LESSON THREE

YouTube has thousands of videos that are suitable for classroom use as an educational tool.  However, it has gotten some bad press because of lots of videos as well.  Because of this YouTube is definitely blocked to students as it should be.  But teachers still have access to it and can incorporate as many of the videos into their curriculum as they want.  I used them constantly in my classes because of the number and quality of art videos that I found.

Alright, you have found a video on YouTube that you would like to use in one of your classes?  What are your options?  First of all, you can play it directly from the YouTube website and project it using a data projector.  But what will you do if the internet is down that day?  And this does happen occasionally so be prepared for an alternate lesson plan.  This is what I would do.  At home I would download the video onto my laptop, flash drive or external hard drive.  Then I would take these devices to school the next day and project the video once again using the data projector.  Oh, you didn't know that you can download these videos?  Want to learn how? Well this is the topic for lesson three.

First of all there are lots of free programs that you can download that can be used to capture YouTube videos.  The one that I use is iLivid but why download a program when an online tool can do the same thing just as well?  The online tool that I'm talking about is referred to as "YouTube to MP3".  Do a search and you'll find several of these sites such as:  http://www.ixconverter.net/ and http://www.flvto.com/ .  What exactly do these sites do?  They convert YouTube videos to either MP4s or MP3s.  MP3s can be used for podcasts.  Below is a brief tutorial.

ASSIGNMENT THREE:

YouTube is not the only site that contains videos.  There are two others which are most likely not blocked. They are TeacherTube and Vimeo.  Use either of these three sites or others that you can find which are not blocked by Columbus County Schools in order to complete this assignment. Choose one of the subjects that you teach and think of a lesson plan that would work well with a video. Find three videos that you might use, download them, type their URLs and a paragraph for each describing how the video would be used to enhance what you are teaching.

LESSON TWO

How many of you bookmark sites that you're interested in or that you want to look at more closely later?  I use to do the same thing but it presented me with a problem.  When I was at home I needed the bookmarked sites on my classroom PC and vice versa.  What to do, what to do?  Well with the advent of "the cloud" my problem was saved.  I started to save my bookmarks in the cloud so that I could access them anywhere that I had a computer and the internet.  Want to know how?  The answer is by using a site called Scoop.it.

 

Let me show you a photo of my dashboard which contains the topics that I'm constantly scooping.  So far I am scooping three topics:  Instructional Technology, AIG Learners and Artists I Like.  NOTE: Now you're allowed to have only one topic for free.  Any more than that now will have a monthly or yearly fee.  Look at the following URL for a closer look at one of my topics.

http://www.scoop.it/t/instructional-specialist

Here is a Scoop.it that should tell you everything you need to know about it.

http://www.scoop.it/t/what-is-scoop-it

You might also want to check out YouTube for video tutorials.such as the one below.



There's hardly a day that goes by that I don't scoop something and I get email notifications when someone rescoops one of my scoops.  Sound confusing?  Well once you sign up for a free account and get started, you'll probably use it quite a bit.  Scoop topics about the subjects you teach or your hobbies, or whatever.  Good luck scooping.

I decided to do a quick tutorial on the very basics of Scoop.It.  Hope it might clear up some of your questions.


ASSIGNMENT:

Sign up for a free Scoop.it account.  Choose the topics that you want to scoop.  Remember you can only have one free with the new account system.  Then start scooping.  If you need to check out the site I attached or the YouTube videos.  Make sure the videos are current because Scoop.it has changed within the last year.   If you need to ask me a question email me.  I listed my email address on m first post.

Once you get everything set up and start scooping, copy the URL to your account and send it to me via email.  I'd like you to have at least two topics with four scoops per topic.  Now go forth and scoop.

LESSON ONE

ASSIGNMENT ONE:

 

There are always lots of times that you and your students could use a photo editor for various assignments or activities.  This is what your first lesson is about - photo editors.  But these are not editors that you have to purchase, these are all free online editors.  Look through your photos or find one online that you might be able to use in one of your classes.  Upload the original photo and then make four copies of the same picture using one of the online editors below.  Completely change it, add text or objects.  Finally write a paragraph telling me which one of the photo editors was your favorite and why.  To recap, here is what I'm expecting: one original photo, four alterations of the same photo and a paragraph explaining which editor you prefer and why.  Also include how you might use a photo editor in your classes.  That's it.  And one more thing: BE CREATIVE!!!!!!!!

Four free online photo editors for you to use for this assignment:

1) http://www.phixr.com/
2) http://www.befunky.com/
3) http://www180.lunapic.com/editor/
4) http://www.picmonkey.com/
5) http://www.fotor.com/

WELCOME TO

Hello everyone.  Welcome to my newest blog called Lateral Entry Technology.  My name is Larry Hewett and I am high school AIG Specialist and Instructional Technology Facilitator for Columbus County Schools. I was very excited when asked about doing this professional development for two reasons.  First, of all, I absolutely love technology.  I have two PCs, two iPads, two laptops and a smartphone.  What can I say other than I like to stay in touch and informed.  The second reason that I was excited about doing this PD is because I came on board with Columbus County Schools through lateral entry also.  And this was almost 23 years ago.  Lateral entry does work.  I'm proud of all of you for making the decision to become educators. If I can ever assist you in any way, feel free to contact me at lhewett@columbus.k12.nc.us or lhewett1@yahoo.com  .  

This blog or course will consist of enough lessons to allow you to receive the required number of CEUs of technology credit. Each lesson will have an assignment or two that you will be expected to complete.  Upon completion you will email me the assignment so I can check it.  You will either receive credit for it or will be asked to redo it if it is not correct.  I will keep a record of your completed assignments.  I suggest that you keep a record also. Most of the lessons will pertain to FREE online tools that I have found to be very valuable in the classroom. I consider technology to be one of the greatest educational tools to enhance learning.  This is why it is so important to integrate it into your classroom and curriculum.  WORD OF WARNING: Technology is wonderful when it works!  But it can also be a major pain when it doesn't and this will eventually happen.  So be prepared for alternate lessons.  

That's about it.  I hope you all enjoy our time together.  So let's get started with your first lesson.

Larry