Facebook frenzy

If you don't already follow me on facebook, this is a good time to start.

There are almost daily posts of science links, jokes, activities, and articles. 

In addition, next weekend (December 6-9), is a facebook hop. A bunch of secondary teaching facebook pages will be linked together and giving away freebies. 

Come like my facebook page and get freebies!

www.facebook.com/taral.sci

Cyber Monday Sale.

You can get up to 28% off on TpT Monday and Tuesday. Stock up and make it easy on yourself through the holiday season, or into the start of the new year. Get ahead and enjoy your vacation.

In my store, everything will be 20% off through Wednesday! with the site wide sale, you can get 28% off Monday and Tuesday. 

Enjoy!  Get your wish list ready!! 

The Wonderful Power of Videos in the Classroom

I don't know if your students are anything like mine, but if they are, there are days that getting them focused and paying attention is a losing battle. Even if they are quiet, gettting them focused and attentive is a different story!

Here's a strange thing that some of us in my department have been noticing lately. Students pay attention to a video clip much better than they pay attention to me. I have used this in a few different ways:

-- using video clips such as this that I have found online, and then creating a guided note sheet, questions, or an assignment to go with it. Here is one example of a great instructional video. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qhvSX0-I9N8. There are a lot, usually about 5-10 minutes long that can replace notes, introduce a topic, or reinforce notes.  It's similar to the idea of the flipped classroom, in a way, except I'm doing it in class in this case, student can watch together in the board, or in their own on device,depending on the time you want to spend, and the structure of your class/access to technology.  Kids say to me things like "remember on Friday in the video when that man was talking and he said...."  

-- I have also created or found some even shorter video clips and photos to give lab instructions, and to show a model of something. It's big, easy for everyone to see, and they can rewind if needed. For example, I made a video of making the onion cell slide. Not great, but it was my first one. Easily filmed with a cellphone, tablet, webcam. For some reason, they seem to remember. 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7fe0UGOR5s8.   

Do your kids respond differently to a video?  How do you use technology innovatively in the classroom?