Twitter in the Classroom

I've been reading several articles that give good ideas for incorporating Twitter into the classroom.  Here are links to some of the articles.  I hope that you find them useful.


Twenty-Two Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom

25 Ways to Teach With Twitter

Teaching With Twitter

Using Twitter in the Classroom

Here is one more that suggests ways to use social media in general in the classroom:

100 Inspiring Ways to use Social Media in the Classroom

Tutorial: Downloading Videos From YouTube

Did you ever find the perfect video to show to a class?  Did you ever find that video on YouTube?  If so, then you probably encountered several problems in your attempts to show this video to your class.  Many schools have YouTube blocked, therefore no one on a school computer may visit YouTube's website.  Or maybe you don't have an internet connection in your classroom.  What I'm going to show you today is a simple way to download that video from YouTube so that you can have it on your computer to show to your class, free from the previous restrictions that I mentioned.

First, you're going to need Firefox, a free internet browser available here.  After you have Firefox installed and running, you need to download and install an add-on for Firefox called, DownloadHelper.  In your Firefox browser go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006/.  At this page click on the "Add to Firefox" button and follow any instructions that you are given.

Next, direct the Firefox browser to the YouTube page where your desired video is located.Click on "Tools" in the menu bar, then highlight "Download Helper."  From the menu that pops up, highlight "Media."  A new menu will appear that lists all of the available media for you to download from that web page.  You will need to select a file that has a .FLV extension.  You may notice that there may be several different versions of the video clip, each followed by a different number (240p, 360p, 560p for example).  Choose whichever file has a higher number value.  This means that the video you are downloading will be higher quality when you view it on your computer.  Highlight the file that you want, then click on "Download."  You will then be asked where wish to save the file.  Designate a location and then click "OK."

The file should download to your designated location.  Once it is complete you can attempt to open it, however not all video players will play .FLV files, and if yours does then that is great, but there is no guarantee that the video will be able to play in Powerpoint or imported into a movie editing program.  You will need a video converter program to do that.  A friend of mine who is a teacher recommends Pazera.  It is a free and simple to use program. 

I hope this helps anyone who has ever wanted to download videos from YouTube.  DownloadHelper can be a bit tricky sometimes so if you don't get all of the steps done correctly the first time don't despair.  Also, if you have suggestions on other methods please let everyone know by commenting!

Movie Maker Reflection

Having used iMovie for several years, using Windows Movie Maker today was definitely an exercise in patience.  While more recent versions of the program may have increased its usability, the version we had today was definitely not the most functional piece of software out there.  The user interface is cluttered and nothing ever works how you think it should.  However, I think it taught a good lesson in that we will not always have access to the 'perfect' software program that we want to use.  At times we will have to make due with the tools that are given to us and still get the job done.

Training Reflections

No matter how many times I go through team-building exercises, I'm always amazed how simple group tasks can create an instant bond among a group of people.  A simple task like learning a person's name has a powerful impact on working with someone and how much more easily ideas can be exchanged when such a simple piece of knowledge is known.

I've never participated in a virtual class before.  Today's class was quite interesting, especially considering the distances between all of the participating classes and our instructor.  Whether intentional or not, this gave a sense of being part of a large community of interns, rather than just the small segment that occupied the same room as I did.  It was also nice to work with one partner all day after spending a day working with varied groups, though the group work did have value.  

Overall I have to say that training has been a positive experience in getting ready to perform my duties as an intern and I look forward to the final two days of training.

Training

My expectations for training are diverse.  Among them are some things we have already covered such as conflict resolution and teamwork.  My other expectations fall into the realm of technology and software.  I'm expecting to learn more about some of the software that we will be using in the field, even if it is software that I am already fairly familiar with, being trained in it within the context of helping teachers would bring a new perspective to those software programs.

I think another important expectation would be building a support network among the other interns so that we are all available in some way to help each other.  Having easy access to each other's contact information and blog websites would be a helpful thing to get out of this.

Above all, I expect the training sessions to introduce us to some of the resources that we will need and to instill us with the confidence and enthusiasm necessary to do our jobs.