I recently discovered Schooltube, a video destination for teachers and educators. It seems like Youtube, but with the entire platform geared towards school districts (rather than universities). Here are a few videos I liked:

History: You Are Here: Fort Belle Fontaine and Bissel House The lesson plan (and video) is appropriate for Grades 4-8. It teaches St. Louis history, map skills, science and historical preservation.

Science: It’s a Frog’s Life Students will learn the life cycle of a frog through information provided on the Internet, literature, and observations of live animals. “This is a fun assignment to do with first graders or primary learners.” says Jen from Duarte, Alabama. Thanks goes to Jen for submitting this lesson plan.

Copyright Lesson Plan This is a step-by-step guide to help students understand copyright laws and what is legal to use for school projects and personal use.

Teaching Copyright: What you need to know Teaching Copyright provides lessons and ideas for opening your classroom up to discussion, letting your students express their ideas and concerns, and then guiding your students toward an understanding of the boundaries of copyright laws.

I thought the following quote about Schooltube summed up well what the website does and why it’s important:

“SchoolTube is a safe and fun way for students to view their work online and share it with their peers and family, both near and far away. As a matter of fact, it’s the one way we were able to share a project with ESL students who just moved to Canada. We uploaded their video and they were able to send the URL back to Pakistan so their relatives were able to watch it! Furthermore, we see it as a great study tool. One grade 6 class studying First Nations uploaded their videos on their research group and then used it as a study tool to learn from each other in a fun and engaging way”.

Katina Papulkas
Instructional Leader – ICT & E-Learning K-12 (South)
Toronto District School Board – Canada

Readers of Free Technology for Teachers crowdsourced what I believe to be a fascinating presentation how to use a flip cam for interesting classroom activities. I’m unable to embed the presentation, but you can find the link here.

A few of the ideas included:

• Have junior high students plan a video tour of their school for the upcoming elementary students.
• Students Record and Share Math Tips
• Students Evaluate Their Own Behavior and Determine Strategies to Increase Learning
• Encourage students to video each other being interviewed for a fictitious job & then play back videos for peer and self assessment.

I’d suggest flipping through the presentation and adding some of your own suggestions in the comment section. If you need a flip cam, they can be found semi-inexpensively here.