My Own Digital Video

I created this video to be used in a high school physics class. Students would be familiar with general terms mentioned in the video but this could serve as an introduction to a more detailed study of mechanics. I took this videos myself and I see a strong connection between mechanics and physics; that is exactly what I want my students to get out of this video. I used PowerPoint slides saved as pictures and the videos I already had to create this is MovieMaker. This is only the second time I have used MovieMaker and I really like it! It is easy to use! I can see endless benefits to using a program like this in the classroom. Students could easily do digital narratives or any activity and upload thier videos to a class blog. I love this idea!
Audio by Collective Soul "Heavy"

I also uploaded this video to YouTube. You can view it here.

Digital Storytelling...

Digital videos allow students and teachers to think beyond the typical concepts and curriculum being covered in a classroom. Students are very creative and can sharpen their skills as they apply those skills while "telling a story." Digital videos are great ways to incorporate independence and responsibility with learning into your classroom. Here are four great links for finding great videos to use in a classroom!

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PBS is a great site for students to view many different videos on various curriculum topics. At our school the most popular viewed videos are from the science and history curriculum. I have also found some great math videos such as "fractals" that provide a real-life link to naturally occurring mathematics. All videos on this site are based on research and factual information that allow students to think critically about the topics they are studying.

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Discovery Education is a site that streams videos on curriculum topics. In my experience, these videos are more for teaching curriculum specific concepts and exploring relationships among concepts. You can search across the curriculum for any topic of your choice but you must have an account (our school system does).

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Brightstorm is an excellent digital video resource for math (algebra through calculus) and science (biology, physical science, and physics). The videos on this site showcase an instructor explaining a concept and working through two to three examples of how to apply the skills in a problem. The viewer has a choice to stop the video and play the examples in the order of their choice. This site is great for tutorials and review in math and science classes.

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SchoolTube is an online community of teachers and students who create their own videos. Teachers can upload lesson plans and recorded lessons to the site and share among the members. Students can view the videos on this site as an extension of what is covered in class and investigate critical thinking topics. There are searchable categories that span the educational curriculum and teachers and students can enter contests with their published videos.

Resource Management / Survey Monkey

Needs assessment is essential to creating successful and meaningful staff development. The following survey is one that I have recently created for the math department at the high school where I teach. I am working with them on Study Island and through this survey I will know exactly what direction to take and what tasks are hindering their use of the software. Survey Monkey is a great way to gather information for needs assessment!
"Click here to take survey"

Images on the Web: Flickr

Flickr is a wonderful tool to share images with others. You can create a free account and upload as many images as you want. You can also save a "favorites" list so you can easily find the photos you like the next time you log in. This resource is good for personal use and for educational use. I created an account and began my own photostream. I also made a list of favorites that I will be using next year with my geometry students. When it comes to a visual subject like Geometry, it is imperative that you have great images to go with each concept. I am excited to share this resource with my colleagues. I am sure this will enrich their students' learning experience!

Creative Commons on My Work

I decided to put a creative commons license on my instructional technology newsletter that I completed in EDTC 6010. This file is part of my professional portfolio and can be viewed here.

The creative commons license I received:

Instructional Technology Newsletter by Jennifer Underwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Creative Commons

Always Learning New Things by Jennifer Underwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


Here is a Creative Commons License for my blog. Creative Commons is a way to put a license on your work and choose if others can use parts of your work or the entire work in something they choose to author. There are several different licenses to choose from at Creative Commons.

Social Bookmarking

I had never heard of social bookmarking until EDTC 6070. I had no idea that there was an entire network of sites with tags that are serachable by anyone on delicious! Delicious is an awesome site for teachers to search for articles, applications, simulations, and websites that promote ICT and digital literacy.

My Delicious Bookmarks!