I used the above video, Cyberbullying – Talent Show, from the Ad Councilwith my Yr 7 students today. What began as a bemused audience settled into uncomfortable silence as the 50 sec video panned out. It’s a really useful video to show – the message is delivered convincingly and with real impact. It sparked a lot of interesting discussion about the damage done to individuals from cyberbullying.
DK from Mediasnackersswitched me on to the video below also about cyberbullying. This one, Let’s fight it together, was produced by Childnet (a non-profit organisation working with others to “help make the Internet a great and safe place for children”) for the Department for children, schools and families in England (DCSF). It highlights the different ways that Cyberbullying can happen and the how the victim is affected by the bullying. The target is male and my students made some interesting observations about how differently boys react to victimisation compared to girls. Good discussion. Once again, it managed to pack a punch, far more than any information I could relay by simply talking about the issue. Make sure you watch both and think about using them in your classrooms. These are messages that need relaying.
Here’s a great way to learn about chemical reactions. What’s the bet students would remember how elements react a whole lot better from watching this rather than listening to a lecture from their teacher!!
There’s a bit of debate flying around the edublogosphere regarding thisvideo. It’s healthy debate, because it’s questioning the motivations of the group that put this video together. I always think it’s healthy when people look beyond the surface and delve for deep understanding. These are the very skills we are hoping we will impart to our students to ensure that they become well rounded citizens of the world. Good modelling all round.
Chris has problems with the video for a number of reasons, and you’d probably be best served by following the link and reading what he has to say. One of the points he made that rang true for me was this;
And I don’t know… perhaps under it all, I have a sense that these folks think, “If we just change it all up, the kids will all suddenly just start learning like crazy” when that misses several points — 1) we still have an insanely anti-intellectual culture that is so much more powerful than schools. 2) Deep learning is still hard, and our culture is moving away from valuing things that are hard to do. 3) We still need teachers to teach kids thoughtfulness, wisdom, care, compassion, and there’s an anti-teacher rhetoric that, to me, undermines that video’s message.
It’s point three that resonates deep with me. What underpins all good teaching and learning (IMHO) is the formation of relationships. I firmly believe that no child will learn anything from me until I’ve shown them that I’m interested in them and what they have to say. Without passionate teachers, who realise that teaching the whole person is vital, no Web 2.0 tool is going to make any huge difference to learning outcomes. The tools can make the learning more interesting and can provide them with useful skills, but they still need guidance and purpose to direct the learning that needs to take place. There’s my sermon from the mount for today!
Chris questions the motivation of the creators of the video, Pearson Learning, a company that has a web based formative assessment testing system and reporting tool. He asks us to consider if we should be paying attention to a message from a company with a vested interest in us using the web for learning. It’s a must read post – make sure you read the comment thread that follows for more interesting discussion. Here’s what I posted in response;
Great post. I’ve seen this video at numerous blog sites over the past week and none had made mention of the production company behind it. I still like it, because I think it makes people think about the shifts that need to happen if we are going to enable our students to become fully digital literate and make the most of what the web can offer. I do think you highlight an important point – this shift is not going to be easy and we do need to focus on the learning as our most important motivation rather than communication for communications sake. I’m going to watch your keynote – interested in what you have to say.
Thanks Chris for prompting me to think and probe deeper. It’s vitally important that we remember to not always take things at face value but to question and explore. These are digital literacy skills we all need to have; both we as educators and our students. I stand by what I said in my comment – I still like this video and the things it is saying to us. I think it will assist in making people think and help to make the shift happen. I just won’t be looking at it through the same rose coloured glasses that I was wearing last week when I first saw it.
Before I begin the weekly School’s out Friday post, I want to alert you to a new blogger on the scene. Keyta is a student at the school I work at. She’s an amazing young woman with a passion for almost everything. She has only been at our school a short while, but she has made her mark by taking on positons of leadership and exemplifying qualities we would like to see young women in our school and society live up to. She is a young woman with much to say -I hope you all follow the link and encourage her as she begins her blogging journey.
So, to this weeks School’s out Friday. Again inspired by a student from my school. My Yr 7 class were roaring with laughter this afternoon watching this. The student who showed it did so because her oral presentation was about The Chasers – a comedy group who have a television program on the ABC network. The first part has a swear word -please ignore it – I’ve tried very hard to keep this blog clear of profanity! Unavoidable this time as the second part of the video is the part I want you to watch. It’s a take off of a Riva coffee commercial and it is very funny – enjoy your weekend.
This post is dedicated to Lindsea. In a presentation I am making on Monday I’m using Lindsea as an example of the kind of learning that is possible now that the walls are down and we can reach out and make contact. She has been an inspiration to me and my students – I hope you read this Lindsea and realise the difference you have made. This is Lindsea’s favourite video on YouTube – she posted a link to it on Twitter last night. I was watching and noticing Lindsea as I always do when I see your name. Thanks.
End of another working week – I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling like this is going to be one loooong term! A laugh at the end of the week is necessary, and the latest effort from improveverywhereprovides just that. This time their mission is food court musical– improveverywhere agents are in a food court and break out in song much to the bemusement of unsuspecting diners. It’s very much like the work of the guys from The Chasers and their ‘Life is a musical’efforts. I’m wondering if the improveverywhere crew have seen some of their work.
I’m having problems with WordPress tonight and can’t embed the video from YouTube – very frustrating. Trust me – follow the link and you’re guaranteed a chuckle.
I love YouTube. I love the way it enables the everyman to generate content and connect with an audience. Just look at the remarkable things that can happen when a YouTube video goes viral. ‘Did you know?’ is a classic example. There’s unassuming Karl Fischcreating a PowerPoint presentation for a staff meeting and what happens – his slides are uploaded to YouTube in a video with music and are watched approx. 4 million times or so. Amazing.
My students know the power of YouTube. Last year we set our Yr 8 students the task of creating a trailer (like something you’d see at the movies) for a novel they’d read as a literature circle study. One group read ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe’ and created a great videothat they uploaded to YouTube. They’ve had 347 views and love checking their stats. YouTube gives our students an authentic audience – they’re looking to attract an audience rather than just present work for the one person -the teacher. That’s pretty empowering stuff.
The students I teach love it when we begin a class with a video from YouTube. I love the ‘hook’ effect they have; because a large number of them are less than five minutes they are the great way to begin a lesson. Students are focused and they often prompt wonderful class discussion. Yesterday I visited Coburg Senior Secondary College to look at their learning spaces and curriculum offerings. A Year 10 class I observed watched this videoto evoke some reaction to the issue of climate change;
They were hooked watching this – no doubt – and it prompted interesting discussion. There weren’t any bandwith problems at Coburg so the streaming from YouTube was pretty much instantaneous. Not so where I teach. It’s a 1:1 wireless environment but streaming from YouTube is a drawn out process. If you want to watch a YouTube video you need to load it prior to the class and have it ready to replay. One option is to use a a video conversion site like Keepvid to cache the video from YouTube for use in class. This way you have guaranteed success with one catch- it goes against the copyright laws of this country.
I’m wondering about the future of copyright and what may happen now that user generated content is really taking off. Will we see a backlash against copyright regulations? Will we see users post their content and stipulate that it can be used and reformatted so that educators can employ it in classrooms to convey important messages? Will more people use creative commons licencesto allow their work to be used easily in educational settings? Will the copyright council be able to stem the flow of infringements to the law as more and more educators realise the potential benefits of YouTube to provide useful content for classroom instruction?
I’m presenting at the SLAV conferenceabout Web 2.0 on Monday May 12th at the Telstra Dome.Will Richardson is delivering the keynote address so it’s a bit of a big deal. My head is quite literally spinning with what it is I need to say to try and turn a few people on to the potential of Web 2.0 tools for learning. Tony Richards, from IT made simple, is going to help me out by ustreaming my presentation. Tune in and see whether or not I can deliver the goods. I’ll post the link closer to the date. Tony’s helped me out again by posting this YouTube video on his blog, Learning – Thinking -Playing. This is Garr Reynolds, who writes a blog called Presentation Zen, talking to Google staff about how to deliver an effective presentation. It’s long -72 minutes- but totally worth watching!
I normally post a funny video for the School’s out Friday post but it just didn’t seem right to do that today. Here in Australia the 25th of April is Anzac Day, a day that is a public holiday as tribute to the fallen soldiers who have given their lives in the defence of our country. I attended a local service this morning where students from our school read the names of the fallen from our municipality in all wars affecting this country. They were exceptional – their readings reflected the solemn occasion – their parents and the school should be proud of their efforts. ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and New Zealand honours this day as well. April 25th is the day honoured in tribute because this was the day Australian and New Zealand troops landed on the shores of Gallipoli. It was here that a long and fruitless battle against the Turkish forces took place in World War One. Countless lives were lost and it was the start of Australians realising the sense of nationhood that now prevails. Australia came together as a nation in 1901 with Federation but it wasn’t until young men lost their lives in defence of this country that people began to recognise themselves as Australian rather than Victorians or New South Welshmen.
This video from Youtube reflects the reverence with which this day is held and also combines another Australian passion – Australian Rules Football. Nothing is open on the morning of Anzac Day but the afternoon sees a football match being held between Melbourne clubs Collingwood and Essendon. It’s become a tradition and today 95,000 people attended the match. Footy is a national pastime here in Australia – it’s almost a rite of passage to attend a footy match and watch the game while eating a meat pie with sauce!
Yes, I know it is Saturday. Couldn’t post last night because I went to see Matchbox 20 at Rod Laver arena here in Melbourne. Really great concert – they are such a cool band. Rob Thomas has such presence and an absolutely incredible voice. Melbourne’s an hours drive from where I live, but it was well worth the effort – great way to start the weekend. A concert highlight was when they covered INXS’ ‘Need you tonight’ as a means of relating to the aussie audience – forgotten how much I loved INXS.
Lucacept - intercepting the Web 