Spotlight

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Looking for a short tutorial for a student in your math class? Try this website and see if they have what you need. There are videos in all areas of math from the 4 basic functions, to quadratic equations. Try a few and put the links on your website for students to access this library when they need assistance.

Image via CrunchBase

I'll bet you have wanted to show a YouTube video in your class, but were worried about the comments, or side videos that arrive randomly on the page. Quietube is a site that will allow you to view these in a clean window. You can choose a white or black background and give the link to students or show them in class without the extras. You simply put a button in your toolbar so you can access it anytime you find a video you want to use.

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Many years ago I can remember getting a lesson from the media specialist about how to thread the 16mm projector and the filmstrip projector for my 6th grade health lessons. I had to research the county library book of films available, figure out where I would be in the curriculum in 30 days and hope that the movie I just ordered from 20 miles away would arrive on time for the class.

Now I hear teachers at the water cooler, yes we really do have them here, talk about some new site where they found a perfect 3 minute movie to show to their class today. With the advent of new online resources, video is becoming a much better medium to use to emphasize a point. There are thousands of educational films being used daily around the globe to promote a concept.

The ultimate resource in my book is DiscoveryEducation Streaming. If your school, county or state has provided this service to you by all means, USE IT. DES purchased United Streaming years ago and has since added much of the material from the DiscoveryChannel to the mix. There are different levels of the subscription at different costs. For example, the Planet Earth series is available through DiscoveryEducation Streaming, but you must upgrade to DES PLUS to be able to use the materials available with the new LIFE series. In addition of video, DES has images, clip art, songs, teacher resources and much much more.

In a recent online reading, I came across this link to a site that have 100 Video Sites Every Educator Should Bookmark. There are tremendous resources on this list and you should definitely explore some of these offerings. Who knows you might just strike gold in this plethora of resources.