Walnut Creek’s video distribution system is very slim; it is mainly used for announcements and to stream videos at the teacher’s request. The teachers do not have control over their own videos. The media specialist will start your video at the time the teacher requested. The news program is produced by the students and it is streams over the distribution system every day, when it is working. The news program informs the students and staff about upcoming events and other announcements. The school does not have cable and therefore only receives a few broadcast channels.
Just because the distribution system doesn’t do very much in our school, doesn’t mean that the teachers go without. Teachers use the Georgia Public Broadcasting website’s resources in their classrooms by connecting their computer to their classroom television. This gives the teachers full control of some of the videos they want to share with their class using United Streaming. I also use this strategy to demonstrate new activities I want the students to use during their independent computer time in the classroom. The GPB website has so much to offer teachers and it is all free. I have set up a learning Island for the students to use to reinforce math and reading skills I have previously taught. Students can use this program during their independent work time or at home. This is a great way to bridge the gap between home and school because the parents can see their student’s strengths and weaknesses while they are playing the games at home. The GPB website also has activities and lesson plans for teachers to go along with the GPB educational shows. Teachers can browse through some of the shows to find specific episodes about specific topics or skills. I find this website very helpful and encourage others to check it out. I am always finding something new each time I visit.
I like the emphasis you place on having students use the United Streaming videos directly. I had really limited my vision of its use to teachers presenting video clips as part of a class lesson, but getting students to use this kind of resource from home is a great way to have them go into greater depth, studying any number of topics. This can be a good "gateway research tool" that will get students' attention right away, due to the audio/visual presentation of materials. It would be great to have students incorporate materials from United Streaming into their own presentations to their peers.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that the teachers are able to take advantage of other resources since the video broadcasting and having no cable is a problem. Georgia Public Broadcasting has a lot of relevant information that can be aligned to the standards for teachers to use. Its a great service for teachers to have since it is free. Lesson plans are available and so is information for parents. You are right about bridging the gap between school and home. It is so important for parents to be involved in their child's learning, and with this resource being free, parents can take full advantage of what is has to offer. Georgia Public Broadcasting is a great resource for teachers, students and parents.
ReplyDeleteI really like the comments about the home connection. I have mainly thought about this resource as a tool for teachers in the classroom to support the curriculum at school. What a great way to have information available to parents so that they can see what students are learning and support it at home. From PBS kids online to Discovery Education, I think we are blessed to have the resources that we do from GPB.
ReplyDeleteTeachers LOVE free resources! I really like the idea of setting up a resources for students to use at home. I do something similar with Compass Odyssey, but I think it would be great to have more than one option. My school has a very limited distribution system like yours. We train all new teachers and staff on United Streaming so it can be used as a resource. I think we have been able to save a lot of money by not spending it on DVD and VHS resources.
ReplyDeleteUntil recently, the teachers in my school also often relied on the media specialist to broadcast videos through our distribution system. Most teachers do have their own VCR or DVD player. But, in my grade level, we plan collaboratively, so it is helpful for us to be able to show a video to multiple classrooms simultaneously. We schedule videos in advance, but often the media staff, understandably, get busy and forget our "appointment." This system can be frustrating for teachers, media specialists, and media clerks.
ReplyDeleteThis year, however, our school system purchased the Media Cast system. Each teacher is now able to instantly access digital files of all the videos and DVDs in our media center catalog. Much frustration has been eliminated!