these are just a sampling of videos that you may want to use to enhance your curriculum lessons. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to share the videos with the class. Use the site's videos as an anticipatory set to a new unit or lesson on a specific topic. Have your students create their own TeacherTube video together as a class on any lesson/topic that you are teaching. Have a contest for the best videos and upload the winners to the site (within school policies, of course). Once the class has videos hosted at TeacherTube, you can also embed them in your class bog or wiki for easy sharing with those in your extended online “community.”
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