Video Sharing and Screencasting!

This week our task was to think about the implications of mobile learning and to create a screen cast on a Web 2.0 tool. I watched some very interesting videos about mobile learning. One discussed the future of education, and how it will be the "iSchool." Students would use their iPhone or iTouch to communicate with their teachers. There are so many applications out there for learning that I had no clue about. They have applications for learning about the different US Presidents, viewing globes, exploring space, checking out the periodic table, or even word processing applications. Students would utilize these applications to learn useful information and communicate and collaborate with their peers through other apps. It seems like a whole other innovative way of learning, but it is probably where are future is headed. As far as video sharing, there are many things that teachers need to take into consideration when using videos in the classroom. They need to ultimately obtain permission from the original creator and make sure that they are using the video for educational purposes. Teachers should also make sure that the videos that they provide to students are accessible to all individuals. Videos must be able to work on various browsers, and should even include captions when necessary.

I decided to create my screencast on Voki which is a free service that allows you to create avatars with different backgrounds and physical features. There are many interactive ideas for using Voki in the classroom. Voki can be used for students to introduce themselves to the class, read poems, explain math concepts, create characters from a book, or even practice saying English words to become fluent. There are endless opportunities of ways to use Voki in the classroom. I could definitely see how screencasting could also be a helpful tool to use in the classroom, especially in distance education. The teacher can model a process and students can then follow exact steps presented.