Video on Demand

To increase student interest in subject material, video clips seems more interesting to students than a worksheet. Students are not going to get anything out of an activity that resembles the typical format of something that is school related. It's almost like we have to trick them into learning now, but we can do that because we have awesome new tools which are stimulating and will increase student learning.

One such system is this video-on-demand system implemented in Baltimore, Chicago, and now Nevada. School curriculums are more engaging because they use video clip teaching tools which enhance student learning. Content comes from PBS, Scholastic, and National Geographic, which are excellent sources to bring into the classroom.

One interesting comment I thought appropriate for us to reflect on was the following: "What distinguishes Baltimore County's effort is that the district has convened teams of teachers in each school to brainstorm ways of using the new resources to their fullest potential across each academic discipline."

What else are we taking this course for? I feel that every student in 307 could answer this question. We just need to raise the question in our school systems; we just need to initiate this change or it will not happen on its own. We have been brainstorming tons of ideas that could use the integration of video clips in the classroom. That's what many of the Hobbs' media literacy projects are doing, because I know that is what my project is focusing on.

Adolescents have so many television programs at the tips of their fingers that are educational. Maybe they seem dry and boring, but if we introduce certain educational programs, or ways to interpret programs, then we can promote learning through hobbies they already engage in. An article in Education Week states that "In today’s fast-paced world, education needs to be spread out over a lifetime, and the main thing we need to teach our young people is to love the process of learning." Video clips will help this, not worksheets. Life-long learning starts with blogging, it starts with video clips, it starts with iMovies, etc. This is how we can help our students be lovers of learning.

Also, the artcle states that "A century ago, there was no way to address these concerns, but, thanks to computers and the Internet, we now have rapidly improving tools that will soon allow virtually all young people to master essential material at their own pace, and to do so at any point in their lives. There will probably always be a place for the classroom, but it will be a place where intense and intimate learning takes place with highly willing students, not a step on an assembly line."

I bet Will Richardson would be in total agreement with this quotation. He offers so many new techniques in his book that we can take with us in the classroom, from wikis to blogs to podcasts to webpags to flickr. Richardson writes that "We are at the beginning of a radically different relationship with the internet, one that has long-standing implications for educators and students. The coming years will be marked by a flood of new innovation and ideas in teaching, most born from the idea that we can now publish and interact in ways never before possible" (133). Let's take his advice and create new ideas we can integrate into the classroom. We are brainstorming many ideas in class, and we can continue or brainstorming in the years to come as well.

We are currently learning about so many materials that we can use in the classrooms to increase student motivation, interest, and drive to become life-long learners. Name any project that students have done in this class; they can be integrated into the classroom, and students will LOVE them!