Video Games Meets the Classroom

Henry Jenkins from MIT discusses how video games can help education.

Online Magazines

I just  came across a website similar to Napster and other sharing sites where you can share magazine content in entirety.  Very cool!  I don't think it would replace having your own copy since free book online haven't replace paper books, but it would be a great place to find content you are interested in.  So far no knitting or quilting magazines, but many others of my interest.  Check it out at mygazines.com

Podcasting

I haven't kept up with this site for awhile since my class ended. But I don't want to lose this site since I think it might be useful for other media teachers.

If you don't know what podcasting is, here is a short video describing it. I think most teachers can use podcasting in their curriculum, whether they share their lessons via podcasts or have their student create podcasts of content. I love listening to This American Life, which I get free everyweek on iTunes. Many of the stories are useful in my English classes. Grammar Girl, also available free from iTunes, is a great way to teach grammar principles. I will use these podcasts in class, then have my own students create grammar podcasts in the same vein.

Here is the intro to podcasting I promised:


I wish I could figure out how to post podcasts on this site. I have a memoir I would like to share. If you can help me with this problem, please contact me!

Beauty

Context
I am creating a lesson plan for Cyrano de Bergerac with the theme of beauty. I remember a show I saw about beauty. Well, I finally found it on YouTube. Here it is.
I am hoping that I can download it for my students.

Unrequited Love Songs

Context
I am creating a lesson for Cyrano de Bergerac where the students will write lyrics from Cyrano to Roxanne with the theme of unrequited love. I was looking for some songs I could use as models. Here are a couple of video clips that would be helpful:

"Layla" by Eric Clapton



"Girl from Ipanema" by Andy Williams & Antonio Carlos Jobi


"What a Fool Believes" by Doobie Brothers




"Long, Long Time" by Linda Ronstadt



"Midnight Confessions" by The Grassroots




Don't forget the Taylor Swift song "Teardrops on My Guitar" that I posted earlier!

How I could use this in class

My First Documentary!

I'm very excited to present my first documentary created in iMovie. It has been quite a learning process since I have never edited any film and never used iMovie before. The learning curve was steep!

I shot 60 mins. of interview, had over 20 photos, but had only 3 - 5 mins. to present it all. Learning what to cut out was the most important concept I learned.

Cyrano de Bergerac

Context

I found this Jose Ferrar scene of Cyrano de Bergerac on Youtube and thought how it compared to the play and the Depardieu version. The language has indefinitely been modernized.

How I could use this in class

I thought it might be fun to have students re-create this scene in a modern setting. What trite words would Christian say to Roxanne? "I think you're really cool?" How would they make "I love you" more eloquent?

Another idea I had was to shorten the long (58 lines) monologue in Act II. I would give them the scenario that they are screenwriters and must cut this scene to fit in the 2 hour length. I would have to show them some examples of screen plays to learn the format thenhave them partner and go to work.