Video Editing

Video editing is scary and overwhelming during ones first attempt; at least it was for me.  However, after “playing around” on the software, it became easy, and dare I say even fun.  I used video editing to trim down my introduction to a lesson in order to make it the best video possible.  I think this tool would be great for students.  For example, have students make a video of themselves doing a presentation, or a video of a specific topic, like how to best study for a test.  After completing the recording process students can learn and use new technology to edit, cut, and create an awesome video they can share with the class and others.

Technology and Teaching…

I recently taught an introduction to a lesson on The Great War.  The purpose of the introduction was to connect what the class had learned to what we are going to learn about the First World War.  Technology was necessary in order to effectively present the information.  I used a PowerPoint presentation to convey main ideas of the war and most importantly pictures.  By using PowerPoint the pictures could be displayed on a large screen where all students could see them at the same time and make comments.  The images also looked better on a PowerPoint than when printed out.  In addition, I can easily embed this PowerPoint presentation onto my blog or website, another advantage of using technology.  Technology, when used appropriately, is an extremely effective tool to help increase student curiosity, attention, and learning.

Web pages... what can a teacher do with them?

Web pages can be extremely helpful to students because they can be accessed at any time from any computer or device that has an Internet connection.  When I become a teacher I want to have a website for each of my classes.  My websites will contain important document like the syllabus, behavior guidelines/ rules, and handouts.  This will be helpful because if a student leaves their syllabus or handout at school, they can print it from home.  Also, this ensures that parents can access important documents, which will help keep them informed.  I would also put some cool interesting photographs that are relevant to what we are studying in class.  For example, if we are learning about Ancient Egypt then I could have pictures of the pyramids and mummies.  On the website I would also have links to other websites that would be useful to students.  I would have a link the Library of Congress’ website so they could explore the information on the website and learn more about a subject than what the book and teacher has to taught them.   I would make sure that my website is linked to the schools website so it can be accessed from the school’s site, making it easy to find.  For students who are digital natives, it is important for them to have access to educational and beneficial sites to guide their learning.