Blog 5
Ashley
Sherman
Blog #5- School
Video and GPB Info
There are
multiple video resources that my school takes advantage of. Luckily, we do have
a functioning closed circuit cable system. During the school day, school
announcements and homepage to the school website scroll on the screens placed
around the building as well as on classroom televisions (based on teacher
preference whether the television is on or not). Many teachers choose to have
their televisions on before school so that homeroom students can watch the
school-wide announcements. Also, our school has a broadcasting program each
morning that is viewed through the close circuit cable system for five to ten
minutes during homeroom. The school broadcast team broadcasts their news each
morning, but only Friday morning news is filmed live. Teachers do not have
instant control over what is sent through the distribution system; however, teachers
are given surveys to complete regarding their feedback over the announcements
and scrolling announcements during the day and changes are made as requested or
needed. The news broadcast programs are supplementary to daily PA announcements
as well as weekly paper the school produces called The Wall Paper. The Wall
Paper and daily scrolling announcements provide the students and teachers
with the same information.
As for GBP
resources as well as Discovery Education videos, some teachers take advantage
of these resources as supplementary materials. I student taught at the same school
where I work now, and I know my collaborating teacher and I used GBP as well as
Discovery Education when we needed additional videos or material for students
to view. Specifically, we used videos on Discovery Education to stream scenes
from Macbeth, and the students
compared multiple versions of the scene and different interpretations the
directors used. While I used these resources in an English class, there are
countless videos and resources available for different subject-based content
areas to use. For example on St. Patrick’s Day, GBP did a history segment on
St. Patrick as well provided facts and resources for dispelling common myths
and terms associated with St. Patrick’s Day; this information could be used and
adapted for a lesson in high school history class as well as an elementary
lesson about the origins of St. Patrick’s Day. Other additional resources on
GBP include Georgia Stories and Dinoventures (GBP Kids). Georgia Stories is
geared directly towards 8th grade students taking Georgia history. There
are countless “stories” students can view as well as direct link to the
standards these stories meet. Additionally, Dinoventures is part of GBP kids,
and these resources are directed more towards elementary-based lesson plans and
resources. Also, once logged into Discovery Education, there are other options
teachers and media specialists can make use of. They offer webinars for
countless subjects (professional development, tablet uses, etc.), and you can
even have a quick fact of the day generated each day based on which subject you
are talking about in class. An element such as the quick fact can generate a
good jumping off point for the day. The variety of resources on both GBP and
Discovery Education allow for easy integration into the classroom and media
center to supplement and contribute to lessons.
Ashley, I like that your school delivers information more than one-way. I am curious if the same person writes up the school-wide PA announcements, morning broadcast, scrolling announcements, and the weekly paper. That would be a lot for one person to handle but things would be consistent. I would also be interested in why only Friday’s morning news is live.
ReplyDeleteStreaming videos are an excellent way to present parts of a film when viewing the whole film is not appropriate. I like that many Discovery Education video also come with the script. When I was using a video with 4th graders on viruses and bacteria reading the script ahead of time let me know just when to stop the video before it went into the section on AIDS, not something I wanted to introduce. Many videos also provide extension lessons.
I have not used GPB that much in school and it was good to hear about the different type of resources they have to offer. I am particularly interested in Dinoventures. After logging on to GPB Kids I found great links to math programs, a Spanish program called Salsa, several reading programs, and more. Kindergarten and first grade teachers are always looking for sites that they can use and GPB Kids would be a great recommendation.
Ashley,
DeleteYour information on the GPB and school video sources were very informative and to the point. I have not used the GPB in my class. I liked that you mentioned that there are useful GPB resources for teachers to use. I will definitely look into using GPB as an additional educational tool. I liked the idea you mentioned about looping prior news feeds for parents and community members when visiting the school. This would build a very good rapport and make a good impression in showing the positive things the school is doing. Additionally, the other uses you mentioned for using video are useful as well. For example, for special powerpoint presentations. My school has a morning news broadcast every morning which details the latest school news, events, and updates. Later during the day before dismissal, a news feed is looped that broadcasts the daily dismissal procedures and important updates.
Probably dating me; but I can remember when the media specialist's big job was to record "Reading Rainbow". She would label the copy and keep shelves of recorded videos for teachers to check out. Now with this new technology, this isn't done anymore in our District.
ReplyDeleteWe have Smart Boards in lieu of televisions in our classrooms. Teachers make good use of the resources at GPB. We do have a problem with cable reception on the Smart Boards; so most teachers do not tune in to the recorded morning news. Your school really delivers information in various formats and that's what multi-media is all about. Vickie Holmes
Oh, I LOVED Reading Rainbow! I can hear the theme song in my head!
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DeleteSo sad that someone doesn't figure out how to solve the cable reception so the morning news would be viewed by teachers and students. There is SO much work that goes into producing the news show and then it not be watched.
DeleteAshley, I like the fact that your school does scrolling announcements as well as a broadcast. I work at a high school where we do a live broadcast every morning. While the students in the broadcast video production class are able to display their knowledge of greenscreens and editing, it can be a bit distracting (definitely entertaining at times) listening to students read off of a teleprompter. I would by no means rid the live broadcast because it is great practice for the kids; however, a lot of the honest announcements are often overshadowed and often times not paid attention to. Scrolling announcements would be nice so that anyone that missed crucial information and dates could stay abreast of important information.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Discovery education, it is so new to me! A teacher just asked me today for the passcode and I took a stab in the dark saying that it was the GPB passcode, and luckily I was right! It sounds like a fantastic tool that I'd like to look more into.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteMy school delivers announcements in mostly the same way in which your school does. Our closed caption channel 6 runs continuously scrolling PowerPoint with information such as sports schedules and upcoming school events. Each morning during 1st period, the announcements appear on the same channel. The technology teacher/IT support guy at my school produces the morning announcements. His first period class records the announcements a day ahead. I have to say that the quality is pitiful, but I know students are taping the announcements with little guidance because he is so busy teaching technology, serving as department chair, acting as IT support for the school, and trying to keep announcements "on the air." As in most educational situations, teachers are stretched thin!
I also use United Streaming by GPB in my classroom. I have used the Genre study to introduce my 10th grade gifted/honors World Literature class to The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. I also use clips on Frederick Douglass and The Great Gatsby in my American Literature classes. I didn't know about the other resources that GPB offered. Thanks for sharing!
In our elementary school, we use a closed circuit system to project the morning news, scrolling announcements and select videos. Often one grade level will all want to watch a specific video (ex: Bill Nye) and will ask the media center to play it closed circuit. We keep a closed circuit schedule in the MC for teacher to sign up. This helps during busy times of the year (ex: day before winter break!).
ReplyDeleteDiscovery Education is a wonderful resource that isn't being used often enough at my school. We have been told for a number of years that we must download anything we want to show rather than stream it live. Apparently it bogs down the network. I can't say if technology changes make this "rule" obsolete or not. Maybe I should check into this, huh?
Did you know you can go onto Discover Ed and sign up to be a STAR educator? They send you free stuff and let you know about extra features. I recently did this after learning about it from other media specialist. Look for "Become a Discovery Star Educator" on the main page. There is a short application to complete.