Thing 20 -- Online Audio & Video

Why Multimedia? 

Our world has become incredibly media-rich. Kids grow up on a 2 minute news cycle in which everything passes by in flashy audio & video. While there is great value in books and static images, the inclusion of audio and video instantly brings any subject to life. It's also comfortable and familiar. Kids are accustomed to processing audio and video. Incorporating audio & video resources is a great way to instantly apply UDL principals as well,

Just having music playing in the background is a great classroom management tool. When I taught high school, I always played music during 'student' time. I rarely had to even have to ask them to be quiet, as soon as I paused the track, they stopped and looked at me, knowing I had something to say.  Now in PD sessions, I play music at the beginning, it fills the emptiness of the room and creates a more relaxed atmosphere. I've even noticed when I don't have music playing there is much less social interaction between attendees.

I use video to provide examples and background knowledge or to get my students thinking. Video clips can encapsulate ideas in an engaging summary. I use video clips to quickly get all my students on the same page and set the theme for the course.

Which Resource?

I'm very excited to have explored Learn 360 for this module. This is a video subscription service available in my district and I've recently been asked to provide training and consulting on classroom integration. Learn 360 gives teachers access to audio and video files of all types. Both clips and full-length videos, audiobooks, speeches, music, images and more. All files are downloadable and can be integrated into already existing lessons such as Powerpoint, Inspiration and others software programs. There's even an easy Moodle integration plug-in.

Many of the resources also come with pre-made worksheets, or have teacher-created resources attache to them. Or you can create your own and attach those to the Learn 360 site, sharing with ALL Learn 360 users. You can search by grade, content area, state standard, media type or keyword.

Learn 360 is much more than just an resource site with integrated sharing and collaboration. Save your results to a playlist, create a quiz, blog and more.

Audio  or Video?

Of course, each media type has its strengths and weaknesses but in the end I think they're fairly equal. Like anything else, you need to have a balance in your classroom.

Video is fun, but when it's video after video day in and day out, kids will lose interest. And each has something different to offer. In video, images contribute heavily to the meaning as do our own opinions when we see people. 

Audio alone gives kids more to work with cognitively. They can listen to something and then interpret it for tone or create their own visual representation.