"Thing" 20 - Video and Audio Resources

The following screen shots capture a scene from the video, "Anti-Bullying Student Message" taken off of School Tube that will be used with my Prime Time advisory class upon returning from Spring Break:

The image below is a portion of the "Don't Laugh at Me" video for Peter Paul and Mary's song remade by the  famous country singer Mark Wills:

The following reflection encompasses the strengths and 

effectiveness of the use of video and audio in the classroom:

The use of video and audio can totally enhance what I bring to my classroom lessons, especially in the affective domain.  Bullying is such and issue in our country . . . it always has been.  However, in the past few years it has become an endemic concern.  The statistics on suicide are scary and the issue needs to be dealt with.  The law finally states that we need to be incorporating the topic into our curriculum; it takes the death of thousands of teens to wake people up . . . 

At any rate, video and audio bring the situation to life for students and they see the situations that plague our hallways, stairwells, bathrooms, playgrounds, commons areas, school buses, etc.  Kids are afraid to take a stand and to tell someone about it in fear or embarrassment.  Moreover, students relate so much to music, that hearing the words with the melody in a controlled environment can really open up the minds and feelings of teens.  They become a bit vulnerable and more empathetic, that getting them to write in response is not such an arduous task for them.  We do not tap dance around the bully or the victim and all issues relating to this touchy and serious topic.  

The features that make the use of these resources so appealing are that they can be searched according to age, grade level, topic, tags, subject area, and State curriculum standards.  Moreover, so many of them are free and from reputable companies in the education realm.  They are safe and allow for students and teachers to comment, collaborate, and share their own videos.  

With the use of video and audio, we can take students to places they will never go in their lives and introduce different cultures and customs.  This is very useful for social studies and novel units in Language classes.  I took my students to Neah Bay and to Tatoosh Island when we read a novel by Will Hobbs.  We watched the Makah on actual whaling expeditions, we saw the tribes participate in Sla hal, a cultural bone game, and we listened to our language translated into English.  Moreover, we invited the principal of the middle school in Neah Bay to Skype; she spoke to my students in Makah then translated it to us - very cool.  

Right now, Learn360 is featuring a 15 minute video with question/comment discussion points woven into the content of the video.  The video is called, "Bullying and Teens: Take a Stand."  The resources are out there to enhance our lessons, we just have to have the motivation to log in and find it to motivate our learners; we can provide so much enrichment and truly touch their lives.  If used appropriately, the following reworded Biblical words are so true, "We are the potters, they are the clay."