Science Videos on Vimeo

Vimeo is a video sharing community that allows you to upload videos and control who sees them. Users can comment on videos much like youtube or teachertube. As with any video, it's strongly encouraged that teachers preview videos on vimeo before using any of them with their classes. Having said this, there is a section of simple science videos on vimeo that are worth checking out. I watched one on the Water Cycle and on Teeth (see below). It's one more site that can be a valuable resource for teachers. However, wouldn't it be great to have your students create a video for your science class and upload it to this site? As you might notice, none of these videos use students in the films. Instead, they use other images and footage to create the videos.


3A Teeth Video from Simple Science on Vimeo.

FotoViewr: Embed your Flickr photos into your blog!

FotoViewr - Create your 3D photo gallery

FotoViewr is a cool new site that I came across today that allows you to access your photos from your Flickr or SmugMug account, create a slideshow, and embed it into your blog or website. Why do I like FotoViewr?

1. You don’t need to sign up or create an account to use the site.
2. Easily access your photos by entering your username and the “tag” of the photos you wish to view.
3. Pick a “gallery” tool to showcase your photos.
4. Embed the slideshow using the code Fotoviewr provides for you. The transitions remind me of PicLens (otherwise known as Cool Iris), which is a new way to search for multimedia on the web. The effects are very similar to what I see in FotoViewr. If you can’t see the slideshow below, try viewing this blog in Firefox instead of Internet Explorer.
   
   

“Pixie” ideas for the classroom

Every year there is a program that I decide I adore. This year it’s Tech4learning’s Pixie - Check out the software overview by clicking the link. Our county purchased Pixie as part of Tech4learning’s Imagination Suite. We also received Image Blender and Web Blender as part of this package.

What is Pixie?
Pixie is a drawing and painting program that allows children to express their creativity and practice much needed educational concepts. There are hundreds of educational templates that are ready for your students to use within the program. You can also create your own activities for students to complete within Pixie.

RESOURCES

TRADING POST. This Tech4Learning website is a place where educators can upload their Pixie templates, activities, and lesson plans. They are there for you to download and use with your class! Sign up for free.

Tech4Learning’s homepage is a great resource for tutorials, tips, and support for any of their programs: Pixie, Web Blender, and Image Blender.

Recipes4Success is a great website that provides tutorials on this program and all Tech4Learning programs.

BEST FEATURES ABOUT PIXIE:

1. Print multiple pictures: If you choose to print multiple paintings at one time, you can print as “trading cards” and trade your pictures with your friends. Think of classroom implications: if each child trades a different historical or literary figure, they can learn from each other’s cards. You can also print mini booklets, comic strips, and table tents.
2. Share your pictures: Choose to play your pictures in slideshow format directly from Pixie. Add music, transitions, and have it run continuously. In addition, you can export your slideshow as a Quicktime video, a web page, or a full presentation.
3. Export your pictures: Export Pixie paintings as common picture formats such as JPS or GIF. Now you can import them into Microsoft Office, Photo Story, Movie Maker, etc. This also means you do not need to have Pixie on your computer to view your pictures.

Language Arts Ideas

• Create an ABC book. Give each student a different letter to stamp out with stickers or draw with the tools.
• Create a noun sort by person, place and thing.
• Sort words by consonant sound or vowel sound
• Complete a Making Words activity using the letter stickers.
• Create writing prompts for kids: Seasons, My Favorite Animal, My Hero, etc.
• Graphic Organizers: Venn Diagrams, Story Maps, KWL, etc.
• Sort words by syllables
• Type and illustrate a poem
• Create trading cards of literary figuresSort between real and fictional characters
  

Math Ideas

• Import real pictures. Draw and label angles that you find.
• Use the coins to show different ways to make the same amount of money.
• Stamp out number sentences to illustrate them.
• Symmetry with the mirror tool.
• Expanded form

Science Ideas

• Illustrate Life Cycles
• Sort by Living and Non-Living
• Illustrate the Water Cycle or the Rock Cycle
• Illustrate weather for the week
• Sort objects by sink or float
• Label parts of an insect, parts of a flower, layers of the earth, planets in the solar system, layers of the rainforest, etc.
• Food Chains and Food Webs
• Food Pyraminds
• Differences between whales and fish
• Differences between the different types of rock
• Create trading cards of different rocks, minerals, or elements

Social Studies Ideas

• “If I were president” writing prompt
• Label a map of the US by the intials of each state
• Compare presidents or any 2 historical figures
• Add a state stamp and fill it with stamps that represent resources available from that state
• Color the regions of MDSort by community helpers
• Sort by human, natural, and capital resources
• Create trading cards of historical figures or current political figures
• Create a postcard from a historical landmark or location

Art Ideas

• Design a kite
• Design a Christmas ornament
• Paint a self-portrait
• Label a color wheel
• Paint anything!

Related Posts:

Recording Sounds in Pixie

Opening a Folder of Pictures in Pixie

Exporting a Painting as a .jpeg in Pixie

Classroom Ideas for Pixie

Using Movie Maker in the Classroom

Windows Movie Maker is free video-editing software included with Microsoft Windows XP. With Movie Maker, you can turn footage from your digital video camera into movies, share them on the Internet, and burn them to CD or DVD. Downloadable movies from online sources such as Discovery Streaming can also be edited using this software, just be sure you use a clip that has been flagged for “editing“.
Where can you go to download Movie Maker for your home computer? (Remember, you need to have Windows XP or higher.) Follow the link: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

How can educators justify an educational activity like digital storytelling, which at first glance, seems an unlikely candidate for standards-based education? Ironically, the answer to this question can be found through a careful examination of a series of standards and position statements in the following article: TechLearning Article

Here are some additional resources you can use to become more proficient with Movie Maker:

1. Microsoft’s Movie Maker PageThis page contains various tutorials for the program and an explanation of the software.

2. Mighty Coach Tutorial on Movie Maker

3. Atomic Learning Tutorial on Movie Maker

Classroom Ideas for Movie Maker and/or using your Flip Video Camera:

1. Edit Discovery Streaming videos to show only section you want to your class
2. Remix Discovery Streaming videos to put together important concepts
3. Have students research historical figures. Record their interviews
4. Create a public service announcement.
5. Create a commercial for a new product
6. Record a school tour or classroom tour for back to school night.
7. Record puppet shows, theater performances, debates, or speeches
8. Record science experiments
9. Record weather daily or shadows from the sun throughout the year
10. Go on a nature walk and record items from your “treasure hunt”
11. Record when a student has a success or a school project
12. Download editable videos to create your own movies in Movie Maker. Mute the narrator and record your own facts.

Related Articles:
1. MD, VA, DC Day of Discovery (Using Movie Maker in the Classroom)
2. Testing the New Flip Video Camera

Period Table: 2008 Style

Remember the boring periodic table from chemistry class in high school? Now there is a better way to learn about the elements.

The Periodic Table of Videos

The Periodic Table of Videos has an educational video on every element on the table. Click your element and a YouTube video will launch telling you all about it. The nice feature is that if your school system blocks YouTube, you can view the videos on an alternate server.

Tom Lehrer’s “The Elements”

Tom Lehrer’s “The Elements” is a sing along song created in Flash of all of the elements on the Periodic Table. It’s oddly addicting.

The Visual Elements Periodic Table

The Visual Elements Periodic Table displays a real photograph depicting each element. Scrolling over the pictures shows the element name and abbreviation. If you click the element, a separate window appears with basic information about the element.

Interactives: The Periodic Table

Interactives: The Periodic Table takes a unique approach to the periodic table. First, there are a series of tutorials for the student followed by 5 different interactive games to reinforce knowledge: Name that Atom, Building Elements, Which One of These Elements Doesn’t Belong?, Isotopes Quiz, and Ionic Bonding.

In addition, Interactive’s home page contains many interactive games to support learning in science, history, math, language arts, and the arts that are geared for middle and high school students.

Find Sound Effects with “Find Sounds” Search Engine

Okay, are you a teacher looking for sound effects to use in multimedia projects for your students but are not sure where to look? The “Find Sounds” search engine will make your life so much easier. This site offers many different types of audio clips for you to download. The only problem is that the sound effect that you find may not be copyright-free.

Here is a disclaimer from the Find Sounds site:

“When you perform a search using FindSounds.com or the WebPalette feature of FindSounds Palette, you obtain links to audio files hosted by Web sites throughout the world. The sounds in these audio files may be copyrighted and their use governed by national and international copyright laws. We do not offer advice on the fair use of these files.”

Therefore, teachers and students still need to do some basic research to find out if the sound can be used under fair use laws, but at least they have a starting point now. Even so, check out Find Sounds and let me know what you think.

Kitzu offers multimedia options for teachers and students

Kitzu is my newest find! I mentioned it briefly in an earlier post, but I finally had a chance to look at it this weekend. Kitzu offers free, copyright-friendly, and educational media packages for teachers and students to use in multimedia projects. Most packages include about six pieces of media around an educational theme from the 21st century that can include images, documents, audio clips, video clips, and illustrations. As a teacher, download one of these kits to use with your whole class. You will be amazed that each student uses the media differently to create a unique project. For teachers who do not know where to start, Kitzu is the perfect first step for integrating with PowerPoint, Photo Story, Movie Maker, or Adobe Premier Elements.