I regularly receive e-mails from Russell Stannard, a terrific teacher and speaker I found a few years ago. He is a principal teaching fellow at the University of Warwick and is a specialist in the use of media and technology. He maintains a site, Teacher Training Videos, and his e-mails usually highlight his latest and greatest videos, amongst other ideas and new sites to try. Stannard has won many awards and travels worldwide to share his knowledge with others. If you go to the TTV site, you can sign up for his e-mails. All the videos on his site are free!
I got an e-mail this past weekend from Stannard which mentioned myBrainshark. The promotional information says you can create online and mobile video presentations for sales, marketing, eLearning and more. Some of the uses for myBrainshark are "Add Voice to PowerPoint, Narrate a Document, Upload a Video, Make a Photo Album, and Produce a Podcast." For a good example of adding voice to PowerPoint slides, search for "A Guide to Facebook Security" (at the time of this writing, it was a featured "Most Viewed" presentation on the home page). Not only is it a good example of how you can add voiceover to a slide presentation and upload it to myBrainshark, it's a wonderful 7 minute presentation on how you can protect yourself on Facebook. And not only can you watch the video, you can actually download a pdf file entitled "Guide to Facebook Security".
myBrainshark has free accounts, so that's the perfect price for most educators! It is simple to register for a free account, but if you want more features, you can always purchase the pro versions. If you register and login, they have a terrific help section with getting started videos and tips & tricks. Maybe some of you can find something you can use in the classroom, or better yet, start uploading presentations and use myBrainshark yourself!
Since turkey day is coming in just a short time, I thought I would also give you some quick ideas for your students:
1. Grades K through 2 - Measurement is difficult to visualize. This lesson helps students gain a perspective on how big the Mayflower actually was. First, have a class discussion on how big the students think the Mayflower was. Have them give examples of objects they think might compare to the size of the ship. Then take students outside and have them help you measure and mark a 90 foot by 24 foot space. Talk about what would fit in that space to help students have an idea of how big it is. For example, a tractor trailer is about 75 feet long including the cab and about 10 feet wide. Discuss what items the travelers would have taken on the ship and how it would all fit. Also discuss the time frame of the trip and how long it took them to make the voyage. Using a word processing program, students can write a short paragraph about the ship and the trip or using a drawing program, students can produce a picture of the ship.
2. Grades 3 through 5 - Have students create a poster showing foods which would be appropriate for a Thanksgiving meal. To help them plan, use grocery store ads to let them cut out pictures of items they would like to eat. Then on their poster, have them write the food group names and glue their pictures in the appropriate places. As they are working, help students make sure they put the correct foods in the correct groupings. (This could easily be adapted to the computer - using a word processing program, students can list the food groups and then find appropriate clip art or pictures on the Web to copy and paste into their document.)
3. Grades 6 through 8 - Several of the Thanksgiving "facts" we teach are historically inaccurate. This lesson helps students separate fact from fiction. Have students research on the Internet to find Thanksgiving myths and then using a presentation or word processing program, have them mention the "fiction" or myth item and then what the correct information or "fact" is. If they google "thanksgiving myths and legends", several sites are available for them to get information.
4. Grades 9 through 12 - Thanksgiving is the most traveled holiday of the year. Use this opportunity to have students practice statistics and probability. To start, ask students if they have ever flown anywhere over the Thanksgiving holiday. If so, have them share their stories - Did the trip go as planned? Were there any delays? If so, what were the reasons for the delay? Have the students research statistical data from the FAA or other Web sites. Some questions to answer might be - What is the average length of time a plane is delayed? What is the percentage of plans that are delayed between 3 and 9 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? What is the probability a plane would be delayed during that time this year? As an extension of this lesson, have students plan a holiday trip, considering when the best time to leave would be, which airline would be the best to travel on, and what time their flight is and when they'd need to arrive at the airport.
5. Another idea for multiple grade levels - use Google Earth to investigate where the Mayflower departed from, where the Pilgrims landed, and the voyage in between. Also use the Internet to research what the weather would have been like for the trip.
These ideas all came from the teAchnology site, the online teacher resource I've mentioned in several past blog entries.
Have a great week and don't forget to exercise your right as an American citizen to go vote on Election Day - Tuesday, November 8th.
