I don’t think there is anyone out there that thinks using video supported tools like FunnelBrain or traditional video sites like YouTube in the classroom is a bad idea, but it’s not something we are taught or really encouraged to do. What makes this problem even worse is that many school districts block all websites that have any user generated content. The goal initially, I am sure was to stop students from visiting sites like MySpace or Facebook, but it is also preventing students and teachers from getting to some high quality sites like Wikipedia that while not a scholarly peer reviewed source is still a great spot to start research because it typically links out to many fantastic resources that are. Even more troubling for teachers is that some sites are a mixed bag where the obvious time suck exists but also some very high quality user generated content that is ideal for classroom use.

I really like video… I think it is a great way to start conversations and grab peoples attention. When I teach, I love to start off each session with a short video. Sometimes it is providing background information, is could be used to spark a conversation by illustrating a point, or it can be a call to action. Personally I like to start my lesson plan with the video and build outward from there to ensure there is an obvious connection between the video and my planned lecture. But what to do if YouTube or Vimeo are banned at your school? The good news is you still have options!

You could use TeacherTube a niche YouTube like site for educators. If this is banned at your school you should be able to get your IT department to open up access to it with a simple request. While TeacherTube is a great option it is hard to walk away from the tens of millions of videos on YouTube, so I am going to point you to two great resources that will let you download a video from YouTube to your computer so you can upload it into a powerpoint or put it on a flashdrive and bring to school without the need for internet access. The first is KissYouTube and the other is Vixy. Both are great tools that are very easy to use and will allow you to skirt arround your IT departments ban without breaking any rules.

Now that you know how to get the videos I thought it was worth sharing a few resources with you to get you thinking about how to work more video into your class.

100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers

The Top Ten Videos Inspiring Us To Rethink The Way we Learn

104 inspiring YouTube videos to use in the classroom

These are just a few of the thousands of fantastic resources avaliable. If you are new to the EdTech arean I highly recomend you check out the blog Free Technology For Teachers where you will find a plethora of information on how to add quality technology resources to your classroom to help engage students and stimulate learnng.

For conversation:

Teachers: What are some creative ways you have used technology in the classroom? How has it benifited you?

Students: Have you had a teacher that used technology in the classroom? How did it benifit you? If you have not, how do you think it would help?

Parents: How would you like to see technology used in the classroom? How do you think it would benifit your kids?

We wrote a post about some new features at FunnelBrain.com. Today I want to take a few minutes and share some thoughts/ start a conversation about gaming in education. It’s interesting to me that people tend to be very polarized on one side or the other on this issue, because to me education is about engaging students and getting them to want to learn. Again, this is just my opinion and I would encourage you to leave comments if you disagree with me but I think education can and should be fun. I’m not suggesting we should all be playing Halo 3 in the classroom, but if we are creative we could and in my opinion should be using games like Halo 3 to help students learn important concepts like Physics, problem solving, teamwork, and strategy. I’m always happy to see teachers trying to teach kids in a way that will engage students. A few days ago I posted over on our Facebook Fan Page a link to a project called Wow in School that is using tools like Moodle and World of Warcraft to teach a 7th grade language arts course. Is this the way we all learned in school? No… Does it make it bad? I do not believe it does.

As responsible educators, we need to put a focus on making quality research based decisions, and the fact is there is a great deal of evidence that education based games like those on FunnelBrain, Starfall, and KidsSpell are valuable tools that can increase engagement and help to foster students who are life long learners.

For conversation:

Teachers do you currently use games in the classroom? Why or why not? Are there ways you could be using technology to improve engagement?

Students, would you like to see teachers using games or other interactive technologies in the classroom?

In my last two posts, I talked about the benefits of study teams and some of the mechanics of setting them up.  Now I want to talk about how to maximize the success of your study teams by using FunnelBrain.  As you’ll see, study team projects on FunnelBrain can really kindle your students’ enthusiasm.  They’ll be learning and having fun doing it.

High school students spend a lot of time socializing electronically.  They keep up with their friends on Facebook or MySpace.  They post photos and videos.  They text and instant message.  Maybe they “tweet” on Twitter.  They are perpetually connected electronically to their friends, and they love seeing themselves and their work online.  FunnelBrain takes advantage of these trends to create an online learning experience that’s a natural extension of your students’ online, connected lives.

The Study Team Assignment

Every successful collaboration starts with one essential element: a clear purpose understood by all the contributors.  This will be true of your study teams as well.  A study team that is assigned a clear project to complete, a clear work product to produce, will be more focused, purposeful and productive than a study team that is merely assigned to study together.

FunnelBrain makes this step easy.  It was designed for group collaboration and it provides an obvious structure for a study team project: multi-media questions, answers and explanations presented as online “flashcards.”

Here’s an assignment you might give your study teams:  create a set of review questions, answers and explanations on FunnelBrain that cover everything they’ll need to know for your class’ final exam.  If you’re teaching an AP class, you might change that to everything they’ll need to know to score a 5 on the AP Exam.  Of course, you can readily create different versions of this assignment as appropriate for your own class.  I’ll discuss some of those variations below.  This particular assignment works well for a study team that will work together for an entire semester or academic year.

There are a few stipulations you’ll want to make with this assignment.  Students should put questions, answers and explanations in their own words, not copy them from the textbook.  The materials should be illustrated with photos where appropriate.  Encourage students to record video explanations for key concepts.  Encourage students to use FunnelBrain’s comments feature to add discussion threads to important questions.

If assigning each team to create a comprehensive set of review questions is too large a project for your class, it’s easy to create smaller versions of this assignment.  For example, the assignment might be to create review questions and answers for a particular unit you are covering.  Another good variation is to assign a different unit to each team, so that when all the teams’ work is combined, you have a comprehensive set of review materials for the class.

How to Create the Questions

There are two basic approaches to creating the questions for your study teams:  either the teacher provides the questions and the students create the answers and explanations, or the students create the questions as well.  The first approach provides more structure and guidance for those classes that need it.  On the other hand, unless you already have the questions prepared, the first approach can be a bit labor intensive the first time you employ it. I prefer the second approach.  I believe the students learn better if they have to extract the key questions from the material themselves.

The Mechanics

Now let me cover the basic steps of launching your study teams on FunnelBrain.  Most of these steps will be self-evident once you jump in and get familiar with the site.

Step 1. Register

You can browse through much of the FunnelBrain site without registering, but before you can create groups or flashcards you’ll need to register.  To register. go to the home page and click “Sign Up” on the top right side of the page.

Step 2. Complete Your Profile

To register, you merely provide your email address and choose a password.  However, you’ll want to complete your profile so that your student’s can find you.  After you register, click “Profile” on the right side of the menu bar at the top of the page.  This will take you to your nearly blank profile page.  Click “edit profile” under the default image.  Now, upload a photo of yourself, fill in your real name in the “Display Name” field.  Last, add the name of your school and your class.

Step 3.  Form a Group

Next you’ll want to form a group for you class.  From the home page, click “Create Flashcards” and then “Create a Group” or just click here:

CREATE A GROUP

Select your school name from the list or click “Add New” to the right if your school is not on the list yet.  Name the group after your class.  Near the bottom of this page, select “Private.”  This will let you control who can access your group so you can restrict it to your students and others you choose to invite (such as parents).

Step 4.  Invite Your Students

If you have your students’ email addresses you can invite them electronically.  Or you can simply tell your students in class to go to www.funnelbrain.com and enter your name in the search box to find your group.  Assuming you made your group private, when your students go to your group page and click “Join This Group,” you will receive an email alert telling you someone wants to join your group.  Follow the link in the email to approve each student.

Step 5.  Let Each Study Team Form its Own Group

For convenience, each study team will want to have its own private group on FunnelBrain.  Set these up yourself if you want to be an administrator for each group, or just instruct your students to set up your own.  Just be sure to join each of the groups so that you can check in on the teams’ progress from time to time.

Step 6.  Turn Them Loose

Now your study teams are ready to start creating online flashcard decks.  Tell them to be sure to add their decks to their groups as they create them.

We look forward to seeing you and your students on FunnelBrain!

We know that students learn best when they take an active role in the learning process.  This is not only common sense, it is a fundamental principle of teaching supported by ample research (see, for example, Tools for Teaching, by Barbara Gross Davis.  In this post I’m going to discuss one of the best techniques for getting students actively involved: study teams.

Study teams are a form of “collaborative learning.”  Teachers include collaborative learning or group learning in their teaching strategies because students working in small groups learn the material more deeply, retain more of what they learn, and generally have more fun learning.

A study team is a small group of students that work together to master the subject matter over a relatively long term, such as over an entire semester or even an entire school year.  Study teams are one of three basic types of group learning that Davis describes.  The other two types are:

informal learning groups, which are ad hoc groups formed in class to work on a brief task, such as solving a problem; and

formal learning groups, which are teams created to complete a specific group assignment such as group research paper or lab experiment.

All three types have their place, and you will probably use all three at different times.  However, a study team has some unique benefits that I want to highlight.

The unique benefits of study teams stem from their long-term stability.  These include:

Motivation – on a good team, members become dependent on each other, so the desire not to let teammates down becomes a big motivator;

Support System – the team becomes a support system for its members, as members turn to each other for help and encouragement;

Shared Learning Styles – members will bring different learning styles to the team, thus students benefit from exposure to new styles;

Peer teaching – on a good team, every member becomes a teacher to the other members, and students learn best by teaching other students;

Getting more done – by sharing the effort, study team members can cover more ground and have an easier time keeping pace with the class.

In upcoming posts, I’ll talk about how to form study teams and how to maximize their effectiveness by using FunnelBrain.