Information Overloaded

You have got to watch this video that one of the Grade 8 students made today. All he needed was his laptop, a microphone, Smartboard Recorder and his script. We are gathering all the videos and putting them on a wikispace so teachers and students can benefit from them. It took him 30 minutes to write his script and get his moves in order….and 10 minutes to record!

http://thelearningfactory.wikispaces.com (click on the math link on the left)

Click here to watch the video.

Today I worked with two Grade 8 boys to create screencasts of mental math strategies they are learning in class. I thought I would work with two of them so I could create some experts and also see what the best way would be to introduce screencasting to the whole class.

We are hoping to put the videos on a wikispace so other students can use the how-to videos to review math concepts.  Our site will feature studetnts teaching students.

When they came in one student was already familiar with creating screencasts using Cam Studios. Both of them knew what screencasting was, and all that was needed was my 5 minute explanation and they were off to the races.

One boy discovered that his windows media player would not open his test file. So he found out that by importing the .avi file into Moviemaker, he could preview it and edit.

They took the remainder of the 50 minute class to write their script and set up smart notebook with items from the gallery, text, and different slides. Tomorrow they are going to record using the Smart Notebook Recorder.

What a great way to incorporate literacy into math class. The boys were using procedure writing to explain their math concepts. One realized the need for visuals. He was teaching his strategy using apple and bathtub photos.

I will post them once they are finished. I can’t wait to see how they will turn out!

I was sent an email by Brent Rowney about the www.pangea.org website. I have embedded the youtube video that explains what it is all about. I would really like to put a video together with some students for this contest!