I love using videos in my classes and with the following tool I can even create my owninteractive videos!
With Educanon you can choose a video from the web (YouTube, Vimeo, or TeacherTube videos) and embed anything you like.You can transform what is traditionally passive content into an active experience for students.
(1) Build. You can add questions, lesson information, paste a video or a url directly INTO any video.
(2) Assign. You can create your class(es) and assign lessons.
(3) Monitor. You can watch student progress in real-time, question-by-question.
The following simple example I made for you is in preview mode (I didn't create my own class). In the actual student lesson, students cannot fast-forward or skip parts. Moreover, when they are asked to answer some questions, they can write in a blank space that you cannot see in the preview mode.
And now some information by mystudents about their town:
In this blog we usually travel around the world and study different cultures, now we want to talk about ourselves! Our school is in Gioia del Colle, Puglia. It literally means "Joy of the Hill" and it is located on the Murge plateau at 360 metres above the sea level.
There is a famous Castle, built in the 12th century, during the
time of Norman Count Riccardo Siniscalco d'Altavilla. Destroyed by William the Wicked of Sicily, the castle was rebuilt in 1230 by Emperor Frederick II.
Gioia del Colle is famous for its fantastic "mozzarella"!
was first recorded in the 13th century but Venice has only been "the city of Carnival" since the 18th century, when people from all over Europe came to its fantastic parties. Recently there has been a great revival of the Venetian carnival. In the city there are a lot of parties, dancing and costumes parades.
It was born in 1873 as a masquerade event for the rich bourgeois in
their discontent at having to pay a too-high tax price. Through the
course of time its principal characteristic has become its
enormous, animated papier-mache floats. On these floats that parade
along the coast of Viareggio, big caricatures of the political, cultural and showbiz names dominate.
The Carnival of Putignano (Apulia)
is
famous for the spectacular parade of papier-mache floats. It starts the day after Christmas and
finishes the day before the ash Wednesday. The figure that represents
the Carnival of Putignano is "Farinella". The name derives from
Farinella, a chickpea and barley flour which is the ancient food of
country workers.
In July there is a 'summer edition' of the Carnival.
Have a look at the following information I've put on Thinglink about these three Italian cities. Moreover I've added on Thinglink some videos I've mixed up with Metta. Enjoy!
And now, could you find some information about some other famous carnivals in the world? You could make a presentation using some of the tools I showed you! Have fun!
Safer Internet Day (SID) was born as an initiative of the EU
SafeBorders project in 2004 and is now celebrated in more
than 100 countries across all continents.
Each year SID chooses a topic concerning online issues, from
cyberbullying to social networking, to reflect on online safety, rights and
responsibilities, to encourage users to 'connect with respect'.
In particular, for 2014 the topic is "Let's create a better internet
together".
I'm a blogger, I use my blog with my students at school, I encourege them to use it at home because they are "digital natives". Moreover the Internet can be a wonderful resource for kids.
But the access on the Net can also pose hazards and adults have to protect kids from the potential dangers.
One of the most dangerous problem concerning our "digita kids" is cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass another person.
It can include:
sending threatening or offensive text messages
creating or sharing embarrassing images or videos
excluding children from online activities or groups
creating hate sites or groups about a particular person
stealing online identities to embarrass or trouble a child
But what are the main problemscyberbullying can cause in a teenager?
Cyberbullying can provoke physical and emotional problems:
depression
anxiety
sadness and loneliness
changes in sleep and eating patterns
loss of interest in school, hobbies, friends
self-harm
What to do
First of all parents, teachers and adults in general should:
1. Step into kids cyberworld
Adults have to get involved to keep their eyes open. It's important to be aware of what our kids see and hear on
the Internet, who they meet, and what they share about themselves
online.
2. Set house or school rules Decide how much time children can be online and which sites they may go to. For example, as a teacher, I usually use "webquests" if I want my students to do some research. With a webquest you decide in advance which sites your students can surf to find the required information.
3. Teach kids to protect their privacy
you should say your children/students: * never to give their name, phone number, e-mail address, password, postal address, school, or picture without permission * not to open e-mail from people they don't know * not to respond to hurtful or disturbing messages * not to get together with anyone they "meet" online.
Kidsshould: 1. Tell an adult they trust 2. Walk away (ignoring bullies is the best way to take away their power) 3. Resist the urge to respond 4. Save evidence of the bullying (it can help to prove the offence if needed) 5. Report bullying to the service provider 6. Block the bully(most devices have settings that allow to electronically block the bully from sending notes) 7. Be safe online (use password and think twice before sharing personal information or
photos/videos because, once posted, they are very difficult to delete).
I've always used movies to improve students' listening comprehension, but I've always preferred movies taken from novels. So I have the chance to talk about literature, as well.
This is a poster about my cineforum I created with Piktochart. You can save you poster as an image, as the following, or you can make it interactive, as you can see clicking on the next link.
Below you can find the above poster, but now it's interactive...
