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Posts Tagged ‘video’

  1. Resources for Teaching About Spaaaaccceeee

    April 12, 2011 by Josh Caldwell

    Image courtesy Purpleslog on Flickr

    I love space.

    I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid.

    I still do.

    There are many reasons to be jealous of Science teachers, but the opportunity to speculate about space exploration with wide-eyed kids has got to be near the top of the list. So, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s trip into the cosmos, here’s a list of the space-related web resources that I might use if I taught Science.

    See What Yuri Saw – Astonishing HD video shot from the International Space Station combined with actual audio from Gagarin’s mission.

    Journey to the Moon – Snagfilm video

    A New View of the Galaxy – Exclusive Kepler data visualization by Jer Thorp

    Extreme Planet Makeover – Interactive planet builder

    Celestia – Free Open Source space simulation app that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux

    WorldWide Telescope – Virtual telescope that runs as a desktop app on Windows or in the browser via Silverlight

    We Choose the Moon – Interactive history of the Apollo 11 launch

    Ascent – Video commemorating 29 years of shuttle launches

    Go for Launch – Time lapse video of the preparation and launch of the Discovery

    NASA for Education – A vast expanse of resources, straight from the horses mouth

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  2. A Big-Picture Approach to Teaching Media Literacy

    April 12, 2011 by Josh Caldwell

    I’m currently working on Media/Information Literacy with my freshmen; it’s one of my favorite units because it is both constantly changing yet always pertinent. This is my third time through, and every time around I’ve approached the topic from a different angle. I’ve got enough material to do a full year-long class, so it’s always a challenge to pare it down to the essentials.

    This year I’ve decided go for a broad overview with a culminating research project that asks students to teach a chosen topic more in-depth. Hopefully, this will let me broach more subjects than in the past, while giving the students an opportunity to pursue further learning in areas that really interest them. Provided here are some of the resources and activities I’ve tried out in this unit. I’ll update this list as I go along. (more…)

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  3. RSA Animate – Thought Provoking Speeches, Profoundly Engaging Presentation

    April 4, 2011 by Josh Caldwell

    I’m absolutely blown away by the RSA Animate videos, not just because the topics they discuss are fascinating, but because the way they are presented is so thoroughly engaging. The high-speed hand-drawn animations not only help illustrate (pun intended) the topics and themes, but they do so in a way that is far more effective than simple static images (ala PowerPoint). Why? I think it’s because there is constant visual stimulation to keep your attention rapt. But it’s not that constant stimulation alone that is effective – we’ve all seen offensively over-animated PowerPoints, right? These videos work because all of that animation contains meaning. As opposed to a few select images used to illustrate a few select points, the illustrations in these videos provide a full visual accompaniment to the auditory stimulus (practically word for word). Here are a couple of my favorites to check out.

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