There are tabs at the top of the SchoolWAX TV homepage. The tabs include elementary school, middle school, secondary school, educators, student projects, and sponsor videos. I clicked on elementary school and found countless authentic videos that I would use in my current classroom. I could easily give my students the opportunity to meet different authors like Jerry Spinelli, Bruce Degen, Eve Bunting, Mark Teague, and Betsy Lewin for free. My class just read “Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type.” It would have been great to show Betsy Lewin’s “meet the author” video to my class. The video is Betsy Lewin describing her childhood and the different things in her life that inspired her to become an author. The videos include animations and presents educational content in a way that is extremely engaging to all learners. Below is a snapshot of Betsy Lewin’s video.
SchoolWAX TV can also be used to assist children with their homework. For example, there are videos that show step-by-step instructions to solve different math equations. Here is a screenshot of a “Notepad Tutor” showing how to do two-digit subtraction with regrouping. I recently had a parent contact me for help with this skill. I could have used this Web 2.0 tool to assist them at home. Students can watch videos to receive help with their homework, reinforce the skills taught in class, and enjoy themselves at the same time.
It is easy to use SchoolWAX TV in your classroom because you do not have to set up an account or worry about your students exploring the site. All of the videos on this site are safe for students to watch. Each video is pre-screened and approved before showing up on the site. Students can also upload and share their own videos with other students and schools all over the world. Parents can also stay involved in their child’s education by going onto SchoolWAX TV and watching their child’s videos or by assisting them with their homework. I am definitely going to use SchoolWAX TV in my second grade classroom.
You should check it out too. http://schoolwaxtv.com/
This site sounds amazing! As I started reading your post I was imagining all the great authors I would like to show my students and how I could tie that into my writing lessons. I was thinking how fantastic it would be to do an author study with my students. We would do some research in books, use the Internet, and gather a collection of the authors work. After reading the author’s work, and learning about the author, it would be an amazing experience for the students to actually see the author and learn first hand from them. What an incredible experience for students to have.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the idea that this site offers tutorials for the students. I’m constantly looking for ways to reinforce what I’m teaching in the classroom. This site offers students the opportunity to learn from a different teacher and perhaps a different style or method of teaching as well. I loved your idea of involving the parents and having them watch the videos as well. Parents often ask me how to help their child at home as well. Being able to provide the parents with this additional resource is going to be extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing Ali; I can’t wait to get my students and parents using this site!
Allie,
ReplyDeleteThis web 2.0 tool sounds really interesting. After reading the review you wrote about SchoolWAX TV, I went right to the website and started playing around. Immediately, I could see my students loving this website. They love when I show videos, and some of the author pages fit the books we read in class. They would love to see some real video by them.
I also agree with your comment about not having to set up an account. This can be difficult with a large group of students. It is nice that anyone can access it from wherever they are. Students can go home and explore more, or share what we did in class with their families. Also, if a student is absent, they can log on and find the videos they missed.
Thank you so much for introducing me to this tool. I love that it connects to math, science, social studies, and language arts.