The other video distribution system that we use is Media
Cast. Media Cast is available over the
internet and gives teachers access to a digital library of content where they
can retrieve entire programs/videos or save segments that are applicable to the
lesson. Programs that are applicable to
the entire school are often saved and bookmarked on media cast so that they are
easily accessible to all teachers.
Our district also subscribes to Georgia Public Broadcasting for
video streaming and other educational resources. Once logged into this resource, you are
redirected to Discovery Education and can search for resources by subject area,
grade, media type, materials included, etc.
There are excellent resources available for a large range of
topics. Because April is national poetry
month, I searched for resources on poetry and then sorted by most popular. I found many video resources which can be
streamed or downloaded by segment (applicable to a portion of a lesson) or in
whole. The video I streamed, Just the
Facts: Understanding Literature --The Elements of Poetry described and gave
examples of figurative language and poetic techniques. I will likely use the section on rhythm and
meter to help my students better understand how to identify the iamb, trochee,
anapest, and others. This video included
links to two other videos in this same series, exploring fiction and
drama. I watched another poetry video called
Self-Expression and the Spoken Word which introduces students to the slam
poetry movement (much more exciting and alive than analyzing poetic techniques
and meter)!
In addition to curricular material, GPB/Discovery Streaming also
includes professional development resources and programs of study. I have been viewing all of the Common Core
broadcasts for English Language Arts on this site. Today I learned about the other educator
programs such as STEM Central, the “headquarters for science, technology,
engineering and mathematics multimedia learning materials.”
I also visited Georgia Stories which would be an excellent
resource for eighth grade Georgia History teachers. It included stories, podcasts, teacher
resources, and more.
Salsa is another cool resource available there. It is an “award winning Spanish language
series for young learners in kindergarten through the third grade.”
There is an abundance of wonderful resources available
through Georgia Public Broadcasting! It
is important to engage students in the content in more than one format. The multimedia digital resources of GPB
provide a way for learners to experience their subject through text, audio, and
video resources. Time is of a premium
and teachers aren’t always aware of how helpful these resources can be. As a media specialist, I hope to be able to
highlight one or more of these GPB resources monthly that would apply to each
academic department.
My school sounds a lot like yours. We have a video distribution system too that we use to broadcast live morning announcements (Fridays only). Teachers also use it to watch videos. They must first fill out a video request form and get it approved by the principal. Once it is approved the teacher must go onto the telecenter on the computer and schedule the movie. The media specialist will load the video but the teacher controls the video through the telecenter on the computer. I had never heard of controlling it through your phone. We have only recently learned about Media Cast. From my understanding, there are four schools in our county that have a machine that allows them to upload all of the videos they physically own in their school. Once they have uploaded them I can log in to Media Cast using my Carroll county id and watch any of the videos. Our school's media committee still needs to determine the procedures for watching these videos. Should teachers have to fill out a video request form or not? Also, there has been a question of whether it is actually legal to view Disney videos over closed circuit in this way.
ReplyDeleteWe also use Georgia Public Broadcasting at our school. We have used it recently to view the new Common Core webinars for each grade level. I also use it frequently in my kindergarten classroom to show education videos to my students on topics like animals and to view popular children's books made into videos such as The Three Little Pigs and Chrysanthemum. I was not aware of Salsa so I went to the website and checked it out. It really seems like something I could use in my classroom. My students love to hear anything spoken in Spanish. Also, Count on It seems like a great math resource to use as a review.
When I become a media specialist, I hope to have live morning announcements every day not just on Fridays. I hope to also make teachers aware of the other great resources available from Georgia Public Broadcasting in addition to United Streaming.
I am so glad to hear that SALSA is still going strong! I was using it to teach basic Spanish to my kids eight or more years ago when I taught second grade. I looked long and hard for another vocabulary building immersion program at the time. I never found one I thought compared with SALSA. My kids were extremely motivated by it. And now, GPB is providing crucial staff development training on the Common Core Curriculum. We are lucky to have an organization so completely committed to the edification of the populace.
ReplyDeleteMy school system works very similar to yours with our closed circut TV station. We have live morning announcements every moring. The technology specialist is in charge of the morning annoncements, I assist him with it when he is not available. The principals and school counsolor take turns presenting the news and different groups of students get to lead the pledge each morning. During the school day we have scrolling announcements that run on a power point through our TV channel. When teachers/grade levels wish to show a video they can turn in a video request and the media specialist will show it at the requested time for them. However, 80% of the videos that our students get to watch are played through United Streaming. Our school has had a subscription to United Streaming for several years and if we are showing a video through United Streaming we do not have to have it approved through the prinicpal. We are also enjoying the Common Core broadcast through GPB. It is nice to have this resource I just wish the Common Core boradcast could be more exciting. I was not aware of the "Salsa" resource our the Math/Science resource so I an axnoius to share these with my firends. I think as a media specialist we need to be aware of as many resources of imformatin as possible so we can share that knowledge with our fellow teachers and students.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome that you can watch DVD’s through your system and request when it is shown via your phone as well as using it as a remote! It is also nice to know that an individual spent a great deal of time researching the different types of systems to find the best system for you school. You probably would not have such an impressive system if they had not.
ReplyDeleteI knew that there were all sorts of resources for students from GPB but I did not know what vast resources there were for Professional Development. I was amazed by some of the things that I found, especially in the Georgia Stories section : )